LESSON 17 • Themes for the Future: New Testament Update - "The Rest of the Old Testament Story"

POINTING FORWARD

The Old Testament story is preparatory. It looks forward. It presents God’s interaction with his creation in preparation for the culmination of the Devine–human relationship coming to its fulfillment at the appointed time according to the timetable that God had set in place even before the creation of the universe itself (Note: Ephesians 3:4-12, Luke 9:51, etc.) God’s dealings with mankind during the Old Testament story prepared the scene for the final offer that He would make through His Son as he sent Him to become flesh, not only to show the way to the Father but to give himself as a sacrifice so that mankind could be reconciled through him to God for all eternity. 

In the various acts of the play unfolding itself across the pages of the Old Testament story we see a climactic buildup in expectation of the great final act of God as he brings about the fulfillment of his eternal plan. 

• The magnificently perfect creation...

• The disastrous entrance of sin into perfection...

• The great washing of the world to rid it again of evil...

• The promise to Abraham of future blessings to come though his offspring...

• The warnings of blessings or disasters as consequences of mankind’s actions...

• The promise of a new covenant, different to that unkept by the Jewish nation...

• The exile of God’s chosen people and the eventual restoration of the faithful remnant...

• The numerous references to the upcoming day when God would establish his heavenly kingdom on David’s throne...

All these acts in the play lead the reader to look for the update – the rest of the story – the culmination of God’s interaction with his creation -- in the pages of the New Testament. It is only there that God finally reveals what he has been hinting at for centuries.

Now, having taken a brief overview of the story of the Old Testament we should be acutely aware that this story was not the whole story but only the introduction. This information allows God’s true intentions to be more clearly understood and it is in our best interest to acknowledge some of the reasons that the Divine Creator preserved it for those to whom he would bring his Messiah – as well as for those of us who attempt to follow him millennia after he returned to be with the Father. 

BENEFICIAL ASPECTS FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

The apostle Paul gives us some very telling clues as to what God’s purpose was and what benefits this study of the Old Testament has for Christians today. These may be seen in Romans 15:4-6 and I Corinthians 10:1-14. Put very simply, they might be summarized as follows: 

1. What was written was to teach us, so we would not give up hope, looking to these inspired writings for encouragement.

2. The things which happened in the Old Testament were to serve us as examples, to keep us from making the same mistakes they made.

3. What was written was to serve to warn us, so we would avoid falling from the grace finally revealed through Christ.

The Old Testament story points vividly toward fulfillment in the continuation of the story of God’s interaction with mankind which we find in the New Testament. Not only the prophecies of the Messiah, the eternal kingdom, a new covenant different from the one given at Sinai, and a gathering of the nations into the fold of “God’s people”, but a host of other glimpses of what God still had planned for his creation abound in the pages of the Old Testament. 

As we look back at these 39 books and their messages we can see quite clearly how these writings can help us understand (and acknowledge) the truths though which man can regain the intimacy with the Divine nature that was lost in the garden through sin. God finally revealed, through His Son, that which He had planned throughout eternity and which had only been hinted at and shown in small parts and pieces in the shadows of the Old Testament story. Now, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit it is out in the open, revealed once and for all to (and through) the apostles. No longer was it be true that God would only reveal, as he did with his prophets, that the things of which they spoke weren’t for them, but for us (I Peter 1:10-12). The story has unfolded, the drama has reached its climactic act, God has accomplished, through Jesus of Nazareth, what man could never have done for himself – and it all came when “the fullness of time had come” (Galatians 4:4).

Although God and his nature have certainly never changed, it becomes abundantly clear that the rules and information that He has given for his creation are not the same throughout all history. The Old Testament provides us some very valuable insights into several supremely important facets of the relationship between the Creator and his human creation:

ENHANCEMENTS TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF REALITY

A study of the Old Testament allows us to better understand God’s character:

We can see his love and care for those who are willing to seek him.
We can see his power and might.
We can see what he has done.
We can see what he has refused to do.
We can see what he has promised to do.
We can see that he has fulfilled his promises and is faithful.
We can see his mercy, as well as his severity.
We can see how he has reacted to both mankind’s defiance and mankind’s
repentance.

A study of the Old Testament allows us to better understand our own character as His human creation

We can see our mortality.
We can see our sinfulness.
We can see our unfaithfulness.
We can see our unreliability.
We can see our arrogant and self-reliant nature.
We can see that we cannot save ourselves nor make ourselves worthy before Him.
We can see we are dependent on Him for mercy and salvation.

A study of the Old Testament allows us to better understand the plans God made for our redemption:

Shadowy foretelling of God’s future plans:
Promises of blessings through Abraham’s lineage
Blood sacrifices for atonement
Salvation by water 
Eternal kingdom

Prophecies of things to come:

A covenant to replace the broken one
The suffering Savior
The international kingdom
The priesthood of all under the new covenant

QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT AND DISCUSSION

Is the Old Testament God the same as we see in the New Testament story?

What guiding themes can you see throughout the Old Testament story?

How might God’s prophecies of the coming Messiah still be misinterpreted today?

What are some ways that God’s interactions with mankind in the Old Testament help you to understand his promises for us in Christ and his kingdom?