God Gave Us His Word - New Testament

Believing the New Testament is very logical and reasonable.

1 John 1:1-2 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 

2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.

In the previous post we saw that God gave us his word through the Old Testament so that when Jesus came into our world to be "God with us," we would be sure that he is really the promised Messiah. When someone makes a promise and then they come through, it helps you believe them even more when they make another promise to you, that's the main reason we can trust the Old Testament.

When you analyze the incredible amount of detail in the prophecies about who Jesus is, how he would come to be with us and what he came to do for us, it is easy to see that the Old Testament was telling us the truth.

Today we will see that God gave us his word in the writing of the books that would become the New Testament. The writers were so excited about Jesus life, death and resurrection that they wanted to share their experiences with everyone. But how could they possibly remember the events and the teaching of Jesus?

God's Word Inspired

John 14:25-26 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative-that is, the Holy Spirit-he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

John 16:13-14 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

Jesus told his disciples that when his ministry is finished and he returns to Heaven, the Father would send the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit, to represent him. Jesus wanted the disciples to know that the Holy Spirit was going to come to be their helper for a task that they wouldn't be able to do. 

The Holy Spirit would help the disciples:

• Remember vividly the events that happened over the past 3 years
• Recall and quote relevant Old Testament scripture to explain their teaching
• Reveal the truth found in Jesus teaching that they didn't understand before

So much of what Jesus taught these guys didn't make any sense until after Jesus left them and God sent the Holy Spirit. Suddenly their wisdom and insight increased greatly as they seemed to have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:10-16)

God's Word Verified

John 19:35 This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe. 

John 20:30-31 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

We need truth to make informed choices about God, eyewitness accounts and John’s experiences support belief in God's word, making disbelief even harder. Since it was written while the eyewitnesses were still living to verify the content, we can be sure that the information is accurate and can be trusted.

Trusting God requires faith but God also provides reasoning to support belief in Jesus for eternal life. Thankfully God protected his written word so it can be analyzed and studied as part of verifying it. Imagine how devastating it would be if we only had a verbal record of what God wants us to know.

2 Peter 1:16-17 For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes 17 when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy."

Peter agrees with John and firmly supports the compelling case for Christ. He brings up his profound experience with Jesus during the remarkable event of the transfiguration, a significant moment when he, along with John and James, had the unique opportunity to witness this extraordinary occurrence in which Jesus' divine glory was momentarily revealed to them.

It is likely that Jesus selected these three witnesses to fulfill the legal requirement for credible testimony. In the future, they would come to fully comprehend and appreciate this revelation of Jesus' glory only after Jesus' departure and only after the arrival of the Holy Spirit to guide and enlighten them.

2 Peter 3:15 And remember, our Lord's patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him.

Peter confirmed Paul’s writings by saying Paul received wisdom from God. Their agreement in theology supported their message as well as the message of at least seven men that wrote the New Testament.

The original Bible manuscript is lost, but many copies exist that show the scribes copied it accurately. Thousands of copies in various languages keep being discovered, and they are nearly identical. This should help us take the Bible seriously as God's word. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Thank you God for revealing yourself to your people, allowing us to know where we came from, why we need a Savior and what you did to save us. Help me to see your glory through your written word just as vividly as it is seen in Jesus. (John 1:14)

RELATED ARTICLES

Who Wrote The Bible (gotquestions.org)

Should I Trust The Bible (gotquestions.org)

God Gave Us His Word - Old Testament

The Bible confirms that Jesus is our Savior.

Luke 24:21  We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

Luke 24:27  Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Just before Jesus leaves us behind here on Earth he encourages his followers to examine the Bible. He did not actually tell them to examine the scripture, instead he personally led them through the writings of Moses and the prophets to encourage his followers to find their hope again in the Messiah. 

They needed to look back at the Old Testament to understand that these things happened just as God promised. So many people that like to read the Bible do not consider the importance of the Old Testament but today I want to help us see why God gave it to us.

The Bible is mostly a book about predictions, there are over 1,800 prophecies in the Bible, the fact that almost half of them have already come true helps us to be reasonable, and logical with our faith in God and his message he preserved for us. 

