Our Daily Bread - Bible BasicsSample

The Riches of the Old Testament

Once you discover the Old Testament and begin to read and study it, you will find that it is filled with great riches. Here are some of the reasons it is a treasure-house of wealth to its reader. 

1. The Old Testament provides the foundation for the whole Bible. The Bible is made up of two Testaments—Old and New. Both are equally part of the Bible. Both tell us about God. Both inform us about basic truths we need to know. But without a grasp of the Old Testament, the New Testament cannot be fully understood or appreciated; without the New, the Old is left incomplete. The Old Testament establishes the foundation of truth, the New Testament then builds the superstructure. 

2. The Old Testament tells us about Jesus Christ. We cannot fully know about Christ and His purpose for coming into our world without studying the Old Testament. It tells us about Him in word pictures and types. It predicts His coming. It puts His ministry into focus. It gives graphic previews of His sacrifice for sin. It goes beyond today to tell us of His judgment of the world and His coming kingdom of peace. In fact, the Old Testament tells us so much about Jesus that some Bible teachers have said Christ can be seen on every page. 

3. The Old Testament provides the foundation for faith in Christ. The Christian faith is built on the Old Testament. Erich Sauer, in his book The Dawn of World Redemption, said this: 

The Old Testament is promise and expectation, the New is fulfillment and completion. The Old is the marshaling of the hosts to the battle of God, the New is the triumph of the crucified One. The Old is the dawn of morning, the New is the rising sun and the light of eternal day. 

If Christianity, the “religion of Christ,” may be likened to a magnificent cathedral, the Old Testament is its unshakable foundation. 

4. The Old Testament helps us to know God. More than anything, the Old Testament tells us about God. It makes Him known in these ways: 

Factual Knowledge. To know God, we must first know about Him. The Old Testament reveals His character in its record of His mighty deeds.

Personal Knowledge. The Old Testament brings us past the information stage and brings us to the place where we can know God personally through the experiences and relationships of others who walked with Him. 

Practical Knowledge. Building on a personal knowledge of God, the Old Testament also tells us how to live. It reveals His will and spells out the kind of person He wants us to be. By obeying its commands, thinking as it tells us to think, and accepting the Savior it presents, we can know how to live in our complex world.

Knowing God Through the Old Testament

The story of the Old Testament begins at creation and ends about 400 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Its primary setting is Palestine, but its events take place in a variety of locations—the palaces of Egypt and Babylon; the deserts of Sinai and Arabia; the mountains of Ararat, Nebo, and Carmel. Although its primary emphasis is on the Jews, its story involves many peoples of the world: Egyptians, Hittites, Babylonians, Canaanites, Syrians, and a host of smaller groups. It tells of migration, military campaigns, political intrigue, and romance. It has heroes and villains; servant girls and queens; prophets and poets; judges, priests, and kings. 

The Old Testament was written over a period of 1000 years (1400–400 BC) by about 30 different authors. Its historical record extends from creation to the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon. It is made up of 39 books, which may be divided into three major sections: history, poetry, and prophecy. 

We would like to open the door of the Old Testament to you. We will do so by simply walking through the pages of its history. As we do, we will stop along the way to see how the 39 books of the Old Testament fit into an historical pattern.