Abraham was already aware of the message of global salvation we now enjoy. Through pictures, types, and direct prophecies, God continually promised to send a Savior to save His people from their sins. [17] Cursed shall be your basket and your store. By the end of the Law (GenesisDeuteronomy), the Bible has already described or alluded to all five of the major covenants that guide Scriptures plot structure (Adamic-Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and new). 2:2). After his first encounter with Jesus, Philip announced to Nathaniel: We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophet wrote (John 1:45). The Christian bible has two parts: The old testament and the new testament. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (3:1617). The rest of the OT then builds on this portrait in detail. Even though this article can nowhere near cover the breadth of reasons why Christians should study the Old Testament, it can provide a handful of grounds to spend an equal amount of time in the Old Testament as we do the New Testament. We would be silly to expect to understand a book by opening it to the middleinstead of at the beginning. 9:812; Eph. Thus Gods grace fills the OT, just as it does the NT. It reveals Godthat there is a Creator, that the world didn't just happen, and that He is in control over everything at all times (Genesis 1; Isaiah 46:9-10 Isaiah 46:9-10 [9] Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. Where else can we go other than the OT to rightly understand sacred space and the temple? 5:14; cf. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 6:23; 1 Tim. Did you read the last chapter first? This is why Paul says in the next verse, All Scripture is . [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. If space says anything, the OT matters to God, who gave us his Word in a book. A proper understanding of the OT will lead one to hear in it a message of the Messiah and the mission his life would generate. While the New Testament is concerned with God's relationship to humanity, present in the act of God becoming man, the Old Testament really emphasizes this relationship, specifically the initiative God takes in establishing a relationship with human beings. In a similar way, the New Testament is the final chapter of the Old Testament. The themes of Gods holiness, justice, faithfulness, steadfast love, wisdom, and power cry out in story after story and page after page in the Old Testament. If you skip the first half of any good book and try to finish it, you will have a hard time understanding the characters, the plot, and the ending. The history, Law, prophecy, and wisdom of theJewish peoplethat is collected together to make up the Old Testament will enrich our lives in so many ways if we allow it to. Even thousands of years ago, people were still people. [32] Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in your hand. Further, some doctrines of Scripture are best understood only from the OT. "The Old Testament is first and foremost a collection of religious books, created by faith and addressed to persons who share that faith. It Preserves and Passes on the History of God Saving His People We sat down with Caleb Lindgren, to discuss how this series came to be and why discussing the Old Testament is so important. Mosess old covenant law called for life-encompassing love, and Christians today, looking through the lens of Christ, can gain clarity from the OT on the wide-ranging effect of love in all of life. The New Testament is concerned primarily with Christ and secondarily with God in the Church and the Holy Spirit. [46] And they shall be on you for a sign and for a wonder, and on your seed for ever. 26:2223). [52] And he shall besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fenced walls come down, wherein you trusted, throughout all your land: and he shall besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he has worked for more than 40 years. [34] So that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see. In the NT we find literally hundreds of OT quotations, allusions, and echoes, none of which well fully grasp apart from saturating ourselves in Jesuss Bible. Talking with CTs Theology editor on the recently completed First Testament series and how the adjective old is a misnomer. outmoded or . [44] He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. Because we are now part of the new covenant and not the old, there are natural questions that arise regarding how exactly the Christian should relate to specific old covenant instruction. As Moses himself asserted, the very reason God promised to circumcise hearts in the new covenant age was so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut. [55] So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he has nothing left him in the siege, and in the narrow place, with which your enemies shall distress you in all your gates. And not just because it's the foundation that we build Jesus stuff on. [59] Then the LORD will make your plagues wonderful, and the plagues of your seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. American King James Version; 86:5; 100:1-5). [6] You made him to have dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet: . We find him in the OT. In Acts 10:4243, Peter asserts, And [God] commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that [Jesus] is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, For no matter how many promises God has made, they are Yes in Christ. Jesus says Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. [16] Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. The Courtyard Fence of the tabernacle could be easily dismantled and moved. What would this series say to those who think the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New? American King James Version; Deuteronomy 6:5 Deuteronomy 6:5And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.American King James Version; Leviticus 19:18 Leviticus 19:18You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.American King James Version). 