The Bible is a necessary part of God's plan for his followers, without it we wouldn't be able to trust the teachings about God that are passed down orally, it would all just be rumors passed down through the ages that would have been altered each time the message was passed to the next generation.

God made it clear before Jesus came so that we can be certain and not miss his arrival.

The Messiah Will Come:

Genesis 3:15  And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

God created perfection, man corrupted and brought about catastrophe and confusion. God's perfect creation included a perfect plan to redeem us and as soon as the need for redemption came the plan was revealed to the first sinners. But God's promise to Adam and Eve was just the beginning. Just look at how many times he affirmed the promise over hundreds of years.

Genesis 22:17-18  I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.  18  And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

The scriptures continue to speak of Jesus in the life of Abraham and his descendants. God promised to bless Abraham and then he renewed his commitment by restating the promises to Abraham's son and his grandson (Isaac and Jacob) which then passed the promise down to Abraham's great grandson (Judah). (Genesis 26:1-5, 28:13-15, 49:9-12)

Exodus 12:23  For the LORD will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the LORD will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.

The Old Testament continues to teach us about the Messiah as we remember the original Passover lambs that saved the children of God from the angel of death. They could only save their sons through their obedience to God's word and their exodus from Egypt would occur as a result of the death of the first born sons of Egypt.

Why Is The Messiah Coming

Deuteronomy 4:13 He proclaimed his covenant-the Ten Commandments-which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.

The law of God shows us why the Messiah is needed. We are too stubborn and insist on doing things the way the world does them instead of living God's way. That's why we need the Messiah to come and give us forgiveness from sins and the power to live for God.

God's law showed us that we could never save ourselves, it taught us that God's standards are much higher than we can ever achieve, it shows us that we don't deserve to be a child of God without a Savior.

Who Will Be The Messiah

2 Samuel 7:12, 16 For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. 16 Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.'"

We already know that he will be a descendant of the family of Abraham (Isaac, Jacob, Judah) but as their family line continues throughout the ages we will see that King David is also a descendant of Abraham.

The promise was revealed to David through the prophet Nathan during a time when David's kingdom was prospering and peaceful, just as God had promised. He was living in a beautiful palace but his heart was unsettled because the Ark of God was still in the tent that was used to transport it to the Promised Land.

God's promise to David stated that the lineage of his family that started with Abraham will continue and it will become a dynasty of kings that the world has never seen before. Other kingdoms have come and gone but this one will be eternal.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

The Messiah would be a king but not just any king. This king would leave the splendor of Heaven to live on earth in an unexpected lifestyle and to be treated in an unexpected manner. This isn't what a king does, kings collect taxes, make the rules and live in luxury, but not this king.

This king lived in poverty and allowed himself to be mistreated, instead of demanding his rights as king he submitted himself to the needs of his people. This king loved his people to the point of death so that he could save his people.

The Messiah Has Come

Matthew 1:1This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham.

After Jesus was dead and gone, Matthew connects the dots in his book, to show God's people that their Savior had arrived. Matthew helps us connect the Torah and the prophets with the life and death of Jesus. 

Matthew primarily wrote to a Jewish community close to Jerusalem, a community of Christ followers that would have to deal with the influence of the Jewish traditions in their daily life. He wants to prove to the Jews that the promises have come to pass, the fulfilment of their traditions and the promise of salvation had come.

Hebrews 1:3 The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

The "god of this world" has made his word more popular than God's word, Satan doesn't care what your theology is just as long as it isn't based on God's word, just as long as it doesn't acknowledge that Jesus is God and that he came to cleanse us from our sin.

The original followers of Jesus were so confused, it was probably more difficult for them to understand that Jesus was "God with us." We can analyze the incredible amount of detail that the Old Testament gives us about who Jesus is and figure it out easily.

The Old Testament told us:

• Jesus Birth - How he would come to be with us
• Jesus Life - What he came to do for us
• Jesus Resurrection - Why he wouldn't stay dead

Very smart, logical people have studied God's word in the Old Testament and determined that there is no other way to explain the fulfilled prophecy, this must be God's promises. He gave us the promise and then he came through and made them happen.

