Topic(s): Old Testament

Links to this entire series:

• Making Sense of the Old Testament: Part 1
• Making Sense of the Old Testament: Part 2
• Making Sense of the Old Testament: Part 3
• Making Sense of the Old Testament: Part 4
• Making Sense of the Old Testament: Part 5

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning…” —Romans 15:4

One of the truly astounding features of the Bible is the fact that these sixty-six documents, written over a span of some 1,600 years (from at least 1500 B.C. to A.D. 100), all fit together in such a stunningly coordinated pattern. Every book has its place and its unique contribution to make to the body of sacred literature. Each narrative, either directly or indirectly, is Christological in its thrust. This magnificent chorus of three-score and six masterpieces, collectively provide evidence of our great Creator and his redemptive love for humanity.

Books of Prophecy (Major)

“Prophecy” is the forth-telling of a message from Jehovah. It may entail the recording of ancient events unknown by personal human experience (e.g., the creation of the Universe). Prophecy may take the form of a survey of current events (with a view to correction), or it may be predictive in thrust, i.e., it may reveal future things that only deity could know. The first five prophetic books are longer.

The book of Isaiah foretells judgments to be visited upon Israel due to the nation’s transgression of the law of God. Happily, however, it also previews the great spiritual deliverance to be effected ultimately by the work of the Messiah. Jeremiah depicts the tender invitation from the Lord to the people of Judah who had dredged themselves deeply into sin. It foretells the coming Babylonian captivity, but also offers hope in view of the eventual era of the new covenant. Lamentations is really a sequel to Jeremiah, expressing poetical anguish over the fall of Jerusalem in connection with the Babylonian assault.

The book of Ezekiel was written in Babylon during the days of the captivity. It rebuts the testimony of false prophets who argued that Judah’s confinement would not last the full 70 years, as Jeremiah had predicted. It also is highlighted with Messianic hope. Daniel, likewise written in the days of the captivity, affirms the sovereignty of the Almighty over the world’s super-powers. In spite of the Hebrews’ affliction, the kingdom of God will come and triumph over its foes.

—adapted from Wayne Jackson, Stockton, CA