The Old Testament is the story of humanity attempting to live apart from God.

Many people read the Old Testament and see an angry God. I believe they are seeing the wrong thing. The Old Testament is not primarily revealing God's character; it is revealing ours. It is the story of what happens when mankind rejects the very source of life.

When humanity separated itself from God, it also separated itself from life itself. Jesus later described Himself as the Vine, and we as the branches. A branch may appear alive for a short time after it is cut off, but death has already begun. That is exactly what happened to humanity. We continued living physically, but spiritually we were dying because we had disconnected ourselves from the One who is Life.

The Old Testament allows us to watch that death unfold.

God could have simply told humanity that life apart from Him would lead to violence, hatred, slavery, pride, religion, suffering, and death. But would we have believed Him? Probably not. Instead, He allowed humanity to experience the consequences of its own choice so we could see for ourselves where independence from God always leads.

The Old Testament is God's demonstration of life without Him.

It exposes the human heart. It reveals the seriousness of sin. It shows us that humanity cannot create peace on its own. It teaches us that religion, laws, sacrifices, and human effort can never restore what was lost. Every page is preparing us to understand something greater that is still to come.

It is not the destination.

It is the journey that leads us to Christ.

Related Scriptures

Galatians 3:24
"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

Romans 3:20
"Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

John 15:5
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."