Introduction
In this essay I will seek to give several reasons why every Christian should know the Old Testament. For the most part the essay focuses on the value of the Old Testament has in itself and the latter part explores what the New Testament teaches about the purpose of the Old Testament.
Historical value
One of the main reasons that every Christian should know the Old Testament is because of its historical value. The Christian faith has a rich heritage in Jewish tradition. While the New Testament dates back two thousand years the books of the Old Testament date back even further. This is particularly relevant when compared with much of today’s understanding of the Christian faith. Due to the spread of Christianity in the West many in the East view Christianity as a ‘western religion’. In fact it is not only those from the East who view Christianity in this way but people in the West seem to have this attitude too. The very fact that Jesus was a Jew and that Christianity ‘sprung out’ of the Jewish faith is of significant historical relevance. Sadly today, in a postmodern context many have little appreciation of the value of history; however the church must understand the importance of this. Many OT facts have been verified by archeologists, and while there is some debate about certain OT facts such as early Israel, there is a weight of evidence for the accuracy for much of Old Testament history.

Knowledge of God
The Old Testament reveals Gods character and every Christian is called to grow in the knowledge of God. Much of the Old Testament contains narratives which reveal situations that demonstrate the workings and nature of God. Christians are called to understand the ‘whole council of God’ and knowledge of the Old Testament is needed to achieve this. Gods purposes do not begin in Mathew chapter one, they begin in Genesis Chapter one. God has various attributes and the whole bible from Genesis to Revelation is progressive revelation of God.
Prophetic relevance
The Old Testament is full of prophetic utterances; many were specifically given for people written at the time they were spoken. Others were given for a future time but have now been fulfilled, and some have still to be fulfilled. Christians can learn much from prophecies that were given and have been fulfilled; this can encourage them to have confidence in the certainty of Gods purposes. Christians can also understand their current context in the light of prophecies that are still to be fulfilled. Daniel and Ezekiel are two examples of prophecies that relate to the ‘end times’.
Understanding Covenant
The Old and New Testaments reveal the Old and New Covenants. This is important for the Jewish people understood the nature of covenant. This is something that is lacking in western culture today. Our culture can be a barrier to reading the New Testament and a basic understanding of Gods dealing with His people through covenant can lead Christians into a greater understanding of the New Covenant.
Promises of God
Paul in writing to the New Testament church at Corinth says ‘For all the promises of God in Him are yes and in Him Amen’ 2 Cor 1:20. The Old Testament is full of promises of which the New Testament believer can draw strength and encouragement from. A degree of caution is needed here as it is important that sound principles of interpretation are applied but this is true for all reading of scripture. If a Christian read the book of Joshua and thought that God had promised to give the land of Jericho to him personally simply because he read it in the word of God (Josh 1:4), then such a Christian has misunderstood the promise and ignored the context. However if a Christian meditates on Gods promise to Joshua to lead and guide him as he meditates on Gods Word (Josh 1), then the Christian would find that this promise is universally applicable.
Spiritual edification
There is often at times an assumption that the Old Testament believer had a really miserable spiritual life because of the Law, whereas the Christian life alone is spiritual. This is a misunderstanding largely due to the image of the Pharisees in the New Testament. However what is often failed to be explained is that the Pharisees had added human traditions to Gods law. One only has to read the psalms to see how vibrant an Old Testament believer’s spiritual life could be. If there was no life in the Old Testament how could the Psalmist cry out ‘Oh how I love your law!’? (Psalm 119:97). Perhaps the Psalmist understood something about the spiritual nature of the Old Testament scriptures that New Testament believers could learn from today, ‘I rejoice at your word as one who finds great treasure.’ (Psalm 119:162.
Instruction and direction
The wealth of guidance and instruction to be found in the Old Testament is worth its weight in gold. Any Christian neglecting the Old Testament is surely only half prepared if the wisdom literature of the Old Testament is ignored. Not only so but since the OT was written to a nation there are many ethical and social justice issues that are taken up in the OT that are not mentioned in the NT. By reading the OT governments and politicians can learn principles from the Old Testament Community, Infact many laws that govern the west were actually taken from the Old Testament. Again caution needs to be used because the church has fallen into error when church and state has become one and the same. However both communities and individuals can glean precious instruction and guidance for ethical and moral issues from the OT.
The Early Church Used the Old Testament
The OT is the bible that the early church used, many examples of this can be found in the book of Acts. While it is true to say that they never had the complete canon of NT scriptures at that time whereas the current church does, for all the reasons outlined in this essay the modern church can still benefit from the OT scriptures.
The ‘Bible’ that Jesus read and used
The OT is the bible that Jesus used. One classic example of how he used the OT is during his wilderness temptation. Two things can be learned from this account in Luke 4. One is that Jesus knowledge of the OT enabled him to overcome temptation. When faced with a lie he overcame it by knowing and speaking the truth. However this account also shows us that the devil then tried to deceive Him by quoting scripture. This teaches us that not only is it important to know the Old Testament scriptures but it is equally important to correctly understand them. In other words a correct interpretation of the OT will guard against faulty interpretations of OT (and NT) texts. This is relevant since the history of the church is full of examples of disasters caused by believers’ misapplying scripture.
God’s plan of redemption revealed
Perhaps the most important reason that Christians should read the OT is simply because it reveals Gods plan of redemption. Christians can only understand the good news of the gospel in the light of Gods goodness revealed at creation, humanities waywardness at the fall and Gods progressively revealed plan of redemption demonstrated throughout the OT. In other words the OT points to Jesus. It reveals the need for Jesus explains the purpose of Jesus and predicted the coming of Jesus. Christians can take confidence in the fact that Jesus was not an accident, Isaiah 53 is a classic example of messianic prophecy, and as surely as the prophecy of the first coming was fulfilled NT believers can have confidence that the prophecies regarding the Lords second coming will also be fulfilled.
Conclusion
In this essay I have sought to give clear and precise reasons why every Christian should know the Old Testament. I have argued for the Old Testament’s historical value, its theological value, its prophetic value, its devotional value and its practical value. Perhaps the words of the apostle Paul some up the value of the Old Testament scriptures that summarises the reasons given in this essay.

“All scripture is God breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim 3:16-17).

Bibliography

Drane, John: Introducing the Old Testament, Lion, 1987
Dillard, Raymond B, Longman 111, Tremper: An Introduction to the Old Testament, Apollos, 1995
Dumbrell, William J: The Faith of Israel, Apollos, 1989
Jenson, Irving L: Jenson’s Survey of the Old Testament, Moody Press Chicago, 1978
Pearce, Victor, Dr E.K., Evidence for Truth: Archaeology Eagle, Surrey, 1993
Pearce, Victor, Dr E.K., Evidence for Truth: Archaeology
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