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The purpose of this course is to give ourselves a flow of how the Old Testament fits together. What might be a benefit that would result from learning this?
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The Old Testament is not chronological, but is composed of 39 books, divided into 5 subjects–the law, history, poetry, major prophets, and minor prophets. It provides a background for the New Testament. The benefit is that one can see propecy fulfilled.
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I didn’t know that the OT was split up into 3 divisions (Narrative, Poems and Poetry, and Prophetic) sections. This would help me to understand what God intends for me to understand from each section. Obviously the first section (narrative) would give me a good account of God in creation, man’s fall, and God’s endeavor to work with the Israelites with their conquests/defeats in their quest of the Promised Land. There are many shadows and archetypes in the OT that ultimately point to Jesus.
Reading the Psalms, song of solomon (the poetic books) will give me a good example how David and other men praised God in the OT.
The prophetic books (Issaiah, Ezekiel etc) will prophecy about the coming Messiah and ultimately the coming of Jesus Christ the Saviour who sacrificed Himself on our behalf to reconcile us back to God the Father.
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In learning how the Old Testament fits together and its chronology, it will give a clearer picture of how God has worked through time, how different people relate to each other and why certain events occurred. It will also help us to understand the New Testament better.
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Learning how the “flow” of the Old Testaments reads, makes it easier to follow, and learn from. Knowing that is is divided in 3 sections by genre, helps to know where to look for certain versus and scriptures based on your need. Knowing that it isn’t in chronological order before you begin to read it will also help to not be as confused, because I know I was completely lost the first time I read the Old Testament without help…..
By learning how to read and use the Old Testament to the best of your ability will in turn help you to help others on their journey .
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A benefit to understanding the flow of how the Old Testament fits together would be to see the overarching narrative of God’s story. We can understand and see the vision of God’s redemptive plan for us from the beginning as we read how the men and women of the Old Testament encountered God and His faithfulness throughout their journeys. In turn it will impact and inspire our daily lives as we walk with Christ.