I Get Lost When I Read the Old Testament

“I Get Lost When I Read the Old Testament…Can You Show Me the Divine Tapestry, the Amazing Love Story?”

Discover God’s Passion for Your Life as Revealed in the Old Testament

Do you need someone to walk through the Old Testament with you? Well, Dr. Andrew Hardy is your man. He is a biblical scholar who hungers to hear God’s voice through every single event recorded in the Old Testament. He will convey to you God’s purposes as the story unfolds, showing you the passion of God as He seeks to restore mankind to the “Original Intent.”

God desires companionship and friendship with you. That is why He instituted relaxing walks with Adam and Eve in the Garden in the cool of the day. Dr. Hardy will unveil to you the most amazing love story ever told.

Watch Mark Virkler's 60-second introduction to this message.

Let’s transform the Old Testament from a dusty, dry book into a spiritual roadmap for your life So many laws, so many genealogies, so totally ancient; what does any of it have to do with my life today? I live in the 21st century, with automobiles, internet, and smartphones. What could ever be the benefit of reading all those years of drudgery which the Israelites went through? After all, I am part of the New Israel, the Church of Jesus Christ. I am saved, baptized and born from above. I live and walk by the Spirit. What could I possibly find interesting in all those many cycles of failure, defeat, repentance, and restoration. Does God really want to speak to me through them? And if so, what does He want to say?

“But I'm already comfortable with my level of Bible knowledge!” Then we've got a fun challenge for you! Discover how much of God's Word you've actually hidden in your heart with CLU's free online Bible Quizzes. Put yourself to the test, and then share them with your friends. Now there's a friendly competition with purpose!

What was God’s Original Intent for your life? “In the beginning…” There was a Garden, where God walked and talked with man. It was relaxing. It was during the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8). I suspect it was every day. It met God’s desire for friendship and fellowship with mankind whom He had created and whom He loved. God anticipated Adam and Eve would choose fellowship, relationship and friendship with Him. God enjoyed imparting His thoughts and sharing His heart with them on a daily basis. Life was perfect.

What was the original sin? Satan offered the suggestion that we could figure things out on our own, apart from God. Maybe God didn’t really have our best interests in mind (Gen. 3:5). Adam and Eve succumbed to this temptation. They embraced this sin, which resulted in destroying fellowship with their loving Heavenly Father. Living independent from God quickly brought forth jealously, envy, hatred, strife and murder. Rather than love ruling, anger ruled. Darkness ruled. Satan set up his rule in the hearts of men. Man’s heart became dark. The world became dark.   An Old Testament model for miracle-working faith Abraham is righteous, and becomes a pattern of faith for us all (Gen. 12-22). God speaks to Abraham, giving him promises, visions, and blessings. Abraham holds to these promises from God, in the midst of all odds, and becomes the Father of Faith (Rom. 4:11). Abraham models for us what a life of faith looks like. Faith pleases God (Heb. 11:6). We get to follow in Abraham’s footsteps, becoming children of faith.   God creates “a people for Himself,” but they don't want to return to His original intent The Israelites become the people of God, His chosen race to carry forth His purposes. However they choose not to hear His voice (Deut. 5:23-26), so are offered laws instead (Deut. 5:30, 31), which God knows they will never keep (Deut. 5:29; Gal. 6:13). The law becomes our tutor to lead us to Christ (Gal. 3:24). Jesus, of course, became the end of our efforts to establish our righteousness by keeping God’s laws, as our sins are dealt with through His cleansing blood which was shed at Calvary (Isa. 53:5). We once again are offered the opportunity to live by the Spirit, out of fellowship, friendship and companionship with our loving Heavenly Father (Rom. 10:4; Rom. 8:2-4; Gal. 5:18; 25) Not hearing and obeying God’s voice brings judgment into the Israelites’ lives (Deut. 28:1,15 NKJV). They repent, cry out for God’s mercy, receive it, and then once again experience His blessing. This blessing, in turn, makes them proud, and in their arrogance, they sin again, are judged, cry out for mercy, and are once again restored to a place of blessing. This pattern is repeated over and over and over again. It says to us that when you listen to God’s voice and obey it, you will receive His blessing. Do not let this blessing make you arrogant and proud and sin, because if you do, you step from His blessing into His judgment. Stay humble and meek (Matt. 5:5) so you can continue to live in God’s blessing.

Wow! We've seen enough already to make the Old Testament practical reading material. But we're just getting started!

The Poetry books offer us SO MUCH more… Psalms – a pattern of how to have real, open, honest daily devotions where you encounter God (i.e. in the Selah times), and then respond in worship to what God is speaking. Selah is a pause and musical crescendo, where we quiet ourselves in the presence of God, connect with God (Ps. 73:17), and then write what God was speaking to us (Ps. 73:18-20) in light of the petition we have just presented (Ps. 73:1-16). Proverbs – Solomon, the wisest king in the history of the world, gives golden nuggets of truth which can guide us into effective daily habits and strengthen interpersonal relationships. Ecclesiastes – explores the futility of trying to live life separate from God, and concludes this vain search with the summary that the only alternative to futility is to fear God and keep His commands (Eccl. 12:13). Song of Solomon – expresses the wonder and beauty of sexual love within the context of marriage, giving us God’s view of sex and physical intimacy as well as an incredible picture of our King’s love for us.

Now let me ask you, “How valuable are the Poetry books to your life?”

Would you like to know where the prophets fit into the reign of the kings? Dr. Andrew Hardy will paint the story from beginning to end, showing where the prophets fit in and what was happening in the land with the kings and with the people as they were prophesying. You will see the writings as an integrated unit, perhaps for the first time.   Each book is depicted on a single page, employing a remarkable chart We provide a one-page pictorial overview of each of the 39 books of the Old Testament, allowing you to see in a glance the key themes, events and content of each book. These pictures help you quickly master the overall material. In addition, you will be asked content-rich, revelation-based questions, helping you explore the major themes of Scripture and allowing you to watch God build these themes a piece at a time. You then get to compare your answers to these questions with our answers to the identical questions by referring to our book Handbook of Answers. So you begin by gaining your own first-hand revelation from the Word of God, and then you get to complement your revelation with the revelation we have received. This constitutes an excellent learning experience.

What you discover through illumination of the Holy Spirit yourself provides, by far, the richest learning experience available!

Journaling, revelation and memorization happen weekly…   You will find one or two verses leap off the pages of the assigned chapters of Scripture reading each week. You are asked to memorize these verses as they are God speaking directly to you. By hiding these words in your heart, the Holy Spirit can bring these Scriptures to remembrance in time of need (Jn. 14:26). We also ask you to journal and record what God is speaking to you from the chapters you are reading.

So now the Old Testament is no longer a dusty, dry book! It is life-changing revelation straight from the heart of Almighty God!