Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Grace in Focus Articles
→
Grace in the Old Testament

Grace in the Old Testament

October 1, 1991 by Art Farstad in Grace in Focus Articles

Many people have the erroneous notion that the OT is all law and the NT is all grace. Some liberals even maintain that the God of the OT is harsh and vindictive but the God of the NT is tender and forgiving. Some people (not liberals, but very misinformed) think that OT believers were saved by keeping the law and NT believers are saved by grace through faith!

Of course these misapprehensions are not totally made up; there is much more of a gracious framework to the NT than to the OT. But God never changes; only His dealings change as conditions and times change. In both Testaments people are saved by grace through faith. “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness” is way back in the first book of the Bible (Gen 15:6). It is an important verse and it is quoted three times in the NT.

The word grace occurs 20 times in the NKJV OT, usually in the sense of “favor.” The first usage, as so often is the case in the God’s Word, is illuminating:

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen 6:8).

Both the meaning “favor” and the NT idea of undeserving kindness to needy man fit this context.

The two occurrences of grace in Psalms are very encouraging:

“Grace is poured upon Your lips” (the speech of the Messianic King is full of grace and kindness [Ps45:2]).

“The Lord will give grace and glory” (the Lord gives believers grace all along the way, culminating in glory at the end of life’s road [Ps 84:11]).

The passage in Esther (2:17) is especially interesting because it uses grace (Heb. hen) and also the famous word hesed:

“She obtained grace(hen) and favor (hesed) . . .”

This is the one text in the Greek translation of the OT, the Septuagint (LXX), that employs the well known NT word for grace, charis, to translate hesed.

This last word is usually translated lovingkindness” or “mercy” in the KJV/NKJV. A popular modern translation is “loyal love,” tying the word in with God’s covenant obligations. R. Laird Harris maintains that this word goes deeper than covenant obligations, and that the old KJV “lovingkindness” is “not far from the fulness of meaning of the word” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Vol. 1, p. 307).

Personally, I feel that the word charis–“grace” to us–would have been a good translation in many more passage in the Greek version of the OT than just Esther 2:17! For example:

“Surely goodness and grace will pursue me [the Hebrew has a stronger word than just “follow”] all the days of my life, and I will return [lit. Heb.] to the house of the Lord forever” (Ps 23:6).

Other related words widely used are gracious and graciously.

Many harsh and legalistic people quite frankly don’t like grace! When God fully forgives sinners such as the Ninevites, they say with the sullen prophet Jonah, “I told you so!”

“I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness (hesed)” (Jonah 4:2; Jonah was griping, not praising!)

We prefer the attitude expressed in the lovely Aaronic benediction of Num 6:24-26! With this we close our little word study as a blessing on all of our loyal readers (and on our opponents too!):

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
author_farstad

by Art Farstad

Art Farstad (1935-1998) was Executive Editor of the New King James Version of the Bible, co-editor of the Hodges-Farstad Majority Text of the NT, and a gentleman par excellance.

Cart

Recently Added

January 26, 2023

Will There Be Poor People in Heaven?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Ken Yates and Bob Wilkin answer an interesting question about our status in Heaven or the quality of...
January 26, 2023

Is Mental Assent Adequate to Save? 

I recently read a few statements by Samuel Harris, one of the leaders of what is called New Atheism. As the label indicates, he is...
January 25, 2023

If a Man is Saved by Faith Alone, What is Happening in Matthew 25 With the Sheep and the Goats?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates are answering a question about the judgment of the sheep and the goats...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Inerrancy for Dummies $7.95 $5.00
  • Grace in Eclipse: A Study in Eternal Rewards (Second Edition) $15.00 $8.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • The Journey of Faith $15.00 $9.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube