Have you heard people divide the Bible into two parts? Have you heard it said the Old Testament is about an angry God? Have you largely ignored the Old Testament? Have you only studied the New Testament? Have you considered the entire Bible is about Jesus?
I have heard many people state they don’t read the Old Testament, and the Old Testament is about an angry God. I have taught Bible studies on Old Testament books and heard people stated they had never read them. We are to read and understand the entire Bible.
Jesus tells the two disciples who were walking to Emmaus that Moses and the prophets wrote about Him. He explained to them what those writings meant as He walked with them for a few miles. It would have been a very enlightening discussion. I’m sure there were many questions and many “ah-ha” moments. Can you imagine? The One who inspired the writings is explaining them to you!
Reading the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, can be very enlightening to us as well. As we read and understand those Scriptures, it enriches our understanding of the New Testament and God himself. Not only does it include prophecies that point to Jesus, but it includes examples of God’s grace and blessings. It demonstrates how God not only worked through the people of Israel, but through people of other nations.
As we read and understand how God has worked throughout history, we can better see how God is working in our world today. Though we are to hold onto God’s promises, that is not all we should do. We should also recognize God’s blessings and be part of his work today. God is not done with this world yet and he is calling us to both understand him and work with him.
I pray we all read the entire Bible. I pray we take time to study the prophecies of the Old Testament. I pray each one of us will commit to better understanding God and working with him. Read the entire Bible. Study the prophecies. Understand God. Commit to working with God.
Luke 24:27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
Marty Pressey 