How Does the Old Testament Mesh With the New?

Introduction

            The Old Testament is also known as the Hebrew Bible. The Greek translation of the same is called the Septuagint, which was most often quoted in the New Testament era by non-Jews because Greek was spoken on a wider scale. It even became popular in Israel.

            Of all the ‘books’ within the Old Testament, the first five, written by Moses, called the Torah in Hebrew, (meaning ‘instruct’), and the Pentateuch in Greek, (meaning ‘scroll’), primarily lay the foundations of the rest of the entire Bible.

The five books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They contain a fountain of knowledge of who God is, His plan for everything, godly wisdom, and about how to discern between good and evil – which in itself, is a form of wisdom.

In many places within the Torah, we can find the common roots of the Jews and the Christians, both the convergences, and the divergences – which are primarily due to the revelations of Christ, that allow for greater insight into the why of the variances.

            In fact, both viewpoints together, provided for the basis of Western civilization.

            Let’s dig in, shall we?

Genesis

            Genesis is chock-full of incredible revelations about God, creation, original sin, the first murder, a fallen world, the great flood, and the history of the patriarchs.

1. Who and What is God?

The Bible begins at the beginning of time, where it says:

In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. Gn. 1:1 AMP

            Why is this such a monumental statement? We need to look at some of the earlier religions to flesh this out.

            In 4000 B.C., the Egyptians began to formulate their religious beliefs, which contained 2000 gods.

            Approximately 2000 B.C., Hinduism came into formation, drawing from ancient ‘Vedas’ which are the most sacred of the Hindu writings – claimed to be handed down orally, without alteration, with its own plethora of gods.

            Also in 2000 B.C., Judaism was founded.

            In 580 B.C., Siddhartha Gautama (‘the Buddha’), founded Buddhism. His very good teachings are focused on finding peace within yourself, and with others. He never claimed to be a ‘god.’ It was only after his death that many of his followers began to deify him.

            So, apart from pure Buddhism, which had no ‘gods,’ all the religions have multiple ‘gods’ (many of whom cared not for their human subjects), except for Judaism.

            Thus, for the first time in history, we are presented, by God, to Himself, as a monotheistic God, who created the universe and who loves all His creations. Monotheistic is verified by God Himself through His prophet Isaiah:

‘I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God.’ Is. 44:6 NKJV

            Saying “In the beginning,” indicates that there was no universe – that He created it when time began, (think the real Big Bang). Well, if there was no time, or space, God exists beyond time and space, and thus, has no beginning and no end. I am going to take in a little help from two Scriptures of the New Testament (one of our Judeo-Christian ‘divergences’) to synergize this:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come – the Almighty One.’ Rv. 1:8 NLT

By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. Heb. 11:3 NLT

         What else does this infer? That there is a world beyond the physical.

            God’s creation is far more than a Herculean effort; it is unheard of. I want to break this down to the simplest metaphor for our finite minds; and as far as I know, there is no further discussion in the Old Testament, or in the Rabbinic writings (‘the Talmud). So, I am going to call upon a remarkable theologian, a 13^th century monk, by the name of Thomas Aquinas, from his formidable work, the Summae Theologica. He believed that faith and reason could not contradict each other, because both were given to humankind from God.

            Thomas postulated his ‘5 way’ treatise for the existence of God, based upon Aristotelian logic, stemming from what Gn. 1:1 tells us:  That is, there was God and nothing else. Then, from nothing, He created the entire universe.

            There was first only pure spiritual existence; then there was an exploding universe in motion.

            And so, there was motion where heretofore there was not. So, God had to have been the Prime Mover. Anything put in motion, is put in motion by another, which changes the affected object from potentiality to actuality. This can’t happen unless there is a primary actuality, (God), who ultimately began the process, while He himself cannot be moved – He does not change.[1]

            Secondly, Aquinas pointed out that everything had a cause and effect, all of which could ultimately be followed back to God, who by creating the universe, is the ‘1^st Cause.’ This even pertains to things contrived by humans, because it is God that directs their will and thinking.

            Thirdly, he states that the possibility and / or necessity of things to exist, rests upon the shoulders of our Creator. We have no say in this.

            Fourthly, all beings live in grades of perfection. Therefore, there must be a Perfect Being from which they were modeled.

            Lastly, the universe is obviously a product of designed intelligence, which we can deduce just from observing nature.[2] Looking at its perfect complexion, as well as certain inhabitants without intelligence, e.g., honeybees making honey, demonstrates a Supreme Intelligence directing their course.

Stay tuned!

Goodnight and God bless.

[1] Mal. 3:6

[2] Rm. 1:20