Have you ever wondered why so many Christians seem to know the New Testament much better than the Old Testament? We can talk about the life of Jesus, explain the importance of His death and resurrection, and quote familiar passages from Paul’s letters. But ask us to explain the book of Leviticus, the purpose of Israel’s sacrificial system, or the message of the minor prophets, and suddenly things become a little more complicated.
And if we are being honest, I think many of us have experienced this ourselves.
We decide that we are finally going to read the entire Bible. We begin with Genesis, and everything seems to be going well. We read about creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then we move into Exodus, where we encounter the extraordinary account of God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
But eventually, we reach long lists of laws, detailed instructions concerning sacrifices, descriptions of priestly garments, and genealogies filled with names we can barely pronounce.
And what happens?
Somewhere along the way, our enthusiasm begins to disappear. We start wondering why we need to know all these things. After all, we are Christians living under the new covenant. We do not offer animal sacrifices, follow Israel’s dietary restrictions, or worship at a temple in Jerusalem.
So why should we spend so much time studying these ancient instructions?
Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to concentrate on the New Testament, where we can read directly about Jesus Christ and learn how Christians are supposed to live?
I understand why someone might ask those questions. The Old Testament can be difficult to understand, particularly when we encounter historical circumstances, customs, and forms of worship that seem unfamiliar to our modern lives.
But let me ask you something.
How can we fully understand Jesus Christ if we do not understand the Scriptures that prepared the world for His coming?
How can we appreciate why He is called the Lamb of God if we know very little about the sacrificial system? How can we understand His identity as the Son of David if we do not know anything about God’s covenant with Israel’s kings? And how can we understand the significance of the new covenant if we have never seriously considered the covenant that came before it?
Think about that for a moment.
The New Testament does not appear out of nowhere. It is the continuation and fulfillment of a redemptive history that God had been revealing across generations.
In fact, when Jesus and His apostles taught about salvation, they repeatedly appealed to the Scriptures we now call the Old Testament.
The Old Testament was the Bible of the early church before the New Testament writings were completed and collected.
And that should tell us something important.
If we want to understand the gospel more deeply, we cannot afford to neglect the very Scriptures through which God prepared His people to recognize the promised Savior.
The Old Testament is not an outdated introduction that Christians can safely skip.
It is the inspired Word of God, revealing His character, humanity’s need for redemption, and the unfolding purposes that find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament Is Not Someone Else’s Bible
One of the mistakes Christians sometimes make is approaching the Old Testament as though it belongs to an entirely different religion.
We read about Israel’s history, the law of Moses, the priesthood, and the prophets, and we begin imagining that these things have little connection to the Christian life.
But what did Jesus believe about those Scriptures?
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus declares that He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them.
That statement is essential to understanding the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
Jesus does not treat the earlier Scriptures as a collection of mistaken religious traditions that He has come to replace with something entirely unrelated.
He teaches that they find their fulfillment in Him.
Consider what happens after His resurrection.
In Luke 24, two disciples are traveling toward Emmaus. They are troubled by the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion and confused by reports that He has risen from the dead.
Jesus joins them on the road, although they do not initially recognize Him.
He then begins explaining the Scriptures, showing them how the things written in Moses and the Prophets concern Him.
Later in the same chapter, Jesus tells His disciples that everything written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
Notice what He is doing.
He is not introducing an entirely new message disconnected from everything God previously revealed.
He is explaining how the Scriptures they already possessed pointed toward His person and saving work.
And that should completely change how we approach the Old Testament.
We are not merely reading ancient Jewish history, although that history is important.
We are not simply studying moral examples from people who lived thousands of years ago.
We are reading the unfolding revelation of God’s redemptive purposes, which reach their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Now, that does not mean every individual verse is secretly referring to Jesus or that every object, number, and character must represent some hidden detail about His life.
We should be careful not to force meanings upon Scripture that the biblical authors did not communicate.
But it does mean that the Old Testament belongs within the same redemptive story as the New Testament.
The God who called Abraham is the God who sent His Son.