We have the luxury of looking back at the big picture, we have God's word in our homes and on our phones, we can study it and learn for ourselves so that we can determine to build our life on God's word or on man's word.

Even today it is easy to lose our hope and get discouraged while we wait for the next arrival of Jesus. It is helpful for all of us to get into God's word and remember what he predicted in the past and that it came true. That's a great indicator that we can trust his promises for our future.

Exalted By God

God's favorite people to use are usually the most unlikely.

Genesis 41:37-40 Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?”

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. 40 You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”

---

Most of us can relate to the story of Joseph, we have all been loved and yet also hated and just like Joseph it seems like hate is winning most of the time. When Joseph's story begins he is the favorite son and he has prophecies from God predicting his great destiny but then his brothers hatred for him begins a long downward spiral.

Everything looks good until he is betrayed by his brothers, first they want to kill him but then they decide to sell him for the price of a slave, it is the first of three times that Joseph is betrayed, after his brothers it would be Potiphar's wife and then the cup bearer.  They all seemed to have their own agenda and Joseph wasn't included. 

This story bothers us but it is a great lesson for us to remember in our life story. We like to think that good things happen to good people but from the very first book of the Bible God shows us that it doesn't work that way. The Bible proves to us that when things don't go as easy as we want them too, that is a good thing that God has sent your way, the school of faith has opened and you have been enrolled. 

Joseph is just as blind as Job was to the reasons for his miserable suffering, the Book of Job tells us that Job is "blameless— a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil" but that isn't enough to ensure that Job would live without trouble and as good as Joseph is he also had his share of problems.

Just like Job, Joseph probably wasn't aware that God was using him to bring him glory even when it looked like he didn't even have the favor of God. Joseph was down and out without any explanation from God for 22 years, he could have assumed by his circumstances that God didn't like him and his visions of greatness were just crazy dreams. (Genesis 37:1-11)

God brings his own promise to the brink of failure, only to show that he has been in charge all along.

-John Piper

It is easy to forget that God's favorite people to use are the ones that seem to be the least likely. The world will tear you down and remind you of why you can't be used by God but his normal way of doing things is usually to allow things to look impossible so that when he steps in we are reminded that he is in control. God is looking past your hurts, habits and hang-ups to surprise everybody for his glory.

Genesis 50:19-20 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

Joseph gives us a glimpse of Jesus thousands of years before the prophecy of his birth was fulfilled. They both forgave those that wronged them, they were exalted after suffering and their suffering was the vehicle that God used to save his people.

God was not surprised by the evil that happened in Joseph's life, God wasn't caught off guard and think to himself "how can I use that for good," God is in control of everything and it is all being used by God for his purpose. 

God may leave me in the dark about what he is doing but that's okay. I know that he can be trusted with every detail of my life knowing that it will all be used for his glory and for my good. Part of him receiving glory is found in the work of making me into a new, exalted creation that looks more like him as I study his word and apply it to my life. (Romans 8:29-30)

RELATED ARTICLES

Does God Intend Evil for Our Good? (desiringgod.org)

What Does It Mean That God Will Glorify Me? And How? (desiringgod.org)

Betrayed By Man

Through Joseph's story we get a glimpse of Jesus.

Genesis 37:2-4 This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. 

3 Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph— a beautiful robe. 4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 

---

We have learned a lot about God in the recent post in the book of Genesis, we have seen through the life of Jacob that God is in control and that he takes care of his people. We have seen God promise, prepare, prosper and provide for his people despite the mistakes that they make.

The blessings of the birthright were taken from Reuben because he sinned against his father but instead of the next oldest, the son that received the rights was the second to the last born son. Maybe Joseph was chosen because he is the first born son of Rachel, the wife that Jacob thought that he married at his first wedding, or maybe it was just because Jacob liked him more.

You may come to the conclusion that Joseph is a spoiled brat because of the favoritism, it seems that the fancy coat may have been a symbol of Jacob's decision to give the birthright to Joseph, Jacob has put his son in a situation that is very similar to the situation in his parents home. 

