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The title of this short blog may have gotten your attention. A question that is asked sometimes is, “If God already knows what I need and what I’m going through, why bother to pray to Him?” Sometimes people may also think, “If God will do what He has already promised to do, why bother praying? It’s going to happen anyway, right?” It is true our Heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him. In Matthew 6:8 Jesus said, “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” What a blessing to know our God sees what we experience. It is also true our heavenly Father is faithful in every way. He is trustworthy, reliable, and does what He says He will do. In 2 Timothy 2:13 it says, “If we are faithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” In Titus 1:2 Paul says, “In the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago.” While some may have this disposition of feeling like we don’t need to pray to God since He already knows that perspective is wrong. First, in Matthew chapter six, Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray. The fact that Jesus is teaching how to pray means that His people must be people who pray to the Father diligently. Secondly, in passages like 2 Samuel 7:18-29, we find King David praying the promises of God. In Nathan Ward’s book on prayer, “Our Eyes Are On You’ he states, “David is among those who pray the promises. He does not merely hint at the covenant by mentioning God’s covenant name or recalling God’s past dealings with His covenant people. Rather, he quotes God’s very promise back to him directly (vs 27) and indirectly (vv. 28-29). Miller says of this prayer what we have already seen multiple times and will continue to see throughout this study: David asks of the Lord what He has already promised, which ‘takes us right to the heart of Biblical prayer. Prayer is, in essence calling on Yahweh to do what He has said.’” [1] We should pray because prayer is an expression of trust! “God’s promises are not to be received casually and in an entitled spirit, but with submissive thanksgiving. God is a relational being who wants relationships with His creation. One key element in all relationships is trust, particularly when one party is stronger than the other. How much more, then, is this the case when the one party is not merely stronger, but is God! Our expression of God’s promises to God himself is a way we remind ourselves of the one we trust in as we seek to align ourselves more to His will and less to our own.” [2] [1] Our Eyes are On You; Nathan Ward page 50. [2] Ibid page 51

If Christians live under the New Covenant, why is more than half of our Bible the Old Testament? Previous posts have established that the Law of Moses served a specific purpose, that God's plan was always moving toward Christ, and that we now live under the New Covenant. So why continue studying Abraham, Moses, David, Israel, the sacrifices, the temple, and the prophets? The answer comes from an important distinction: We are no longer under the Old Covenant, but that doesn't mean the Old Testament no longer has value. The Old Testament is not our covenant, but it remains God's Word written for our learning. Are Christians Picking and Choosing? One common criticism of Christianity goes something like this: "Christians pick and choose which parts of the Bible they want to follow. Leviticus condemns certain behaviors but also contains dietary restrictions. Why follow one and ignore the other?" Similar arguments can be made about Israel's civil laws and penalties. If Christians really believe the Bible, why don't we enforce those laws today? That argument sounds powerful if we treat the Bible as one enormous list of commands addressed equally to every person throughout history. But it isn't. The Law of Moses was a covenant given to Israel. Christians don't disregard Mosaic dietary laws because we've arbitrarily decided we don't like them. We don't ignore Israel's civil laws because we're embarrassed by them. We aren't Israelites living under the Mosaic Covenant. So when reading a biblical command, the question isn't simply, “Is this somewhere in the Bible?” We also need to ask, “Who was this given to, under what covenant, and does the New Testament establish it as God's will for Christians?” That isn't picking and choosing Scripture. It's understanding Scripture. So What Do We Do With the Old Testament? Paul answers that question directly: “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning...” — Romans 15:4 The Old Testament wasn't preserved so Christians could continue living under the Mosaic Covenant. It was preserved because we need what it teaches us. Here are 4 things we learn from the Old Testament. #1 - We Learn Who God Is There's a difference between knowing that someone exists and actually knowing them. The same is true of God. Believing there is a Creator is only the beginning. Scripture reveals what that Creator is actually like, beginning with the first words of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” — Genesis 1:1 Even that single verse tells us something about Him. God existed before creation. He possesses the power and intelligence necessary to create. Everything around us ultimately exists because of Him. The rest of the Old Testament gives us thousands of years of interactions between God and humanity. We don't merely read that God is patient—we watch His patience with Israel. We don't merely hear that He is just—we see His response to sin. We see His mercy toward the repentant, His faithfulness to Abraham, His holiness in worship, and His love for His people. If you want to know who God is, watch what He does. #2 - We Learn God's Pattern The covenant may change, but God's character doesn't. The God revealed in the Old Testament is the same God we encounter in the New Testament. Throughout biblical history, we repeatedly see recognizable patterns in how He interacts with humanity. God loves His creation. He expects those who trust Him to obey what He reveals. He teaches humanity about the seriousness of sin and the necessity of sacrifice. And He repeatedly demonstrates His desire to save. God saved Noah from the Flood. He delivered Israel from Egypt and brought them through the Red Sea. He rescued His people from enemies and preserved the faithful through judgment. Those acts of salvation prepare us to understand the ultimate salvation He provides through Christ. God's methods of dealing with people under different covenants may change, but His character does not. #3 - We Learn From Great Faith—and Terrible Failure Hebrews 11 does something fascinating. A New Testament writer teaches Christians about