Introduction to the Old Testament
Why study the Old Testament? Because it is the inspired Word of God. Many people today do not spend time studying the Old Testament because they feel there is no reason. Yet, without the Old Testament the New Testament would not have a solid foundation. All of the historical events, names, places, and people mentioned in the New Testament would have no significant meaning. In fact, many of Jesus' own words would have little meaning without a solid understanding of the Old Testament. "The New Testament is the sequel to the Old Testament's origins, heir of its promises, fruit of its seed, the peak of its mountain." 1
Many relationships can be made between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament set the stage for, not only the New Testament, but for all of Christianity as well. Time spent in study of the Old Testament will give a more complete knowledge of the "religious, social, geographical, and, in part, the political setting of the New." 2
The Old Testament is a book of firsts. It records the first (and only) act of creation, from "the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1) to the creation of man (Gen. 1:27). It records the first sin, the first flood, the first war, the first birth and death, the first miracle, and the first glimpse of the coming Messiah.
The Bible is a supernatural book. From its very source it is God breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). The writers "spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (1 Pet. 1:21). By God's very nature (James 1:17) it is "infallible as to truth, and final as to authority." 3
The Old Testament was written on long sheets of papyrus, a paper-like material, and rolled up scroll-like for easy reading. It was penned by some twenty five to thirty different authors over a period of about a thousand years (c. 1500-400 B.C.). The Old Testament of today's English Bible is divided into thirty-nine books, unlike the Hebrew Old Testament's twenty-four. It was meticulously copied by hand and contained surprisingly few mistakes. Upon discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1948 comparisons were made with the oldest existing Hebrew copies (c. A.D. 900-100) and they were found to be almost identical. Of the few scribal errors that were found Gleason Archer writes:
"Careful study of the variants ... of the various earliest manuscripts reveals that none of them affects a single doctrine of Scripture. God has written an infallible Book and has preserved it intact and without error down through the ages." 4
The Old Testament books are grouped into four categories; Law, History, Poetry, and Prophecy. The books of Law cover the first five books of the Old Testament and mainly deal with God's Law as it directly applied to the Israelites. The books of Law are also known as the Pentateuch which is Greek, meaning "fivefold vessel" or Torah which is Hebrew, meaning "Law".
The next group, History, deals with just that; the selected history of man from creation to the Israel nation's captivity by the Babylonians.
The five books of Poetry are so named because of their literary style and are directed at the reader's inner self through reflections, hymns, dialogues, etc.
The last group, Prophecy, is sub-divided into two smaller groups, the Major and Minor Prophets. The distinction between these two sub-groups is length of the writings. Most of the prophecies were directed to either the nation of Israel, Judea, or both.
Virtually all of the Old Testament took place in one of three major areas of population. The center, Canaan, is the home of the Israel nation and is very strategically located on the western coast of the Mediterranean Sea. To the northeast lie Syria, Assyria, and Babylonia, three of Israel's worst enemies. To the southwest lies Egypt another of Israel's enemies.
Generally, the natural contours of the land follow a north to south run and are of six major types. Running from west to east is the Coastal Plain populated by its harbor towns, and the Shefelah (or Lowlands) an area of population due to its fertile soil. Next is the Hill Country, also an area of population due to its many ridges and natural fortifications. Due south of the Dead Sea is the area of the Rift Valley. This area is, on an average, ten miles wide and runs the entire length of Palestine. It was sparsely populated in Old Testament times due to its extreme negative altitude, up to 1,286 feet below sea level. The next two natural contours the Trans-Jordan Hills and the western most area, the Plateau was also sparsely populated in Old Testament times and did not support much Old Testament history.
Generally, there are two seasons in the area of Palestine with warm, dry summers, and cool wet winters. The rainy season lasts from November to March. The average temperature ranges for Jerusalem, which lies in the Hill Country, are 41 to 44 degrees in January to 65 to 85 degrees in August.
The typical person of the Old Testament day lived in a one-room house with mud brick walls, a dirt floor, thatched roof, and few windows. For a living they raised sheep, fished, hunted, were carpenters, tentmakers, masons, or perhaps merchants. They were usually poorly educated, but were taught how to read and write at home. Families were important, with the son most often taking up his father's trade. The Sabbath was (and is) their day of worship with regular meetings held in local synagogues.
The Old Testament is a book of truths. Yet sometimes there appears portions of Scripture that are difficult to understand or are, seemingly, contrary to the very nature of God. Keeping the following in mind will help you to stay on "firm ground". 5
God is a holy God. When he sends forth his judgment it does not invalidate his grace. We must, by faith, accept the fact that God never changes, that he "is holy but always acts in love, and is loving but never violates his holiness." 6
Everything, accident or not, fulfills God's perfect plan. There are no accidents in the history of the world. Just as God chose Abraham to be the father of the nation of Israel and then bestowed his special blessings on that nation, he equally chose you and me as his children through his saving grace (Eph. 1:4-5).
Redemption is the key to the Bible. Its thread can be traced from the time when Adam and Eve broke fellowship with God to the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb" in Revelation 19:9. The Old Testament makes it clear that God saves by faith (Abraham) and "seeks to save all lost sinners, not only Israelites." 7
Since redemption is the key subject of the Bible, many parts of the Old Testament point to the Savior. Isaiah 53 is a classic example of Christ's "substitutionary death for sinners." 8 Even Jesus himself explained how he was the central point, the key, to all of these prophetic scriptures (Luke 24:27).
Just as Jesus used miracles to defend his claim to being the Messiah and then, ultimately, used them to bring people into salvation, so God used them in the Old Testament to draw people to himself. This has been, since the creation of man, the purpose of all of God's miracles.
"God's Book-both Old and New Testaments-is timeless in its application." 9 Just because the Old Testament is just that, old, does not invalidate it. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:16,17, that "all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." Consequently, while studying the Old Testament, keep in mind that all passages have something to say "about these two timeless ... truths: way to God, or walk with God."
So, why study the Old Testament? Because it is full of surprises, it's historical, it's contemporary, and it's the inspired Word of God.
1. Irving L. Jensen, Jensen's Survey of the Old Testament, p.15.