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Day 1: Introducing the Pentateuch.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, as I read your word, Lord, may you fulfill your promises to me, and your purposes for me. Lord, the shining and spreading of your glory is what matters more than anything else. If you should shine through a wretched sinner such as me, all the more glory be to you. Please renew, transform, and change my heart. And as my heart is renewed and transformed, may it spill over into my life that I may bear a great harvest of fruit to the glory of your name. I am begging you Lord, reach down from on high and rescue me, Lord save me from the mighty waters. In Jesus’ name alone I pray, Amen.
Reading
Genesis 1 -2 & 2 Timothy 3.
Meditation
There’s something missing in the modern church today. I could try to explain what I mean by that, but rather than explain it, maybe a demonstration would be more helpful. How well do you know the book of Numbers? How many times have you read it? Have you been edified by its contents? How familiar are you with the Prophet Isaiah? Could you recite the Twelve Minor Prophets in order? Do you know who the Twelve Minor Prophets are? Do you know the Ten Commandments off by heart?
Now I don’t ask these questions to try and make anyone feel bad! I have to admit for myself that even after studying for four years at a theological college and beyond, I wasn’t able to answer some of those questions at the drop of a hat. The point that I’m really trying to make here is that when it comes to the Old Testament, in many ways, the church today is biblically illiterate. One of my favourite websites is www.sermonaudio.com, it’s a wonderful resource containing thousands of evangelical and reformed sermons. However, it does starkly illustrate this problem. When you search for sermons from New Testament passages, like John 3 for example, you find hundreds of webpages full of sermons. When you look at the page for Isaiah 3, however, there are a mere three webpages of sermons! (at least there were at the time of writing). Preachers today in Bible teaching churches are more inclined to preach from the New Testament than they are from the Old. Perhaps many Christians even have an aversion to the Old Testament, finding it difficult, confusing, and even troubling.
This problem is significant, you could even call it monumental. Why do I say that? Well, there are a number of reasons, but the biggest one is that you can’t really understand the New Testament unless you understand the Old. The Book of Revelation, for example, is a book that has been viewed as notoriously difficult, and one that many a preacher has feared to preach (including the late John Calvin!). It should not surprise us then that this book, perhaps more than any other book in the New Testament, is a book that is deeply rooted in Old Testament imagery, symbolism, and references. It quotes the Old Testament many times, and alludes to it more times still. In fact, it may well be that the reason Revelation is so strange to us is because we don’t understand the Old Testament very well. Many of the epistles, including Romans and Galatians, are likewise similarly rooted in the Old Testament, and make no sense outside of an understanding of the Old Testament.
Be ye doers of the word…
In this sense, we simply need to know the Old Testament – it’s actually crucial. The Old Testament was the book that the Lord Jesus used in his earthly ministry. It was the foundation upon which the Apostles built the NT canon. And, of course, it is a revelation from the Most High God. In 2 Tim 3:16-17 the Apostle Paul said: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” To the extent that we are ignorant of the Old Testament, then, we will not be complete and equipped for every good work.
This devotional commentary is intended to be a small contribution to help correct this modern day ecclesiastical malady. It’s designed to help us (everyday Christians) to start growing in our grasp of the Old Testament so that we might be fully equipped for every good work. Having said that, let me take a few minutes to try and explain why this particular study of the Pentateuch, which is the foundation of the Old Testament, will be worth it.
The first reason is simply that this study will profoundly change your life in ways that you cannot yet imagine. Romans 12:2 talks about how we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, and what this means is that – when the truths of God’s Word come into our hearts and minds – it actually changes who we are as people. It changes how we think, and that flows on to change how we live. This might sound strange, but when it comes to studying the Old Testament, that’s actually something I find incredibly exciting. There are immense riches in these books, and as we begin our study in the Pentateuch, our minds will be enriched and enlightened in ways that we cannot yet comprehend. There are things to be seen that we don’t yet see, things that will change the way we see life, that will change the way we experience the New Testament. Who knows? Perhaps the book of Revelation will even make sense to us some day!
The second reason that these studies will be so important is because, unless we understand the Pentateuch, we will be less mature and complete than we ought to be. Again, in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Do you want to be trained in righteousness? Do you want to be complete and equipped for every good work? You can’t be that unless you’re growing in your understanding of the scripture in its entirety. A church that neglects the Old Testament is thus settling for a certain kind of immaturity. Do you want that to be you? No, neither do I! With these things in mind, let us put our hand to the plough. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Lord, thank you for your servant Moses, and the word that you gave to him for the church of all ages. Thank you and praise you for the beauty of the Pentateuch, and thank you for preparing the way for our Lord Jesus Christ through the ministry of Moses. Thank you that Moses spoke of your Son, the Lord Jesus, and that the beauty of Christ is revealed in these books. As we study the Pentateuch, please enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may see wonderful things in your law. Show us Christ, renew our minds, and cause us to go in the way of your commandments. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
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By Reformed devotions from all of scripture.Prayer
Heavenly Father, as I read your word, Lord, may you fulfill your promises to me, and your purposes for me. Lord, the shining and spreading of your glory is what matters more than anything else. If you should shine through a wretched sinner such as me, all the more glory be to you. Please renew, transform, and change my heart. And as my heart is renewed and transformed, may it spill over into my life that I may bear a great harvest of fruit to the glory of your name. I am begging you Lord, reach down from on high and rescue me, Lord save me from the mighty waters. In Jesus’ name alone I pray, Amen.
