Why Study the Old Testament? part 7

The Old Testament was written for our instruction

The church at Corinth must have been an absolute mess.  It seems like they had every single problem that a church can have.  The fought among themselves, abused spiritual gifts, taught false doctrine, tolerated immorality, and much more.  The issue of idolatry also had to be dealth with.  With so many of the new Christians coming from a background of pagan idol worship, there was always the temptation to either return to the idols or incorporate some of the idolatrous practice into their new Christian faith.

In chapter 10 of 1 Corinthians, Paul takes the issue of idolatry head on.  In doing so, he used examples from the Old Testament to illustrate the dangers of idol worship (Ex 13, 14, 17, Num 11, 14).  However, he also makes two very interesting points when referring to the Old Testament stories.  He says, “Now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did” (v6).  Again in verse 10, Paul says, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

WOW!  Do you sense the imprtance of those statements?  All of the things that happened in the Old Testament–every event, story, and word–happened as an example for us.  In other words, we are supposed to learn from them.  They’re not just cute stories for kids; they are instructional narratives.  Also, they were written down for us to learn from.  God went to the trouble and effort to record those events so that we can be instructed by them.  All those scribes who gave their lives to preserving the text were working for our benefit.

What are we to learn from the Old Testament?  Well, we learn what faith is, how to please God, and how to put faith into our every day lives.  Paul assumes that we are being instructed by the Old Testament.