Touchpoint Bible Study

Old Testament

The Old Testament established a belief in the one true God (monotheism) who created the heavens and earth and all of mankind. His creation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden was a perfect representation of God's creation and his love of this creation. Adam and Eve were called to live a purposeful and faithful lives while demonstrating God's holiness throughout Eden. God's trust was eventually betrayed, by the sin of consumption of the tree of knowledge, and sin entered the world and mankind fell into a fallen state that only God's grace can restore. The lord then created a covenant with his chosen people in order to restore all things to their proper functioning in the world God created. 

We learn of the Jewish people's liberation from slavery in Egypt and the lengthy period of passing through the wilderness to establish a homeland in Israel, by obeying God's word and defeating the enemies of God that were worshiping false idols and living in a sinful nature. The land of Israel would come to be a symbol of a reconstituted version of Eden, as God created laws through his servant Moses, to govern mankind and act as an instrument to atone for sin through the use of the tabernacle (and later the temple) through a process of ritual sacrifices as conducted by the anointed priesthood. 

God's judgment is often demonstrated through the Old Testament on the Jewish people after acts of disobedience by either worshiping other idols or not following the covenant set upon the people through the proper application of the law. God's covenant was represented through one leader, prophet, priest, or king, who would represent his word and disseminate God's plan to the all the people within the tribes of Israel. Individuals such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David are several examples of all whom held this leadership authority. The Old Testament is full of prophesy related to the glorious future where all people, both Jews and gentiles, will come to know the Lord and join his people. There is an expectation that the final heir to the line of David will ascend in authority and take on the task to bring God's message to all people of the world. 

The Old Testament is simply the Jewish or Hebrew Bible that has a different arrangement than standard English bibles such as the NIV or NKJV. The Hebrew bible is organized into three separate divisions known as the law, the prophets, and the writings as below. 

The Law: Consists of the 5 books of Moses including Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 

The Prophets: Consists of the 4 early prophets including Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. 

The latter prophets including Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the group of 12 prophets.

The 12 prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi placed in total as one book.

The Writings: Consists of the three poetical writings including Psalms, Proverbs, and Job. 

The five scrolls: Songs of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Esther, and Ecclesiastes.

The three books: Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah, and Chronicles.

In the Hebrew bible, Samual, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah are combined into one book. This sets the Hebrew bible with a total of 24 books (in the different order) which is the equivalent to the modern-day English bible of 39 books. 

Jesus believed in the whole of the Old Testament and there are many statements to that fact present in the New Testament writings. "The scriptures cannot be broken," (John 10:35). "This day the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21). "Have you never read the scriptures?" (Matt. 21:42). "Until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or tittle will pass from the law, until all is fulfilled." (Matt. 5:18)