6. The most common descriptor of God comes from Exodus 34 where Moses says, show me your glory. And God says, I'll put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand and you can see my back. When that happens, the words are heard, The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. CCC 122: Indeed, "the economy of the Old Testament was deliberately so oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of . The OT was the only Bible of Jesus and the earliest church (e.g., Matt. And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:27). Accordingly, the apostle emphasized to Timothy, who was raised on the OT by his Jewish mother and grandmother (Acts 16:1; 2 Tim. But because a lot of what we know about who God is, and how God is, is from Jesus on the one hand, but also from the Old Testament. The New Testament is not just a book of history, not just a great work of literature, but it is a work of theology. American King James Version). Paul was a herald of the good news of Gods kingdom in Christ (e.g., Acts 19:8; 20:25; 28:3031), which he preached from the Law of Moses and the Prophetsthe OT (28:23; cf. 40:911; 52:710; Luke 4:1621). Why was the Old Testament so important to the writers of the New Testament, and why is it important to mankind today? Certainly there are numerous expressions of YHWHs righteous anger in the OT, just as there are massive manifestations of blood-bought mercy in the NT. This is because Jesus was the fulfillment that's the key New Testament word, the fulfillment and the goal of so much Old Testament religion. Even so, this move from physical to spiritual warfare in the Old Testament does not carry with it a critique or rejection of what went on the in the Old Testament. Not only Jesus presents that idea, but also Paul. Its basic premise is the reality of the living God of creation and history, and its primary aim is to expose the active purpose of God at work within the world" (West, Introduction to the Old Testament, 3). This was part of Jesuss point when he stressed that all the OT hangs on the call to love God and neighbor: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Corroborating with the words of Jesus, Paul says: "Do we then make void the law through faith? The Ten Commandments, and the statutes and judgments based on those commandments, show us how to live God's way of love. It reveals that sin brings sufferingthat when we sin, there is a penalty. [7] You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, and did set him over the works of your hands: Books like the Gospels, Romans,andHebrewsaremore easily understood witha working knowledge of theMosaicLaw, Israels history, and Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. It appeals to its audiences to acknowledge and serve Jesus as the human expression of the Living God. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. Katie Bracy is digital marketing specialist at Christianity Today. Perhaps the first passage we should consider is 2 Timothy 2:15, where we are instructed to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.". While we didnt feel the need to respond to Andy Stanley in long form, I was talking with Dr. Robert Foster of University of Georgia about doing a series that spoke to Christians who shared this sentiment, that the Old Testament was no longer relevant. Similarly, Paul taught nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles (Acts 26:2223). The very God who spoke through the OT prophets speaks through Jesus. Copy. 5:18; 1 Peter 1:1416). People today can get saved from Gods wrath and from the enslavement of sin by reading the OT through the lens of Christ. The Old and New Testaments work together to give us the whole picture of who God is, who we are and what God does with our rebellion. As we learn from the life themes of peoplein the Old Testament, we can be comforted knowing we are not alone in our human struggle. we would miss out on the predictions of Jesus death and resurrection which were 1000 years before they occurred exactly in Jesus. [67] In the morning you shall say, Would God it were even! 4:2). The New Testament is how we best and most know about all these things. American King James Version; Ezekiel 37). [53] And you shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, which the LORD your God has given you, in the siege, and in the narrow place, with which your enemies shall distress you: And it's harder to look at God in the Old Testament and say that he's our buddy. It reveals the plan of Godthat there would be a Savior who would pay the death penalty for your sins and my sins; that this Savior, the Messiah, would establish the Kingdom of God on earth; and that there would be a resurrection of the dead to eternal life (Isaiah 53; Daniel 2:44 Daniel 2:44And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.American King James Version; 7:27; 12:2-3; Job 14:14-15 Job 14:14-15 [14] If a man die, shall he live again? [12] As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. The gospel is the good news that through Jesusthe divine, crucified, and resurrected MessiahGod reigns over all and saves and satisfies believing sinners. [5] For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor. 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