I love the Old Testament. The 39 books of the Old Testament is filled with history, stories, and Messianic prophecy that together tell an epic story about mankind’s broken relationship with God and the great lengths God went to in order to restore this broken relationship. Although the Old Testament appeals to me because of the history, the one thing that I love the most about the Old Testament is God the Father speaks a lot.
In the New Testament, God only speaks twice; once at Jesus’ baptism and the other time was at Jesus’ transfiguration. Both events are recorded in all three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 3:17 and Matthew 17:5, Mark 1:11 and Mark 9:7, Luke 3:22 and Luke 9:35). In the Old Testament; however, God speaks so much that to quote all of the scripture would fill up an entire book! Because the LORD is quoted so much in the Old Testament, the Old Testament paints a clear picture of His heart and nature. Here are five things that the Old Testament teaches us about God:
God is holy
Many of God’s secondary attributes are often recognized by people, especially His attribute of love; however, God’s greatest attribute and true nature is often forgotten and misplaced today by those who believe in Him – God is holy.
“For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” Leviticus 11:44-45 NKJV
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.'” Leviticus 19:1-2 NKJV
“Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 20:7 NKJV
“And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” Leviticus 20:26 NKJV
Christians often think of God as being love, good, faithful, just, and pure. God undeniably has all of these traits but these are just byproducts of His holiness. God is holy and His holiness requires us to be holy in our hearts. His love and forgiveness never negates that!
God is jealous
The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for 400 years and many of them forgot about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fact, many of them were born into polytheism and only knew the gods of Egypt. When the LORD used Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, their bad habits and idolatrous ways came with them. God gave them the Ten Commandments at Sinai and instituted monotheism. The first two commandments were very clear:
“And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:1-6 NIV
Not long after, the Israelites formed a golden calf in the image of Apis, the Egyptian bull god, and worshipped it as their god. This act of rebellion enraged the LORD that He struck the people with a plague (Exodus 32).
When Solomon was king of Israel, he was known for his unearthly wisdom and his exceptional diplomacy. Solomon even constructed a temple for the LORD so the Ark of the Covenant wouldn’t have to reside in tents anymore! Despite his wisdom and leadership, Solomon had a weakness for women. He had many wives and they eventually turned his heart after other gods. This displeased the LORD and He vowed to split Israel into two kingdoms (1 Kings 11:1-13).
Israel was split into two kingdoms: The Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah). For 204 years, the kings of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD worshipping gods like Ashtoreth, Chemosh, Molek, El, Asherah, and Baal. Not a single one of the kings of Israel did what was good. All eighteen kings were evil and the most notorious of them all was Ahab and his wife Jezebel (1 Kings 16:29-34). Because of Israel’s idolatry, they were the first to fall as God handed them over to the Assyrians. Judah however lasted a little longer. During Judah’s 339 year history, only eight of the twenty kings did what was right in the sight of the LORD. Although most of the “good” kings of Judah made foolish mistakes during their reigns, they did their best to serve the LORD. Despite these few good men, it wasn’t enough to keep them from God’s judgement. Manasseh did so much evil during his reign in Judah that even though he eventually repented, God still judged Judah for idolatry. (2 Kings 21:1-18, 2 Chronicles 33:1-20). 55 years later, Judah was handed over to Babylon and they were enslaved for 70 years.
Another example of God’s jealousy is found in the book of Hosea. One of my favorite minor prophets in the Bible, Hosea, paints a clear picture of God’s dislike for idolatry (Hosea 1). God instructs Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer to teach Hosea how Israel’s unfaithfulness made God feel. What a hard lesson! Simply put, the LORD is God and He detests idolatry!
God is compassionate
Many people see the God of the Old Testament as this white bearded deity of rage looking to strike sinful people down with a thunder bolt. Although sin certainly provokes God to anger whether it be idolatry as proven in the previous section, or other sins such as complaining, disobedience, greed, polygamy, divorce, murder, or sexual immorality, God is very compassionate and responds to the humble and to those who repent.
One of my favorite kings in the Bible is Josiah king of Judah. Josiah was the grandson of Manasseh whom I mentioned earlier. When Josiah was 26 years old, the high priest Hilkiah found a hidden copy of the Pentateuch in the temple which was thought to have been lost during Manasseh’s rule. Josiah’s secretary, Shaphan, took the Book of the Law before king Josiah and read him the book. After hearing the words of the book, Josiah tore his robes and wept (2 Kings 22). In the Old Testament, the rending of ones garments was an outward sign of grief and mourning (Genesis 37:23-35, Job 1:13-21, Joshua 7:2-6, Judges 11:29-35, 2 Samuel 1:1-12, 2 Samuel, 13:30-31, 1 Kings 21:17-27, Ezra 9:1-4). God recognized it as a sign of grief and mourning because He instructed Moses and Aaron not to mourn for Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-7). God saw Josiah’s response and heart of repentance that it moved Him to have compassion on Josiah. Because of Josiah’s humility and brokenness, God delayed Judah’s destruction. Josiah went on a reformation and removed all of the idolatry from the nation of Judah and turned to God with his whole heart (2 Kings 23:1-25).
This is just one of many instances where God had compassion for His people. After 70 years of captivity in Babylon, God allowed the Israelites to return home and blessed them as found in Ezra and Nehemiah. God even brought judgement on the enemies of Israel as found in Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.
“”Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” Joel 2:12-13 NIV
God is sovereign
We see God’s sovereignty at work all throughout the Old Testament. Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt. He served as a slave in Potiphar’s house for eleven years and spent two years in prison for a false rape accusation. But God was in control and Joseph remained faithful to God. Joseph eventually became second in command next to Pharaoh and God used him to save his people during the seven year famine. (Genesis 37-49). In Daniel 3, three young boys by the names of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) refused to worship a golden idol in the image of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. These boys were thrown into a fiery furnace for not worshipping the idol but because they stayed faithful to God, they miraculously walked away from the fire without a single fiber on their clothes singed. When Daniel was falsely accused, God saved him from the lion’s den and made him prosperous (Daniel 6). God also had complete control when Esther was chosen as queen of Persia and used her and Mordecai to save their people from Haman’s plot. (see the book of Esther). God is certainly in control over every situation!
God is still the same
“I the LORD do not change.” Malachi 3:6 NIV
Some Christians have this false idea that God in the Old Testament was a God of wrath and judgement and changed into a God of love and grace in the New Testament. This couldn’t be further from the truth. God does NOT change! God was always compassionate, loving, and merciful. He was always a righteous and just God and hates sin. He still hates sin to this day! Sadly, many people view the Old Testament as an archaic book that was done away with because of Christ and the New Testament. The truth is, the Old Testament was the holy scriptures of the early church and 32% of the New Testament composes of quotes and allusions from the Old Testament. Jesus himself quoted from the Old Testament when satan tempted him.
The Old Testament is still relevant as it was over two thousand years ago. Without the Old Testament, we wouldn’t have the New Testament. The two volumes are complimentary and form an amazing book that is more than history, bedtime stories, and parables; it is living and powerful! The entire Bible paints a beautiful picture of who God truly is. God is holy, God is jealous, God is compassionate, God is sovereign, and God does not change. If you haven’t picked up the Bible in quite some time, I encourage you to read it. Trust me, you’ll find God in there!
Joshua Hawk 