The Bible is divided into two primary sections- the Old Testament and the New Testament. The New Testament details the life of Christ, the early church and letters written to it, and the promise of a world one day restored to perfection. The modern church spends considerable time studying and preaching from these books. Rightfully so! The arrival of the promised Messiah and the impact of His life, death, and resurrection changed the course of history. We grow in our love for Jesus as we learn about Him. The same is true for the Old Testament, although its complexities sometimes cause readers to shrink away from thorough study. There is much to learn about the character of God, His dealings with the people He has made, and the promises He made. The more we dig for treasure in the entirety of Scripture, the more we can understand Jesus Himself.
The basic framework of the Old Testament helps us understand the story God is telling about Himself. It is composed of 39 individual books, and those books can be divided into sections: the Pentateuch (also known as the Jewish Torah), historical books, poetry and wisdom books, major prophets, and minor prophets. Once you know which type of book you are reading, you can more clearly see its role in the entire story.
Consider each section thoughtfully. In the Pentateuch we learn the creation story, that we need to be saved from our own destructive decisions, and that the law given to the Israelites ultimately shows us there is only One who can be counted as righteous. The historical books chronicle the rise and fall of judges and kings, showing that the legacy of our actions ring throughout the generations, but also that God can redeem the heart of a man even after a family line of wickedness. Books written in the style of poetry show us that God cares for our every wave of emotion, and wisdom books cut to the heart of our decisions. The prophets tell of the rise and fall of nations, promising that justice reigns over the timeline of history, but also foretelling undeserved grace coming to save us in the person of Jesus.
If all that is required for salvation is faith in Jesus, why study the Old Testament at all? Why not just focus solely on the New Testament? Even if we bypass all of the prophecies and Old Testament references, we can’t get very far into the New Testament before Jesus Himself begins to direct our attention backwards. Only four chapters actually. Jesus, being tempted by Satan, counters him with the phrase, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matt. 4:4) This quote comes from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy where God tells His starving people that His provision of manna was to point them back to Himself. Jesus not only knew the Old Testament, but He found its weight sufficient in striking the enemy.
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
If we know that Jesus repeated the Father’s words, that we are to live off of those words, and Hebrews (New Testament) tells us that the “word of God is living and active,” we can deduce that the Old Testament has not lost any of its authority. Thus, it is imperative that we study it as well for a complete picture of God.
Consider also that Jesus is called the “Word” of God by John (1:1). Jesus is the physical representation of the words that came out of the mouth of God to fill the Old Testament. Surely we can see the importance to know and love those words well!
At first glance, the Old Testament could be confused for a mismatched collection of stories, but upon closer inspection, we find that God wove the gospel into almost every individual tale He recorded. Pick any story you like and you will almost certainly be able to find the main plot movements: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. This is the over-arching theme in the whole of Scripture, but God graciously points us to Jesus in every narrative, ensuring that His main objective is never missed. As Sally Lloyd-Jones says, “Every story whispers His name.”
Each section of Scripture builds upon another to give us a fuller picture of God. The more we study, the more treasure we find in the pages, and each discovery moves our hearts to fuller worship of Him Who recorded it for us. The intricacies of the Old Testament can take time to piece together but the effort is always worth it. Think of how the often-overlooked details of the Old Testament could drastically alter your understanding and worship of God!
Consider the story of King Hezekiah (one of my personal favorite kings to study)! He took the throne after his wicked father, King Ahaz, who ripped the gold and silver from the Holy Temple as tribute to a foreign king. Hezekiah had a traumatic early life, probably witnessing his own brother being sacrificed by fire to a heathen god. When he ascended the throne at 25, he immediately removed the idolatrous places of worship throughout the land. 2 Kings 18:5 says, “He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.” He endured many hardships during his reign, including constant threat of Assyrian invasion. In one instance, Hezekiah’s kingdom faced immediate destruction by the Assyrians, and he cried out to the Lord to intervene. The prophet Isaiah told the king that God will fight for them. When dawn came, they found 185,000 Assyrian soldiers dead in their camp outside of Jerusalem, slain by the angel of the LORD!
If we are studying Scripture with a careful eye, we begin to see how interwoven these stories are. Hezekiah’s reign is recorded in the historical books as a record for the people of Israel. It is written from a factual standpoint. Then consider that the prophet Isaiah has his own book, full of prophecies he received from God during the reign of several kings, including King Hezekiah. His perspective is written in a vastly different style than a history book. The excitement builds when you discover that Psalms 46, 47, and 48 were likely written by King Hezekiah after this specific deliverance from the Assyrians! The same story is told in three different styles, by three different people, all pointing to God’s power and love for His people! When you turn to the psalms for comfort and find these chapters, your understanding of what the author was feeling intensifies, in turn raising your own praise towards God. Our hearts both settle in peace and explode with awe as we realize the same God who delivered an entire country in one night is the same One meeting us in our distress!
This is why the study of the Old Testament should never be ignored, or worse, dreaded. It is overflowing with stories, some only a few sentences long, that are so intertwined with the larger story of Scripture that we forfeit great treasure by its neglect. May we find strength and solace in all of the Word God has graciously given us.
Digging for treasure with you,