The God who delivered Israel from Egypt is the God who accomplishes the greater redemption through Jesus Christ.
And the God who spoke through the prophets is the same God who has spoken decisively through His Son, as Hebrews 1:1–2 explains.
There are different covenantal administrations and developments throughout biblical history, but there is one sovereign God accomplishing His eternal purpose.
And that is why Christians need the whole Bible.
Learning to Recognize the Different Voices of Scripture
There is something else we need to understand about reading the Old Testament.
Not every biblical book was written to communicate in the same way.
Consider how we read ordinary literature.
If someone hands you a history book, you expect to read accounts of people, places, and events. If you are reading poetry, you recognize that images and figures of speech may communicate something that cannot be reduced to a strictly literal description.
And if you are reading a collection of wise sayings, you understand that many of those sayings describe patterns of life rather than guaranteeing that every situation will unfold identically.
We already recognize these distinctions in ordinary reading.
But when we open the Bible, we sometimes forget them.
The Old Testament contains historical narrative, law, poetry, wisdom literature, prophecy, and other forms of writing. Every part is inspired by God, but each form communicates according to its literary character.
Take the book of Judges, for example.
We encounter accounts of people behaving in ways that are disturbing, violent, and morally reprehensible. Some of these individuals are also described as delivering Israel from its enemies.
But does the fact that Scripture records their actions mean God approves of everything they did?
Of course not.
One of the recurring themes in Judges is the moral and spiritual disorder that develops when God’s people repeatedly abandon His ways. The book ends with the observation that everyone was doing what was right in his own eyes.
That is hardly a description of a spiritually healthy society.
So when we read Judges, we should not approach every character as a hero whose behavior we are supposed to imitate.
Sometimes the actions recorded in Scripture are intended to expose the seriousness of sin and the consequences of abandoning God’s commands.
This is especially important because Christians sometimes turn biblical narratives into motivational stories.
We read about someone overcoming an obstacle and immediately conclude that God is promising us victory over our personal difficulties.
But the historical accounts of Scripture were not written merely to provide inspirational examples.
They reveal what God was doing in history, how people responded to Him, and how His purposes continued unfolding despite human rebellion and weakness.
Now consider the Psalms.
These writings contain worship, thanksgiving, lament, confession, and expressions of confidence in God.
Some psalms celebrate extraordinary deliverance. Others describe deep sorrow and confusion.
Psalm 88 is particularly striking because it ends without the kind of joyful resolution we might expect.
The psalmist continues expressing distress, and the final words leave us with darkness rather than an obvious solution.
Why would God include a prayer like that in Scripture?
Perhaps because the experience of His people is not always one of immediate relief and visible victory.
Sometimes believers continue struggling with sorrow even while bringing their suffering before the Lord.
The Psalms teach us that faithful prayer can include grief, fear, confession, and unanswered questions.
And that is something we need to remember when comforting people who are suffering.
Not every biblical passage was written to make us feel better immediately.
Sometimes Scripture teaches us how to remain faithful while life is painful.
Then we have books such as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
Proverbs teaches wisdom for living responsibly before God. It describes the consequences that ordinarily accompany certain attitudes and behaviors.
But we should not treat every proverb as an unconditional promise guaranteeing a particular result.
Ecclesiastes, meanwhile, forces us to confront the uncertainty and apparent frustrations of life in a fallen world. It reminds us how temporary our earthly accomplishments are and how limited human understanding remains.
These books belong together within God’s inspired revelation, yet they communicate through different literary approaches.
And when we understand those differences, we begin reading more carefully.
Instead of asking only how a passage makes us feel, we ask what the author is communicating and how it fits within God’s larger revelation.
That is how we begin moving from simply reading Scripture toward understanding it.
Why the Law Matters Even Though We Are Not Under Moses
Let’s return to something that causes considerable confusion among Christians: the Old Testament law.
We open Leviticus and encounter instructions about sacrifices, ceremonial cleansing, priestly responsibilities, and distinctions between clean and unclean animals.
