Using the Old Testament to Evaluate Current Events
The danger of ignoring the teachings of Jesus
For many of us, the Old Testament is extremely valuable. It always has been and will continue to be. We often look to the Old Testament for inspiration and guidance, and rightfully so. Many of us Christians believe the Old Testament points toward Jesus as it’s fulfillment. However, when using the Old Testament to interpret current events, if we use the wrong lenses to view these events, we could get into seriously dangerous error.
Today, there are Christians saying we should look to the Old Testament to tell us how to vote. They are saying that since God used the non-Jewish Persian emperor, Cyrus, to bring about His will (which was simply to allow the Jewish people to return from Persia to the land of Israel), it is all right to elect people to office who seriously fail very important New Testament standards. I’m not talking about outward religiosity, but about Jesus’s teachings about truth, love, forgiveness, peace, honesty and humility. The reason, some Christian leaders say that it’s all right to ignore those standards is that we will be bringing about God’s kingdom on earth. Overlooking evil is very dangerous and just opens the door to more evil. Winking at evil encourages its increase and will not bring about the kingdom of God, as Jesus described it. If these Christians are wrong, we could be in serious trouble.
If we look more closely at the situation of Cyrus in the Old Testament (Ezra1:1), it becomes apparent that it does not easily apply to any leaders in our country. Cyrus did not claim to be a Jew or to be religious. He was not acting deceptively. He might have previously done wicked things, but in this act of releasing the captives to return home, there is no record of guile or deception on his part. God just moved on him and he did it. A better comparison would be if the Russian dictator, Putin, decided to allow all the Ukraine children that he has taken into his country to return home. God would then be using Putin, who we would probably agree is evil, for His own purposes, in this one act. It would not mean that Christian people should then start idolizing Putin or give him a vote to stay in power.
Jesus taught us the proper way to look at the Old Testament, showing by his life, death and resurrection that Christianity fulfills the Law’s expectations for the future of God’s people. The way Jesus used the Old Testament gives us an excellent example of how to use it. His use of the old scriptures always fit in with his spoken standards, taken from the Law, of loving God first and loving other people second (one’s “neighbor” and one’s “enemy”). His first recorded quote was to tell Satan that “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3 (showing love for God). More than once, Jesus quoted Hosea, an Old Testament prophet, when he declared that “mercy is greater than sacrifice, (Hosea 6:6),” setting a standard for using the Law, which implied that treating people mercifully is more important than following the letter of the Mosaic law.
The Apostle Paul also provided his fellow Christians a good balance on how to view the Old Testament. As a former Pharisee, he was well versed in Old Testament theology. As a concerned Christian leader, he quickly saw the danger of putting Old Testament scriptures, such as those about circumcision, above the teachings of Jesus, thus forcing Gentiles to be circumcised and follow other Jewish rules. In Galatians and in Romans, he discusses the place of the Old Testament faith and how to value it without falling into error. Paul demonstrated the process of viewing the Old Testament through the lenses of Christian teachings.
Jesus gave distinct warnings about following false prophets (“prophet” in the Greek also meant public speakers or just plain leaders). He said false leaders would come in like wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15-20). In other words, they will pretend to be Christians and say all the things that please. However, their fruit will tell you what is the truth about their character. Jesus says, “Beware” of the wolves, and then immediately talks about how to discern who to follow. He said, “By their fruit you will know them (Verse 20).” His advice: Beware and don’t follow!
There were several other instances when Jesus warned his followers about bad fruit, such as Matthew 12:33-35, where not only does he warn about bad fruit, he also speaks about their speech. Jesus said that what comes out of one’s mouth lets you know what is in their hearts (also found in Luke 6:45). If anger, jealousy, hate, lies and stirring up fear are what come out of someone’s mouth, that shows what is in the heart of that person.
I have to agree that we do have a practical problem: often, and maybe usually, in our secular world, there is no one person who is following Jesus’ teachings completely. I think we need to look at two things: what they advocate and whether we can trust them. Do they show compassion for people and advocate for programs that will follow New Testament values of helping the downtrodden, including the poor and the sick, protecting the innocent and insuring a sense of community for everyone? Do their stances follow Jesus’s Golden Rule (treat others the way we want to be treated, even if they are a different race or religion from us) and not just one favored issue? Can we trust them to work for the good of the country or mostly what will benefit them? Are they committed to the welfare of everyone or to increasing their own power and wealth?
Ultimately, are we willing to trust what Jesus taught? Are we committed to the truth? Do we put Jesus above any other man or woman?
In conclusion, it is dangerous to take Old Testament happenings and apply them to modern situations that are not really applicable. We need to start with Christian teachings and use them to evaluate what’s going on. We need to interpret the Old Testament through the lenses of the teachings of Jesus and the rest of the New Testament. Let’s look for leaders who advocate for the things that Jesus stressed, helping the poor and working to make our country safe and hospitable for everyone, no matter their race or creed.