The people recognized when God spoke and they also recognized when God ceased sending His prophets.ġ. They were expected to be believed and obeyed.įinally, the list of authoritative writings was closed at a certain period of time. This collection of writings was considered to be Holy Scripture-God’s authoritative Word to humanity. Some of the books, such as Psalms and Proverbs, were collected in stages. The writings of the prophets, along with writings from other men, were collected. At other times, the messages of these divinely inspired prophets were recorded by others. We also discover that, at times, the prophets wrote down some of the things that God told them to say. Consequently, the people always had God’s witness during this period.
In fact, from the time of Samuel, until the time of the Babylonian captivity there was an unbroken succession of these prophets that God sent to the people. When they spoke, the authority of the Lord was behind their words. They were called, “the prophets.” The prophets were God’s designated spokesmen. To begin with, there was a group of individuals whom the Lord sent to speak to the people. There are a number of things that we know for certain in our quest to understand the limits of the Old Testament canon of Scripture. There Are Things That We Know for Certain The best way of treating the subject is by listing the things that we know for certain with respect to the Old Testament and its authoritative contents. However, the Old Testament does provide various clues as to the manner in which the books were recognized as canonical. While it is important to know which books God revealed to humanity during the Old Testament period, the exact details as to the final completion of the Old Testament canon are not known. The Exact Details of Their Collection Are Not Known Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we know the exact extent of books that God divinely inspired and revealed to humanity.Ģ. Not only does the Old Testament comprise about three fourths of the Bible, it is the foundation upon which all of God’s divine revelation rests. It is important to know which books belong in the Old Testament canon. It Is Important to Know Which Books Belong in the Old Testament To begin with, we need to make two observations about the Old Testament canon. Two Observations about the Old Testament Canon
Who made the decision as to which books made up the Old Testament canon? Was it done over a long period of time, or was it decided by some council? What do we know for certain about the process? Is this an important issue? How Was the Old Testament Canon of Scripture Put Together?Īre the Correct Books in the Old Testament? – Question 4
0 kommentar(er)
