العربية
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.” (Galatians 4:4)
December 19, 2023
Is the Old Testament important?
Introduction
Rebellion and man’s transgression against his brother is in itself rebellion against God and disobedience to Him. It is the original sin that the Bible talks about. What Occupying forces have done in various countries in general, and what specifically is happening in Palestine, is contrary to the will of God . The problem is not caused by the Old Testament, but rather by human behavior, extremism, and arrogance. Humanity has witnessed and is still witnessing violent and confusing conflicts and wars due to man’s transgression and rebellion against God and his fellow man. Because of sin, people are alienated from God and from the Bible, especially the Old Testament. Here we must be careful and not judge anyone over something of which we have no knowledge. My question here is do you really want to know? Or issue a ruling and reject the matter? You have freedom of choice. But I encourage reading and searching. I will explain some questions.
The Holy Bible
It is a book that contains a collection of books, and messages that God revealed about Himself and His will for humanity. It was called the book because of the unity of the spirit and the message. God chose about forty writers from different parts of the earth over a period of 1600 years, to write this record of God’s work in history for the sake of His love for mankind.
The writers of the Old Testament were human beings who were moved by the Holy Spirit and were inspired by God to tell His word to the people, even though this brought them death and persecution, to such writers as Elijah, Jeremiah, and Amos. After them were the apostles and disciples who witnessed the events and were killed because of their faith. That is, they are not just people who agreed to write and record history and prophecy.
Bible message
The Holy Bible, in all its books, has unity in teaching and source, and contains one picture of God’s nature and work. God is great in His love for all humankind. We must look at the overall context of the Bible. The context of the Bible expresses and represents numerous initiatives from God to bring mankind closer to their maker.
The Bible begins by talking about creation, proceeds to man’s transgression against God, and his fall into sin. To solve this problem, the Bible began by giving promises and sending prophets in the Old Testament. These divine initiatives began with the prediction of sending a Savior to save humanity from sin in the Book of Genesis and to fulfill God’s promises in man’s redemption. God performed many works and communicated with peoples of the earth, and His goal was for all people to be saved without exception, and for them not to transgress and thereby harm one another. God gave them the commandments and the law in the Old Testament, and through the prophets, opportunities for repentance.
God uses people to spread His Gospel for the salvation of all nations. Let us pause, and consider that some people who carry out violent acts such as bombing and killing are most probably a reflection of the mindset of their leaders, as well as a result of the sin that has existed since the early fall of man.
In the case of Palestine and the surrounding areas, historically, many empires have ruled through the past centuries. The main goal of these empires was to control the land and its resources. Nothing has changed regarding man’s transgression and injustice towards their fellow man. The original sin that caused man to fall and distanced him from God has also marred the relationships of other people groups. Just as Cain killed his brother Abel after his sacrifice was rejected, we observe that envy and violence is still perpetuated today due to the basic sin nature that exists after man’s disobedience and fall from God’s favor.
In a world without sin, if the foundation of a government were the teachings of the Holy Bible, there would be no violence such as bombing, plundering, or injustice. Quite the opposite is treating your neighbor as you would want to be treated, or returning good for evil. The Old Testament prohibits transgression of the law, no matter how big or small. The Old Testament is summarized in the Gospel of Luke as follows,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And he said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read? Then He answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10: 26-27).
The Bible is a true and a factual record with no fabrication or embellishment. It tells the true events and stories that happened as well as the sins and failures of people towards God and humanity. Often we are repulsed by human behavior, but this is the truth. Man has been rebellious and has disobeyed God throughout history.
God is talking about a spiritual kingdom that is not made by human hands, that is, it has nothing to do with the presence of weapons, armies, and money, but rather the sphere of God’s rule over humans. A good relationship with God and godly moral values reflect positively on man. Jesus Christ strove to spread and clarify this truth and God’s purpose from ancient times. Many still do not His intent.
Christ is God’s great initiative
Christ came bearing the image of God the Father in order to reveal Himself to man because of the greatness of God’s love. The New Testament and the testimony of the disciples and apostles, who died in horrific ways in order to spread this truth, is the source of our knowledge about the nature of Jesus Christ the Savior. Likewise, Jesus, the Son of God, fulfilled prophecies concerning the promised Messiah in the Old Testament. The Lord Jesus himself testified about the Old Testament and said to them: “These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: everything that is written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44).
The Apostle Paul confirms in the New Testament: “We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. And do not teach them by human wisdom, but by what the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.” (1 Corinthians 2: 12-13).
Human encroachment is the problem
In the time of Jesus Christ, the Jews believed that they were the children of Abraham. John the Baptist alerted them very shortly before the beginning of the Lord Jesus’ ministry, when he said to them: “And when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You generation of vipers, who has seen you? Shall you flee from the wrath to come? Produce fruits worthy of repentance.”
“And do not think to say within yourselves: We have Abraham as a father. For I tell you: God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. And now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:7-10).
“They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them: “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham!” (John 8:39).
The pride of the Jewish classes was repulsive to the Lord Jesus, as they believed that they were the best, and the Lord was always rebuking and clarifying what is the truth. His treatment was equal with everyone, without discrimination or racism, because the salvation and love of the Lord is for everyone.
Blind pride still leads people to sin, racism, and denial of the Savior and His love. “And this is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19).
The Bible for all People
God has not changed His plan since the foundation of the world. His salvation is for all peoples without exception. But it was the people of the Bible who abused the covenant and the message.
“And Abraham will become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? For I have known him, that he may give orders to his children and to his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken.” (Genesis 18:18-19). What
does the Apostle Paul, whose life changed from a murderer to a messenger of the truth, say when he meets Christ:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s descendants and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:28-29).
