How to Read the Old Testament

 My article from this week's edition of the Rockford Squire:

Often when people read the Bible, they’re not quite sure what to do with the Old Testament.  Sometimes the way God acts in the Old Testament seems to be quite a contrast from what we see Jesus saying and doing in the Gospels, and many errant solutions arise in attempts to solve this apparent discrepancy.  Among these are such ideas that Jesus is the kind member of the Trinity and God the Father is the harsh one, or even that the OT God and Jesus are different deities entirely.  Other readers have thought that God had different standards and different methods of rescuing people at different times or from different genealogical heritage, and some have even developed elaborate charts and systems to explain how they conclude this works. 

However, the true key to reveal understanding of the Old Testament is actually quite simple.  It’s ALL about Jesus!  Sometimes it is obvious when something is about Jesus, such as when Isaiah prophesies, “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,” or when God tells Eve that her descendant will crush the serpent’s head.  Other times, the connection is less obvious, so try out these introductory tips to noticing Jesus in the Old Testament:

 

1. Ask yourself what role the person or event you are reading about plays in the big picture story of leading to the arrival of Jesus in the world.

 

2.  Consider how the event you are reading carries out restoration or reconciliation in the world.  These events are often little versions of what will be more fully accomplished in the cross of Christ or on the Last Day. 

 

3. Consider how human sin and divine forgiveness interact in what you are reading.  God actually saves the same way in both testaments:  by grace, through faith, because of Jesus.

 

4. Watch for terms like “Word of the Lord,” “Angel of the Lord,” or “Glory of the Lord.”  These are frequently appearances of God the Son before He took on human flesh in Jesus. 

 

5.  Look for common elements like wood, water, bread, or wine.  Frequently events involving these elements are pointing us forward to promises or events God makes more clearly evident in the New Testament.  Wood points you to the cross, water to Baptism, and bread or wine to the Lord’s Supper. 

 

Scripture is more than just instructions to live by or proverbs to inspire.  It is above all else the revelation of Jesus—the one in whom all blessing from God is found, whether by trusting God’s promise that He would come, or the Apostolic testimony that He has come.