Why The Old Testament Matters

Greetings my dear brothers and sisters in faith. As we come together in this virtual fellowship to recognize and honor the Sabbath, keeping it holy according to God’s command to us, I would like to continue our focus on Scripture, and gaining a firm foundation in our understanding of it and familiarity with it. This is absolutely essential as a building block for
understanding the message that David brought, as well as any
present-day Truth that God reveals to us.

Please, grab your Bibles and look up the references in the text as you go along… and make a note, to go back and read the context afterward, in order to gain a more thorough understanding.

Now, before we begin… may I suggest that you take a few moments, to close your eyes or move away from the computer and other distractions, and spend time in prayer. Pray that God will open your mind to the understanding of his word and your heart to the truth of it, pray that you will not be distracted from focusing on the Spirit during this study, pray as the Spirit leads you… and when you are done, continue reading …

Why The Old Testament Matters

The question of whether or not believers are still supposed to follow the laws of the Old Testament has always fascinated me. Maybe you have struggled with this as well. Why does the Old Testament matter? Why do we continue to honor the Sabbath, rather than meeting on Sunday as others do? Why do we avoid eating pork and shellfish, when most Christians have rejected that as Jewish ritual that no longer applies to us?

The apostle Paul wrote extensively in the New Testament about the freedom of the believer from the demands of the law. It is widely accepted within Christendom that the law was meant to point the way towards our need for a savior, and to foreshadow Yeshua, and is thus no longer binding upon us because of the grace of God.

Yet, most Christians still have their male children circumcised, and Christian children in churches around the world still memorize the Ten Commandments in Sunday School. Thus it seems that practice of old testament law is alive and well within Christendom today, despite what we are frequently told when our practices are called into question.

Speaking of “Sunday School,” a particularly interesting twist of this duel logic involves the “blue laws” which still exist in many states and communities in America today. These are laws that prescribe when stores may open (and which stores are allowed to open at all) on Sundays. The idea behind these laws is rooted deeply in the Old Testament command to “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (Deut. 5:12)” In a direct contradiction of logic, the laws all concern Sunday – which is not the Sabbath day – on the claim that the Old Testament no longer applies and the day of rest is now supposed to be the first rather than the seventh day of the week.

The point of Paul’s writings, of course, is that we no longer have to strive to be perfect (an impossible goal), because we have salvation through the sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross. If you truly love and follow the LORD, however, you will want to live according to the will of the Holy Spirit. This means honoring your parents and the Sabbath, not worshiping idols or committing murder or adultery, etc. In other words, this means obeying God’s law because we want to please Him, and to do the things that He wants us to do, not because we have to in order to be saved.

Yeshua taught that the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your mind, and all of your soul, (Matt. 22:37)” and that the second is to “Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt. 22:39)” He didn’t make these up when questioned, but rather quoted Old Testament laws (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18) that would have been well-known to His disciples and other people of that time.

Don’t forget either that Scripture also says that we as believers are a “peculiar people” and a “royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).” It reminds us to keep ourselves set apart from the ways of the world and to strive to be holy, as God is holy (though, again, this is not something we are capable of on our own). One way that we can remain set apart and demonstrate the leadership of God and the Holy Spirit in our lives is by following the commands set down for us to the best of our limited, fallible human ability. When we fall short (and we will, often), we seek the forgiveness which is assured to us.

Suggested Scripture Readings

Last week, I suggested a focus on the books which discuss prophecy, and the things which will come to pass, and the things of God that were revealed to us through His servants. This week, I am going to suggest that you focus your reading on passages in both the old and new testaments of Scripture, which deal with the laws handed down to us by God from the perspective of before, and after, Yeshua’s life, death, and resurrection.

Some good starting points are 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Obviously, that is quite a bit of reading, and not something you are likely to finish in a single sitting. I would suggest focusing particularly on 1 Corinthians, and if you have a good cross-referenced Bible then use that to lead into the particularly relevant sections of the Old Testament. From there, go back to 2 Corinthians, and do the same.

And as always, remember to approach the reading of Scripture as a prayerful fellowship with the LORD, rather than as an assigned exercise. You may begin to read and find yourself led in an entirely different direction by the Spirit. That’s great! I’m not going to check your homework or anything