| The Heart of the Old Testament | | BIB220 |

| The Heart of the Old Testament | | BIB220 |

The Heart of the Old Testament written by Ronald Youngblood is an informative and insightful book. Youngblood identifies the nine themes that form the foundation of the Old Testament. These themes show that the Old Testament is not any different from the New Testament and should not be consider irrelevant when compared to the New Testament. The nine themes include monotheism, sovereignty, election, covenant, theocracy, law, sacrifice, faith and redemption.
The first theme of Youngblood’s book is Monotheism. A basic understanding that makes the reader aware that God is ‘…God, and there is no other” (Isaiah …show more content…

A Parity treaty was the form taken by a covenant that was consummated between equals. A suzerainty treaty was imposed when a greater nation has conquered a lesser nation in battle. The structure of such treaties always consisted of the preamble (where the suzerain identifies himself), a historical prologue, and the stipulations. Youngblood then gives detailed examples of covenants made between God and patriarchs of the Old Testament (specifically Abraham and Noah). In the following chapter, which is a continuation on the subject matter of “Covenants”, Youngblood describes the underlying symbolism found in the Lord’s covenants, and its significance. From the sprinkling of the animal blood on the altar and the participants to the alter itself, the ritual of solemnization which followed the covenant procedure symbolizes both the Lord’s side of the agreement where the people’s submissive act of obedience depicts their side. The six main elements of the treaty found in Deuteronomy and in traditional Hittite treaties include a preamble, a historical prologue, a series of stipulations, a statement providing for the deposit and periodic public reading of the document, a list of witnesses, and a section that promises blessing as well as threatens curses depending on the treatment of the terms laid out in the covenant. Youngblood closes his thorough examination of the theme of Covenant by making reference to Jeremiah’s