Breaking Down: The Old Testament
Then he said to them, “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.” (Luke 24:44)
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth (Genesis 1:1). The reason why we know this is because we have access to what we consider the Old Testament. Depending on your version of the Bible, there are many books that it contains. It generally begins with the book of Genesis and ends with the book of Malachi. Yet, when we look at this very extensive series of books, there are certain things that are revealed to us as believers.
The beginning is what the Ancient Israelites call the Torah. They are the first five books of the Bible, which we will cover in detail further on. It’s then followed by the historical books, followed by the prophetic books. Each of these books present the Father, YHWH in different ways. But while that is true, one thing that cannot be denied is that it is centered on the people that He chose: the Israelites.
The Israelites are chosen and remain to be the center of the story from the beginning to the end. That can be seen by understanding it as a genealogical study. Adam was the first man (Genesis 2:20, 1 Corinthians 15:45), ancestor of Noah, who was the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth. Shem would be the source of all Semites, which Abraham was (Genesis 5, Genesis 10:1-7, 20, 22-23, 31-32, Genesis 11). Most people understand that He was promised to be the Father of many nations (Genesis 15:1 - 21) and would have Isaac and Jacob as children, whose descendents would become the nation of Israel and the twelve tribes. The realisation that the entire Old testament gives perspective to the importance of the New Testament and certain key verses.
The centralization of the people of Israel as the chosen people of The Lord God (Deuteronomy 14:2) shows us what is right and wrong. They were chosen to be the Fathers people. Modern theologians use Israel as to what not to do or who not to be, when in fact, we should follow the positive things that they did. They followed the Father and attempted to do the best that they could. We are not to follow the Achab’s and the Jezabels, nor the David’s and the Nehemiah’s. We are supposed to follow YHWH and His commandments (John 14:15, 1 John 5:3). If we disregard the Old Testament, then we separate ourselves from the Israelites, from whom comes salvation (John 4:22).
Should we call it the “Old Testament”? This series of texts lead us to the person of Yeshua through the history and the prophets that speak of His life and eventual death and resurrection. This is what the book of Hebrews repeatedly calls the “First Covenant”; it’s not imperfect by nature, but because of the people who attempted - and failed - to abide by it. This second covenant, that we call the New Testament does not abolish it, but fulfills it through the person of Yeshua (Matthew 5:17).