He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:
Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses,
the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds
so they could understand the Scriptures.
Luke 24:44–45
The Old Testament comprises 39 books written over a very long period of time. The first five books are called the Pentateuch and were written by Moses in the 1400s BC. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament and was written around 400 BC. Let it sink in that we are reading a compilation of divinely inspired instructions, historical accounts, poetry, and prophecies that span one thousand years. Is man capable of accurately compiling such a collection on his own? I don’t believe so.
Here is a brief summary of what took place over this millennium of writings. God set up a covenant with the Hebrew people through a man named Abraham, then his son, Isaac, and then his grandson, Jacob. The people grew in number and eventually became slaves to Egypt. They were liberated and led to the Promised Land by Moses.
Early on during this age, God set up a sacrificial religious system. The people made symbolic offerings of animals to atone for their sins against Him. Jesus would later become the ultimate sacrifice even though most Jews to this day still don’t recognize Him as their long-awaited Messiah. We’ll look at this further on a future day when the Passover is discussed.
God gave them commands and instructions to obey. Disobedience occurred in various degrees under the leadership of judges and through the reigns of good and bad kings. The land was finally divided into northern and southern kingdoms, which were both eventually conquered. Prophecies were given throughout this period concerning a future Messiah who would bring victory. We’ll look at some of those prophecies tomorrow.
It is important to note that, as we study this devotional, whenever Jesus was referring to “the Scriptures”, He is specifically referencing the Pentateuch, Psalms, and most or all of the books written by prophets. We in today’s world often forget that the New Testament writings did not exist during Jesus’ day. So, it is through this lens that we need to find understanding. When the term Scripture is used, it is referring to most of the books found in the Old Testament.
Scripture is also indirectly referenced whenever we read the phrase, “As it is written”. For example, in Luke 3:4 it says, “As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: ‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him”’”. He is quoting from Isaiah 40:3.
To summarize, a millennium of divinely inspired writings set the stage for New Testament authors to record the First Coming of Jesus, the spread of the early church, and prophesies concerning His Second Coming.
