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Why Study the Old Testament? |
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Why Study the Old Testament?
If
we are no longer under the Law and we now live in grace (words commonly
heard among Christians), then why study the Old Testament—where the law
is expounded and judgment is meted out to those who do not keep it.
Why? Because it is God’s Word. God’s Word is not limited to the New
Testament; his Word is all of Scripture. If we neglect the Old
Testament and limit our study only to the New Testament, then we
neglect a part of God’s Word to us.
Many of us fear treading
into the Old Testament. The Gospels are a friendlier place to hang out!
The Old Testament can be daunting, even boring. But if we restrict our
study of God’s Word to only those books that we can easily understand,
enjoy, or readily accept, then we forgo a complete
understanding of our faith. We must remember that the Scriptures are
spiritual truths, and on our own, we cannot understand them. That is
why Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth
(John 16:13). When we don’t understand what we’re reading, all we have
to do is ask the Holy Spirit to teach us, and he will! These
are spiritual truths and it takes spiritual discernment to understand
them. They are not revealed to natural man (2 Corinthians 3:13-18). So,
if you feel like you’re a dummy for not understanding, you’re not! We
must all approach Scripture the same way, asking God to reveal the
meaning to us. IQ has nothing to do with it, the Holy Spirit has
everything to do with it, and the Spirit is given to all who ask (Luke
11:13).
Christ often equated Scripture with God’s Word. Referring to an Old Testament text, he declared, (NIV) Matthew 22:31 “Have you not read what God said to you?”
Christ very clearly understood that the Bible of his day, which was the
Old Testament, was God’s Word to the people. He did not debate or doubt
the authority or inerrancy of God’s Word; he knew it to be so.
Christ summed up his whole attitude about Scripture when he said, (NIV) John
5:39 “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by
them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify
about me.” With these words, Christ proclaimed that everything
in the Old Testament—the prophecies, the sacrifices, the history—all
pointed directly toward him.
The Bible is a unified
whole. What we call the Old and New Testament is one book with one
central theme—Christ. The theological word used to describe Scripture
is Christological, i.e. Christ-centered. To see Christ as the center of
the Bible is to hold the key to understanding the Holy Scriptures. The
Bible is not just a collection of 66 books; it is a beautiful unfolding
of God’s plan of salvation. In this regard, it can be said, that the New Testament is the Old revealed and the Old Testament is the New concealed.
While
the Bible has historical books, prophetic books, and books of poetry
and wisdom, these are not the description or purpose of Scripture—Christ is.
Christ was with God in creation (John 1:1 and Colossians 1:15-16). The
first promise of a Messiah, which is Jesus Christ, is found in Genesis
3:15, only a few short verses after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden
fruit. And Christ is awaited in Revelation with these words, (NIV) Revelation 22:20 “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” From beginning to end, Christ is the central theme of Scripture.
Christ continually declared himself as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. (NIV) Luke
24:27 “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to
them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
Christ taught that the Old Testament sacrifices pointed to him and to the ultimate sacrifice he would make for our sins. (NIV) Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Christ
used the events of the Old Testament history as pictures of himself.
For instance, referring to an event in Numbers 21, he stated (NIV) John 3:14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.”
If
Christ is central to all of Scripture, then studying the Old Testament
is as important to our faith and understanding of our Lord and Savior
as studying the New Testament. So, let’s not stick to the simpler
texts, keeping to the basics of our faith, but let’s move on to the
solid food God desires us to receive.
(NIV) Hebrews
5:11–14 “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain
because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought
to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of
God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who
lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the
teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by
constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
An easy way to view the Old Testament is in the chart below:
The LAW—Foundation for Christ
The HISTORY—Preparation for Christ
The POETRY—Aspiration for Christ
The PROPHECY—Expectation of Christ
The
Law refers to the first five books of Scripture (Genesis through
Deuteronomy). The Historical books are Joshua through Esther. The
poetic books are Job through the Song of Solomon. The Prophetic Books
are broken down into the Major Prophets (Isaiah through Daniel) and the
Minor Prophets (Hosea through Malachi). All these books were
canonized—accepted as the authoritative word of God—by the time of
Jesus’ birth and ministry. Scholars state that one tenth of Jesus words
recorded in the Gospels quote the Old Testament.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 23 October 2006 )
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