Then we read the New Testament and discover that Christians are no longer required to perform those same ceremonies.
So what are we supposed to do with these passages?
Should we ignore them entirely?
I don’t believe so.
But neither should we assume that every command given to Israel under the Mosaic covenant applies directly to the church in exactly the same way.
We need to understand why God gave these instructions and how they relate to Jesus Christ.
Consider the sacrificial system.
In Leviticus, God establishes detailed instructions concerning offerings and the priestly ministry. These sacrifices were part of Israel’s covenant life and taught important truths concerning holiness, sin, purification, atonement, and the necessity of approaching God according to His appointed way.
God was not establishing meaningless religious ceremonies.
He was teaching His people that sin is serious and that sinful human beings cannot simply approach a holy God on their own terms.
Think about that.
We live in a culture where sin is often treated as little more than an unfortunate mistake or personal weakness. People apologize for their actions, promise to do better, and assume the matter is settled.
But the Old Testament sacrificial system continually reminds us that sin involves guilt before a holy God.
And that guilt requires atonement.
The sacrifices prescribed under the Mosaic covenant could not ultimately perfect the worshiper or remove sin through the intrinsic power of animal blood.
That is precisely what Hebrews 10 explains.
Those repeated sacrifices anticipated the superior and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
And when Christ offered Himself, He accomplished what the earlier sacrifices could only foreshadow.
His death was not another temporary offering requiring endless repetition.
It was the once-for-all sacrifice of the sinless Savior.
Now, consider how much deeper our understanding of the cross becomes when we understand that background.
When John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), those words carry significance grounded in the earlier revelation of God.
When Paul describes Christ as our Passover lamb in 1 Corinthians 5:7, he is drawing upon the history of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt.
And when Hebrews explains Christ’s high priesthood, it assumes that readers have some understanding of the priestly ministry established under the old covenant.
Without the Old Testament, these New Testament teachings lose much of their historical and theological depth.
We may still understand that Jesus died for sinners.
But we will struggle to appreciate the fullness of what Scripture reveals about His sacrifice.
There is another important distinction to make.
Historic Reformed theology has commonly distinguished among the moral, ceremonial, and judicial aspects of the Mosaic law. These distinctions help explain how God’s moral will continues to instruct His people while the temple sacrifices and Israel’s particular national arrangements have reached their fulfillment or conclusion under the new covenant.
These categories require careful application and are not simply three labels printed above separate sections of the biblical text.
But the underlying principle is important.
God’s holy character has not changed.
The command to love God and our neighbors remains central to Christian obedience.
Yet we no longer approach God through the Levitical priesthood or offer animal sacrifices because Jesus Christ has fulfilled the redemptive purpose toward which those institutions pointed.
That is why studying the law is important.
Not because Christians need to reconstruct ancient Israel’s entire covenant system.
But because the law helps us understand God’s holiness, the seriousness of sin, the history of His covenant people, and the necessity of Jesus Christ.
The Prophets Were Doing More Than Predicting the Future
When people hear the word prophecy, they often begin thinking about predictions concerning the future.
They want to know which ancient predictions have already been fulfilled and which ones might relate to events happening in the world today.
Now, the Old Testament prophets certainly announced things that God would accomplish in the future.
But if that is all we see when reading them, we are missing a substantial part of their message.
The prophets were also God’s covenant messengers, confronting His people over their disobedience, calling them to repentance, announcing judgment, and proclaiming His promises of restoration and redemption.
Consider the prophet Amos.
Amos ministered during a period when the northern kingdom of Israel experienced considerable prosperity, yet serious injustice and religious corruption existed within the nation.
The people continued practicing religious ceremonies, but many were neglecting righteousness and mistreating others.
In Amos 5, God rejects their hypocritical worship and calls for justice and righteousness.
Think about the significance of that message.
Israel possessed God’s law. The people had religious institutions, worship practices, and a history of receiving extraordinary blessings.
Yet their religious activities had become separated from faithful obedience.
