Sometimes it seems that convincing people to read the Bible in general is difficult. Why should we care about the Old Testament? Here are five reasons why you should read this book.
Sometimes it seems that convincing people to read the Bible in general is difficult. But why should we care about the Old Testament? Isn’t this book irreparably old, outdated, obsolete, and in addition to that, violent, offensive, misogynistic, and simply mean? Here are five reasons to study the Bible.
Read more : Why Do We Need the Old Testament and How Important Is It?
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فرست محتوا
The Old Testament Was the First Scripture Known to Christians
Usually, when the New Testament refers to Scripture, it specifically means what we now call the “Old Testament.” The first Christians read the this book as a Christian text, meaning they believed it spoke about Christ, the Messiah. Jesus himself taught them this. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).
So, if we are Christians, we should read the Old Testament as something that speaks about Christ—just like Jesus’s first followers.
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The Old Testament Was Inspired by the Holy Spirit
The principle of the plenary verbal inspiration of the Bible, used by scholars, applies to this book just as much as it does to the New Testament. This means that every word of the Bible, including the this book, is directly inspired by God and without error.
When Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all Scripture is God-breathed…” he certainly referred to both the Old and New Testaments. Therefore, we should cherish, treasure, and at the very least, read this bookas the Word of God.
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It Provides a Complete Picture of Jesus’s Identity
One reason some people today have a sentimental, shallow, and unimportant view of Jesus is that they do not read about Him in the context of this book. The commercialized, simplistic, garbage culture of Jesus, the quick path to Jesus, the cultural bombardment, and the meaningless long-haired hippie Jesus would be impossible if people read (or heard) the little book of Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 40, and Zechariah 9:9 (and more). So, to see the complete picture of who Jesus is, read the Old Testament.
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You Cannot Understand the New Testament Without the Old Testament
I think C. S. Lewis said that the New Testament is nothing more than a thin paper filled with quotes from the Old Testament. If you ignore this book, let alone reject it, the only logical result is to ignore the New Testament and eventually reject it over time.
Time and again, the New Testament refers to, infers, reflects upon, and directly quotes the Old Testament. So, if we want to have the New Testament, we must read the Old Testament as well.
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It Is a Profoundly Moral Book
The Old Testament’s reputation as an immoral book has grown directly in proportion to people’s ignorance of it. Surely, you can pick out events, stories, and scandals and set them up as a collection of strawmen to have a good excuse to avoid the Bible (and perhaps, if you feed your human pride, think that you are avoiding God).
But anyone who comes to the this book to learn soon realizes that the central moral instructions of the Old Testament (according to Jesus) —loving God and loving your neighbor—are the highest moral callings (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Leviticus 19:18; Mark 12:29-31).
Well, as stated in the great Psalm of God’s Word, Psalm 119: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Therefore, if you want to be a godly man or woman, profoundly moral, righteous, and pleasing to God, read the Old Testament.
