Is the OT relevant to Christians?
- Thread starter SalomePortman
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Have you ever read the book by John Steinbeck called "Of Mice and Men"? Might have done so in high school years ago.
Notice how the people in the book were so rough around the edges? Fairly benign in their wants and dreams versus how barbaric they acted towards others or how others reacted towards them?
And a lot of that has to do with the social/anthropological environment that they lived in at the time. God didn't change...but society did.
In the Old Testament the Israelites were a race of slaves...treated like property and sub-human. That's who the book was written to. Their slave owners didn't bother going to the expense of buying them clothes...ever. So they ran around naked doing their daily tasks required of them.
The whole Old Testament gave the Israelites a history and a culture and an education and a set of morals to live by that they could understand. It also gave promise of a future to come that was even better.
For those people...it was beyond wonderful and a blessing. Same as what the New Testament does for us today.
And to that end...the Old Testament is the New Testament explained while the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. You can't have one without the other.
Notice how the people in the book were so rough around the edges? Fairly benign in their wants and dreams versus how barbaric they acted towards others or how others reacted towards them?
And a lot of that has to do with the social/anthropological environment that they lived in at the time. God didn't change...but society did.
In the Old Testament the Israelites were a race of slaves...treated like property and sub-human. That's who the book was written to. Their slave owners didn't bother going to the expense of buying them clothes...ever. So they ran around naked doing their daily tasks required of them.
The whole Old Testament gave the Israelites a history and a culture and an education and a set of morals to live by that they could understand. It also gave promise of a future to come that was even better.
For those people...it was beyond wonderful and a blessing. Same as what the New Testament does for us today.
And to that end...the Old Testament is the New Testament explained while the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. You can't have one without the other.
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We do see Jehova doing things some would consider "not nice" in the OT, like proclaiming judgements and warnings, forcefully coercing people to do things, wiping out civilizations, and killing people for disobeying him. He was (and is) merciful, though- it just doesn't stick out as much as the punishing and killing.
Jesus didn't do those things, because he was setting an example for us- while God's wrath is pure and righteous, the wrath of man isn't. So Jesus didnt do anything we aren't supposed to do. He did preach the wrath of god, though, and warned people about sin.
When Paul tells Timothy "all scripture" is good- he is referring specifically to the OT, because the NT wasn't made at the time. The OT scriptures are full of testimony about Jesus, and you can learn many principles that are still applicable to life today from the OT.
Jesus didn't do those things, because he was setting an example for us- while God's wrath is pure and righteous, the wrath of man isn't. So Jesus didnt do anything we aren't supposed to do. He did preach the wrath of god, though, and warned people about sin.
When Paul tells Timothy "all scripture" is good- he is referring specifically to the OT, because the NT wasn't made at the time. The OT scriptures are full of testimony about Jesus, and you can learn many principles that are still applicable to life today from the OT.
Actually, God has from the Old Testament demonstrated love from the Begging
. God is Holy and He made the world so man could live, yet it was sin that caused God to take action against the man. Every action of man produced a reaction from GOD. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God pleading to repent and not follow after other gods. The Hebrews leader after leader build and worshiped the god of Baal and erected the pole of Ashtar, then God judged them. When the Hebrews tore it down and abandon Baal the Lord God blessed them.-
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Hi Salome…
The Old Testament provides the foundation for everything that happens in the New… and for everything that happens in out lives today. It gives the history of Israel, the prophecies about Jesus, and a vast amount of contextual information.
While someone can be a Christian without reading it, they would find their understanding much enriched by reading and understanding the foundations of the faith.
God certainly didn’t change, and a careful reading will demonstrate that.
The Old Testament provides the foundation for everything that happens in the New… and for everything that happens in out lives today. It gives the history of Israel, the prophecies about Jesus, and a vast amount of contextual information.
While someone can be a Christian without reading it, they would find their understanding much enriched by reading and understanding the foundations of the faith.
God certainly didn’t change, and a careful reading will demonstrate that.
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