Joe M. Sprinkle
Author of Leviticus and Numbers (Teach the Text Commentary Series)
About the Author
Joe M. Sprinkle is a Professor of the Old Testament at Crossroads College.
Works by Joe M. Sprinkle
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
Members
Reviews
Statistics
- Works
- 5
- Members
- 101
- Popularity
- #188,710
- Rating
- 4.5
- Reviews
- 2
- ISBNs
- 11
The author, a professor of Old Testament who holds a PhD in Old Testament, does a good job interpreting OT laws in their theological, historical and linguistic context. He provides many helpful insights for those who want to more fully understand these laws and the principles they embody. This, in my view, is the book’s major strength.
I would have liked for Sprinkle to clearly and more fully articulate his own theology of covenant. For example, while arguing that the principles of the OT law are still relevant today (and few Christians would disagree), in my opinion he needs to emphasize more strongly the discontinuity between the covenants – i.e., the fact that the old covenant ended at the cross, and that the new covenant, with its new parties, terms, and promises, was established there. Instead, he cites Jesus’ testimony that he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (Mt 5:17), and Paul’s view that all Scripture – meaning, the Old Testament – is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (1 Tim 3:16). However, neither statement necessarily proves that the old covenant is still somehow in force. Certainly, OT law principles may be relevant and helpful today (as Paul asserts), and yes, Jesus’ mission was not simply to destroy the old covenant. But he did come to completely “fill up” the requirements of the old covenant and then, through his death, burial, and resurrection, replace it with a new one.
Unfortunately, Sprinkle’s analysis of the implications of OT laws for New Testament Christianity is uneven, and at times nonexistent. For example, in his chapter on just war, he makes no explicit argument for the application of OT principles to the new covenant, and the New Testament is not even mentioned. Several other chapters make only minimal reference to the New Testament.
The book opened my eyes to richer and deeper understandings of several categories of Old Testament laws, and, in some cases, to their important implications for life in the new covenant. I would recommend it to pastors, theology students, and Bible teachers.… (more)