Perfection in the OT

There are three main words in the Old Testament which are often translated with some form of  “perfect.”  Strongs # 08549 is first used to describe Noah (Gen. 6:9).

The word is  often translated as “without blemish/spot,”   “perfect,” “upright/ly,"  “blameless.” It appears 85 times in the OT according to a computer survey done with the Online Bible.

The word is usually used with reference to the condition of sacrificial animals. Noah, Abraham and David are either commanded to be perfect or described as such using this word in the following passages:

Ge 6:9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless <08549> in his time; Noah walked with God.

Ge 17:1 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless <08549>;.

2 Sam 22:23 "For all His ordinances were before me, And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.

24 "I was also blameless <08549> toward Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.

25 "Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness before His eyes.

26 "With the kind You show Yourself kind, With the blameless <08549> You show Yourself blameless <08552>.

<8552> is a root word from which <08549> is derived. <8552> is used a few times in the sense of <08549>.

Jacob and Job are described by Strong’s # 08535. Like the word <08549> which is used with reference to Abraham, Noah, and David, # 08535 is derived from the root word <08532>. The basic idea of this word has to do with something being finished, used up, or completed.

Ge 25:27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain <08535> man, dwelling in tents. Note that Jacob is described as perfect because he lived in tents.

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect <08535> and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

This word is used in parallelism with the Hebrew word for justify in the following verse:

Job 9:20 If I justify <06663> myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect <08535>, it shall also prove me perverse.

The books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles use an entirely different word for “perfect.” Numerous individuals are described with that word, including, David, Asa, Hezekiah.

1Ki 15:14 But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect <08003> with the LORD all his days.

2Ki 20:3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect <08003> heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

Although David prayed that Solomon would have a perfect heart, he failed to maintain one throughout his life:

1Ch 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect <08003> heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

1Ki 11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect <08003> with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

David and Perfection

1 ¶ Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah.
2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
3 He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and his heart was not wholly devoted [perfect, KJV] <08003> to the LORD his God, like the heart of his father David.
4 But for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem;
5 because David did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15).

4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly <08003> devoted <08003>  [perfect,KJV] to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been (1 Kings 11).

David had numerous wives concubines (2Sam. 5:13).
He became enraged at Nabal, intending a massacre (1Sam. 25:34).
He/his wife kept an idol in their home (1 Sam 19:13).
He feigned madness in order to escape Achish (1Sam. 21:13).
He was considered a man of blood and not allowed to build the temple (1 Chron 22:8, 28:3).

Scripture says that the heart of David was perfect all his days except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

We Uphold the Law

"Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law."

Romans 3:31 is a transitional point between Paul’s argument in chapter 3 and the illustrations he provides from Abraham’s life in chapter 4. Chapter 4 illustrates the points he makes in chapter 3. The term “law” in verse 31 refers to the entire OT, the teachings regarding the sinful condition of man and the redemption found, through faith, in Christ Jesus. That can be easily demonstrated by the context. Paul quotes several passages, mainly from Psalms and refers to them as law:

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;....
19 ¶ Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;

Paul says that the whole world is condemned by the testimony of the law. He also says that the righteousness of God apart from the law has been manifested. The law and the prophets testify that righteousness is attained by faith:

21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

Romans 3:27 contrasts the “law of faith” with the ”law of works.” Paul’s point here is that the law the OT was always about faith. He uses the examples of faith from Abraham’s life in chapter 4 to illustrate his thesis in chapter 3.

When he says faith establishes the law, what he means is that because faith was always the message of the OT, those who believe in Jesus confirm (2Co. 13:1) or uphold (NRSV,NIV) or establish (KJV,NASB) the OT teachings about salvation by faith.

Paul then moves into chapter 4 to illustrate how the OT, through the experience of Abraham, taught salvation by faith, apart from works.

Circumcision

The significance of circumcision as a redemptive element in OT times is clearly illustrated by the plight of Ishmael. Although he was circumcised, he was ultimately rejected and cast out (See Genesis 17 and 21). While the ritual was important, the OT sometimes emphasized the inner significance of the outward act:

De 10:16 "So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.

De 30:6 "Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

Jer 4:4 "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds."

Paul clearly explains that circumcision was a sign of justification by faith:

Rom 4:11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them,

He explains clearly that baptism is the Christian equivalent of circumcision:

Col 2:11 and in Him you were also circumcised <4059> with a circumcision <4061> made without hands, 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision <4061> of Christ;

The NT offers three other alternatives to circumcision:

1Co 7:19 Circumcision <4061> is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.

Ga 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision <4061> nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

Ga 6:15 For neither is circumcision <4061> anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

True circumcision is clearly explained:

Php 3:3 for we are the true circumcision <4061>, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

The Pledge

The “pledge” is introduced in the story of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38:12-20). After Judah negotiated with Tamar, she asked for a pledge. The pledge was a down payment or deposit which assured her that the full price would be paid later:

15 "When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face.
16 So he turned aside to her by the road, and said, "Here now, let me come in to you"; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"
17 He said, therefore, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." She said, moreover, "Will you give a pledge <06162> until you send it?"
18 He said, "What pledge <06162> shall I give you?" And she said, "Your seal <02368> and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand." So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him."

When it was discovered that Tamar had become pregnant, Judah demanded that she be burned. Tamar produced the pledge and was set free. One might say that she was justified in judgment by her possession of the pledge. Judah stated, “She is more righteous than I” The term righteous is Strong’s # 06663. The word represented by that number is often translated as “justify” in the OT

The term pledge is also used in the following NT passages:

2Co 1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge <728>.

2Co 5:5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge <728>.

Eph 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge <728> of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Sealed by the Spirit

2 Co 1:21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed <4972> us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

Eph 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed <4972> in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Eph 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed <4972> for the day of redemption.

Revelation 7:1-9 describes the sealing of 144,000 members of the tribes of Israel:

Re 7:3 saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed <4972> the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads."

Revelation 14 says that this group has the father’s name in their foreheads:

1 ¶ Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

Those who serve God in the New Jerusalem are portrayed as having God’s name in their forehead:

3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;
4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

On the one hand, Scripture is clear that the Holy Spirit seals believers. On the other hand, it also clearly describes the seal as the Father’s name.

Redemption

Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption <629> through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

Col 1:14 in whom we have redemption <629>, the forgiveness of sins.

As evinced by the texts above, the forgiveness of sins is one aspect of redemption. Another is the “redemption of our body” at a future time:

Ro 8:23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption <629> of our body.

Eph 1:14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption <629> of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Eph 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption <629>.

This dimension of redemption clearly takes place at the second coming of Christ:

Lk 21:27 Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory.
28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption <629> is drawing near.

Hebrews 11:35 offers a different understanding of redemption. The word "release," translated as "deliverance" in the KJV, is the same Greek word usually translated as “redemption”:

Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release <629>, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;