In the final volume of his three-volume Old Testament theology, John Goldingay explores the Old Testament vision of Israel’s life before God. The first volume focused on the story of God’s dealings with Israel, or Israel’s gospel. The second volume investigated the beliefs of Israel, or Israel’s faith. Now the spotlight falls on the Old Testament’s perspective on the life that Israel should live in its present and future, including its worship, prayer and spirituality, as well as its practices, attitudes and ethics before God.
Goldingay sees three spheres of life giving order to Israel’s vision: its life in relation to God, its life in community and the life of the individual as a self. Within these frameworks he unfurls a tapestry that is as broad and colorful as all of life, and yet detailed in its intricate attention to the text. With this final volume John Goldingay has given us the third pillar of an Old Testament theology that is monumental in scope and yet invites us to enter through multiple doors to explore its riches. Students will profit from a semester in its courts, and ministers of the Word will find their preaching and teaching deeply enriched by wandering its halls and meditating in its chambers.