Key OT Teachings

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I do not find many new teachings in Jeremiah, because much of it is similar to IS, consisting of indictments of Israel’s sins, prophecies of coming judgment by being taken captive but eventual restoration (Jer. 29:10-14).

Jer. 4:4. “Circumcise your hearts”. This emphasis on the inner spiritual faith rather than on the outward physical circumstances is found in the writings of Paul, who even went so far as to say that spiritual faith is the essence of what it means to be Jewish or chosen by God. Rom. 2:28-29 says that “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit…”

Again in Rom. 3:29, Paul asks, “Is God the God of Jews only: Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised by that same faith.” And finally in Rom. 4:11-16 we find, “So then, [Abraham] is the father of all who believe… who also walk in the footsteps of the faith… He is the father of us all.” This teaching in JR & RM is foundational for the mystery of the Gospel of salvation for all humanity, both Jews and Gentiles, that Paul revealed in Eph. 2:11-3:13.

Jer. 31:31. Here we find mention of the coming new covenant (NT).
 
Lamentations contains one key teaching, which is not completely new, but does have a new nuance, in Lam. 3:31-39. I like this passage because it answers the question of why God allows suffering due to sins. The phrase “he does not willingly bring affliction or grief” to humanity means that it is not His intentional will that people should suffer either here or in hell, but that He permits people to reap the logical consequence of their sins in order to actualize free moral will, which is the essential aspect our humanness.

Now we come to Ezekiel, which contains allegorical language like Revelation, with figurative or symbolic meaning.

Ezek. 11:24. This apparently refers to the Holy Spirit. Also see Ezek. 36:27 and 39:29. An explanation of human interaction with God’s Spirit is explained in Lesson 2, Part III on Spiritual Dynamics.
 
I do not find many new teachings in Jeremiah, because much of it is similar to IS, consisting of indictments of Israel’s sins, prophecies of coming judgment by being taken captive but eventual restoration (Jer. 29:10-14).

Jer. 4:4. “Circumcise your hearts”. This emphasis on the inner spiritual faith rather than on the outward physical circumstances is found in the writings of Paul, who even went so far as to say that spiritual faith is the essence of what it means to be Jewish or chosen by God.

Rom. 2:28-29 says that “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit…”
Again in Rom. 3:29, Paul asks, “Is God the God of Jews only: Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised by that same faith.”
And finally in Rom. 4:11-16 we find, “So then, [Abraham] is the father of all who believe… who also walk in the footsteps of the faith… He is the father of us all.”
This teaching in JR & RM is foundational for the mystery of the Gospel of salvation for all humanity, both Jews and Gentiles, that Paul revealed in Eph. 2:11-3:13.

Jer. 31:31. Here we find mention of the coming new covenant (NT), in which water baptism replaced physical circumcision
as the outward work portraying inner saving faith in the Lord.
 
Now we come to Ezekiel, which contains allegorical language like Revelation, with figurative or symbolic meaning.

Ezek. 11:24. This apparently refers to the Holy Spirit. Also see Ezek. 36:27 and 39:29.

Ezek. 12:4. “The people have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.” This is significant, because it suggests the reason there is so much confusion and strife on this earth, using a physical analogy. The apparent meaning is that sinners have the God-given ability to discern truth from falsehood, right from wrong and good from evil, but many do not use this ability or gift wisely and choose to rebel against faith in God, who is the Spirit of truth, Right or Holy and Good. Such people are the hard soil in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, in whom the seed or word of God is not able to take root and grow.
 
Ezek. 13:3 & 18. “Woe to …”. You will remember that in MT 23 Jesus repeatedly (7 times) said “Woe to” the Pharisees, hypocrites and blind guides. Woe ultimately refers to hell. The important thing to realize that this is not God’s wish or will, but rather it is the appropriate or logical consequence for those who reject God, God’s Word, His Holy Spirit and Messiah.

So, the words “Woe to” indicate that God is grieved by the sinful attitude of those who hate Him and He is warning them, wanting them to repent, as in Ezek. 14:6 (cf. Ezek. 33:11 & Tit. 2:11-12).
 
Ezek. 16:32-38. These verses compare the relationship between God and people to marriage, calling the Israelites adulterous for being unfaithful to the Lord.

This reminds us of Paul describing the church as the bride of Christ in Eph. 5:23-32, and it teaches us that the second most important thing to learn after how to be saved or “married” is to remain faithful until the day we die by continuing to learn GW (which assumes the learner will apply it to his/her life).
 
Ezek. 18:2. This quotes a proverb, “The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” This can mean that children are affected negatively by poor parenting or the mistakes made by their parents, but apparently in Ezekiel’s culture there were those who thought it meant that children were condemned by God because of the sins of their parents, so Ezekiel had to explain (in v.4) that “The soul who sins is the one who will die” or receive the appropriate punishment.

Ezek. 18:21 & 30-32. This states more clearly the teaching in Isa. 63:10, that God is grieved by having to discipline sinners, just like a loving parent who has to spank a disobedient child.
 
Ezek. 20:27. This explains the sin of blasphemy by saying, “Your fathers blasphemed me by forsaking me.”

Jesus mentions this sin in Matt. 12:31, saying that blasphemy against the Spirit of God will not be forgiven.

