It is in vogue these days to abandon the notion that the Old Testament has a theology. The evidence is pretty clear on that matter, given the diverse library of books found in the OT canon. Nonetheless, this hasn’t stopped the proliferation of books dedicated to the subject of Old Testament theology.
Mark Boda is aware of the tension and recognizes that another book on the topic requires justification. In The Heartbeat of Old Testament Theology: Three Creedal Expressions (Baker, 2017), Boda asks rhetorically, “Can we speak any longer of a theology that lies at the core of the OT? Are our claims of theology merely perspectival projections, or can we identify something in these ancient texts that witness to some form of unity in the biblical corpus?” (p. 6)
Boda does not argue against the reality that the Old Testament portrays a multifaceted theological framework. Rather, Boda follows the lead of Gerhard von Rad who highlighted three creedal recitations (Deut. 6, 26, and Josh. 24) as Israel’s “underlying theological expression”(p. 11). For Boda, the three creedal recitations are not three biblical passages, but three biblical ideas: the narrative rhythm, the character rhythm, and the relational rhythm. These are detailed in chapters 2–4.
The narrative rhythm represents God’s activity in history. “In this creedal tradition in ancient Israel, theology is expressed as God’s redemptive story described through finite verbs expressing past action” (p. 15). The basic elements of the narrative creed include the following: ancestors, exodus, wilderness, conquest, land, and exile. Exod. 20:2 exemplifies this creed: “I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
The character rhythm emphasizes God’s being versus God’s acting. Boda defines it this way: “Instead of speaking of God as One who did this or that at a particular time (e.g., in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; at the Reed Sea God delivered Israel), this tradition speaks of God as One who does this or that (e.g., participles: God is the one who creates, God is the one who delivers; or nonperfective finite verbs: God will deliver) and by extension as One who possesses these characteristics (e.g., nouns: God is the Creator, God is the Deliverer)” (p. 29). Exod. 34:6–7 typifies this creed:
In chapter 5, Boda looks at Exod. 5:22–6:8 and Neh. 9 as case studies to show how the three rhythms are integrated into the whole of the OT theology. Chapter 6 demonstrates how the three creedal rhythms are expressed in OT creation language. Chapter 7 illustrates how the three rhythms carry over into the NT. In chapter 8, Boda argues why Christians should be concerned with these three rhythms. After a brief postscript, Boda concludes with a thirty-two page appendix, “Biblical Theology and the Old Testament.”
For Christians, especially evangelical Protestants, chapter 8 shines a bright light into some dark corners. I suspect that some will read this chapter with skepticism and some will start to read but be turned off by his sharp criticisms of the church. Hopefully, though, many will read Boda’s commentary on the evangelical church and heed his exhortations.
For example, in response to an individualistic ecclesiology inherent in evangelical Protestant churches, Boda writes:
Mark Boda is aware of the tension and recognizes that another book on the topic requires justification. In The Heartbeat of Old Testament Theology: Three Creedal Expressions (Baker, 2017), Boda asks rhetorically, “Can we speak any longer of a theology that lies at the core of the OT? Are our claims of theology merely perspectival projections, or can we identify something in these ancient texts that witness to some form of unity in the biblical corpus?” (p. 6)
Boda does not argue against the reality that the Old Testament portrays a multifaceted theological framework. Rather, Boda follows the lead of Gerhard von Rad who highlighted three creedal recitations (Deut. 6, 26, and Josh. 24) as Israel’s “underlying theological expression”(p. 11). For Boda, the three creedal recitations are not three biblical passages, but three biblical ideas: the narrative rhythm, the character rhythm, and the relational rhythm. These are detailed in chapters 2–4.
The character rhythm emphasizes God’s being versus God’s acting. Boda defines it this way: “Instead of speaking of God as One who did this or that at a particular time (e.g., in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; at the Reed Sea God delivered Israel), this tradition speaks of God as One who does this or that (e.g., participles: God is the one who creates, God is the one who delivers; or nonperfective finite verbs: God will deliver) and by extension as One who possesses these characteristics (e.g., nouns: God is the Creator, God is the Deliverer)” (p. 29). Exod. 34:6–7 typifies this creed:
The Lord, the Lord,a God merciful and gracious,slow to anger,and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation,forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,yet by no means clearing the guilty,but visiting the iniquity of the parentsupon the childrenand the children’s children,to the third and the fourth generation.The relational rhythm refers to how God interacts with humanity relationally, primarily with covenant or familial language, or “by utilizing copular syntactical constructions (היה as copula, verbless clauses, third-person pronoun copula), usually translated into English as ‘I am/you are,’ ‘I will be/you will be’ or ‘He is/they are,’ ‘He will be/they will be’”(p. 55). Lev. 26:12 is a fair representation of this creedal expression: “And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”
In chapter 5, Boda looks at Exod. 5:22–6:8 and Neh. 9 as case studies to show how the three rhythms are integrated into the whole of the OT theology. Chapter 6 demonstrates how the three creedal rhythms are expressed in OT creation language. Chapter 7 illustrates how the three rhythms carry over into the NT. In chapter 8, Boda argues why Christians should be concerned with these three rhythms. After a brief postscript, Boda concludes with a thirty-two page appendix, “Biblical Theology and the Old Testament.”
For Christians, especially evangelical Protestants, chapter 8 shines a bright light into some dark corners. I suspect that some will read this chapter with skepticism and some will start to read but be turned off by his sharp criticisms of the church. Hopefully, though, many will read Boda’s commentary on the evangelical church and heed his exhortations.
For example, in response to an individualistic ecclesiology inherent in evangelical Protestant churches, Boda writes:
“The narrative creed in OT theology reminds us that salvation is defined in communal rather than individual terms. God saves and transforms a community in order to bring transformation and salvation to the entire cosmos. This is intimated from the outset in God’s promises to Abraham, promises that spoke of the creation of an entire nation through whom the nations of the earth would be blessed. These same promises are communicated to the church in the NT, and through this new humanity God will transform the cultures of the world” (p. 125).This is a much different, and more vibrant faith, than one in which salvation is about saving my own hide from the fires of hell. As I understand the gospels, this is what it means to have life and have it abundantly (Jn 10:10).
I wonder what this last point might mean for the interpretation of what is being asked for in the "kingdom" petition of the Lord's Prayer. Perhaps it is a plea not for the arrival in the present of something thought to be a part of the dawning of the age to come, but for the enabling of the obedience of a community whose example of corporate faithfulness helps to redeem the world.
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