Why Read the Old Testament?

Very interesting!

I am reading the book, Read the Bible for Life, by George Guthrie, and I have taken some notes about the importance of reading the Old Testament.  The Bible is made up of many stories that all come together into one big story, God’s story.  I have always believed that it is important to study the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in order to see the big picture and to have a more complete understanding of God.  However, there are many people who believe and teach that Christians only need the New Testament.  I say, don’t shortchange yourself!   Learn all you can about Him!  He is all over every book!  Read and ponder every word! 

Think of all your favorite Old Testament characters and stories.  Do you notice how much of their lives and situations parallel our own lives today in so many ways?  Think of principles you can learn and apply to your own life when you read these.  One reason they were written was to teach us.  Do you see how God is the central character in each and every story?  Think of principles and attributes you can learn about God as you reach each story.  We can get to know Him better through these stories, and the more we know Him, the more meaningful our worship to Him will be.  Even the battles, the laws, and the genealogy show us things about God and His ultimate plan.  Ask Him to open your eyes to see how it all fits together.

I just finished reading the chapter on understanding the prophets and prophesies.  I am so amazed at the parallels between the patterns of prophesy in ancient times and the condition of the church and our nation today.  We have much to learn from studying these books as well!

Lastly, I do not even need to mention the importance of the books of Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon, the books of poetry and wisdom.  The benefits of reading these books are obvious and irrefutable.  Oh what we can learn about human nature, wise living, and the character of our awesome God from these books! 

“There are 66 books in the Bible.  How many books do you think God want us to know?  …66!”  Kay Arthur, Faithful, Abundant, True

“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  Matthew 4:4 NIV (Notice it says EVERY word, not just cherry picked words and phrases used to support however we want to live.)

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Romans 15:4 NIV (Notice that when Paul wrote this, he only had the Old Testament.  There was no such thing as the New Testament yet.)

3.       We can’t make sense of the New Testament without an understanding of the Old Testament.  “God established His covenant with His people in the Old Testament.  The covenant was continued and developed in the New Testament through the coming of Jesus Christ.  God’s redemptive plan is another theme introduced in the Old Testament and brought to fruition in the New.”

4.       The OId Testament provides us with a rich perspective on who God is.  “The Old Testament provides rich insights into God’s nature and character – for example, His righteousness, justice, compassion, loving-kindness, sovereignty, and role as Savior.”

Concerning the importance of the Pentateuch, or The Law, which are the first five books of the Bible: 

“The Old Testament law is still God’s Word to us, even though we relate to that law differently than the Israelites did, who were living under the old covenant.  Believers in Christ are no longer under the Mosaic covenant.  Although the books of the law are still Scripture- God’s infallible Word to us – they are no longer law for us.  Therefore, we should read and apply the Old Testament law not as legally binding but as embodying principles we should glean and obey.” ~George Guthrie, Read the Bible for Life

“The books that contain Old Testament law are a critical part of God’s revelation to us, and – as reaffirmed by Paul – they continue to reveal God to us, teach us about God’s character, help us to understand the life and death of Jesus better, and also provide us with guidance in righteous living.” ~Danny Hays

Sacrificial laws are no longer binding for us today, but they are still relevant, because when Jesus came, He fulfilled all of the requirements of the Law. He didn’t do away with them, but He fulfilled them forever!  He then brought a new covenant so that we would not have to offer sacrifices again.  His offering was sufficient once and for all time!  The entire chapter of Hebrews 10 explains this fully.  Reading the Mosaic Law helps us to better understand what Jesus did.  It all fits together!

The strange laws, such as not wearing garments made of more than one type of fabric, or the weird cleansing rituals, were given to teach us principles.  God was trying to teach the Israelites about not mixing with immoral people who will pull them away from Him and the importance of purity.  Every single one of these requirements, mostly in Leviticus, are not intended for us to follow to the letter, but we can read them in context to understand the principle God wants us to understand and to apply to our lives.  So, you see, there are reasons even for these laws!

The feasts were all given as object lessons to point to Christ.  These are important for us to understand because every single feast is a direct parallel to a work or event of Jesus.  It is not required for us to observe these feasts today, but it is not a bad idea because of what we can learn.  I would at least read about them and learn as much as possible.  Realize that every single spring feast has been fulfilled perfectly.  All of the fall feasts pertain to the second coming of Christ and are yet to come.  Do some research on this.  It is fascinating!

All of the moral laws and the laws extending from our love for God and for others that are taught in the Old Testament, particularly the Ten Commandments, have been reiterated in the New Testament.  These are still to be obeyed, although obeying the Law will never be enough to earn righteousness.  But, grace is another study for a later time.  See Romans 6 and Galatians 5!  See how the Old and New continue to fit together?  What is so wonderful is that Jesus summed up all of the law by giving us these two commands: to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. (Mark 12:29-31) 

Check this out!  The following verses show that the moral laws of the Old Testament are still relevant for us today, but they are fulfilled in a very different way: 

^“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”  Romans 13:8-10