faith primarily by pointing backward to people in the Old Testament. Abel offered. Noah built. Abraham went. Sarah believed. Moses chose. Israel crossed. Rahab acted. Then the writer essentially says there isn't enough time to keep listing examples and mentions Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. Why teach New Testament Christians using people who lived under previous covenants? Because the specific commands may change, but the nature of faith remains recognizable: Hear God → Trust God → Obey God. But the Old Testament doesn't only give us examples to imitate. It also gives us mistakes to avoid. Paul specifically points Christians toward Israel's failures in 1 Corinthians 10. Their idolatry, immorality, dissatisfaction, testing of God, and complaining became warnings for Christians who came centuries later. That's one of the great values of biblical history. We can learn from thousands of years of other people's faithfulness—and their failures—without having to repeat their mistakes ourselves. #4 - We Learn the “Why” Behind the New Testament Perhaps most importantly, the Old Testament helps us understand why the New Testament means what it means. Hebrews describes the Law as: “...a shadow of the good things to come...” — Hebrews 10:1 A shadow isn't the thing itself, but it tells you something is there. It gives you its shape and helps you recognize what's coming. That's what so much of the Old Testament does for Christ. Why is Jesus called the Lamb of God? Why does His blood matter? Why do we need atonement? Why is Jesus our High Priest? Why was the temple veil being torn significant? Why does Hebrews talk about a Most Holy Place? Why do we even need a covenant? The New Testament answers these questions, but the Old Testament gives us the framework necessary to fully appreciate those answers. We Don't Live Under It, But We Need It Christians don't need to choose between two extremes. We shouldn't place ourselves back under the Law of Moses as though Christ never established a New Covenant. But neither should we treat the Old Testament as an outdated portion of Scripture that has little relevance to Christians. Paul tells us exactly why it remains: It was written for our learning. Through it, we learn who God is. We see the consistency of His character. We encounter extraordinary examples of faith and sobering examples of failure. And perhaps most importantly, we gain the background necessary to understand what Jesus accomplished. We don't live under the Old Testament, but we cannot fully understand the New Testament without it.

If God had already given His people a covenant, why did they need another one? Normally, when we replace something, it's because the old one is broken or defective. So was something wrong with the Old Covenant? Did God give Israel a flawed covenant and later have to fix it? No. The Old Covenant accomplished exactly what God intended it to accomplish. It wasn't God's failed first attempt. It was part of a larger plan that was always moving toward Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant Was Part of the Blueprint Think about building a house. The foundation isn't defective because you eventually build walls on top of it, and the walls aren't defective because you eventually cover them with drywall. Each stage serves its purpose while preparing for what comes next. The Old Covenant worked the same way. It had a specific purpose within God's plan, but it was never intended to be the final stage. The Old Covenant wasn't God's mistake. It was part of God's blueprint. Paul explains one of its purposes in Galatians 3:24: “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ...” For generations, God's people were being taught concepts they would eventually need to understand Jesus: sin, holiness, obedience, sacrifice, blood, atonement, priesthood, worship, and forgiveness. The Law was creating a framework through which the cross could eventually be understood. Why Didn't Jesus Just Come Immediately? Imagine Jesus dying immediately after the events of Genesis 3. Why would His death mean anything? Why does blood matter? Why does someone need to die because of sin? Why would Jesus be called a Lamb? Why do we need a priest or mediator? What is atonement? Now imagine growing up under the Mosaic system. You've watched animals sacrificed. You've seen blood. You've watched priests make offerings for sin. You've learned that sacrifices must meet God's requirements and that atonement comes at a cost. Then John points to Jesus and says: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” — John 1:29 Suddenly, centuries of teaching come together. The Old Testament doesn't compete with Jesus. It teaches us why we need Him. The New Covenant Was Always Coming The New Covenant wasn't something God invented after the Old Covenant went wrong. Hundreds of years before Jesus, God had already promised: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant...” — Jeremiah 31:31 The plan reaches even further back. Immediately after sin entered the world, Genesis 3:15 pointed forward to One who would ultimately defeat the serpent. Israel certainly broke its covenant with God—Jeremiah 31:32 explicitly says so—but their failure wasn't the reason God suddenly needed a new plan. Even if Israel had perfectly kept the Law, God's plan was still moving toward Christ. The New Covenant wasn't Plan B. Christ was the plan all along. The Shadow and the Substance Hebrews 10:1 describes the Law as “a shadow of the good things to come.” Colossians 2:17 similarly calls these things “a shadow of things to come” and says the substance belongs to Christ. Think about a shadow. It tells you someone is coming. It gives you their shape and helps you recognize them. But when the actual person arrives, you don't embrace their shadow. You embrace the person. The Old Covenant worked in much the same way. Leviticus taught that “it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11). But animal blood was pointing toward something greater. The sacrifices, priesthood, blood, and atonement were preparing God's people for Christ. The Old Covenant contained the shadow. Christ is the substance. So Why Do We Need a New Testament? The answer is simple: Because we need Jesus. The Old Covenant accomplished the purpose God gave it. It established His covenant with Israel, taught His people about sin and holiness, demonstrated the necessity of sacrifice and atonement, and prepared the world to understand what Christ would accomplish. There was nothing wrong with God's plan in the Old Covenant. The New Covenant was necessary because the story wasn't finished yet. Jesus wasn't God's correction to the plan. He was the fulfillment of it.