Favoritism destroyed Jacob's family and he was forced to run away from home because of it. Jacob was forced to run from Esau but Joseph would have to leave by force because his brothers were ruthless. It seems that his brothers were as immoral as the Canaanites that were around them. (Genesis 37:1-4) Joseph's willingness to inform his father about his brothers may have been the motivation for sending him to check on them while they were away from home. (Genesis 37:12-14)

It seems that Joseph is headed for greatness, he has the birthright, instead of the clothing of a shepherd he has the fancy coat that a ruler would wear and to top it all off he has God given dreams predicting his rise to a powerful position. What could go wrong?

Betrayed By His Family

Genesis 37:18-36

Joseph’s older brothers are a bunch of rowdy guys who slaughtered a whole village because one guy raped their sister. The Canaanite moms in the household, the maids of Rachel and Leah, may have had a very negative influence on all of the brothers. The family tree can be seem here.

God's people have always had a difficult time being in this world but not of it. You could speculate that the slavery in Egypt was God's way of separating his people from the Canaanites until the day of judgment when the Canaanites would be destroyed. 

How could God use his people to judge the Canaanites if his people looked just like them?

Betrayed By The World

Genesis 39:1-23

What looks like the obvious conclusion may be the furthest from the truth. In this situation, Potiphar thought that he had been betrayed by Joseph when in fact it was his wife that betrayed both of them.

Joseph was about eleven years old when his sister was raped. This may have been part of the reason that he had such an intense reaction to the advances of Potiphar's wife. Joseph knew the devastating effects that sexual sin could have and he didn't want any part of it.

Betrayed By A Friend

Genesis 40:1-23

The only thing that Joseph asked the cupbearer to do when his dream came true was to put in a good word for him. This guys life was spared and he couldn't remember the guy that predicted that it would happen.

Joseph was always the favorite, it make me think that he really wasn't a spoiled brat, he went from being a favorite in his father's house to being a favorite in Potiphar's house and then he became a favorite with the prison warden. Spoiled brats don't usually have that much success at making friends and influencing people. 

But having man's favor doesn't last when you are living for God. If Joseph had shared the values of his brothers or Potiphar's wife things would have gone much better for him from man's perspective.

Genesis 39:2, 21 The Lord was with Joseph

But even if man turned against him, Joseph knew that he was in the presence of God which resulted in receiving the blessings of God. Living for God proves to be the best way even if it means living in a situation that looks like you are being punished. The difficulty we encounter may make us question God's presence and we may forget that his presence is always accompanied with his blessings.

2 Timothy 3:12  Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Through Joseph's story we get a glimpse of Jesus. The dearly loved son was a shepherd of his fathers flocks, he was sent to his brothers that hated him, they took his robe and sold him for the price of a slave. The father suffered the loss of his favorite son because the son was wrongly accused. The son was placed with two other prisoners which included one that was saved and the other one lost.

I know you may be disappointed where you are. I know you may be unhappy where you are, but I want you to look beyond where you are and thank God for where He's going to take you.

-Tony Evans

Joseph would overcome it all to become God's man that was prepared for God's purpose but for now he is still in prison. This story bothers us because we want good things to happen to good people but the reality is that God is using the good and the bad to shape us and most importantly to accomplish his purpose.

Thank you Lord for your interest in me and allowing me to be a part of your plans. Help me to realize that you are working all thing for my good and for your glory.

The Great Doctor

The only requirement for this healing is belief in the healer.

Isaiah 53:4-5  Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!

5  But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

---

A pandemic of epic proportions has been raging throughout the ages. There are a lot of different reactions to it, most of us will deny the seriousness of it, a lot of people will attempt to use protective equipment, and others will claim that they have found some medicine that will make it all go away but the problem continues to get worse.

The fake news tries to give us hope but because the disease is hereditary, we are all suffering under this condition, so a mask and gown and social distancing isn't useful. This sickness isn't a virus or bacteria so man made medicine will never give you relief.

The healing that we need requires greater wisdom and power than the best trained doctors can provide. Their schooling and textbooks aren't adequate for this world wide condition that threatens civilization.

