Daily Devotional

I know many who begin a Bible Reading Plan with the New Testament. Some do this for reasons I have heard too often:

• “It’s much shorter.”
• “It’s more familiar.”
• “It’s much easier to read.”
• “It’s much easier to understand.”

However, let me share why I believe we should begin by reading the Old Testament:

• It is the largest part of the inspired Word of God that is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and profitable for teaching and correction (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16).
  
  
• It presents much about God’s character (e.g. His names and attributes).
  
  
• It presents human nature as it really is “warts and all” and why we need a Messiah and Savior.
  
  
• It presents redemptive history—the stories of salvation by faith in Christ alone. (Genesis 3:15, etc.).
  
  
• It presents the God of the Old Testament as the same as the God of the New Testament.
  
  
• It presents what was Jesus’ only written Scripture and makes up three-fourths of the Bible.
  
  
• It presents true history as His Story.
  
  
• It presents the beginning of the story that is completed in the New Testament.
  
  
• It presents God’s mercy and grace along with His justice and wrath.
  
  
• It presents Messianic prophecies (e.g., virgin birth, birth in Bethlehem, etc.)
  
  
• It presents my spiritual family history (i.e. my spiritual genealogy).
  
  
• It presents people in search of a place where they can meet God (John 14:1 - “I go to prepare a place...”).
  
  
• It presents prophecies, many of which are fulfilled in the New Testament.
  
  
• It presents truths that are not repeated in the New Testament.
  
  
• It presents the theological foundation for the New Testament.
  
  
• It presents the symbols behind the substantial doctrines of the New Testament.
  
  
• It presents Jewish customs necessary to understand the New Testament.
  
  
• It present the Law that Jesus came to fulfill and the apostle Paul said was a tutor.
  
  
• It presents the fact that God is a God of detail and cares about the details of our lives.
  
  
• It presents, along with the New Testament, a picture of Jesus the Messiah (Yeshua Ha Mashiach).
  
  
• It presents the story of our existence and the meaning of life (i.e., to love God with all our hearts...).
  
  
• It presents the only Scriptures available to Jesus. “If the OT was good enough for Him...”
  
  
• It presents the lives of real people with real struggles whose failures and victories serve as our examples (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11).
  
  
• It presents a part of the inspired Word of God that if read to my children and grandchildren will be used by the Holy Spirit to lead them to salvation (cf. 2 Timothy 3:15).

Why read and study the Old Testament?  Because all 600,000+ words are good for our soul!

• Psalm 12:6 - “The words of the LORD are pure words….”
  
  
• Psalm 119:105 - “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…”

So let me encourage you to pull out your favorite version of the Bible and go on a journey of a lifetime. Begin in Genesis, Chapter One and keep going to the end of Malachi, Chapter Four. However, it doesn’t stop there. Once you finish the Old Testament, contact me and  I will share with you why I love to read the New Testament, as well. Talk to you then.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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