Old Testament for a New Covenant

For many Christians, the Old Testament seems like a distant country where the people speak a different language, they eat different foods, and we have little in common with them.  As a result, many Christians simply neglect studying the Old Testament in favor of the New.  However, we cannot fully understand Christ apart from the Old Testament.

In fact, Jesus plainly said that all of the Scriptures spoke of Him (John 5:39-40).  Moreover, after Jesus rose from the grave, He showed His disciples how all the Scriptures spoke of Him (Luke 24:44-45).  One thing is sure: the Old Testament is about Jesus.  Therefore, if we want to learn more about Jesus we need to study the Old Testament.

The Scriptures are God's revelation to mankind, His son being the perfect revelation.  Because God reveals Himself to us through the Word and His nature is unchanging and His character immutable, the revelation of the Old Testament is just as relevant for understanding the new covenant made in Christ.

This being said, the Old Testament does present some distinct challenges to interpreters today.  The most important obstacle to overcome is historical context.  The books that comprise the Old Testament are individual works each written by unique authors in distinct historical contexts for a specific reason.  Moreover, the history that the books address happened several centuries ago.  This makes it intensely challenging to simply open up the books and interpret.  There are some key strategies to employ when dealing with the Old Testament.

First of all, figure out what you are reading: is this poetry, prose, historical narrative, prophecy, wisdom literature, apocalyptic, parabolic, etc?  Figuring out what genre you are reading is the first step to making an interpretation.  Without knowing what genre a particular book or passage is, there is almost no way to correctly understand what it was originally intended to mean.

Remember, we are attempting to get at original intent and then applying that original meaning to ourselves.  Think about it, if we were reading poetry as if it were history, we would have no idea what the author was talking about.  Figuring out generic traits can go a long way in garnering the most accurate interpretation.

The next step is to assess the historical contexts of the author, the audience, and the events chronicled.  An example would be Ezekiel: understanding that Ezekiel was an exiled Judean priest, exiled before Jerusalem was wholly razed by Babylon in 586 B.C. gives a significant amount of important background into the purpose and content of his book.  Historical context matters.  Luckily, there are a number of great commentaries and contextual resources that can help.

Lastly, the Old Testament is a wealth of richness that has been, is, and will remain relevant for the life of believers.  It is full of theology and rich revelation of God's character.  It is important to not over "Christianize" the Old Testament though.  Yes, it does speak of Christ, but each book was written several centuries before Jesus was born and have significant things to say that should not be severed from the historical contexts in which they were written.  The Old Testament is about the Lord.  Therefore, we need to be reading it to more fully understand the Lord.