In a theological overview of the historical books of the Hebrew Bible, Bishop Robert Barron discusses the role in salvation history played by humanity in general and of the Israelites in particular. The texts under consideration are fairly straightforward, recounting the history of the Jewish nation. Barron acknowledges a lot of modern scholarship that has made understanding these writings more clear while avoiding the pitfalls that modern scholarship also opens up. The writing styles used are often more poetic or allegorical, even in these historical texts. People did not think of writing a long list of facts, dates, and names; they told a story with a definite purpose in mind. Teasing out the proper meaning can be challenging but not impossible. Barron also looks at the texts through the lens of Christianity, since these texts are the anticipation of the moment of reconciliation between humanity and God that happens in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
One of Barron's main theses is that the Jewish people are chosen by God but not just for themselves to be saved. They are to be an example to the rest of mankind, a people set apart to show the right relationship between human beings and God. This example is seen with their struggles in Egypt during Exodus and Babylon during the Babylonian exile. The Jews are a model of right faith attached to the true God, the One who is greater than all other gods because He's in a completely different category. As Creator of all things, no subordinate thing is even remotely close to God in power, majesty, and care for humans. The Jews were a shining example of this in the ancient world.
They were not, however, a perfect example. Often they would draw back or turn away from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The consequences were dire. Even after the long string of miracles that led the Chosen People out of Egypt, soon enough in the desert between Pharaoh's land and the Promised Land they would complain about their current circumstances or switch to a golden calf to credit their salvation. Once established as a kingdom in the Promised Land, they often switched devotion to the local gods, often the deities that came with marrying local pagan women rather than Israelites. Punishment would soon follow, but so would prophets whose main job was not to foretell the future, but to get the Israelites back on track. The final cultural conflict before Christ was the Greco-Roman world coming in and taking over the Promised Land, chronicled in the two books of the Maccabees.
Barron has a good way of explaining theological and philosophical concepts clearly without relying on a lot of technical language or very abstract ideas. He can bring those concepts down to concrete examples that help the reader understand. The book moves along swiftly, not dwelling on every last detail, covering the few thousand years in three hundred pages. Using Christianity as a guiding principle helps to narrow down the focus and put the writings in their larger salvific context. The book makes a great overview, either introducing new readers or providing insights to more seasoned readers of the Old Testament.
Highly recommended.
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