Day 14

Of The Holy Scriptures

Chapter 1, Paragraph 8.

“The Old Testament in Hebrew, (which was the Native language of the people of God of old)…”

Scripture Lookup

Romans 3:2. Who had the “oracles of God”?

Reflection

Hebrew.

The language of the Israelites.

Different from English. Different alphabet. Different reading order. (English is read from left to right; Hebrew is read from right to left.)

The Old Testament is written in this language. God’s word revealed to the people of Israel.

Sometimes it can be difficult to see the usefulness of the Old Testament. Israel seems to have been a culture so different from Western society. Animal sacrifice, miracles and prophecy, wars and famines.

They sinned. We sin.

God chose them to be a people set apart. God has chosen us to be a people set apart.

They looked forward to a savior. We look back to the savior.

When we read about God’s dealings with Israel, we see how universal is the human condition of sin. We see how people throughout history have rejoiced and despaired, and we see the power, compassion, and mercy of God demonstrated in the history of Israel. A redeemer is promised from its earliest pages.

The God of the Old Testament is the same God we worship. The Old Testament is His word to us as well.

Not so different after all.

Questions to Consider

• What is your view of the Old Testament?
• Have you ever considered learning Hebrew? Why or why not?