Daily Thoughts | 1

Every December, my wife and I read through the gospel of Luke for “advent reading.” There are 24 days in December leading up to Christmas, and it happens to be the case that there are 24 chapters in the gospel of Luke, so we read one chapter per day starting on December 1st, and finishing on December 24th. Since December just passed, much of Luke is still fresh in my memory.

Growing up, I did not read my Bible very often. When I did, I was almost exclusively in the New Testament. I was always told that the New Testament was “easier to read and understand,” and sometimes even, erroneously, that “the Old Testament doesn’t matter that much,” so naturally, I hung out in the New Testament. Admittedly, the New Testament is a relatively “easy read,” as it is significantly shorter in length than the Old Testament. Only recently have I realized that the richness, the depth, and really almost all of the context of the New Testament writings are largely lost without an understanding of the events of the Old Testament.

This is not to suggest that a person can not or should not read the New Testament without first reading the Old Testament. In fact, whenever a new believer is interested in reading the Bible, we (Christians) almost always point them to the New Testament to get them started. After all, we are all currently living under the “new covenant,” and the gospel, or “good news,” is a great place to dive into a relationship with Jesus. But what is the “new covenant” without an “old covenant?” Why is the new covenant “¹better?” What is the gospel, and why is it “good news?” The answers to these questions, and so many more, are made very clear by the Old Testament writings.

Obi and I have been traversing the Old Testament, and we are currently in the book of 2 Chronicles, reading about the various kings that reigned in the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah when the kingdom was split following Solomon’s reign.

At the end of Luke 13, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees in Jerusalem, who tell him that Herod wants to kill him and that he needs to get away from there.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
Luke 13:34

I mention this verse specifically because it is just one example of a verse that I have read probably a dozen times, but since I had never read the Old Testament, I just never knew what or who Jesus was even referring to. Why would Jerusalem (or it’s people) stone and kill the prophets? Which prophets were stoned and killed?

As we have been reading through the historical books, and more specifically those of the “²Kingdom Era,” we have come across several examples of precisely the kind of persecution that Jesus mentions in Luke 13:34, specifically toward the prophets of God, who speak to the people on His behalf. In almost all cases, the prophet is rebuking the people for turning away from the Lord their God, and since the people (or in some cases, the king) do not like what the prophet has to say (even though it is ultimately God’s voice they are rejecting and dismissing), they seek to silence the prophet either by imprisoning or killing him.

In this first example, very much like what Paul writes in ³2 Timothy 4: 3-4, Ahab, king of Israel, is looking to go to battle with the aid of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Prior to going to battle, Jehoshaphat insists that they “inquire first for the word of the Lord.” King Ahab asks his “prophets,” who tell him only what he wants to hear and not the truth (nor do they inquire of God), and they advise him to go to battle and that he will win. Jehoshaphat doesn’t seem to buy it, and insists that there must be a true prophet of the Lord that they can consult. Ultimately, they inquire of a true prophet of the Lord, Micaiah, and Ahab does not like what he has to say, and has him imprisoned with minimal food.

But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil… Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.”

And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak….”

…And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon… and say, “Thus says the king, ‘Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’” And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”
2 Chronicles 18: 6-27

In the second example, Joash, king of Judah, has a prophet, Zechariah, stoned and killed for rebuking the idolatry and waywardness of the people of Judah.

Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness of Johoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge!”
2 Chronicles 24: 20-22

In the third example, the prophet Elijah flees to hide in a cave, fearing king Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, who seek to kill him for bringing the judgment of the Lord upon the false prophets of Baal.

There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
1 Kings 19: 9-10

I am very grateful to have begun reading the Old Testament. The New Testament, of course, is a good place to start–to read about the life of Jesus, his teachings, his works and miracles, his death, and his resurrection, all of which are very, very important things. Nonetheless, as Nata Sala often says, just about everything Jesus says and does is either an allusion to or a direct reference from the Old Testament. One of the greatest rewards of reading through the Old Testament has been the added depth and context it brings to all the content of the New Testament.

The Old Testament is scripture, and as Paul writes to Timothy:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…
2 Timothy 3:16

1. Hebrews 8: 6-7 ↩︎
2. I highly recommend this book by Max Anders. It is called 30 Days to Understanding the Bible and after reading through it for just 10-15 minutes a day for 30 days, for the first time in my life, I felt confident enough to dive into the scriptures which previously seemed unapproachable and confusing. The book goes into how the books of the Bible are organized, the different historical eras (like the Kingdom Era mentioned here) covered in the Bible, who wrote the Bible and when, etc. Talk about an easy read… this book is a very easy read, and a fantastic tool for understanding the Bible. ↩︎
3. “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Timothy 4: 3-4 ↩︎