God was not impressed merely because they continued performing outward ceremonies.
He called them to live according to His covenant commands.
And I think that should challenge us today.
We can attend church, sing hymns, discuss theology, and publicly affirm biblical doctrine.
But what happens if we are dishonest in our business dealings, neglect the vulnerable, or treat people with contempt?
Are we really demonstrating the kind of obedience Scripture calls us to pursue?
Now, we should not read Amos as though he were simply addressing every modern social issue directly. His message arose within the specific covenant relationship between God and Israel.
But the passage reveals truths about God’s character that remain important.
He is righteous.
He hates hypocrisy.
And He is not honored by religious activity that becomes disconnected from genuine obedience.
The prophets also reveal the unfolding hope of redemption.
Consider Isaiah 53.
The passage describes the Lord’s suffering servant, who bears the griefs and iniquities of others and through whose suffering God’s redemptive purpose is accomplished.
In Acts 8, an Ethiopian official is reading this very passage when Philip approaches him.
The official asks whom the prophet is describing.
And Philip begins with that Scripture and proclaims the good news about Jesus.
What an extraordinary connection.
A prophetic text written centuries before Christ becomes the starting point for explaining His saving work.
This is why we need to read the prophets in their own historical settings while also recognizing how the New Testament reveals their fulfillment.
If we ignore the historical background, we may misunderstand what the prophet was originally addressing.
But if we fail to recognize the unfolding redemptive message, we may overlook how the prophets prepare us for Christ.
Both matter.
And together they help us understand the unity of God’s revelation.
Seeing Christ Without Inventing Hidden Meanings
There is something else I want to address because I believe it is one of the most common mistakes Christians make when trying to connect the Old Testament to Jesus Christ.
We become so eager to find Jesus in every passage that we sometimes begin inventing connections the Bible itself does not establish.
Let me explain.
Perhaps you have heard someone preach about David and Goliath.
David faces a powerful enemy, overcomes him through faith, and wins a remarkable victory.
The preacher then tells the congregation that everyone has a giant in life. Maybe that giant is financial difficulty, illness, discouragement, or a difficult relationship.
And just as David defeated Goliath, Christians are told they can defeat whatever giants stand before them.
Now, I understand why people find that message encouraging.
But is that the central purpose of 1 Samuel 17?
The account is not primarily an instruction manual for overcoming our personal problems.
It records a significant event in Israel’s history, where David, the Lord’s chosen future king, confronts the Philistine champion who has defied the armies of the living God.
David’s confidence is grounded in the Lord’s power to deliver, not merely in his own courage or ability.
And the victory demonstrates something important about the God of Israel and the king whom He has chosen.
When we understand David’s place within the larger biblical story, we can also recognize how the history of Israel’s anointed king prepares us for the greater Son of David, Jesus Christ.
But we must make those connections responsibly.
We should not treat every detail of the story as a coded prediction about our modern circumstances.
Goliath does not automatically represent our overdue bills, and David’s sling is not a secret symbol for whatever personal strategy we happen to prefer.
The passage has its own meaning.
And that meaning is more important than any inspirational analogy we might create.
The same principle applies throughout the Old Testament.
Some events, institutions, and individuals genuinely foreshadow Christ.
The Passover, the priesthood, the sacrificial system, and the Davidic kingship are especially important because the New Testament develops their relationship to Him.
Other passages reveal God’s character, expose human sin, explain historical events, or provide wisdom for living.
Not every paragraph must contain a direct prediction of Jesus.
But every passage belongs within the Scriptures whose redemptive purposes ultimately find their fulfillment in Him.
That is the distinction we need to maintain.
We should never force Christ into a passage through imaginative interpretations.
But neither should we read the Old Testament as though His coming were unrelated to everything that came before.
The Bible’s unity is not something we have to invent.
God has already revealed it.
Our responsibility is to understand that unity faithfully.
The Old Testament Shows Us Why We Need a Savior
There is another reason I believe Christians should study the Old Testament carefully.
It gives us an honest picture of humanity.
