The Old Testament was Rough. Is the NT better?

I’ve been reading the Bible in chronological order for the past 10 months or so. Still making my way through the Old Testament (OT). Reading in chronological order of occurrences is great because you get a better idea of which prophets were contemporaries of which kings and you can better understand where books like Esther and Ruth (my favorite OT books) fit into the history of Israel.

Let me just say that I am super happy to be a New Testament (NT) believer.

Don’t get me wrong, it might have been interesting to be an Israelite during their times of obedience and prosperity - especially during Solomon’s reign when there was no war (although the taxes were apparently outrageous). But, even then, a daughter could be sold to pay off family debt and married off for political or financial gain, which doesn’t sound cool at all. And everything was always made from scratch. Literally, you grow the grain to grind into flour to make bread and your next sweater started out on the body of a sheep eating grass in your field. Give me my Door Dash, Walmart and Target pickup, and Amazon delivery.

We read the OT to learn the history of mankind, especially of God’s chosen people. We learn about why, even with God as national leader and His perfect laws as the laws of the land, obedience does not come easy to human beings. They went through famines, wars and plagues. Justice was often swift and deadly - eye for eye, stoning for adultery, and so forth. The system of animal sacrifices had to be physically taxing, sweaty, stinky and dirty work for the priests of the day.

Philippians 2:13 [NKJV] “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for [His] good pleasure”.

But we also learn about the commitment to responsibility and care for neighbor that was inherent in the statutes and judgments outlined by God to the nation of Israel, including putting a wall or fence around your flat roof so no one would fall off and being commanded to help your enemy’s donkey out of a ditch.

Everything about the OT leads us to understand the need for a Savior to rid of us sin, a Perfect Lamb one-time sacrifice for all sins forever, and the Holy Spirit to help our obedience to have staying power through real change in character.

So, while the NT typically requires less “blood, sweat and tears” associated with sacrificing a perfectly good lamb from your flock, it requires more of us than even the most loving OT regulations.

This is the point of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:21-48, where He begins with “you have heard it said (or said of old)” and then goes on to ramp up the standards for our interactions with one another.

So, perhaps the Israelites would look us and the NT Christian standards as being “rough” compared to theirs. They were told to love their enemies and do good to them (See Exodus 23:4 for example). However, it was limit to action, not a change in heart. In Matthew 5, Jesus calls us to be a changed person - to change our outlook and our hearts, letting the change be reflected in action.

The point of both the OT and the NT instructions can, I believe, be summed up in Matthew 5:44-45 [NKJV] 44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Or, as I might say in a more modern vernacular “You are a child of God. Act like it!” Acting like a child of/the people God is the number one thing that the Father wanted of Israel and that He wants from us today.

Unless you are a very different person than I am, you will have certain behaviors and thoughts, habits and sins, that require spiritually bloody, sweaty, and tear-filled efforts, reminiscent of the work of the sacrifices of the OT.

The work of getting rid of sin is rough. But it is what we are called to do. We have the history of the OT to guide us, the words and examples of Jesus to help us better understand the requirements, Jesus’ sacrifice to wipe the slate clean and start again each day, and the help of the Holy Spirit to give us the “will and the way” to real change. Philippians 2:13 [NKJV] “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for [His] good pleasure”.

I have had my rough patches getting rid of sin, and I understand that the struggle is real. But I am very appreciative of being born in and called in this age and not the OT times, for a variety of reasons. I look forward to comparing notes with the OT and early NT people of God in the future Kingdom.

How about you? What do you think, sweet sisters? Would you rather have been a part of the OT people of God?

I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org