Mission in the Old Testament: Israel As a Light to the Nations

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Summary: Great Commission starts in Genesis
Review: Mission is the subject matter of this book. For most people, a study of the mission of the church turns first to Jesus and the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. Kaiser, an Old Testament scholar, explores the idea that the divine mission to the world did not begin with the Great Commission in Matthew but actually began in the Bible as early as Genesis 3:15. After making his case that Genesis 1 - 11 is decidedly universalistic in its scope, Kaiser focuses on the call of Abraham in Genesis 12. Kaiser calls this the first "great commission" in the Bible. Kaiser traces the universalistic nature of God's call through Genesis and Exodus, through the Psalms and into the prophets. Kaiser's work is thankfully not weighted down with scholarly jargon, while it is thoroughly grounded in sound biblical scholarship. A most fascinating chapter on the apostle Paul's understanding of mission grounds Paul's marching orders for his missionary zeal squarely in the Old Testament, particularly the Psalms and Isaiah. This little book provides an important corrective to the idea that God suddenly gave up on Israel and switched to the Gentiles. Correctly understood, God from the beginning was seeking a people who encompassed all the nations of the world. In a day when some want to make the tent of God's family smaller, Kaiser points out that God's promises have always been for all the nations.

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Summary: A Christian Approach to Jews and Gentiles
Review: The thesis is that the goal of the OT is to see both Jews and Gentiles come to a saving knowledge of the Messiah who was to come. The story begins in Genesis 1-11 where God is a 'God all Nations' (or ethnic groups) and the election of Israel as a kingdom of priests in Exodus provides the basis for the NT doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Gentiles who benefit from the outreach of the grace of God include Melchizedek, Jethro and Rahab, and Naaman is an example of a Gentile conversion. The message finds its climax in Second Isaiah and Paul's mission to the Gentiles which was of course rooted in the OT.

Readers content with an uncritical account of the OT reflecting traditional conservative hermeneutics will enjoy reading it and preachers who begin where Kaiser begins will find helpful ideas. Scholars and serious students may question whether it is possible to adopt such a blanket approach to the phrase 'God of all nations' and some who accept it will still wonder whether this makes Israel a missionary nation.

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Summary: General Treatment of OT mission texts
Review: This short book treats a variety of familiar Old Testament passages in order to show that "mission", as bringing the message of salvation to unbelievers, was not an innovation of the New Testament church. Kaiser shows the Old Testament precedent for mission and how this led into the mission theology in the New Testament. His book tries to show that the nature of mission in the Old Testament was centrifugal (outward going), rather than centripetal (inward drawing). The few examples he cites, most notably the prophet Jonah, are good, but even after reading the book it remains difficult to see the nation of Israel as a whole actually acting in "centrifugal" mission. Nonetheless he does a good job of showing how the prophets and the Abrahamic covenant set the stage for the worldwide mission that occurred after Christ's ascension. The book is a very cursory treatment of the most significant OT passages on mission, and is by no means exhaustive, but it would serve well as an introduction to Old Testament mission.