Book Review: Delighting in the Old Testament by Jason S. Derouchie

 

The Old Testament makes up 75% of the Bible, yet there are many Christians who want nothing to do with it. Sure, they might read the Psalms and Proverbs, but they ignore the other 37 books. We have some pastors who say Christians need to unhitch themselves from the Old Testament because they are not Christian Scriptures.

How are Christians supposed to view the Old Testament? Are those books relevant for today? The answer to this is yes. Jason S. Derouchie has written a book for anyone who is wrestling with the Old Testament especially those who do not want to interact with it. The title of the book is Delighting in the Old Testament.

The book begins with expressing the importance of the Old Testament which one of them, as mentioned earlier, it is 75% of the Bible. That is 3/4 of the Scriptures yet it is the most ignored. Another reason is that the Old Testament is what Jesus read. Every quote of Scripture Jesus used in the Gospels are from the Old Testament. One other reason I want to point out is we meet the same God. No, the God of the Old Testament and New Testament are not different beings. God is the same in both testaments.

The meat of the book is divided into four parts. The first deals with Jesus helping Christians interpret the Old Testament. Derouchie looks at audience and comprehension of the audience from both perspectives of the New and Old Testaments before showing that Christ is the lens for interpreting the Old Testament.

Next, Derouchie addresses the entire Bible is about Jesus not just the New Testament. Yes, the Old Testament is about Him. Genesis 3:15 is the first Messianic prophecy. Jesus even taught the two men on the road to Emmaus beginning with Moses how the Scriptures point to Him.

Derouchie continues with Jesus fulfilling the promises made in the Old Testament. He helps see those promises and how they were fulfilled. Finally, Derouchie deals how Jesus made the law of Moses matter for Christians today. Granted, the civil and ceremonial laws do not apply for those under the New Covenant, the moral law still matters. We have to be careful when it comes to the Old Testament law because we know Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirements of it otherwise, we would have no hope. I do not think Derouchie was communicating that Christians need to keep all of the law, but we still need to make sure that this does not form into legalism.

The book concludes with Derouchie sharing with his readers tips on delighting in the Old Testament. One of them is interpret the Old Testament with care as we would with the New Testament. Another is read the Old Testament through the light and lens of Christ. While Christ may not be pointed in every verse of the Old Testament, we must look at it through what Christ has done. Of course, there are many other tips that Derouchie gave his readers, but you get the idea that the Old Testament is something Christians cannot ignore not matter how hard you try.

This book is for the laymen who has never read the Old Testament and will help you see its importance. This book is also for the pastor and church leader who wants to ignore the Old Testament because it's out of date. This book is also for the seasoned believer who needs to be reminded of why the Old Testament matters. Even if you do not agree with Derouchie's conclusions, you will find this book very insightful.

I received this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review.