I was drawn to this book by its stated purpose. The author lays it out this way: "in this book, we will explore what it means to read, interpret, and apply the Old Testament from a Christian point of view, following the model and directions given to us by Jesus and the New Testament." Unfortunately, in execution it's rather spotty.

There's a significant degree of obvious influence here from secular culture. Not in a "wow; this guy is totally woke" kind of way, but in "wow; he's been heavily influenced by culture in ways he probably doesn't even realize" kind of way. As just one example, he seems to attempt a neutral approach to "age of the earth" sorts of questions, but then conveys that young earth creationists are just lacking the humility to consider they may have incorrectly interpreted Scripture -- while making it very clearly he hasn't considered the possibility that he's wrongly interpreting the secular science. His conclusions -- and, to an even greater degree, the manner in which he presents them -- communicate that he uses the secular world's assumptions as the lens through which to interpret Scripture, rather than the other way around.

In similar fashion, we see a heavy reliance on the world's idea of a "nice" Jesus, who supposedly communicates to us that what we thought we knew of the God of the Old Testament is just wrong.

There are other issues throughout -- somewhat sporadic but, in my opinion, foundational. For example, he says that it's "better to let Scripture speak for itself, even when we are unable to completely harmonize all its claims and work everything out in a logically coherent way." While we certainly don't always have all of this answers, this is a dangerous disregard for one of the key tools that helps us ensure we interpret Scripture *correctly*! Right theology *will* harmonize Scriptures that seem contradictory at first glance, so this is one of the keys that helps us know when we're on the right track.

And there's a strange appeal to dispensational thinking -- as reflected in the "Jesus corrects the wrong view of God we got from the Old Testament" approach, as well as other references. For instance, the author refers to God's scattering of the people at Babel as "a new plan." (It was *always* part of the plan for the people to spread out and "fill the earth"!) This is strange because the overall trajectory of the book is heavy on continuity. "The new covenant that is ours through Jesus Christ is not a brand-new covenant replacing one that had become obsolete. The new covenant is a continuation, a fulfillment, an expansion, a deepening of a covenant that God has always made with God’s called-out people." This makes the whole book strangely discordant with itself.

I picked up some useful insights here and there but, overall, I found this book to fall short of its purpose. I wouldn't feel comfortable handing this book off to those who most *need* such a book, because the theology is hit-or-miss in its soundness. And those who are grounded enough in Scripture to filter it well don't need it.

Writing for a narrow audience and taking a big-picture view of the Bible, Geddert argues that, in order to effectively contextualize the New Testament, Christians must read and study the Old Testament from a Jesus-centered perspective. Despite regular digressions to superficially examine denominational debates, Geddert is effective in systematically moving through scripture and highlighting a variety of major themes and characterizations of God. Each chapter ends with a set of discussion questions, making this a good resource for small- or large-group study.

The Beginning of the Story
Understanding the Old Testament in the Story of Scripture
by Timothy J. Geddert
Pub Date 10 Oct 2023
Herald Press
Christian| Nonfiction \(Adult\)


Netgalley and Herald Press sent me a copy of The Beginning of the Story for review:


While the Bible contains 66 books spanning over a thousand printed pages, most Christians focus on the New Testament, that last quarter that feels more relevant to us as Jesus followers. The Old Testament is often unfamiliar to Christian readers. We value a few well-known Genesis stories and use a few Psalms for worship and devotion. Beyond that, many Christians find the Old Testament confusing or troubling.


To grasp the Bible's grand story-God's dealings with humanity, God's relationship to the whole universe-we must learn to read the first three-quarters as Jesus did, and as the New Testament instructs. It guides curious readers of the Word through the arc and major themes of the Old Testament narrative, restoring joy to reading and studying the Bible's first 39 books.



I give The Beginning of the Story five out of five Stars!


Happy Reading!

Bible literacy, especially in the Old Testament, can be a hard topic to tackle, but that doesn't mean it's any less important. This book did a wonderful job of explaining it with exegesis. I look forward to posting a review about this on its pub date!