Why Read the Old Testament?

At least two-thirds of the Bible is Old Testament, which means that, if you are participating in The Bible Project Reading plan or if you are working your way through the Bible another way, you will be spending a good amount of the year in the Old Testament. If you are using The Bible Project Reading plan you will be in the Old Testament until the end of August. The question that usually arises for most people when they are working through reading the entire Bible is, “If Christians are focused on Jesus, why read the Old Testament?”

The one bad thing about this question is that it assumes a bit of a false dichotomy. The question assumes that there is a difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. This is not something that will be addressed during this short article but will be addressed later on. The good thing about the question is that, at the heart of it, the question is seeking to better understand the Bible—and we all ought to be working towards that end.

Again, the question is, why read the Old Testament if we should be focused on Jesus? In order to give a good answer to the good question, it is probably best to turn to what the New Testament and, especially Jesus, have to say about the Old Testament.

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)
During the walk to Emmaus with the two disappointed disciples, Jesus sets out to explain to them why the Christ (the Messiah) had to suffer the things that Jesus suffered. The most interesting thing about this story in Luke is that Jesus does not explain to them the reasons by appealing to an outside source. Instead, Jesus goes to the Old Testament (Moses and all the Prophets; all the Scriptures) and expounds on what was written there. Jesus appeals to the Old Testament because it explains why these things have happened to Jesus. JESUS APPEALS TO THE OLD TESTAMENT BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN ABOUT HIM.

“Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”(John 5:45-47)
Here, Jesus makes the claim that if the Jews trusted Moses (the one who wrote the first five books of the Bible) they would be trusting Jesus because Moses wrote about Jesus. What we should then do is go to Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy in order to see for ourselves what Jesus was talking about. It may not be clear right now how Moses could have been writing about Jesus but there is one thing that is clear. JESUS APPEALS TO THE OLD TESTAMENT BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN ABOUT HIM.

“Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56)
Here, we read of Jesus referencing Abraham as he is talking to the Jews around him. The amazing thing is the way in which Jesus references Abraham. Jesus makes the statement that Abraham (who lived long before Jesus) delighted in the fact that that he would see the day of Jesus. And then Jesus goes even further by saying that Abraham did see it. This statement is more than amazing; it is astounding in the implications that are within it. How can Jesus possibly say that one of the monumental figures in the Old Testament saw the day of Jesus and rejoiced? There is an answer to that question but the answer is not required for this topic (see Hebrews 11 for further explanation on this fact). What is required is the understanding that again we see Jesus directing people to the Old Testament in order to instruct them about himself. JESUS APPEALS TO THE OLD TESTAMENT BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN ABOUT HIM.

All this being said, we are left with a choice to make. Either we ignore the way in which Jesus appeals to the Old Testament concerning himself or we resolve to work our way through the Old Testament trusting that our time spent there will show us more of Christ.

It is my prayer that you employ the latter!

The Truth about Bible Reading Plans

The anticipation and beginning of a new year brings with it hope. Hope that this new year will be better than the year before; hope that you can succeed in trying something you haven’t tried before; hope that you can overcome what once held you down. And, for those of us who trust the Bible, a new year often brings with it the hope to do the one thing we have all tried to do—read the entire Bible. This year I’m going to make it past that third book!

Every year, right around this time, Christian blogs are updated with articles on Bible reading plans of all shapes and sizes. There are Bible reading plans that bring a person through the Bible chronologically, plans that bring a person through the Bible chapter by chapter, and plans that bring a person through the Bible thematically. Every whole Bible reading plan that has ever been created has been created to do one thing: help a person read the entire Bible. The question is, do we recognize them for what they are created for or do we hope in them for something they can never do?

More often than not people get into Bible reading plans because they think that this plan will help them read the entire Bible. What they come to realize is that even that plan cannot do for them what they do not want done. The truth about Bible reading plans is that they are designed to help a person read the Bible by giving them a strategy for achieving that goal – a roadmap so they won’t get lost. They are not designed to help someone read through the Bible by removing all the obstacles of Bible reading (Leviticus, you know I’m talking about you). Therefore, if we see them for what they are (roadmaps, not magic wands) we would be more apt to heed their instruction and complete the goal we have set before ourselves: reading the entire Bible in a year.

Reading the entire Bible in a year is a noble goal and one I think we would all benefit from taking part in, however, if we believe at all what the Bible says about our hearts we should realize that even the most honorable plans could be run through with pride. Sure, we can fool ourselves into believing that we are setting out to read the entire Bible in a year because through reading the Bible we will come to know God more, which will cause us to grow in holiness. Sadly though, we usually come to February and our old friend Leviticus and begin to wonder if this was really worth it after all. The six-year old mentality creeps in and we think to ourselves, “I have eaten my peas for a month straight and I haven’t grown an inch!” This is the mentality that will drown you through Bible reading and there isn’t a Bible reading plan in existence that can save you from those waters.

All that being said, when you come to know what Bible reading plans are designed for and you employ them correctly, you will be amazed at what help they will provide. Therefore, if you are someone who is intrigued at the prospect of reading through the entire Bible over the course of 2017 and would like some help along the way, allow me to offer a Bible reading plan that may help you where you need it the most.

The folks at The Bible Project have created a reading plan for 2017 to help almost anyone read through the Bible in a year. Their plan has put together several key characteristics employed individually by other plans that really help the reader as they make their way through the entire Bible. The Bible Project’s reading plan offers a semi-chronological reading schedule through sections of the Old Testament—this is a huge help when trying to piece together stories as they originally occurred. Their plan also offers a lighter reading diet than other plans. By having daily readings around 3-5 chapters per day, this provides a person the steady diet needed in reading the Bible without the overwhelming feeling of falling behind. Also, this reading plan has the reader read a Psalm a day, covering the Psalms multiple times in a year with the intention of the Psalm readings being prayerful exercises. Lastly, because this plan is produced by The Bible Project, they have incorporated their Read Scripture series of videos along with some of their other videos into the plan schedule. What this does is provide that much needed help when coming up to those tall mountains like Leviticus and then being given the tools necessary to make the climb. The videos are really what set this plan apart from other reading plans and the reason why I believe (along with those at The Bible Project), if used how it is designed, this can be the help you need to make 2017 the year you read the entire Bible.

Access to The Bible Project’s 2017 Bible reading plan can be found here along with the introductory video found here.