Old Testament ethics for the people of God

520 Pages·2004·2.33 MB·English

by  Christopher J. H. Wright

OLD TESTAMENT MAKE-UP 6x9 20/5/04 15:32 Page 2 WAYNE'S G3 WAYNE'S G3: WAYNE'S JOBS:8850 - IVP -
All the royalties from this book have been irrevocably assigned to Langham
Literature (formerly the Evangelical Literature Trust), a programme of the
Langham Partnership International (LPI). Langham Literature distributes
evangelical books to pastors,theological students and seminary libraries in the
Majority World, and facilitates the writing and publishing of Christian
literature in regional languages.
For further information on Langham Literature,and the other programmes
of LPI,visit the website at <http://www.langhampartnership.org>.
In the USA John Stott Ministries is the national member of the Langham
Partnership International. All enquiries may be made through <http://www.
johnstott.org>.
OLD TESTAMENT ETHICS
PEOPLE OF GOD
FOR THE
CHRISTOPHER J. H. WRIGHT
InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
Internet: www.ivpress.com
E-mail: [email protected]
©Christopher J. H. Wright, 2004
Published in the United States of America by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, with
permission from Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, U.K. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.
InterVarsity Press ® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA ® , a
student movement active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the
United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical
Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept., InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the
IVCF website at <www.intervarsity.org>.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International
Version®. NIV® . Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. All rights reserved. “NIV” is a registered trademark of International Bible
Society. UK trademark number 1448790. Distributed in North America by permission of Zondervan
Publishing House.
Incorporates material first published in Living as the People of God (IVP, 1983) and Walking in the
Ways of the Lord (Apollos, 1991). Fully revised and updated for this volume.
Cover design: Cindy Kiple
Image: Central panels depicting three kings, Ezekiel, Solomon and David, German School at Church of
St. Michael, Hildesheim, Germany / Hirmer Fotoarchiv / The Bridgeman Art Library.
ISBN 978-0-8308-6494-2
OLD TESTAMENT MAKE-UP 6x9 20/5/04 15:32 Page 5 WAYNE'S G3 WAYNE'S G3: WAYNE'S JOBS:8850 - IVP -
To Liz
Catharine and Andy
Tim and Bianca
Jonny and Emma and Helena
and Suzy
OLD TESTAMENT MAKE-UP 6x9 20/5/04 15:32 Page 6 WAYNE'S G3 WAYNE'S G3: WAYNE'S JOBS:8850 - IVP -
OLD TESTAMENT MAKE-UP 6x9 6/8/04 9:39 AM Page 7
CONTENTS
Preface to Living as the People of God 
Preface 
Introduction 
 :      
 The theological angle 
God’s identity 
God’s action 
God’s words 
God’s purpose 
God’s way 
God’s goodness 
Further reading 
 The social angle 
The social dimension of redemption 
The distinctiveness of Israel 
Israel as God’s paradigm 
Further reading 
 The economic angle 
The land in Israel’s story 
The land as divine gift 
The land under divine ownership 
The land as covenantal measuring gauge 
Further reading 
 :     
 Ecology and the earth 
God’s earth:divine ownership 
Our earth:divine gift and human responsibility 
OLD TESTAMENT MAKE-UP 6x9 20/5/04 15:32 Page 8 WAYNE'S G3 WAYNE'S G3: WAYNE'S JOBS:8850 - IVP -
Cursed earth:human sin and ecological destruction 
New creation:ecology and eschatology 
Further reading 
 Economics and the poor 
Economic ethics in creation perspective 
Economics in a fallen world 
Economic dimensions to Israel’s story of redemption 
Creation values restored in Israel’s economic system 
Responding to poverty 
Further reading 
 The land and Christian ethics 
Paradigmatic interpretation 
Eschatological interpretation 
Typological interpretation 
The jubilee:a case study 
Further reading 
 Politics and the nations 
Perspectives from creation and the fall 
God’s people and the state:perspectives from Israel’s history 
God and the nations:Israel’s universal vision 
Further reading 
 Justice and righteousness 
Justice as God displays it 
Justice as God demands it 
Justice as God will deliver it 
Further reading 
 Law and the legal system 
The main legal blocks 
The different kinds of law 
The administration of justice 
Israel’s scale of values 
Theological reflections 
Further reading 
 Culture and family 
Rejection and prohibition 
Qualified toleration 
Critical affirmation:the family in the Old Testament 
Christians and culture 
OLD TESTAMENT MAKE-UP 6x9 6/8/04 9:44 AM Page 9
Christians and the family 
Further reading 
 The way of the individual 
The individual in community 
Personal responsibility 
Models of morals 
Failure and forgiveness 
Further reading 
 :    
 A survey of historical approaches 
The early church 
The Reformation era 
Some contemporary confessional approaches 
Further reading 
 Contemporary scholarship:a bibliographical essay 
 Hermeneutics and authority in Old Testament ethics 
Getting there from here:methodological problems 
Getting back here from there:ideological problems 
The question of authority 
Conclusion 
Further reading 
Appendix:What about the Canaanites? 
Bibliography 
Index of Scripture References 
Index of Names 
Index of Subjects 
OLD TESTAMENT MAKE-UP 6x9 20/5/04 15:32 Page 10 WAYNE'S G3 WAYNE'S G3: WAYNE'S JOBS:8850 - IVP