You may think a blog on the value of the Old Testament may seem a bit out of place in the middle of our study of the New Testament. Part of the inspiration, I’m sure, comes from my new calling as Seminary teacher; I have been considering how to emphasize the importance of the Old Testament to teenagers this year. Perhaps that is why the scriptures expounded by Christ caught my eye.
Many times, we tend to neglect the Old Testament in favor of the New. We figure that most of what it teaches us we can get much more easily from one of the other books of scripture, or else it is not relevant. Perhaps we consider it to be largely composed of wars, and we forget the teachings behind those wars.
Yet when Jesus walked with His disciples following His resurrection, He expounded upon various scriptures. The New Testament and the Doctrine & Covenants had not yet been written, and the disciples lacked access to the Book of Mormon. The scriptures Christ cited, then, could only have been the Old Testament.
The Old Testament teaches of Christ through all 1184 pages. It is filled with types and symbols of Christ. Some of them we easily recognize, such as the story of Abraham and Isaac, or the idea that the Mosaic law was a forerunner for the Atonement. Yet, as we study, many of the details become even more telling. Studying the layout of the tabernacle itself will point us towards Christ. David, in his early days, was a forerunner of the Savior. In fact, according to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, all of the prophets are, in some way, a type of Christ.
The Old Testament also talks about the House of Israel. It tells us who the House of Israel is and the role it plays with God. Latter-day revelation has shown that each of us have been grafted into the House of Israel, so the Old Testament is talking about us, not just the Jewish people from long ago. As we read the Old Testament, we can understand how the House of Israel of old interacted with God, and we can see likenesses of how we, too, interact with Him.
The Old Testament is filled with value – value enough that, even following the fulfillment of the new covenant, or testament, Christ continued to expound upon these scriptures. They are relevant to us today, and will lead us towards the Savior, if we will but let them.
For other blogs on this week’s Sunday School lesson, click on the Gospel Doctrine link at right.
Related Articles:
Parables in the Book of Mormon
Gospel Doctrine: Why Speakest Thou…In Parables?
Delve Deeper Into the Scriptures