And that picture is not particularly flattering.
From Genesis onward, we encounter people who repeatedly rebel against God.
Adam disobeys in the garden. Cain murders his brother. Humanity becomes increasingly wicked before the flood. Israel repeatedly turns away from the Lord despite witnessing extraordinary acts of deliverance.
Even those individuals whom Scripture presents as significant figures in God’s redemptive history are far from perfect.
Abraham struggles with fear and makes serious mistakes. Moses disobeys God’s instruction. David commits adultery and arranges the death of Uriah. Solomon, despite receiving extraordinary wisdom, eventually turns toward idolatry.
Now, think about why Scripture includes these failures.
If the Bible were simply a collection of inspirational stories designed to celebrate great religious heroes, wouldn’t we expect those stories to be more flattering?
Instead, Scripture repeatedly exposes human weakness and sin.
That is important because we are naturally inclined to compare ourselves with others and conclude that we are reasonably good people.
We look at our accomplishments, our religious activities, and our efforts to live responsibly.
And perhaps we begin imagining that we are doing fairly well before God.
But the Old Testament continually confronts us with the reality that even the most privileged, instructed, and outwardly religious people remain dependent upon His grace.
Israel received God’s law, witnessed His mighty acts, and lived within a covenant relationship established by His mercy.
Yet the people repeatedly demonstrated their inability to maintain faithful obedience.
And that should cause us to consider our own condition.
Our problem is not merely that we lack enough religious information.
We need hearts that have been changed.
We need forgiveness.
We need righteousness that we cannot produce through our own efforts.
And we need a Savior who can accomplish what sinful humanity has repeatedly failed to accomplish.
This is one reason the Old Testament is so important to understanding the gospel.
It reveals the holiness of God and the seriousness of human rebellion.
It exposes the insufficiency of human righteousness.
And through its promises, institutions, and unfolding history, it directs us toward the One who would accomplish redemption.
Jesus Christ did not come merely to provide better moral instructions.
He came to save sinners.
He lived in perfect obedience to the Father, offered Himself as the atoning sacrifice for sin, and rose bodily from the grave.
Where Adam failed, Christ obeyed.
Where Israel’s kings repeatedly fell short, Christ reigns as the perfectly righteous King.
And where the old covenant sacrifices could never finally remove sin, Christ accomplished redemption through His once-for-all offering.
The more clearly we understand the Old Testament, the more deeply we should appreciate the necessity and sufficiency of Jesus Christ.
Reading the Old Testament as Christians Today
So how should we begin reading the Old Testament with greater understanding?
I believe the first thing we need is patience.
We should stop expecting every chapter to provide an immediate devotional message that applies directly to whatever circumstances we are experiencing.
Some passages require more time and careful consideration.
A genealogy may not be as emotionally engaging as a psalm of comfort, but it can help establish the historical continuity of God’s covenant people and the lineage through which His promises unfold.
A description of the tabernacle may seem difficult to follow, but it teaches us about God’s holiness and His appointed dwelling among His people.
And a prophetic announcement of judgment may be uncomfortable to read, yet it reveals the righteousness of God and the seriousness with which He regards sin.
These passages deserve our attention even when their significance is not immediately obvious.
We should also learn to ask better questions.
When reading a historical account, consider what was happening in Israel’s history and what the passage reveals about God’s actions and human responses.
When reading the law, ask how the command functioned within the Mosaic covenant and how the New Testament explains its relevance or fulfillment.
When reading poetry, pay attention to its imagery, emotions, and theological message.
When reading the prophets, consider the circumstances they addressed, the sins they confronted, and the promises of restoration they proclaimed.
And throughout our reading, we should continue asking how these writings fit within God’s larger redemptive purposes.
There are also times when we need help.
Perhaps you are reading Ezekiel and struggling to understand the symbolism. Maybe you are studying the sacrificial instructions in Leviticus and cannot see how they connect with the New Testament.
There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that you need additional guidance.
Faithful pastors, biblical commentaries, study Bibles, historical resources, and the theological writings of the church can be valuable tools.
