Whether or not Jewish authorities could execute violators, or whether the warning was meant metaphorically, a curse to those who breach the cordon, remains the subject of fierce academic debate. Josephus gave a detailed description of the warnings placed along it. The Herodian Temple was a massive undertaking that it took decades to complete and was funded both from the royal coffers and by international donations. Like any public institution in Israel nowadays, the complex was likely covered with dedicatory inscriptions to patrons who donated funds for the venture.
Herod decked out the already five-century-old Jewish sanctuary in Classical splendor by engineering an enormous platform atop the hill and ensheathing the refurbished sanctuary in a colossal peristyle courtyard in Greco-Roman fashion. He aimed for that complex, which is today referred to as the Temple Mount and comprises a sixth of the Old City, to be showcased to all.
He wants everyone to come and he wants to host them and show them. Gentiles were not only welcome to ascend the Temple Mount, they were also permitted, if not encouraged, to donate animals for sacrifice. Likewise daily sacrifices paid for by the Roman state were offered up for the welfare of the emperors.
Marcus Agrippa and other gentiles could enter the Temple compound, just not the area where holy rituals took place. The Temple complex was a series of concentric circles of purity, each area limited to a more select group of people. The innermost, the Holy of Holies, was only accessible to the high priest, and only on the holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement. Consequently, they were in theory banned altogether from the Temple. He wanted to exhibit the grandeur of his compound, the largest temple in the ancient world, but not enrage his Jewish subjects.
More specifically, it is faith in Jesus Christ, who in the Old Testament lay in shadow as the promised Messiah, Walter Kaiser's passion for missions is evident throughout this book, as is his dedicated pursuit of the fact that God's people--in both Old and New Testament--have always had the task of proclaiming His wonders to the world.
More specifically, it is faith in Jesus Christ, who in the Old Testament lay in shadow as the promised Messiah, that is the proper focus of saving faith. But Kaiser does not engage with the concrete form that faith takes, nor the concrete form of God's promises. In the Old Testament, faith is made concrete in the temple, and it is there that God's promises of forgiveness, of redemption, of unity with His people are revealed in their concrete form.
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH
Kaiser also speaks of only half of what is truly "mission. We today would call that evangelism. But mission, deeply understood, involves more than proclamation: There is a missionary arc in which God's people go out and tell, but do so for the purpose of gathering back in. In his sincere and well-motivated efforts to declare mission to be centrifugal, Kaiser neglects the genuine centripetal aspect of God's will that all should be gathered in to Him and His presence.
Not having read enough of Kaiser, perhaps it is true that he engages those aspects in other writings. And perhaps it is true that this slim volume simply does not have the space to explore those aspects.
Whatever may be the case, Mission in the Old Testament is nevertheless a valuable missiological read as it stands. You will benefit from coming to understand that God's mission is not a New Testament development, but is something that has always been a part of His mission for His people. I think we can fall into the trap of seeing the Old Testament being focused solely on God as the Jewish God rather than God as the universal creator, sustainer, and redeemer.
This book helps us see how God has had compassion on all people since the beginning of time and intended for Israel to be a witness and a light to the Gentiles. I really appreciate the arguments Kaiser makes here but I wish he had a chapter dedicated to rereading the more nationalistic texts in the Old Testament. He is grea I think we can fall into the trap of seeing the Old Testament being focused solely on God as the Jewish God rather than God as the universal creator, sustainer, and redeemer.
He is great at interpreting and explaining the more universal texts that defend his argument but I wish he was more direct in confronting the Old Testament texts that do seem more hostile and less mission-oriented towards nations other than Israel. Oct 13, Shaun Lee rated it it was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and found this book very insightful.
Kaiser packs in deep theological material and somehow managed to make the material a joy to leaf through. I appreciate the footnotes and references that he provided for further reading. Intermediate and advanced readers would probably find the content engaging, and because of the extremely small number of pages, maybe even novice readers would be able to read a chapter or two that catches their interest.
