OLD TESTAMENT

What Is the Old Testament in the Bible?
The Old Testament, the revered Hebrew Bible, is a divine collection of thirty-nine books. These books, inspired by God (Mt. 22:31-32; 2 Tim. 3:15-17), were produced over a period of about 1,000 years, authored by some thirty or so writers. 

There are four major divisions of the Old Testament. These are: 
  • Law (the first five books)
  • History (the next twelve books)
  • Poetry (Job through Song of Solomon)
  • Prophecy (the last seventeen books)
These documents span that era from the creation of the Universe down to the time the Hebrew people were delivered from Babylonian captivity. The thrust of the Old Testament is to demonstrate the development of God's plan of redemption, as such was worked out through the Jewish people and their interaction with other nations. Old Testament history is, therefore, highly selective.

The value of the Old Testament is seen in: 
  • its preparation for the coming of Christ (Gal. 3:24)
  • its great moral lessons that are timeless (Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:6, 11)
  • its cultivation of an awareness of the nature of sin (Rom. 7:7, 13)
As a binding legal system, the Old Covenant was restricted to the nation of Israel (Dt. 5:1-5) and ended with the death of Christ on the cross (Gal. 3:25; Eph. 2:11ff; Col. 2:14ff). However, many of the moral principles (i.e., the prohibition against lying, murder, stealing, etc.) are reiterated in the Law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).

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