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Like JohnDB, the site isn't phone friendly... It's too hard to read.
Hi Kathy
The Old Testament wasn't written as a single volume with a theme, as it has become known to us today. In the days before Jesus, each book was a separate scroll, and in the time of the writings of the prophets, the prophets were largely not listened to. There is Daniel and Jeremiah, for example, who wrote about being amongst false prophets, whose job was to advise the rulers. But the rulers didn't know how to discern the true prophets from the false ones, and the false prophets persecuted them because they were envious. So something happened after the time of the prophets that made their writings become valued so that they were copied and studied in synagogues.
Hi Kathy
Jesus is recorded as having taken the scroll of Isaiah, finding a specific location in it, and reading those words. He also refers to scriptures from memory at times in order to cut down the arguments brought against Him. So it shows that He had studied the scriptures well, and that the religious leaders were bound to operate according to them. So in that culture, the scriptures were an authority of truth and direction about how God would bless or curse their lifestyle.
In retrospect, we can view the scriptures as they relate to the history that was unfolding while they were in effect as the authoritative law to the people of Israel. We can see a few different themes, so it really depends upon the context for which theme we might see as being significant. One of the major recurring themes, is the human's inability to remain pure in faith - and that is telling of the struggle man has with sin, while sin is an adversary that never stops finding ways to corrupt the human.
The fall of Adam and Eve, then the fall of the whole world in Noah's time, followed by the eventual covetousness of the Tower of Babylon, then the heinous sin of Joseph's brothers that led to the family eventually becoming enslaved in Egypt. Then the purification of their faith by God's salvation that came when they were so broken in their oppression that their prayer found His favour. So soon after, that they turned back to idolatry that Moses was provoked to break the tablet of the Ten Commandments. Then God's refusal to save that generation, for forty years until the nation had been renewed by a generation that had not worshipped idols. Their conquest to capture the promised land that they did well to begin with but then intermarried with the pagan nations, thereby corrupting their religion with pagan religion, and the generations that followed being stories of the kings of the kingdom bringing periods of alternating righteousness and wickedness until eventually the temple that Solomon built was destroyed and they were carried off by Babylon as captives. While in Babylon they wept, and again they were saved as in the days of Egypt, but it was not through a Messianic figure as in the days of Moses. For them, their work to rebuild the temple was a community effort and they fought opposition and persecutions.
So that's one theme we can see through the Old Testament, and as we can look at it in hindsight, we can see the tragedy of their having not been able to grasp the huge potential that God had provisioned for them if they would have put the lessons into practice (because "hindsight is 20/20").
So the New Testament shows us what that potential was: after the revival of the Jewish state coming back from the Babylonian exile, and having lost all semblance of their original religion due to the utter pollution of their mind through having been dispersed among and subjected to the spirit of Babylon, they tried by their best efforts to fortify the Jewish religion. But because it was an intellectual pursuit, there was much in-fighting (as there can be among Christians who exercise religion in the same manner). That is how the Messiah was said to be coming as the one anointed by God to cleanse the Levites and teach the house of Israel a pure faith (Malachi 3) - as they so eagerly longed for God to give them a perfect king. So He did. And that is the tragedy of it all. They didn't see Jesus as the Messiah, they saw Him as a man (Philippians 2:7), no more worthy of honour than themselves, and being pained continually by the conviction of His truthfulness because they did not give Him the proper place of honour in their regard for Him, they eventually lost the fight against sin and sin drove them to murder Him (Matthew 21:38-39).
There's themes in the stories too, of Solomon, Samson, David, Hezekiah that although the human can be blessed by God, he is still capable of doing things that bring God's judgement against him, and the fact that it has happened becomes a lasting blemish on his relationship with God.
There can be other themes to observe too, that because God does not punish wickedness immediately they are encouraged to think they can go on doing more of the wrong they are doing (eg Micah 3:11, Jeremiah 4:10), .. it just depends on what comes to mind when a context is given as to what sort of themes can be observed.
Great synopsis!Hi Kathy
Jesus is recorded as having taken the scroll of Isaiah, finding a specific location in it, and reading those words. He also refers to scriptures from memory at times in order to cut down the arguments brought against Him. So it shows that He had studied the scriptures well, and that the religious leaders were bound to operate according to them. So in that culture, the scriptures were an authority of truth and direction about how God would bless or curse their lifestyle.
In retrospect, we can view the scriptures as they relate to the history that was unfolding while they were in effect as the authoritative law to the people of Israel. We can see a few different themes, so it really depends upon the context for which theme we might see as being significant. One of the major recurring themes, is the human's inability to remain pure in faith - and that is telling of the struggle man has with sin, while sin is an adversary that never stops finding ways to corrupt the human.
The fall of Adam and Eve, then the fall of the whole world in Noah's time, followed by the eventual covetousness of the Tower of Babylon, then the heinous sin of Joseph's brothers that led to the family eventually becoming enslaved in Egypt. Then the purification of their faith by God's salvation that came when they were so broken in their oppression that their prayer found His favour. So soon after, that they turned back to idolatry that Moses was provoked to break the tablet of the Ten Commandments. Then God's refusal to save that generation, for forty years until the nation had been renewed by a generation that had not worshipped idols. Their conquest to capture the promised land that they did well to begin with but then intermarried with the pagan nations, thereby corrupting their religion with pagan religion, and the generations that followed being stories of the kings of the kingdom bringing periods of alternating righteousness and wickedness until eventually the temple that Solomon built was destroyed and they were carried off by Babylon as captives. While in Babylon they wept, and again they were saved as in the days of Egypt, but it was not through a Messianic figure as in the days of Moses. For them, their work to rebuild the temple was a community effort and they fought opposition and persecutions.
So that's one theme we can see through the Old Testament, and as we can look at it in hindsight, we can see the tragedy of their having not been able to grasp the huge potential that God had provisioned for them if they would have put the lessons into practice (because "hindsight is 20/20").
So the New Testament shows us what that potential was: after the revival of the Jewish state coming back from the Babylonian exile, and having lost all semblance of their original religion due to the utter pollution of their mind through having been dispersed among and subjected to the spirit of Babylon, they tried by their best efforts to fortify the Jewish religion. But because it was an intellectual pursuit, there was much in-fighting (as there can be among Christians who exercise religion in the same manner). That is how the Messiah was said to be coming as the one anointed by God to cleanse the Levites and teach the house of Israel a pure faith (Malachi 3) - as they so eagerly longed for God to give them a perfect king. So He did. And that is the tragedy of it all. They didn't see Jesus as the Messiah, they saw Him as a man (Philippians 2:7), no more worthy of honour than themselves, and being pained continually by the conviction of His truthfulness because they did not give Him the proper place of honour in their regard for Him, they eventually lost the fight against sin and sin drove them to murder Him (Matthew 21:38-39).
There's themes in the stories too, of Solomon, Samson, David, Hezekiah that although the human can be blessed by God, he is still capable of doing things that bring God's judgement against him, and the fact that it has happened becomes a lasting blemish on his relationship with God.
There can be other themes to observe too, that because God does not punish wickedness immediately they are encouraged to think they can go on doing more of the wrong they are doing (eg Micah 3:11, Jeremiah 4:10), .. it just depends on what comes to mind when a context is given as to what sort of themes can be observed.
Very nicely articulated!
To be symbolic texts for us today, If there was no old testament, the bible would not be so helpful and give us symbolic meanings today.