Of the tens of books I uti I thoroughly enjoyed the read and found this book very insightful. Sep 28, J. Amill Santiago rated it it was amazing. This is probably one of the most important books I have read as far as it goes to Old Testament matters. It is, indeed, a deeply foundational book. It was in this book that I was introduced for the first time to the Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant and to many global redemptive themes in the Old Testament.
Perhaps the best thing about this book is that—although Dr. Short book, This is probably one of the most important books I have read as far as it goes to Old Testament matters. Short book, but valuable information.
Ancient Temple Mount 'warning' stone is 'closest thing we have to the Temple' | The Times of Israel
Oct 08, Eric Fults rated it really liked it. A helpful little book on the topic. Kaiser argues that there is an active mission mandate in the OT as well as the NT. While I do think as a whole his argument stands, his evidence is pretty nuanced and subtle and not nearly as strong as he makes it out to be. Mission is certainly evident in the OT, but it often seems to be of a passive sort and not an active sort, though Kaiser argues for an active variety. In the end I think his argument stands, though I don't know if it is as obvious as he se A helpful little book on the topic.
In the end I think his argument stands, though I don't know if it is as obvious as he seems to let on at times.
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- Mission in the Old Testament: Israel as a Light to the Nations!
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A helpful and short intro to the topic nonetheless. Sep 19, Jason rated it really liked it. This was a great book for a very short quick overview of missions in the Old Testament. Very thoughtful as Walter Kaiser is one of the leading Old Testament scholars. He is also a very good writer and lays out a good case for God's heart encapsulating more than just Israel in the Old Testament. Jul 27, Louis Fritz v rated it really liked it.
Walter Kaiser does an excellent job on a much needed text for pastors: He proves this taking the entire narrative from Genesis to the Ages of the Prophets to prove the role of Abraham and Israel as drawing all nations back to God. The difficulty of his text comes through its heavy focus on verb parsing and other grammatical syntax, basic knowledge for many seminary graduates but not necessaril Walter Kaiser does an excellent job on a much needed text for pastors: The difficulty of his text comes through its heavy focus on verb parsing and other grammatical syntax, basic knowledge for many seminary graduates but not necessarily are readily understood by those of the laity.
Yet, this is a true tragedy as not only are our pastors suffering in their underuse of the Old Testament, but the congregations are struggling in their appreciation of how significant Israel was as a foreshadow of God's desire for His church. Perhaps then the final challenge Kaiser is making to his audience is to share this information more readily with others, so they too can appreciate the entire picture of God's plan for redemption of all tribes and nations.
Dec 04, Robert Murphy rated it really liked it Shelves: Kessia Reyne already wrote the perfect review: That s Kessia Reyne already wrote the perfect review: Jul 13, Abigail rated it it was amazing. A must-read, particularly for anyone wondering about the connection between Old and New Testaments or the significance of non-Jews as part of God's redemptive plan.
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This is such bas Excellent short book! This is such basic stuff, but it's generally not understood by Christians. Yet, it is necessary to a broader understanding of God's character. Aug 14, Mark A Powell rated it really liked it. Dec 29, Kristi-Joy rated it it was amazing Shelves: What a fantastic book! It has completely revolutionized my understanding of the importance and purpose of Israel, God's character in relation to pre-messianic history, and Paul's use of the OT in his epistles - usage that always confused me.
I highly recommend this. Nov 26, BJ rated it liked it. A good primer on mission in the Old Testament. Wright and Kaiser would have some disagreements on how Israel did mission, but the theme is united. God has been on mission to bless the nations through Israel.
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- Mission in the Old Testament: Israel as a Light to the Nations by Walter C. Kaiser Jr..
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Feb 21, Matthew rated it liked it. Great summery of the missional scope of the Old Testament. It points out the original roles that Israel played and was supposed to play but didn't. It also talks about how the prophets aided in this process as well. Nov 22, Guillaume Bourin rated it liked it.