Northeast Christian Church

PART ONE: OLD TESTAMENT STORIES
The Old Testament is 77% of scripture. More than 40% of the Old Testament is narrative, story.
Plot of Scripture: The tale of a God who is out to get back what rightfully belongs to Him.

Consider...
1. How does this narrative fit into God's story?
2. How does this narrative fit into my story?

THREE LEVELS OF OLD TESTAMENT STORIES:
1. Top: God's universal story
-Genesis 1-3, humanity sins, creation falls, the world cries out for salvation; the rest of scripture tells the rest of the story.
2. Middle: Israel's story
-Call of Abraham through the restoration of God's people after exile.
3. Bottom: Individual's story
-Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Ruth, Samuel, David and list goes on!

DISCOVER THE AUTHOR'S INTENDED MEANING (AIM).

SEVEN QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN READING AN OLD TESTAMENT STORY:
1. What kind of story is this?
-Journey, birth, judgment, romance, underdog, so on...
2. Where is the setting of this story?
-Location, location, location...
3. What do we know about the main characters?
-Physical description, personality, etc.
4. What do the characters say?
-Nearly 50% of Old Testament story is dialogue.
5. Are there repeated words or phrases?
6. Is irony present?
-Anything that seems incongruent?
7. How does the story connect to its context?
-Context is king... and likely requires reading at least chapters before and after a story.

PART TWO: OLD TESTAMENT LAW
Legal portions of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy

Consider...
1. Can the Old Testament Law still speak today? Yes!
2. As New Testament believers, how can we read the Old Testament Law texts accurately and apply them appropriately?

TWO PRINCIPLES FOR READING OLD TESTAMENT LAW TEXTS:
1. Remember the original audience. Israel
-Gift, not a burden
-Compass, not a map
2. Remember the theological purpose.
-Window... (a) What does this command tell me about the person who gave it? (b) What clues does this command give me about what He believes to be true and important?
-Mirror, to make us aware of our deep moral failure.
-Picture, of what Jesus would look like someday.

PART THREE: OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS
17 books, Isaiah through Malachi, almost 20% of scripture

Consider...
Why do we often avoid the prophets? Seem weird, confusing, rambling...

TWO REASONS TO READ THE PROPHETS:
1. The prophets deal with some of humanity's biggest questions.
2. The prophets offer us some of God's most personal answers.
-Perhaps like if God kept a journal...

SIX PRINCIPLES FOR READING OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS:
1. Reconstruct the setting.
760-460BC, civil war, invasion, exile, rebuild
2. Remember the task.
-Prophets were called to enforce Old Testament Law.
3. Pay attention to the person.
4. Understand the themes.
-"You're guilty."
-"Judgment is coming."
-"There's still hope!"
5. Understand the perspective.
Now, later, much later, much much later.
6. Understand the metaphors and symbolic language.
The prophets mostly write in Hebrew poetry.

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