“God, after he had spoken long ago to the fathers by the prophets in many ways and in many ways, in these last days he has spoken to us in his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by which also He made the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Many verses and witnesses in both the New and Old Testaments speak about God’s purpose. We need to study these verses for understanding and enlightenment. We cannot cancel any covenant because of human evil. This message to repent and turn away from human sin, is also a call to do justice, goodness, and be peacemakers. God has expressed these commands since ancient times.
Wars in the Old Testament
A friend of mine who is a pastor at a local church in Bethlehem preached an important sermon about peace and the difficult conditions that Gaza is going through. One of his statements while preaching said: “To our European friends, I never want you to preach to us about human rights or international law again. And I mean what I say. We are not white, and these laws do not apply to non-whites, I think.”
If he had said these words before the war on Gaza, we would have said that this priest is impolite, arrogant, and does not respect people and the church must expel him. But this saying comes to the rescue of people. This saying was an important prophetic voice and a timely voice of conscience for the victims of war in the face of the world’s silence over the massacres. Yes, he spoke in a context. We all need to hear these bold words because the scale of destruction and transgression is indescribable.
Wars in the Old Testament have their context, circumstances, and details, the details of which we do not know completely. But it is clear that many peoples, including the Hebrew people, made grave mistakes, with terrifying behavior, and transgressions that angered God. If we had the ability to witness and experience the evils of these people, we would also be angry with them and ask God to bring justice. If we humans want peace and goodness, then what about God?
What is certain and common throughout history even to this very day is rebellion and evil. Yes, sin and rebellion have a price. Man has saddened the heart of God with his strange and confusing sins. Let us look at the evil and transgressions going on around us.
We need to study and know
Job did not have sufficient knowledge and depth about God. When Job cried out in pain, the Lord’s response to him was: “Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said, Who is this that wrongs judgment with words without knowledge? Gird up your loins now as a man; then you will teach me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who set its measurements? For you Do you know? Or who poured out a plumb line against it? On what did its foundations rest? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together? And all the children of God shouted.
Today we groan because of the greatness of the racism and the selfishness of humanity. Yes, we are angry and we want God to do justice, even if in a painful way.
God created all the peoples of the earth and gave them authority and freedom. But their rebellion crossed all the red lines. In the past, Adam (?) grieved the heart of God and wounded humanity. And today the fall of man still hurts us.
The Bible is clear and speaks of the greatness of God’s authority. He has the right to punish and deter evil. He is the master of the peoples. He works truth and justice and resolves matters.
I will give an example from the Bible that explains one of God’s initiatives to humanity in sending the prophet Jeremiah, the problem of human transgression, and God’s punishment.
God asks the prophet Jeremiah
“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came out of the womb I sanctified you. I made you a prophet to the peoples.” So I said, “Ah, Lord God, I do not know how to speak, for I am a child.” Then the Lord said to me, “Do not say that I am a child, for you are to go to everyone to whom I send you, and to do whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” And the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. Look! This day I have set you over the peoples and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Description of people’s transgressions
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” So I said: “I am seeing an almond rod.” Then the Lord said to me, “You have thought well, for I am watchful of my word to perform it.” Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying:
“What do you see?” So I said: “I see an inflated pot with its face facing the north.” Then the Lord said to me, “From the north, evil will spread upon all the inhabitants of the earth. For I will call together all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord. And they will come and set every man his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and on every wall. Show her around,
And over all the cities of Judah. And I will bring my judgment against all their wickedness, because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and have worshiped the works of their hands.”
“Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your vain thoughts lodge among you?” (Jeremiah 4:14).
“Because my people are fools. They did not know Me. They are ignorant and do not understand. They are wise to do evil, but they understand to do good” (Jeremiah 4:22).
“Go around the streets of Jerusalem and see, and find out and search its squares to see if you will find a man or is there one who does justice and seeks justice? I will pardon him. And if they say, “As the Lord lives.” For they swear lies! Lord, are not your eyes on the truth? I struck them, but they were not hurt. You exhausted them and they refused to accept discipline. They hardened their faces harder than rock. They refused to return.”
“But I said: They are poor. They were ignorant because they did not know the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God. I will go to the great and speak to them, because they have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God. But they have broken all the yoke and cut the bonds. For this reason the lion will strike them out of the forest. The evening wolf destroys them. The leopard lurks around their cities. Everyone who comes out of it will be torn apart because their sins have increased. Their transgressions increased!”
“How can I forgive you for this? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by those who are not gods. And when I had satisfied them, they committed adultery, and they crowded together in the house of a prostitute. They have become a strong fortress. They neighed, each one over his friend’s wife. Shall I not be punished for this, says the Lord? Or how can my soul take revenge on such a nation?” (Jeremiah 5:1-9).
“And this people became a disobedient and rebellious heart. They disobeyed and went away. And they did not say in their hearts: Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the early rain and the latter rain in his season. He preserves for us the appointed weeks of harvest.”
“Your transgressions reflected these things, and your sins prevented good from you. For evil people have been found among my people, lurking like stalkers, setting snares to catch people. Like a cage full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. For this reason, they became great and became wealthy. They became fat. They shined. They also transgressed into evil things. They did not rule in the case, the orphan’s case. And they succeeded. By the right of the poor, they did not make up for it. Is it for this reason that I will not be punished, says the Lord? Shall not my soul be avenged upon such a nation?”
“There was astonishment and shuddering in the land. The prophets prophesy lies, and the priests rule by themselves, and my people love so. And what will you do in the afterlife?” (Jeremiah 5:23-30).
The circumstances are different, but it is the same evil and original sin that has led all people to the pit of pain.
The solution comes by repentance for our sins and returning to God, in enlightenment and seeking the truth. He is waiting for us and is always with us. “Who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).
