I chuckled when I read the words of R. C. Sproul in Table Talk, a publication of Ligonier Ministries. He said: "If you know six of the tribes (of Israel), you are probably considered a Bible scholar." We may not particularly appreciate his comment, but there may be more than just a modicum of truth to the statement.

Exactly how well does the local church know its Old Testament? You know, things like covenant, law, goel, the "day of the Lord," atonement and grace? For that matter, how often does the pulpit provide bedrock expositional preaching from Old Testament texts and subjects? When an Old Testament text is used, does the sermon's content remain focused on the Old Testament story or does it merely serve as a convenient latch from which to hang what is decidedly a New Testament coat?

The pulpit and the pew are uncommonly quiet when it comes to Old Testament exposition. Outside of an occasional reference to a young David and his nine foot nemesis Goliath, or the umpteenth sermonic rehearsal of the powerful Samson who repeatedly escapes the clutches of a conniving Delilah, there does not seem to be a whole lot of 'new' ground being ploughed in Old Testament sermons.

W. A. Criswell concludes that it is "perhaps the most neglected area of the Bible in modern preaching," and that when the Old Testament is used "... it is often only the text for some topical treatise that soon departs from its context" (Criswell, 293). Ouch!

A Love for Preaching

Pastors should love to preach, to make "present and appropriate to hearers the revelation of God" (Craddock, 51). My deep-seated conviction is that the distinctively uncommon occupation of the preacher is to proclaim Christ so that Christ be formed in man. Nothing is more life-giving, more urgent, more evocative, more pivotal or more relevant to the needs of the church than the impact of the Word and its authority. The challenge before the pastor is to resist trading the pulpit for a counselor's shingle or an administrator's desk, an all too common preoccupation and trend these days. It is not that these things are not necessary, but where does this leave the pulpit? James Daane, in his book Preaching with Confidence, strikes a note that every pastor needs to hear and heed:

When the pulpit is on the decline, the church is on the decline. When preaching is in crisis, the church is in crisis. And both crises stem from a failure to understand the nature of the divine word (Deane, 164).

John Bright's pronouncement that "The church lives ... in her preaching -- always has, and always will" is not too extreme a statement (Bright, 164). Without a doubt, a low view of the pulpit can only lead to a low view of the Word. As Moody is reported to have said, "the best way to revive a church is to build a fire in the pulpit." Let unction pervade the preacher.

A Love for Preaching the Old Testament

Since 77.2 percent of the revealed Word is Old Testament, pastors should also love to preach from this body of material -- often! Be reminded of 2 Timothy 3:16. "All Scripture is God-breathed." Apart from the obvious implications this statement has for the veracity of Scripture, it should be noted that the appeal is to the body of literature which Timothy had known from his childhood, namely the Old Testament. The first century Christians only had an Old Testament source, since the New Testament had yet to appear, and, as a young Jewish lad, Timothy spent his formative years learning and memorizing these sacred writings in the firm belief that they alone were able to make him wise.