Reading
Genesis 1 -2 & 2 Timothy 3.
Meditation
There’s something missing in the modern church today. I could try to explain what I mean by that, but rather than explain it, maybe a demonstration would be more helpful. How well do you know the book of Numbers? How many times have you read it? Have you been edified by its contents? How familiar are you with the Prophet Isaiah? Could you recite the Twelve Minor Prophets in order? Do you know who the Twelve Minor Prophets are? Do you know the Ten Commandments off by heart?
Now I don’t ask these questions to try and make anyone feel bad! I have to admit for myself that even after studying for four years at a theological college and beyond, I wasn’t able to answer some of those questions at the drop of a hat. The point that I’m really trying to make here is that when it comes to the Old Testament, in many ways, the church today is biblically illiterate. One of my favourite websites is www.sermonaudio.com, it’s a wonderful resource containing thousands of evangelical and reformed sermons. However, it does starkly illustrate this problem. When you search for sermons from New Testament passages, like John 3 for example, you find hundreds of webpages full of sermons. When you look at the page for Isaiah 3, however, there are a mere three webpages of sermons! (at least there were at the time of writing). Preachers today in Bible teaching churches are more inclined to preach from the New Testament than they are from the Old. Perhaps many Christians even have an aversion to the Old Testament, finding it difficult, confusing, and even troubling.
This problem is significant, you could even call it monumental. Why do I say that? Well, there are a number of reasons, but the biggest one is that you can’t really understand the New Testament unless you understand the Old. The Book of Revelation, for example, is a book that has been viewed as notoriously difficult, and one that many a preacher has feared to preach (including the late John Calvin!). It should not surprise us then that this book, perhaps more than any other book in the New Testament, is a book that is deeply rooted in Old Testament imagery, symbolism, and references. It quotes the Old Testament many times, and alludes to it more times still. In fact, it may well be that the reason Revelation is so strange to us is because we don’t understand the Old Testament very well. Many of the epistles, including Romans and Galatians, are likewise similarly rooted in the Old Testament, and make no sense outside of an understanding of the Old Testament.
Be ye doers of the word…
In this sense, we simply need to know the Old Testament – it’s actually crucial. The Old Testament was the book that the Lord Jesus used in his earthly ministry. It was the foundation upon which the Apostles built the NT canon. And, of course, it is a revelation from the Most High God. In 2 Tim 3:16-17 the Apostle Paul said: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” To the extent that we are ignorant of the Old Testament, then, we will not be complete and equipped for every good work.
This devotional commentary is intended to be a small contribution to help correct this modern day ecclesiastical malady. It’s designed to help us (everyday Christians) to start growing in our grasp of the Old Testament so that we might be fully equipped for every good work. Having said that, let me take a few minutes to try and explain why this particular study of the Pentateuch, which is the foundation of the Old Testament, will be worth it.
The first reason is simply that this study will profoundly change your life in ways that you cannot yet imagine. Romans 12:2 talks about how we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, and what this means is that – when the truths of God’s Word come into our hearts and minds – it actually changes who we are as people. It changes how we think, and that flows on to change how we live. This might sound strange, but when it comes to studying the Old Testament, that’s actually something I find incredibly exciting. There are immense riches in these books, and as we begin our study in the Pentateuch, our minds will be enriched and enlightened in ways that we cannot yet comprehend. There are things to be seen that we don’t yet see, things that will change the way we see life, that will change the way we experience the New Testament. Who knows? Perhaps the book of Revelation will even make sense to us some day!
The second reason that these studies will be so important is because, unless we understand the Pentateuch, we will be less mature and complete than we ought to be. Again, in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Do you want to be trained in righteousness? Do you want to be complete and equipped for every good work? You can’t be that unless you’re growing in your understanding of the scripture in its entirety. A church that neglects the Old Testament is thus settling for a certain kind of immaturity. Do you want that to be you? No, neither do I! With these things in mind, let us put our hand to the plough. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Lord, thank you for your servant Moses, and the word that you gave to him for the church of all ages. Thank you and praise you for the beauty of the Pentateuch, and thank you for preparing the way for our Lord Jesus Christ through the ministry of Moses. Thank you that Moses spoke of your Son, the Lord Jesus, and that the beauty of Christ is revealed in these books. As we study the Pentateuch, please enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may see wonderful things in your law. Show us Christ, renew our minds, and cause us to go in the way of your commandments. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe