In With the New, In With the Old
“For ever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven.” Psalm 119:89
I have heard folks say that they had rather read/study the New Testament than get bogged down in the Old Testament. Others speak about all the truths that are found in the Old Testament and how much they enjoy reading these ancient writings. There is a local pastor who caused quite a controversy a couple of years ago by stating that the Old Testament is no longer relevant. Maybe it isn’t to him, but it certainly is to me. Like everything else, folks have their preferences, and I prefer the entire, inerrant word of God as my manual for life. Which ever books of the Bible that one says is preferable over the others, at least he or she has an interest in reading what God has written. As my former pastor used to say, “The Bible is the only book that God ever wrote.” The Bible is also the most important book ever written. It is a sad commentary on our world to know that there is a large percentage of folks who never bother to read God’s word at all. I mean, that is fairly evident from the critical situation in which we all are finding ourselves. Even those of us who do cherish God’s word suffer by the actions of those who either ignore or blatantly reject the precious words of life, freedom, and joy.
The writer of the 119th Psalm, the longest chapter in scripture, had a lot to say about God’s word. He used other words interchangeably to describe what God had said: the law, precepts, ways, statutes, commandments, judgments, testimonies, and ordinances. Each section of Psalm 119 numbers eight verses, and each of these sections begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this particular section which begins with Verse 89, the Psalmist confesses that God’s word is forever His law, and His faithfulness is toward all people for all times. The Psalmist went on to say that if he had not depended upon God’s law, he would never have made it in life. God’s precepts made him come alive. Nothing is perfect except God and His commandments. They cover everything from east to west, north to south. God leaves no one out as He addresses all people of all ages. Since He is omniscient, that is, He knows everything about each one of us from birth to death, would it not benefit each one of us to dig into His word and discover the best and right way to live our lives? Scripture is our roadmap for life.
We know that the Old Testament is the history of God’s creation of the earth and man, the fall of man due to sin, the calling out of a nation of people whom God chose to represent Him to the entire world, and man’s disobedience to God. There are many references to Jesus Christ, not calling Him by name, but showing Him to various Bible personalities as God led them forward into a land promised to them from the time of Abraham. The Old Testament is a testimony of man’s attempt to be his own god in choosing to worship man-made idols rather than his Creator. It clearly shows man’s need of a Savior.
There are many events that happened in the time of the Old Testament which are analogous to events within the time of the New Testament. One particular one that comes to mind is found in Joshua 2:18. The two spies from Israel were about to escape from Jericho with the help of Rahab, a former prostitute who had embraced the God of Israel. They were going to repel down the wall of her house by way of a cord, a red cord. She asked them to spare her and her family when Israel came to attack, and they told her to hang the red cord from her window so that the soldiers of Israel would know to spare them. This reminds us of accounts in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old, God told the Hebrew people to apply the blood of a lamb to the door frame of their homes so that the angel of death would pass over their homes in the last plague that God sent upon the Egyptians, that of killing the firstborn of each Egyptian family. In the New, the account in Joshua reminds us of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross to provide salvation for all who would repent and believe. Thus, red is not just a color in scripture; it represents life.
There are many more references in the Old Testament that allude to the events of the New Testament, which referred back to the events of the Old Testament in the gospels, the writings of Peter, and the letters of Paul. Jesus quoted the Old Testament writings many times when questioned by the religious leaders and others by asking, “Have you not read…?” If Jesus thought the words of the Old Testament were relevant, then they still are today. The bottom line is that the two Testaments are intertwined. The New without the Old leaves us without any background for the purpose of the New, while the Old without the New leaves us lost and wandering in the dark not knowing where to turn for hope. As the old song says, “You can’t have one without the other”.