Some may say, “Why read the Old Testament? It’s archaic and irrelevant? We should be spending all our time in the New Testament.”
The Old Testament is not only what
Jesus read and quoted when he lived on earth, but it helps us understand the
spiritual history and development of Israel. We find the answers to many deep
questions about the origin of humanity, the purpose of life, the beginning of
wickedness, the reason for death, and the selection of Israel as God’s chosen
nation.
The Old Testament
gives a foundation to more fully understand and appreciate the truths of the
New Testament. The first five books of the Bible, especially, give us much of the
revelation needed to study and comprehend the rest of the Bible.
Within the first few chapters of Genesis, we
see the corruption of man and the entrance of sin into the earth. But God in his
mercy determined a plan of redemption and from the moment of the Adam and
Eve’s disobedience He began to set in motion a way to restore us. From Adam,
Abraham, David, and through all the prophets, God was weaving together a story of
how he would bring a way for all to be saved through the sacrifice of the
Messiah, Jesus! Even the laws and descriptions of the temple give us the context to
understand more fully the significance and necessity of Jesus dying as the
Sacrificial Lamb. The Old Testament gives us more
appreciation for the complexity of God’s plan to mature the Bride of Christ.
As we read the Old
Testament, we also see a glimpse into the character and emotion of God. God’s
patience, wisdom, kindness, forgiveness, strength, glory, faithfulness, and
justice are all represented throughout the OT. If we really want to discover
more about who God is and more fully grasp the bigger picture of what God is
doing, it is important that we read the Old Testament.
