By Paul Hammons February 10, 2019
In last week’s lesson, we talked about the question: “Do the 10 Commandments still apply today?” As we discussed, the Old Testament – which is the first 39 books in the Bible – includes a number of types of books, including the books of the law (including the 10 Commandments), historical accounts, and prophetic and poetic writings, all centered on the relationship between God and Israel. How Israel came into being as a nation, how God brought them into Canaan as His chosen people, how He delivered a law, and how they tried (and often failed) to live according to that law. Since Jesus came to fulfill the law, and since the law has now been taken out of the way – and was never intended for the Gentile world to begin with – we’re left to ask why or if we should study the Old Testament at all!
How important is the Old Testament to Christians?
However, the New Testament writers make it very clear that not only should we understand the Old Testament, but the principles, truths, and stories included there are vital to helping us truly understand our relationship to God today. Without the law, we will never truly understand God’s grace, or the need for Jesus to come to this world in the first place. And we’ll find that the more we understand the Old Testament writings, the more we’ll understand Christian principles taught by the apostles, and we’ll find our appreciation for God grow immensely.
How to study the Old Testament
So if we don’t look to the Old Testament for commandments or authorization in our worship, what will we find there? Lots of things, ranging from simple truths to complex lessons:
- Timeless moral truths: God’s command against murder wasn’t unveiled at Mount Sinai; God has always considered murder to be a sin, dating back to the very beginning of creation. I can see in the Old Testament how God viewed basic concepts of morality, marriage, truthfulness, integrity, and faith – all of which have been requirements of God’s people since He put them on this earth.
- Parallel concepts: In many cases, a New Testament writer will take a story or writing from the Old Testament and use it to explain or emphasize an important concept in our faith today. When Paul talks about the resurrection of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15, he talks about the hopelessness of our state without a risen savior, and then goes back to Hosea 13:12-15 to quote a passage expressing the despair of Israel for its own sin – and he turns it around to show that in Christ, we can truly say “Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?”
- Prophesies and fulfillment: This is an obvious benefit, and every Christian should be familiar with the prophesies that from the beginning have pointed the way to Christ and his new kingdom. Practically every gospel sermon recorded in Acts starts with the law, and connects the pattern to its fulfillment in Jesus. As we see the multitude of predictions spanning thousands of years, we’re left in awe of God’s providence and power in executing the plan of salvation.
- Analogies and deeper meanings: Hebrews 8 talks about the emphasis God placed on Moses following the pattern in everything he did while constructing the tabernacle, making the point that Moses wasn’t simply building a tent. He was in effect allowing God to work through him and through Israel to create an amazingly deep and powerful teaching tool for us today. When we study the Old Testament stories of men like Abraham, Jacob, and David, we begin to see patterns in their lives that are repeated over and over in Biblical accounts, and create illustrations of important truths about our own relationship to God. Why is it so important that Abraham’s heir was his wife’s son Isaac, and not his servant’s son, Ishmael? Why is it important that the younger Jacob received a blessing when the older Esau did not? Because God chose to work through their lives to teach us important concepts about grace, and about how God fulfills His promises to those who believe.
In 1 Timothy 1:8, Paul writes that “We know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully.” When we study the Old Testament in the context of its true role as a “schoolmaster to bring us to Christ,” we will find our faith and understanding of God growing with every verse, every story, every psalm.
