A Summary of the OT
Jul 30th, 2007 by Jeff
I finished reading the Old Testament early last week in my journey through the Bible in 90+ days. I was going to try and write a little bit about each of the last few books in the Old Testament, but those posts would be very similar to things I have already written before. So instead, I am going to talk about the Old Testament as a whole and what I have learned through this read through.
First let me begin by saying that the Old Testament is still very relevant to Christians. It is not a goup of books that should be ignored. The Old Testament creates the very foundation for being able to fully understand the New Testament. The Old Testament gives an amazing picture of God’s character. Through Genesis to Malachi it is clear that God is all loving, compassionate, just, and holy. And God often teaches people through bad situations. I have often heard the question “If God is loving then how can He allow bad things to happen?” Usually the good Christian answer is simply say that ‘God makes all things good in the end, we just can’t see this from our perspective’. But I think a more accurate picture is that we are stubborn, thick headed, and down right disobedient. And God uses bad situations to force us to look to Him and Him alone. He doesn’t do this out of anger, but out of perfect love for us. This is how God dealt with Israel. He was gracious and very slow to anger. He allowed many generations of disobedience before He acted against Israel. But when it was clear to God that only through exile and destruction would Israel truly come back to Him, He did bring Israel’s enemies to conquer them and drag them off to foreign lands. If anything the Old Testament clearly teaches us that bad things can come from God, that it does not need to mean that the devil is out to get you. It could mean you need to get right with God. As Christian’s we shouldn’t forget this, love doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen. When we teach that the devil is behind all bad things we can seriously mislead people and give the enemy credit for God’s work. It also takes away the responsibility we may have in the situation. We can clearly be in a bad situation due to our sin, with God trying to bring us to our knees so that we will look to Him as our last resort.
The Old Testament is also a group of books about Hope. Nearly every book focuses on how things are not perfect. How God’s people don’t follow Him well, and how messed up the world is since humans have sinned. But in all of this there is the constant hope for a time when God makes it all right. When God saves everyone from all that is wrong in the world. A picture of a God who is just to all, the righteous and the unrighteous. A time of blessing and of punishment. For Israel the hope is all in the future, much of the Old Testament was glim for Israel, focusing on her disobedience and then punishment by God. Yet at the same time clear that Israel, though a disobedient nation, is special to God. When you finish the Old Testament it is hard to be excited since the last group of books are simply depressing. But all of the prophets shared a glimpse of the hope to come, a hope that would come through Israel.
The Old Testament also shows us how much we need God to be merciful with us. Israel had God’s laws and could not obey them. Israel had God’s prophets and could not listen to them. Through God’s interaction with Israel it is clear that the hope in the future is not found in a group of rules or laws. But these rules and laws show us our desperate need for a God who is gracious and merciful, because we will always fail to uphold those laws perfectly. God did not have plan A, the Old Covenant, and then a plan B, the New Covenant because plan A failed. Plan A was designed to show us our need for plan B. Without Plan A (the sacrifices), Plan B (Jesus sacrifice) makes no sense. God has worked through history intentionally with great purpose. He has done things so that we can know His character and desire to be His children.
Many Christians have not fully read the Old Testament and my theory is that due to a dominant idea among Christians being: that the New Testament (New Covenant) has done away with most of the Old Testament (Old Covenant). The Old Testament also seems to be treated by many as short stories for children or used as simply a general reference resource. But I challenge you as an adult to read the Old Testament fully so that you will know God better. It isn’t all cute pictures and stories like you might remember in vacation Bible School. I think you will be challenged by some of the ideas and things that God does in the Old Testament, so your view of God will be stretched and refined to what is a more accurate represenation of the creator and sustainer of the universe.
So now I am moving into the New Testament (a set of books more familiar to many of us) so I am interested to see what new insights I may glean from having read through the Old Testament. I believe I have a more accurate picture of God now than I have ever had before and I am looking forward to what He will teach me.
http://www.thebristows.com is an OpenID for Jeff Bristow
I also just finished the old testament. I have never fully read it before so I have been trying to read it over that last few months. I have a couple chapters left in numbers I haven’t finished yet, but other than that I am done.
Lately, I have been in a new place in my walk with god. Our pastor just finished a series on putting god first. It had a huge impact on me. I had to ask myself with all my talk am I really putting him first in my life. I had to repent and ask for forgiveness, because I had to admit that he was not first in my life. I was giving financially, but it wasn’t regularly, it was here and there. Someone gave their testimony on tithing and I had never heard of it put this way. God doesn’t need our money, he wants our hearts and minds, and many times our hearts and minds are on money. Sometimes it is other activities. I have been reading my bible daily for the past several months, but I wasn’t giving the lord the first part of my day. I was resolute to change my lazy attitude towards god. I heard a pastor put it this way once. How can you tell how much you love someone or something? He went on to explain that the only true way to tell is the level of sacrifice and dedication you show to them. I felt so convicted. I am now tithing regularly and I do my very best to put my prayer time and bible time in the first of the morning.
I also attended a three day spirit led course called Ancient paths seminar that god used to transform my life. It explained why I did some of the things I did even though I never understood why I did them. The holy spirit used small group ministry and prayer to free me of many chains that had been holding me down.
http://www.familyfi.org/ I encourage everyone to check it out. I witnessed god transform and set a nice lady free from years of anger and bondage through this course. It is definately worth while.
I still have a long way to go in my walk with god. I am by no means perfect, but to me the old testament spoke to me about god’s abundant love and forgiveness he shows to us. He loved us so very much he sent his one and only son to bear our sins on that old rugged cross.
Dear lord jesus, I pray right now for all those that don’t know you today. I pray that you will show them through the changes you have made in my life and family. Heavenly father you are so glorious and perfect. Thank you for your unfailing love for us all. Thank you for sending your son to die for us. Thank you for leaving us your word to be a lamp unto our feet. I also thank you father for dedicated, caring, and selfless friends such as jeff and jaime. I pray lord that you will bless them a double portion, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing, for their dedication and service to you and your kingdom. In your glorious name I pray lord. Amen
[…] 1. I learned that God is truly a God of Justice and Mercy. I knew this before, I really did. But it wasn’t until I read through the Old Testament this year that I really understood this. I discovered that God’s love does not mean he looks the other way and lets people do whatever they want. (Even though it can seem that way if you look around) His love can often involve allowing very bad things to happen to us, so that we will seek Him. I learned that all ‘bad things’ are not from the enemy, but can be from God to bring us to Him. I wrote about this on July 30th of this year in more detail here. […]