We should not imagine that every Christian must interpret every difficult passage independently of the wisdom God has provided through other believers.
At the same time, those resources must always remain subordinate to Scripture.
A respected theologian may provide helpful insight, but his interpretation is not equal to God’s inspired Word.
We should learn from faithful teachers while continuing to examine Scripture carefully.
And perhaps most importantly, we need to remember that studying the Old Testament is not simply an intellectual exercise.
The goal is not to become experts in ancient history so that we can impress other people with obscure biblical information.
The goal is to know God more faithfully.
As we study His dealings with Israel, we learn about His holiness, patience, righteousness, and mercy.
As we examine the failures of His people, we are reminded of our own need for grace.
As we follow His promises through the generations, we see the certainty of His sovereign purposes.
And as we recognize their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, we are given greater reason to worship the Savior who has accomplished our redemption.
That is what makes the Old Testament so valuable to the Christian life.
It is not merely telling us what happened long ago.
It is helping us understand the God who has revealed Himself and the salvation He has accomplished.
One Bible, One Redemptive Story, One Savior
Let me return to the question we began with.
Why should Christians spend time studying the Old Testament when we have the New Testament and the completed revelation of Jesus Christ?
Because without the Old Testament, we lose much of the historical and theological foundation that helps us understand who Christ is and why His saving work matters.
We may know that Jesus died on the cross, but we will struggle to understand the significance of sacrifice and atonement.
We may know that He is our great high priest, but we will have little understanding of the priesthood that anticipated His ministry.
We may know that He is the promised King, but we will fail to appreciate the history and expectations surrounding the Davidic covenant.
And we may know that salvation is by grace, yet overlook how God’s gracious purposes were unfolding throughout the history of His people long before Christ’s incarnation.
The Old Testament prepares us to recognize the extraordinary significance of the New Testament.
And the New Testament helps us understand the ultimate fulfillment of what God revealed in the Old.
They belong together.
That does not mean every question in the Old Testament is easy to answer. There are difficult passages, complex historical circumstances, and theological questions that require serious study.
But difficulty is not a reason to abandon God’s Word.
It is a reason to approach it with greater care and humility.
We should be willing to admit when we do not understand something.
We should study patiently, seek faithful instruction, and resist the temptation to invent explanations simply because we want an immediate answer.
And we should never forget that our ability to understand spiritual truth rightly is dependent upon the gracious work of the Holy Spirit.
God has not given us His Word merely so that we can accumulate religious knowledge.
He has revealed Himself so that His people might know Him, trust His promises, understand His saving work, and live in obedience to His will.
That is why I would encourage Christians not to avoid the difficult portions of the Old Testament.
Read Genesis and see the beginning of God’s dealings with humanity.
Study Exodus and recognize His mighty acts of deliverance.
Work through Leviticus and begin appreciating the holiness of God and the necessity of atonement.
Read the historical books and observe how His purposes continue despite human rebellion.
Spend time in the Psalms and learn how God’s people worshiped, lamented, confessed, and trusted Him.
Consider the wisdom literature and its honest examination of human life.
And listen carefully to the prophets as they confront sin, announce judgment, and proclaim the hope of redemption.
Then, when you turn to the New Testament, pay attention to how Jesus and His apostles explain those earlier Scriptures.
You may be surprised by how much clearer the gospel becomes.
Not because you have discovered an entirely different message.
But because you are beginning to understand the fullness of the message God has been revealing all along.
The Bible is not a collection of disconnected religious teachings that happen to be bound together in one book.
It is the inspired revelation of the one true God, unfolding His purposes through history and bringing His promises to fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
And the more we understand that unity, the more reason we have to stand in awe of His wisdom and faithfulness.
The Old Testament is not simply the story of what happened before Jesus Christ. It is an essential part of the story God has given us so that we might understand why Christ came, what He accomplished, and why salvation belongs entirely to the Lord.
And when we learn to read it that way, we begin to discover just how precious every part of God’s Word truly is.