Salvation in the Old Testament, by Terry Collins

The source of salvation

Awareness of the existence of evil and suffering in the world leads to a desire to overcome them. In the OT this desire is expressed in statements about the solution (salvation), rather than by analysing the causes of evil philosophically.

There are a number of false solutions, classed as ineffective by the O.T.

• Salvation cannot be achieved through human means described variously as:- wealth, political power, military strength, human wisdom.
• Salvation cannot come from "other gods", divination or witchcraft etc.

 The OT view of salvation is based on the belief that humankind cannot save itself but needs help from an outside power. Only God (YHWH) has the power to save.

It is also based on the view that God is willing to save. This view is a theological position that implies certain assumptions about the nature of God as a personal being who is just, benevolent and caring as well as powerful.

The nature of salvation

The OT view of salvation is a variable. It depends on what one wants to be saved from and on the time when salvation is envisaged.

Salvation from danger (external):-

• enemies, oppression, death (by sickness, famine or sword).

Both the danger and the salvation from it can be viewed from the point of view of the collective group (nation) or that of the individual.

Salvation from sin and its effects (internal or external):-

• guilt, punishment, (God's anger).

Again this may be individual or communal. Salvation in this sense is entirely dependent on the mercy, love, forgiveness and free pardon (grace) of God.

The result is that certain tensions are evident within the O.T. concept of salvation:-

• collective or individual
• material or spiritual
• proximate future or remote future
• this world or a different world

We find all these elements combined in many different ways in the O.T. texts.

OT salvation is never exclusively individual. There is always a social dimension to it. Even when the focus is on the individual, that individual is seen as existing in society. The aim is to achieve the ideal society of the "saints of God", even though this can only be achieved through individual personal choices (conversion).

The time of salvation

In the first instance, OT salvation is viewed as a momentary act, - an act of intervention which brings about the desired transition from a bad state to a good one.

This is the scheme which dominates the Pentateuch centred around the exodus event.

In a secondary sense it is frequently taken to refer to the new state of well-being itself:- a state of peace, prosperity, freedom from harm, friendship with God.

There are two principal time dimensions to biblical salvation:

• Past &emdash; the colourful story of God's saving deeds of old.
• Future &emdash; the imaginative portrayal of God's intervention still to come.

Consequently the OT is characterised by two types of writing:- those that look to the past and those that look to the future. However, the principal concern both types of writing is really with the present. Scripture always aims at influencing the reader's choices here and now.

The view of salvation as a past event is seen in the way the OT represents God as active in human history. The creation of Israel through the exodus event is portrayed as the paradigm act of salvation.

The belief in God's action in the past is the foundation of biblical faith in God's power and willingness to act in the present and in the future.

The faith in past salvation is also reflected in the deuteronomistic history books, Joshua-Kings, especially in the stories of the judges. These imply a belief in God's ever present power to save.

The deuteronomistic story also tells of the nation's failure to respond to God's offer of salvation, a failure which culminated in the calamity of the exile and put the nation in the position of needing a new act of salvation.

The prophetical books are founded on the belief in God's acts of salvation in the past. e.g. the message of Deutero-Isaiah concerning "the former things".

However, these books are firmly orientated towards an anticipated act of salvation in the future, initially related to the exile, but soon developing into something much more universal and idealistic.

The Psalms too combine belief in God's salvation in the past with a hope for salvation from evil in the future.

The future aspect of salvation is found principally in those sections of the OT that are referred to as "apocalyptic". These are attached to the prophetical books and give those books a whole new dimension. This is best illustrated in the book called Isaiah.

Literary structures

Salvation is a major structural component of the storyline of the Pentateuch, viewed as a whole. A number of different structure-lines can be observed:-

• from the garden of Eden to the fertile Promised Land (at least the threshold)
• from the Creation to the full revelation of God at Sinai,
• from Egypt (servitude) via the Wilderness to Canaan (freedom to serve God).

Salvation is bound up with the themes of promise-and-fulfilment and election.