Jesus abolished the old law of commandments when He died on the cross (Ephesians 2:15). He has taken that law out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:14). The Holy Spirit also says, "He takes away the first that He may establish the second" (Hebrews 10:9). These and other New Testament verses plainly show that the law of Moses or Old Testament law is no longer in effect. What does that mean for us? Simply that we are not under obligation to obey the law of Moses. In fact, today it would be wrong to try to follow the law of Moses or Old Testament law, for we are to follow the teachings of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). Does that mean that Christians should not even bother studying the Old Testament? No! Why should you and I take time to study it?
First of all, without doubt the Old Testament is the word of God. The writings or prophecy of the Old Testament "Never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). Therefore, the Old Testament is "Profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).
Secondly, "Whatsoever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope" (Romans 15:4). The things "written before" are the Old Testament Scriptures, and this passage clearly claims that those Scriptures were written for our learning. Thus, we need to study them.
Thirdly, the Old Testament reveals the true nature of God. The God who speaks to us now through His Son Jesus is the same God who spoke through the prophets during Old Testament times (Hebrews 1:1,2). Thus, to study the Old Testament will help us learn more about the character of Jehovah, whom we are to love with all of our being (Mark 12:29,30). Among other things, the Old Testament reveals that God is all-powerful (Genesis 17:1), all-knowing, and all-present (Psalms 139:7-11), loving (Deuteronomy 7:7,8), and is a God of goodness and severity (Romans 11:22).
Fourthly, we can learn from the wicked examples that are recorded in the Old Testament. These are obviously examples that Christians do not want to follow, but they show us that God will punish the disobedient. In 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 Paul mentions several sins in which the children of Israel engaged in the wilderness. Why does he speak to Christians about these? The Holy Spirit's answer is, "Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted . . . Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition . . ." (10:6,11). Thus, the Old Testament was written not only for the Israelites, but also for the benefit of Christians. There are only twenty-five verses in the book of Jude, but Jude mentions five examples of wickedness from the Old Testament: the unbelieving children of Israel in the wilderness, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Cain, Balaam, and Korah (1:5,7,11).
Fifthly, the Old Testament gives us examples of righteous men and women that we should imitate. Studying their godly lives will be a great blessing to any child of God. "My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience . . . you have heard of the perseverance of Job . . . Elijah was a man with a nature like ours . . ." (James 5:10,11,16). Study the Old Testament record of the lives of the faithful people mentioned in the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews and you will have no problem understanding why the Bible says that they lived "by faith." Studying the Old Testament helps us understand that in every age, those who truly lived "by faith" were those who believed in the living God AND obeyed His will.
Sixthly, and this is especially important to all who want to know better the will of Jesus Christ, studying the Old Testament helps us understand more fully the New Testament in a number of ways. Yes, if one studies only the New Testament, he can learn what he must do in order to become a Christian, and without studying the Old testament he can also learn how Jesus expects His followers to live. But, if one does not study the Old Testament, there are MANY New Testament verses that he cannot possibly understand, yet of His doctrine Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear," and "Take heed what you hear" (Mark 4:9,24).
Jesus, the apostles, and New Testament writers often refer to persons and events of the Old Testament. If we do not know the Old Testament story or history connected with these, then we cannot fully understand the New Testament verses that refer to them. For example, Jesus said that He is greater than Jonah, who preached and caused the Ninevites to repent, and is greater than Solomon, who was tested by the queen of the South (Matthew 12:40-42). How can one appreciate the greatness that Jesus is claiming to have, if he has not studied the Old Testament and consequently does not know the stories about Jonah, Solomon, and the queen of the South? We already noted that the evil examples of Cain, Balaam, and Korah are mentioned in Jude 11. How can a Christian avoid imitating their example, if he does not know why their conduct did not please Jehovah? Consider also the command of Jesus: "Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32). What is it that Jesus commands us to do? Remember. Remember whom? The wife of Lot. But who is Lot, who is his wife, and what did she do that is worth our remembering? Before Lot, who was the nephew of Abraham, left Sodom with his daughters and wife, God's angels told them not to look back after they escaped from the city. But what did his wife do? She disobeyed, and was punished because of it. "But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt" (Genesis 19:26). It does not matter how intelligent one might be in other areas, if he has not studied Genesis 19, then he cannot possibly understand Jesus' command, "Remember Lot's wife."
Jesus, the apostles, and New Testament preachers often quote Old Testament verses. On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), Peter quoted the prophecies of Joel and David. Matthew quoted Isaiah 7:14 and showed that when Jesus was born to the virgin Mary, then that prophecy was fulfilled (Matthew 1:18-23). Truly, studying the Old testament helps us understand better those prophecies.
In many ways the Old Testament serves as a background for the New Testament. That being the case, of course studying the Old Testament will help us understand better the gospel of Christ. For example, when we study the life of Jesus, especially the book of John, we often read of Him attending Jewish feasts in Jerusalem. What were those feasts, and why did He attend them? The background of those feasts is recorded in Leviticus 23. One needs to be familiar with the contents of that chapter before he can understand the significance of Jesus attending those feasts. Another example is the entire book of Hebrews. In that epistle we often read about priests, sacrifices, and the tabernacle. In order to fully understand the book of Hebrews, one needs to study the book of Leviticus, for it gives the background of those events which are often mentioned in Hebrews.
Brothers and sisters, let us all seriously study the entire Bible. Yes, the gospel of Jesus is God's power to save man (Romans 1:16). But do not forget what Jesus said about the Old Testament: "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). Yes, the Old Testament testifies about the Messiah and His kingdom!This item originally appeared in Truth - 25 October, 1996
