Bible Studies
Mission in the Old TestamentJohn Reid
God in the Old Testament is a sending or missionary God. If you look up a concordance you will find hundreds of references to God sending. He sends Moses, angels, prophets, commandments and he
sends his word.
Look it up: Exodus 3:13 - Exodus 23:20 - 2 Samuel 12:1 - Psalm 147:15 - Psalm 107:20
And so it goes on. God has a dynamic involvement in the world of men and women. God sends. This forms the backdrop for our understanding of mission and evangelism. God in the Old Testament had the whole world in view.
There is a healthy tension in the Old Testament at this point. On one hand God is the God of all nations. On the other hand He is the God Of Israel. In Psalm 86:9 He is described as the God of all nations. Yet from the beginning he is the God of Abraham and his heirs (Genesis 12:3).
At times it would appear that Israel had an exclusive relationship with God. However Israel as the servant had a clear missionary role with the nations (Isaiah 43:10). And it was Daniel who saw that Israel would produce a a servant who also would be a glorious ruler and all nations would worship him (Daniel 7:13,14). There is a priority on the Jews but at the same time the whole world was in view.
Look it up: Psalm 86:9 - Genesis 12:3 - Isaiah 43:10 - Daniel 7:13,14
Jesus summed up this Old Testament perspective as "Salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22). Yet the Old Testament breathes with the expectation that this would change. Micah put it this way: "many nations will come and say 'Come let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob'" (Micah 4:2). Zechariah wrote, "many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty" (Zechariah 8:22).
Look it up: John 4:22 - Micah 4:2 - Zechariah 8:22
God's sending action can be summarised like this:
- God sends his word and covenant to one man: Abraham.
- Abraham's heirs were the recipients of God's word.
- Israel was the nation who were called by God. And it was Isaiah especially saw that was a godly remnant within Israel who were chosen by God to do his will.
- Within the godly remnant there would be an individual who as the servant would make the way open for all to hear the word from God.
So at the beginning with Abraham and finally with the servant, God purposed that the whole world of men and women would be the recipients of his saving word.
What does this Old Testament outline mean for us.? It profoundly shapes the way we think of God. He is a God who is just and loving. He is a God who communicates with his people. From the very beginning he was sending his message and his salvation to all. It is one of the ways that his love expresses itself. Having a missionary purpose should be the way we think of God. Being missionary minded was not one of the options that God took up from time to time. He was fixed in this purpose; it is for this very reason that his people in any age are called to have a sending or missionary mindset.
See Part 2 of this Series: Jesus, the Great Missionary; and Part 3: Paul, the Cross-Cultural Missionary.
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