Before you read this article, watch the video. Go ahead, watch it. The article won't make much sense if you don't. In fact nothing will, if you hippopotamus cheese 笛西瓜דךםחयह घड़ी!
Watched it? Good. Now we may begin.
What is the whole point of the Bible? Is there a point of the Old Testament being there? Is the Bible just a series of guidelines which people pick and choose from so that they can feel good about themselves? What about the great Sunday School heroes like David, and Moses, and Abraham? How are they relevant to people like us on this side of history?
Consisting of 66 books, two main languages (Hebrew and Greek), several different kinds of literary genres+styles, and written by about 40 authors over an approximated 2000 year period, the Bible has a unique and strange unity when it comes to the unity of message. Yet, backstage, behind all the different intricacies of human authorship, there is but one author, with one main message revolving around one person.
One author: Paul writes to the young pastor, Timothy in one of his last epistles, reminding him to hold on to the stuff he had learnt in regards to the sacred writings, because they were '...breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.' (2tim3:16-17) The Greek word behind 'breathed out by God' is θεοπνευστος (theopneustos), literally God breathed, gives you a picture of the scriptures being exhaled from the very mouth of God!
One message: It is after Jesus' death, and his disciples are still reeling from having their hopes and dreams of a messiah crushed, where two of them are on the road to Emmaus. Jesus joins them, 'and beginning from Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself'. Much later, speaking to his bewildered, unbelieving disciples, he said, 'these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' The entire Bible works together for the purpose of portraying one sole message: Jesus.
So how does knowing this help us to understand the Old Testament correctly?
Well, let me introduce you to the terms type and anti-type. A type is a conceptual model which is a reflection of the anti-type, which is foreshadowed by past types. To put this into example, Moses, being a redeeming figure for Israel, as well as their intercessor before God, is a type of Christ, who is the fulfilment of Moses and therefore the anti-type (Deut 18:15-22). All the strings of the Old Testament, as Jesus told his disciples on the way Emmaus, are pulled together in the person of Jesus.There are plenty of these types throughout the Old Testament, and all these point towards a future where they will all be fulfilled in Christ. Can you think of a few?
There is also what we call the meta-narrative (bigger story) running through the Bible, and it concerns the Kingdom of God. Stretching from Genesis to Revelation, you see the recurring theme of God's people, in God's place, under God's blessing and authority*.
These two ideas help us look at the Old Testament through the lens of the Cross, and how Jesus fulfils the Old Covenant into the New through His death and resurrection. Having said that, it is also important that we first seek to understand the Old Testament in its original context, written to a people in a different culture and age from us, before looking at it through Christ, before finally applying it to our lives. Ultimately, having a better understanding of the Old Testament types give us a better appreciation of the anti-type, Jesus.
In this short discourse, I have to admit that I am not able to cover as extensively as I would like on how we should be approaching the Old Testament, due to my lack of in-depth comprehension of the subject. However, I am more than happy to point you towards several brilliant minds who have thought long and hard on how modern Christians should approach the Old Testament. The first of the two is Graeme Goldsworthy, who has written extensively on this topic, which we call Biblical Theology. I highly recommend his book, Gospel and Kingdom, which takes you through the Bible's meta-narrative. The other is Vaughn Roberts, who wrote God's Big Picture, which is pretty much Gospel and Kingdom at a much less intense level. Much recommended for those who are not a fan of many pages of tiny words and few pictures.
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