As we discussed Hebrews Chapter 7 last night in our men’s growth group, we began to see two different ways of viewing the Old Testament.

The author of Hebrews was addressing a group of people who were apparently having trouble letting go of their Old Testament understanding of priesthood. So he goes to great lengths (as he does throughout the whole letter) to demonstrate that God’s new priesthood in Jesus is reliable (v21) and better (v19). Imagine the change these Hebrew believers were trying to come to terms with – the Old Testament priesthood was their whole heritage, their whole way of life! For hundreds of years, the very identity of the Jewish people had been tied to this way of relating to God.

We wondered whether the Pharisees, who could not accept Jesus’ teachings, reacted so strongly to Jesus for similar reasons. These Hebrew believers, and the Pharisees, could see the Old Testament only one level – the laws and regulations that defined the life of the people of Israel.

However the author of Hebrews consistently shows his readers a different way of viewing the Old Testament. As he encourages them to be faithful to Jesus as God’s eternal and better High Priest, he repeatedly calls on the Old Testament to support his argument. (In Hebrews 7, he explains the role of Melchizedek from Genesis 14 and Psalm 110 as a precedent for Christ). He understands that the Old Testament is the account of God’s relationship with His creation and His people that reveals, leads to and is fulfilled in Jesus.

And because he sees the Old Testament on this second, deeper level, he is able to freely admit that the first level is no longer needed – in verse 18 he states very strongly that the Old Testament priesthood is “set aside because it was weak and useless”.

So how do you view the Old Testament? If you are only viewing it as rules and regulations – as did the Pharisees – reading and understanding it can be a difficult and frustrating task – “How does this apply to me!?”. But if you understand that the Old Testament reveals Jesus, you will have on one hand a deeper and richer appreciation for the first two thirds of your Bible, and on the other an easier task in understanding all those rules and regulations.