Help Understanding the Old Testament--The Old Testament is often neglected by Christians even though it constitutes three-quarters of the Bible’s content. Sermons using Old Testament passages tend towards expositions of texts such as the creation account in Genesis, comfort from the Psalms, the Ten Commandments, narrative historical accounts which are interpreted in a moralizing way without grasping their redemptive-historical significance, and the prophecies that have been fulfilled in Christ used for Christmas and Easter messages. Alec Motyer’s A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Loving the Old Testament: One Book, One God, One Story, Christian Focus, 2015, foreword by Tim Keller and an afterward by D. A. Carson, provides a brief presentation of the case for the Old Testament for those who have trouble understanding its importance for post-incarnation Christianity. Subjects covered include—one Bible, one Covenant; knowing God through the variety of Divine names and the perspective on the nature of God provided by each name; encouragement to try and think like an Old Testament person looking forward to Christ and then consider how that anticipation fulfilled in the incarnation would have affected New Testament authors; the importance of special terms such as goel—kinsman redeemer—which was so important for understanding the book of Ruth and the continuation of the seed line that would bring the Messiah through the tribe of Judah. Christians are sometimes challenged when it comes to understanding the Old Testament but Motyer’s handbook provides helpful guidance to understand the Bible as one book, one God, one story. Christians struggling to understand how the Old Testament relates to the New and the unfolding message of redemption given through its pages will find this book a handy summary. [posted 6/30/2020]

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