Question:

I want to read the entire Bible. I’m very familiar with the New Testament, as I have read it many times. However, I find the Old Testament difficult to dive into because I don’t find it as applicable to everyday Christian living. Yet, I know there’s much to be gleaned from it. How can I easily tap in to and start covering more of the Old Testament so I can start to get the whole bible under my belt instead of just the New Testament?

Answer:

Good question.  At the risk of self-promotion, I believe that my book From Shadow to Reality will really help here. IPI Books www.ipibooks.com I advertise to people that after reading my book, they will think that Leviticus is an exciting book.  Understanding that Genesis, Zechariah, Psalms, Ruth, Leviticus, etc. are all about Jesus will help you to see why these books are so relevant to your Christian faith. In this book you will see how the Old Testament is full of types, prefigures and foreshadows of Jesus which will bring the Old Testament text alive.  Understanding that the entire OT is a window to the life and teaching of Jesus helps a lot.  Another suggestion is to get a good Old Testament survey book or class.  If you go to my web site, you will find a twelve hour Old Testament Survey class.  https://evidenceforchristianity.org/old-testament-survey-2/ This will help a lot.  Another suggestion is to use an Old Testament Survey text.  My best suggestion is the book Casket Empty  by Carol Kaminsky.  This is an excellent introduction which will help you to make connections and see the usefulness of individual books. Doug Jacoby also has a very brief intro to the OT available at IPI books.

I hope this helps,

John Oakes