WHY STUDY THE OLD TESTAMENT?

Four Reasons Why Christians Should Study the Old Testament

Some Christians show little interest in the Old Testament. They think the coming of Christ has made the Old Testament irrelevant. They say it is hard to understand, that parts of it are unbelievable. They feel that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament; they see the Old Testament as a “Jewish” book, not as a “Christian” book. And therefore, these Christians avoid studying the Old Testament and remain ignorant of its contents—to their great loss.

All the above opinions are mistaken. The Bible—both Old and New Testaments—is one book; it is a unified, unbroken story of God’s unchanging redemptive plan for mankind. The New Testament is foreshadowed in the Old Testament; the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament. One cannot fully comprehend the New Testament without having some understanding of the Old. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is a love story, the story of God’s love for men and women. It starts out with man’s SIN and failure, and ends with God’s forgiveness and restoration. The entire Bible is a precious and indispensable gift given by God to His people.

Here are some reasons, then, why Christians should study the Old Testament: 1) it is God’s authoritative word; 2) it helps us understand the New Testament; 3) it gives invaluable lessons in godly living; and 4) it is the first half of a single story—God’s grand story of REDEMPTION for mankind.

The Old Testament Is God’s Word

The Old Testament was the only Bible Jesus had. He and the New Testament writers quoted from almost every Old Testament book. They regarded the entire Old Testament as God’s authoritative word. Indeed, the Old Testament writers were inspired by the HOLY SPIRIT just as much as the New Testament writers were. In fact, we can say that the Holy Spirit was the true author of the Old Testament.¹

The Apostle Paul wrote: All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16); he was referring, of course, to the Old Testament. The Apostle Peter said that the Old Testament prophets spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20–21). God Himself put His own words in MOSES’ mouth (Deuteronomy 18:18).

The New Testament writers not only recognized that the Old Testament was God’s word but they also recognized it was relevant to them. Paul said: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful—useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in RIGHTEOUSNESS, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17). If the Old Testament was relevant and “useful” in Paul’s day, it is no less so in our own (see Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11). The Old Testament speaks with authority to us today; when we read it with the Spirit’s help, we hear the voice of God.

Since the Holy Spirit is the true author of Scripture, we cannot understand Scripture fully without His help. Scripture is the self-revelation of God; it opens to us spiritual truths which cannot be grasped with the mind alone (see 1 Corinthians 2:6–14). Thus when we read and study Scripture, we must always pray for the Holy Spirit to help us understand what God is saying to us.

The Old Testament Helps Us Understand the New Testament

The entire Old Testament points to Jesus. Over and over Jesus referred to Old Testament passages to explain to His disciples who He was, why He had come, and why He had to suffer. He told them that He was the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises and prophecies (see Matthew 5:17; Luke 24:25–27,44–45; John 5:39–40). The Old Testament prophets, together with the apostles, are the foundation on which Christ has built His church (Ephesians 2:19–21). The Old Testament sets the stage for the coming of Jesus.

In the Old Testament, we learn that from the creation of the very first woman God had a plan to save the woman’s descendants from SATAN, from the effects of sin and evil; God would in due time raise up the offspring—the seed—of the woman and that offspring would crush [Satan’s] head (Genesis 3:15). Then from Noah’s sons God repopulated the earth after the Flood, and from one of them, Shem, He raised up the Semitic peoples (Genesis 10:1,21–31). From these God then called forth ABRAHAM to found a new nation (Genesis 12:1–3); God chose Abraham’s grandson JACOB to become the father of that nation, ISRAEL. From Jacob’s twelve sons came the twelve tribes of Israel; God chose one of the tribes, Judah, to provide the nation’s kings—a royal line that would lead directly to the King of kings, the MESSIAH Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1–17). At every step Satan tried to block God’s plan to send the Savior Jesus, but in the end Satan was defeated by Jesus—through Jesus’ death on the cross (Colossians 2:13–15). All of this preparation for the coming of Jesus has been revealed to us in the Old Testament; Jesus is the culmination, the climax, of Old Testament history. God chose the HEBREWS, the nation of Israel, to be the channel of blessing and SALVATION for the whole world.

The Old Testament Gives Us Lessons in Holy Living

The Old Testament teaches us about ourselves. The Old Testament is realistic; it reveals God’s nature and it reveals our nature. In the Old Testament characters, we see ourselves, our sins and weaknesses. And we also see the GRACE and mercy of God, His patience and forbearance with sinful humans. It is sometimes thought that the Old Testament reveals a God of law and punishment and anger, in contrast with the God of grace and forgiveness and love found in the New Testament. But such a contrast does not exist; God has not changed. The Old Testament is filled with examples of God’s grace and love. The LAW of Moses was itself a gift of grace; God raised up priests and prophets to help the people follow the law so that they might thereby receive God’s blessings (Leviticus 26:3–13). Throughout history, God has desired to bring good to His people.

From the examples of the Old Testament characters we learn how to live godly lives. From the Old Testament we receive warnings (1 Corinthians 10:11) and we receive hope (Romans 15:4). We see that we matter to God—each one of us. The Creator of the universe cares about you and me. He cared about the Israelites; He chose them not because they were worthy but because He loved them (Deuteronomy 7:7–9; 10:14–15,21–22). He chose them to be His agents for good in the world. He was grieved when they failed Him and turned away from Him.

We too, like the Israelites, have been called to be God’s agents in the world, to be a means of blessing for all peoples (Genesis 12:3; Matthew 28:18–20; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). May we not let Him down, as most of the Israelites did. Let us learn to avoid their sins and failings, lest we forfeit the blessings God wants to give us.

The Old Testament Is the First Half of a Single Story

The Bible is one work, a unity, from beginning to end. Skipping over the Old Testament is like skipping the first half of a movie or the first act of a play. The entire Bible is a continuous story, the story of God’s redemption of fallen man-kind through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Old Testament explains why that redemption was necessary and why God was intent on carrying it out.

Broadly speaking, God’s plan of redemption involved two covenants, the old and the new (Exodus 19:3–8; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:7–13). The old COVENANT (or “old testament”) was a foreshadowing of the new; it represented a first stage in God’s redemptive plan. Under the old covenant, the Israelites learned what God required, but they lacked the faith to carry it out. Therefore, God in His mercy added something new: a new spirit, a new power that would enable mankind to fulfill His requirements and thereby be restored to fellowship with Him. He did this by establishing a new covenant, a second stage in His plan of redemption. This new covenant was established through the death of Jesus Christ, and the New Testament tells the story of how it came about.

But the story of redemption does not end with the new covenant; the story continues to unfold even now as we await the second coming of Christ. On that day the final stage of God’s plan of redemption will be ushered in. The entire Bible points forward to that day. It will be a day of everlasting joy and victory for all those who have placed their faith in the Redeemer Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:1–5; 22:1–5).

Who would want to miss the first half of such a story!

¹ Though the Holy Spirit inspired the Old Testament writers, He didn’t dictate each word they wrote; what they wrote reflected their own personality and experience. But their speaking and writing was guided by the Spirit, so that it contained no error and perfectly expressed what God desired to communicate to His people—and to us.