Why Study the God of the Old Testament?

The Old Testament. The bigger chunk of the Bible. In the past it contained parts of the Bible that interested me, but I struggled to find the value in because we don’t live under the Old Covenant law. A couple months ago I decided to undertake reading the entirety of the Old Testament, studying it from a historical perspective. What was happening when all this went down? What is the historical context in these scriptures I am missing? Why do the Israelites keeping doing the same exact thing?

My goal was to finish it before the Race ended, but seeing as we have three weeks left, that won’t be happening. I had really overestimated what I knew. I had realized the majority of my early education in the church was in the confines of the first book, Genesis, or in the New Testamnet. With a sprinkling of stories surround David, Solomon, and a couple prophets. Don’t get me wrong some EPIC stuff happens in those stories, but also some of our most studied stories live there. On the other hand, when I opened to the minor prophets I stared blankly at names of books I really hadn’t ever heard of.

When approaching the Old Testament, I approached it as we so often do in the Western Church:

“This is just the part of the Bible before Jesus, when God was wrathful and the Israelites wandered…a lot.”

As direct as that may sound it is the callout that we all need, myself included, not a condemnation on the church. It is saddening to think that in our arrogance for how high we hold our biblical and spiritual knowledge; we are missing God. The God of the Old Testament. He is the same God now, why don’t we learn about Him?

At the top of Mount Sinai Moses asks God, “what is His name?”. In all honesty, bold move on Moses part (more power to him). Just imagine talking to someone you know only as the “God of your father”, who is so powerful and you don’t know the full power of yet, and then casually throwing in the question, “Oh yeah, what’s your name?”.

Something I learned recently about the question Moses asked is the depth of its significance. He wasn’t just asking for an introduction He was wanting to know God on a deeper level. In John Mark Comer’s book, God Has a Name God, he explains that Moses asks the question “Mah shemo” which translates less as “what is Your name” rather as “What is the meaning of Your name.” For the Israelites names were a BIG deal. They held meaning. Your name could be a prophecy, a telling of your character, or even a nod to the story of your birth. Your name was a deep part of your life that God used in your story.

God responds to Moses’ question with the answer “Yahweh”. Which when translated from the original Hebrew means, “I am who I am.” So, what is God saying here? At the heart of His answer I think God is saying that He is who He is, the God of the Universe who maintains His consist character. Both His character of goodness and wrath, both grace and judgement, both compassion and forgiveness. He is a constant when the world around us is not. He is a reliable Shepherd, a compassionate Friend, and a caring Father. And you find all these characteristics of God in the pages of the Old Testament.

You can’t hold the significance of what Jesus did on the cross for you if you never understand the character of our God. How He relentlessly chased after His people who constantly chose idols and other gods over Him. How He listened to His people when they cried out on behalf of others. How His laws protected His people. To understand His wrath for the other nations in the Hebrew Scriptures is to understand how the only way to appease it was for Jesus to die for us.

So back to the original question, why study the God of the Old Testament?

I was talking with my friend Piper in the kitchen about the different names that God carries. We talked about Him as a Father and a Friend and as the Creator. He carries different identities that we need at different times, but as a whole you can’t sit with the significance of them all if you never learn about who He is. The Old Testament is a testimony to God’s faithfulness throughout humanity. It’s time we, as the church, step up to learning, teaching, and carrying the significance of it. What a beautiful way to worship God, to desire to know as much about Him as we can and fully sit in His presence.

To end this here are some other names of God that are written in the Old Testament, I encourage you to sit with them and ask God to show you His character in each.

Elohim (Creator God)

El Roi (The God who sees me)

El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty)

Yahweh Rophe (The Lord Heals)

Yahweh Yireh (The Lord will Provide)

Yahweh Shammah (The Lord is There)

Yahweh-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)

Yahweh Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)