Content
THE
OLD TESTAMENT
THE
NEW TESTAMENT
Introduction
This
is one of a series of pages on the Bible and explains how the Bible
came to be, and so why we can believe what we read.
To
look up any of the Bible references referred to on this page, simply
click once on the reference, see it on the web page you go to, and then
use the return button to come back to this page.
Why
Write?
Something
that we perhaps cannot grasp at this point in history, where we have
such easy access to computers, and writing is so easy, is actually how
difficult it must have been in past millennia to have actually produced
any document.
Today
it is easy for us to go out and buy paper and a pen, or to get access
to a computer and printer. If you lived four thousand years ago, your
motivation to write must have been so much greater, if you were to produce
any sizable document.
Writing
was usually on papyrus, parchment or vellum, and the pen was a pointed
reed, or later a quill. Not easy to write a letter, let alone
a book!
Many
scholars believe the first five books of the Bible (called the Pentateuch)
were written down by Moses. So why would Moses want to write down those
five substantial books?
To
answer this question we must go into the New Testament and see a pivotal
verse in Christian belief.
Inspired
by God?
Let's start with 2
Timothy 3:16 where we are introduced to the phrase in modern versions,
"God-breathed" or "God-inspired", meaning God prompted
men to write.
Now before we go any further we have to accept a phrase that occurs
in a variety of forms many times in the Bible - "God said".
We
recognise that it is an act of faith to believe this, and to live on
the basis of it, but it is fundamental to understanding the Bible.
If
you can accept that there is a God, and that He is a living personality,
THE Supreme Being, is it unreasonable to believe that He is a communicating
Being?
THE
OLD TESTAMENT
"Promptings"
by God of leading men
The
simple answer to our basic question, "How did the Bible come to
be written?" must be, "Because God prompted people to write
down the various things we now call 'The Bible'."
For
instance, in Exodus
17:14 we find God instructing Moses to write what had happened as
a means of reminding others what had taken place. Similarly in
Numbers
33:2 we find the same thing in respect of Israel's journeyings from
Egypt.
In
Deuteronomy
31:9 we find a simple record of Moses writing down the Law that
God had given him.
By
the time of Moses' death, it is clear that the Law had all been written
down and was there for them to learn and meditate upon (Joshua
1:8).
Indeed
it was referred to as the "Book of the Law of Moses" (Joshua
23:6). We are also told that Joshua added further history to that
book (Joshua
24:26).
Subsequently
in Israel's history, we find prophets were told by God to record all
that He had said to them, e.g. Jeremiah
30:2.
If
Moses did compile the first five books of the Bible, it is probable
that he did as a combination of what He was told by God directly, and
also of writings that had been passed down from generation to generation,
e.g. Genesis
5:1.
The
authority of the writings of these men also comes from the nature of
the lives they led and the relationship that they clearly had with God,
i.e. their closeness to God accredited their authority.
The
Practice of Recording Biblical History
We
should also note that leaders and scribes regularly recorded the events
in the life of Israel - see 1
Samuel 10:25, 1
Chronicles 29:29, 2
Chronicles 20:34, 2
Chronicles 26:22 etc.
Thus
the events of the time of the Old Testament period up to about 435BC
were written down by leaders, scribes and prophets.
Sometimes
in the Old Testament, we have more than one record of the same event
which is recorded in more than one book.
Jesus'
Confirmation of the Old Testament
We
find Jesus, in the Gospels, affirming the Old Testament many times.
The following are just a few of those:
Luke
24:44 - law, prophets and psalms covered
Luke
11:51 - Abel to Zechariah = Genesis to 2 Chronicles (first and last
books in the Jewish ordering)
Mark
10:6,7 - quoting Genesis 1:27 and 2:24
Matthew
24:37-39 - citing Noah as an historical figure (Genesis)
Matthew
24:15 - citing Daniel
Matthew
12:40 - citing Jonah in the fish as an historical event
Matthew
12:42 - citing Solomon
The
Gospel Writers' Confirmation of the Old Testament
Matthew's
Gospel is especially heavy in using the Old Testament to explain New
Testament happenings, for example 1:22,23,
2:5,6,
2:15
etc. etc. (Work your way through his Gospel noting the continual references
to the Old Testament).
You
will also find the apostle Peter clearly upholds the Old Testament -
look up Acts 2:16,25,34 and 2 Peter 1:21 and 2 Peter 3:16.
THE
NEW TESTAMENT
Part
of the Holy Scriptures
When
the apostle Peter wrote his second letter, it was clearly the belief
in the early church that the writings of the apostle Paul stood alongside
the Old Testament as part of the Scriptures 2
Peter 3:15,16.
Why
was the New Testament Written?
Various
writers give us clear indications of why they wrote:
Luke
1:1-4 - Luke writes "an orderly account" of what had taken
place
Acts
1:1,2 - he continues that account to include the early church from
the ascension of Jesus
John
20:30,31 - John wants to help people understand and believe in Jesus
John
21:24,25 - John declares that he is testifying to what he saw
Revelation
1:11 - John was told what to write
1
John 1:1-4 - John again writes about what he has seen, heard and
touched - Jesus
But
why write?
A
good question! Clearly because they believed.
Luke, for example, was a doctor, an educated man who set out to carefully
gather the facts to ensure there was no misunderstanding.
John was blatant in his belief that he had encountered the Son of God.
The
apostle Paul's belief was clearly that these and many others were stirred,
motivated and inspired by God to write.
To
Conclude
You're
not sure? The best way to be convinced is to read it yourself.
Get a modern version, start with say the shortest of the Gospels,
Mark's, and see what you think.
A
number of years ago, a solicitor by the name of Frank Morison, decided
to debunk the resurrection myth, as he saw it.
The
more he read, the more he investigated, the more he came to realise
that it was true.
He
ended up writing a book called "Who Moved the Stone" - as
a believer.
Translator,
J.B.Phillips, similarly ended up writing a book called "Ring of
Truth" when, as he translated the New Testament, he came to realise
this WAS the truth!
That
could be YOUR testimony as well.
Can
we help?
Perhaps you would like to talk further about these
things. If that is so then the leaders of Rochford Community Church
are available to help you.
Remember,
if you want to e-mail Tony, it's tony.thomas@rochfordcc.co.uk
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see the full range of resources on this site CLICK
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