The world is desperate for a cure but they are prejudiced against the only source of hope that we have. There isn't any reason to allow the infection to continue, the suffering and death needs to stop, but the bias against this doctor is incredibly strong.

1 Peter 2:24  He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.

Jesus is the great physician that can heal our greatest sickness and stop the devastating effects that sin has on our world. Doctor Jesus doesn't discriminate, he loves to make house calls to any neighborhood, he is willing to touch anybody and he works after hours.

He doesn't ask you to make promises to him or offer to change yourself, there isn't even a copay, it cost him everything but he takes great pleasure in giving it away.

Do you know the great doctor?

John 1:10-12 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

The only requirement for this healing is belief in the healer, but you don't need to believe without any evidence, his credentials are available in his best selling book. It is sad that so many people refuse to read his book and learn about him so they don't really know him.

Knowing about Jesus is very common but do you know Jesus? Has he healed you from the greatest sickness that you can possibly have? Find out more about Jesus.

Helpless sinners without hope have been given the ultimate hope, the powerful contagion called sin has lost its power, everyone that is healed will spend eternity with the healer.

RELATED ARTICLES

Recovering From The Disease Of Sin (desiringgod.org)

Quit Making The Bible About You

His name isn't mentioned in the Old Testament but it is all about Jesus.

Video: What The Bible Is Basically About

Hebrews 1:1-3 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son.

God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son He created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God, and He sustains everything by the mighty power of His command.

When He had cleansed us from our sins, He sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

---

The Bible is God's story revealing himself to us so that he can know him. Thankfully God's desire is to be known, from the beginning in the garden he revealed himself when he could have stayed obscure and mysterious if he had wanted, but that would be incredibly sad for us.

God inspired men to write his story and protect it from evil forces that would love to destroy it. Think about how many thousands of years old the earliest scrolls are and how many opportunities Satan has had to get rid of it, there were evil kings that ruled Israel without any fear of God and there were the kings of other countries that invaded Israel, Satan would have loved for those ancient manuscripts to be gone.

The Bible is God's love story and Jesus is the main focus of the story, from Genesis to Revelation, because he is the greatest display of God's love. I found two extensive list online of the ways that Jesus is revealed in the Old Testament and how Jesus is portrayed in each book of the Old Testament:

It all starts with Adam, God created Adam perfect without sin, just as Jesus is without sin, but Adam sinned, and through him sin entered the world. God tells Adam and Eve someday their great-great-great-great…. grandson will save the world from sin.  He will crush the snake, and death will be conquered.

Abel showed us Jesus because he died blameless for someone else’s sin, just as Jesus died blameless for our sins.  But Abel’s death cannot save us.

God sent Abraham away from a loving father into a dark world to act as a light to the rest of the world.  God sent Jesus to act as a light to a dark and sinful world to show them the way back to God.

Isaac was a willing sacrifice on that altar, fully believing his father that all would be well.  Jesus was a willing sacrifice for us on the cross, knowing His death paid the price once and for all for our sins.

Jacob shows us how far God will go to pursue a lost sheep.  Just like the story of the prodigal son, Jacob was brought home to God.

Because of the sins of his brothers Joseph was handed over into slavery, but because of their actions Joseph was able to save his family in Egypt.  Jesus was handed over to death by lies and half truths, but because of his death and resurrection we are saved from sin.

In Exodus we find the story of the Passover Lamb, and Christ is the sacrificial Lamb given for us.

Moses was called out of 40 years of wilderness to lead his people to freedom from slavery to Egypt.  Jesus was called out of 40 days of wilderness to lead his people into freedom from slavery to sin.

In Leviticus we read of the high priests making sacrifices for the people, and Christ has become our High Priest, making the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.

In Deuteronomy Moses prophesied of a prophet who would come that would be greater than Himself. Jesus is that Great Prophet.

In the book of Joshua, Joshua met the Captain of the Lord's host. That man is Jesus Christ.

In Judges, the leaders were judges who delivered God's people, each of them typifying the Lord Jesus.

Ruth was rescued from poverty by her bridegroom Boaz.  The church was rescued from their poverty of sin by its bridegroom Jesus.

