introduction to the Old Testament

Introduction to the Old Testament


The Bible which appears at first, to be the most simple and straightforward of books to read, is in fact a record of Gods message to mankind which covers the whole history of time. It was written by up to 40 writers and has a wide range of literary styles. Those who understand its message can never be thought of as ignorant but those who know little of the Bible can ever be described as educated. Once any serious minded person has begun to read the Bible it soon becomes apparent that help to understand its message is essential. The Ethiopian Eunuch said to Philip. ‘How can I, (understand it) except some man should guide me’? It is for this reason that l give this introduction.

The first thing to realise is that the Bible while it is made up of 66 books is nevertheless the whole message of God to mankind. It is firstly a revelation of God but it also includes specific messages from God to men for the times that men find themselves in. As CI Schofield once said, ‘The Bible is a progressive unfolding of truth. Nothing is told all at once, and once for all’. Never has there been a more insightful thing spoken in relation to the Bible. The one great theme of the Bible is the promised seed – Christ himself. Who is promised in Genesis and occupies the throne of heaven in Revelation. The one great crisis of world history is the Cross of Christ. Eternity past had no other future and eternity future has no other past. It is the central event of all time, the heart of the gospel and the one theme of eternal worship.

One of the things that becomes apparent, when reading the Bible, is that God has revealed himself progressively and that God holds men responsible at each stage to the revelation that he has given at that time. In the Garden of Eden the Lord placed before man a simple clear commandment but he fell in sin and was banished from the presence of God. Never again in the history of the world will man find himself in the same situation again - Paradise was forever lost. And so the period of innocence was lost and man moves out into a world of thorns and thistles and the first man to be born murders his own brother, the second man to be born. From this time onward the path is downward into sin and wickedness. Often God has to step in, in premature judgment, to bring to an abrupt end the wickedness of men and in doing so he preserves life and the promised seed. The other thing we notice is that after the call of Abraham the focus of the Revelation of God is on one small middle eastern family and from Genesis 11 onward the story of the Bible is the development of this family into a nation under God - in covenant. And how God works with this nation bringing them into their own land and blessing them beyond their dreams. Its also the history of these people and of how their Messiah eventually appeared but was rejected by them and how he became the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the whole world. Its also the ongoing story of how this nation continued to reject his Messianic claims until the nation was finally destroyed by the Roman legions in AD70. The New Testament follows the Old Testament containing a body of literature which is written by a new group of believers called ‘The Church’ who live in an interregnum, while Israel is in a state of denial of their Messiah. For the first time in human history there are three great divisions of humanity - Israel, the Gentiles and the Church. The Church is brought into the blessing which Israel will enjoy in a future day – the New Covenant. But in the meanwhile men are saved by Faith in Christ and in his atoning work accomplished at the Cross. The New Testament contains a number of letters which contain doctrine and teaching for the development and regulation of Church life. The later part of the New Testament include a number of Christian letters written in a Jewish context and finally John writes his prophesy outlining the whole close of human history.