People study the bible and wonder what purpose is found in the Old Testament seeing as Christ brought about the New Covenant established in His blood and described in the New Testament. The easy, and true, answer is that God showed His character and His heart for His people and this world. I moment of quiet spoke something more into my spirit and I wanted to share.

                The entire bible points to The Christ. This is where my heart drifted in Old Testament purpose. Old Testament Law was instituted as a foreshadowing of Christ. Those laws now stand as a shadow of His New Covenant. How could our finite minds truly understand what it is to live in Christ’s covenant without the Old Testament explanation of His purpose? The laws point out not only the purpose of Jesus, but also His abilities. How else could we come close to understanding infinite God, the Father, Son, and Spirit?

                Let’s consider a human example that is tiny in comparison to the magnitude of The Creator. Imagine all of the small things that define/ describe a person. We could consider the things they’ve accomplished, the people they know, their job, their education, their ancestry, etc. Anyone of those things describe a part of them but none of those things allow you to truly know them. As we walk with Jesus through the gospels and He tries to explain His purpose through parables we grow in limited understanding of Him. We view His many deeds with awe and we accept His sacrifice for our salvation with thanks. But until we look back at His purpose, His shadow in the Old Testament, His vastness is not clear. We can see the prophets speak of Him and the laws point to the covenant established in Him. Jesus came to fulfill the law that pointed to Him and explained His greatness. He came to stand in a place that created the shadow of the Old Testament and gave it meaning as is was brought to fruition. Allow the Old Testament to warm your heart in its symbolism and its instruction for a life outside the shadow. Live in the light of God and let the shadow guide your direction toward the source. Know what it means to be a child of God as you study the exhaustive preparation that was made for your Savior.