Samson shows the folly of trying to do it all yourself.  We can do many of the right things, but without the light of the world we cannot truly follow God.

In 2 Samuel when the king is being enthroned, the entire scene is descriptive of the Lord Jesus.

The books of Kings speak of the glory of God filling the temple and the Chronicles describe the glorious coming king, both referring to Jesus, the King of Kings.

Saul looked like the perfect king.  He was handsome, he was tall, he was strong, but he did not follow God and ultimately was a weak king because of it.  Jesus did not look like a king, he was common, he was a carpenter, but he is the True King.

A true king, one that pursued God and loved him with all his heart, king David pointed his people to God.  Jesus was both man and God and lived a perfect life. Jesus is the perfect king of all.

Solomon shows us the folly of a church not daily relying on God.  He followed God for a while, but his house was built on his own wisdom, not God’s and at the end of his reign it was washed away.

Ezra depicts Jesus as the Lord of our fathers. Job says clearly that the Redeemer is coming! Esther offers a picture of Christ interceding for His people. Christ appears time after time in the Psalms, including when David describes Him as "the Shepherd."

All the kings of Northern Israel show us what life without God is like.  It’s painful, there are lies, murder, blasphemy, and more hurt.  In the end a world without God falls, and the kingdom of Israel fell.

Hezekiah became king after many who had not followed God.  He wanted to bring Israel back to God, and did.  Jesus wanted to bring Israel back to God, and there were many Pharisees telling him it could not be done.  But ultimately Jesus brought the world to God.

Jonah ran from God, which Jesus never did, but then Jonah sat in the belly of a big fish for 3 days, and preached the words of redemption just like Jesus.  Jesus was dead and in a grave for 3 days, and resurrected to preach the words of life to the world.

Isaiah was given a vision of heaven and what Jesus will come to do.  He tells of Jesus birth, and his eventual death and resurrection.

God called Hosea to love and marry a woman who did not love him, he stayed a faithful bridegroom, though his bride was not faithful.  Jesus too has married a faithless wife, the church.  Though we wander far from His love at times, Jesus will always stay faithful.

Josiah became king as a young boy.  He followed God from a young age, just as Jesus showed us in Luke that He followed hard after God from a young age.

In Daniel we see Jesus ruling and triumphant.  We do not see Jesus the sacrificial lamb, we see Jesus coming at the end to punish and to reward.  He rules eternal and forever.

Jeremiah the weeping prophet shows us a Jesus who cries for the world’s sins.  Jeremiah cries for the fate of Jerusalem, a city he loves and knows will be destroyed.  Jesus hundreds of years later cries for Jerusalem as He looks at a city caught in sin and bound for judgment if they do not repent.

Ezekiel gave us Jesus’ favorite title, the Son of Man.  Over and over God calls Ezekiel “Son of Man,” and Jesus called himself “Son of Man.”

Joel describes Him as the Hope of His people. Amos tells us that Jesus is the judge of all nations. Obadiah warns of the coming eternal kingdom.

Jonah offers a picture of Jesus being dead for three days, then coming back to life to preach repentance.

Zephaniah says that He will be the king over Israel. Zachariah is the prophet who speaks of Jesus riding on a colt. Malachi is the one who calls Him the Son of Righteousness.

Without the Bible we would have no hope of really knowing God, he would be a distant and mysterious being, thanks to scripture we have a lot of information about God and his character. Without the Bible we would not know that our lives have meaning and purpose much greater than ourselves. We would not know love or the reality of eternal life.

Now that there are so many copies of the Bible and it has been copied into so many languages, instead of destroying the Bible, Satan's new strategy is to get us to neglect reading it and to doubt it's message when we do read it.

Satan will ask you, "Did God really say that?" We need to be "digging the word" so that we will know for sure what God said.

Thank you Lord for protecting your story and allowing us to read it and learn about you. I don't want to neglect Bible study because it is the best revelation of who you are and why I am here.

RELATED ARTICLES

Jesus In Every Book Of The Old Testament (jesus.org)

Is Jesus God? (jesus.org)