Marcellus & Cassian

The modern day Christian church is neglecting the Old Testament. The necessity among the Christians to comprehend the value of the Old Testament is imperative; and the spiritual wealth awaiting to be unearthed is far too great to be ignored. ’Tis a sorrow to have such a treasure pushed to the side when the Old Testament holds truths and revelations that are able to bring the church closer to God. 

     Logos Bible Software, a digital form of Bible research, classified over 830,000 Bible verse references back in 2017. Out of the top ten most used verses, only one was from the Old Testament. Out of the top 100, there were only nine Old Testament verses listed and all of those verses came only from the books of Genesis and Isaiah.

     Some people would assume Christ’s story began in the Gospel of Matthew. In reality, the promise of a savior had its birth in Genesis 3:15. Christ’s redemptive seed was carried down Seth’s line to Egypt on the back of Hebrew slaves, into the wilderness and across the Jordan River to the promised land. It grazed on lush pastures where young David watched over his sheep and then to the magnificent grandeur of Solomon’s temple. It survived the unfaithfulness and atrocities of God’s people and followed the Israelites to Babylon where they spent 70 years in exile. After more than 400 years, this precious seed was planted in the womb of a young woman. Mary, a virgin, was chosen to bring the long-awaited Savior into the world.

     There are other great stories that are overlooked. The book of Hosea tells the true tale of a prophet whom God told to marry an unfaithful prostitute to demonstrate His profound love for Israel. There was an eight-year boy crowned king after his evil father was assassinated after only reigning two years (2 Chronicles 33). In a battle that reminds me of the magnificence of the ones from the Lord of the Rings, an army of 580,000 men of the kingdom of Judah go against one million men and thirty thousand chariots (2 Chron. 14). These famed one million men became dust for God had granted the kingdom of Judah the triumphant victory.

     The Old Testament is a goldmine to discover more about Jesus. Just like Jesus’ words are recorded in the Gospels, His words are also recorded in the Old Testament. Beginning in Isaiah 50:4, Jesus spoke,“The Lord God has given Me the tongue of those who are instructed to know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me each morning; He awakens My ear to listen like those being instructed.” (Holman Christian Standard Bible Version) This passage reflects deeply on Jesus’ relationship with His Father, which reminds me of when He “often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer” (New Living Translation, Luke 5:16) and when He “went up on a mountain to pray, and He prayed to God all night.” (Luke 6:12) 

     Basil F. C. Atkinson, M.A., PH.D., from the University of Cambridge, wrote a book called The Christian’s Use of the Old Testament, explaining the depth of the unity of both the New and Old Testament. He wrote, “…the Old Testament is rightly regarded as essentially a Christian book. Depths of meaning are brought out of it by the light of the Christian revelation cast back upon it which could be otherwise detected and remained unseen by the original readers and original writers.” (pg. 23) He concluded on page 35, “The New Testament writers all recognized their dependence upon the Old. …As Christians have recognized for so long, ‘The New is in the Old contained, the Old is by the New explained’.”

     There are hidden gems in the Old Testament that are yet to be discovered. Like a suitcase overflowing with clothes, it is packed with wondrous truths from God. I truly believe that if these enthralling stories, poems and histories didn’t hold much significance, they wouldn’t be woven by the Holy Spirit in the pages of the Bible today. The Word of God is like a hidden treasure and is anxiously awaiting the church to seek it out.

Works Cited:

Atkinson, M.A., PH.D., Basil F. C.. The Christian’s Use of the Old Testament. February 1952, pp. 23, 35.

Brannan, Rick “Writing a Systematic Theology? You must discuss these references.” June 5, 2017 https://academic.logos.com/writing-a-systematic-theology-you-must-discuss-these-references/ Accessed 2 Aug. 2020.

Holman Christian Standard Version, Notetaker’s Interactive Edition. Nashville, Tennessee. Holman Bible Publishers, 2009. Print.

New International Version. Bible Gateway. 2 Aug. 2020.