HANDLING THE OLD TESTAMENT

The contractor working on my neighbor's house got interested in the gospel. We were chatting for months. Just recently he discussed with his wife and they both decided they will embrace Jesus. He's one excited chap and asked me for a chinese Bible. When I passed him the Bible, I gave specific instruction to begin reading from the book of John through the New Testament before starting on the Old Testament. Reason being, it's hard to comprehend the violence, lopsided laws and culture of those days. If you have been reading your Bible, you'd know what I mean. How do we handle the Old testament?

First off, understand the Old Testament (OT) was written for our instruction. It has values. We need to read it in context with the New Testament (NT) in order to understand its instructions. Take the Law for instance. It's not the letter of the law that should govern but the spirit of the law for the letter was borne out of the spirit. Those who would disregard the spirit of the law will abuse the letter of the law to their own benefit and control (Read Mathew 23). The OT is like the letter of the law and the NT the spirit of the law. So Jesus said if we want to see the Father (what God is like) we should look at Him.

Secondly, the OT is a record of the doings and behavior of the human race. Through the eyes of the OT we can see the nature of the fallen man. The law exposes the wickedness and evilness of mankind and their opposition towards God and everything good. The law revealed that man cannot redeem himself. While the OT reveals the nature and deeds of the fallen man, the NT reveals the nature and the deeds of God. In Jesus we see who God truly is. He is, and originally was, the heavenly Father. Listen to the heartbeat of God: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing". (Matthew 23:37 NIV). God's loving kindness is indeed better than life.

Next time you read the OT, make sure you have an encounter with the God of NT. Aren't they the same? Yes they are. God is the same yesterday, today and forever and He cannot change nor need to improve because God is perfect. We just need to look at Him through the eyes of the NT and then you'll discover how awesome is the God of the Old Testament. Do not disregard the OT and never try to see God nor judge Him through your own human standards and emotions. Read the Old through the New. Only then can you see. A blind man cannot lead another blind man.