I think Heb. 6:4-6 explains why apostasy is unforgivable blasphemy (cf. 2Peter 2:20-22): Choosing to repudiate saving faith in Christ indicates that the person has become completely corrupt and hard-hearted or calloused (Matt. 13:14-15, Acts 28:26-27).
 
Ezek. 34:11-31. This is an analogy of God’s relationship to Believers in which God ‘s servant [David = Messiah, v.23] is the shepherd and his people are the flock.

Of course, this reminds us of Jesus saying that He is the good shepherd in John 10:11-16, which includes "other sheep not of this sheep pen", referring to Gentile believers who are also chosen people or saved. Of course, sheep in this context does not refer to smelly, dumb animals, but rather to pets or creatures God loves and protects.
 
I need to remind everyone to feel free to add their own key OT teachings, which means they are relevant to the NT Gospel,
such as my next contribution:

Ezek. 37:12. This is a pretty clear prophecy of the resurrection.

Much of Ezekiel is allegorical like the book of Revelation.
The same is true of the book of Daniel, although the first part is historical, telling about his interaction with the kings of Babylon.
Then chapter eight begins telling his visions of the future culminating in a final judgment.

Daniel 12:1-9. The end will come for each person when they die.
Thus, we should pay attention to the plain teachings of Jesus in Matt. 24:36-44 and be ready whenever the end comes.
 
Like the passage in Ezekiel cited previously, Hosea employs the marriage analogy and condemns Israel for being unfaithful or adulterous. I did not find any new key teaching in it, but let us look at one verse that inspired Paul.

Hos. 13:14. “Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?” Compare this to 1Cor. 15:55, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

>>>TOP #114: The resurrected body will be changed into a heavenly or immortal body. [1Cor. 15:35-54, Phil. 3:21] This transfiguration will happen in a flash (v.52).

>>>TOP #115: The law empowers sin, and sin results in death, but Christ conquers both. [1Cor. 15:55-57] As Paul said in Rom. 7:7&11,
“I would not have known what sin was except through the law… and sin seized the opportunity afforded by the law… and through the commandment put me to death.” (Cf. TOP #22, 23 & 25.)
 
The next prophetic book is Joel, a short book with no new teaching but it does have more verses about God’s Spirit and salvation of all believers.

Joel 2:28. “I will pour out my Spirit on all people… in those days.” And verse 32 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”, which Paul quotes (in Rom. 10:13).

>>>TOP #47: Christ is the end of the law and the beginning of righteousness by faith in Jesus as Lord. [Rom. 10:1-13, cf. Heb. 7:18-10:1]
In Hebrews this truth is indicated by saying that the New Covenant supersedes the Old Covenant.
Jesus indicated this truth (in Matt. 5:17-48) by saying that righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees, and that “You have heard it was said… But I tell you…”, and finally, “Be perfect.”
 
Amos is another short book of prophecy with no new key teaching, but it reaffirms what we have learned previously,
that God desires justice and righteousness (Amos 5:21-24).

>>>TOJ #87: Legalists cite tradition as an excuse for subverting righteousness. [Matt. 15:3-9//Mark 7:6-13] Jesus cited the fact that traditionalists would water or rescue an animal on the Sabbath while prohibiting healing a human {Luke 14:5, John 7:23-24}. (See TOJ #72.) He connected this sin with hypocrisy (TOJ #134).

>>>>>>TOJ #134: Woe to hypocrites! [Matt. 23:13-39, 16:6] Although this is certainly related to TOJ #68 & #87, Jesus denounced this particular sin so forcefully that we ought to list it separately. Hypocrisy is pretending or claiming (falsely) to be righteous or godly or Christian. Such people have trees in their eyes (Matt. 7:3) and camels in their stomachs (Matt. 23:24)! They are spiritually blind and morally foolish. {Luke 11:37-52, 12:1, 20:45-46, Mark 12:38-39} Whoever does not teach the truth is a blind guide {Matt. 15:13-14}, Pharisee {Luke 11:39-44} and hypocrite {Luke 13:15-16}.
 
I know I am new here and unsure of what is and is not allowed so if I overstep, I am sorry. You cannot take verses 1-3 of Genesis 1 and lump them together. Verse 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. If you read Proverbs 8:22-31 wisdom was there with God before anything else was. Why? All wisdom comes from God. It was God through wisdom that set everything up. Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word that goeth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the things whereto I send it. I would encourage you to read that whole chapter it is only 13 verses long. I would like to go on but I have to call it quits but I would ask you to read Jeremiah 4:19-31. May God bless you and keep you Keith
 
KeithAB said:
I know I am new here and unsure of what is and is not allowed so if I overstep, I am sorry. You cannot take verses 1-3 of Genesis 1 and lump them together. Verse 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. If you read Proverbs 8:22-31 wisdom was there with God before anything else was. Why? All wisdom comes from God. It was God through wisdom that set everything up. Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word that goeth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the things whereto I send it. I would encourage you to read that whole chapter it is only 13 verses long. I would like to go on but I have to call it quits but I would ask you to read Jeremiah 4:19-31. May God bless you and keep you Keith
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Disagreement is allowed out the wazoo, but what is preferred by me is congenial discussion, which necessitates commenting on specific points and explaining why one viewpoint is better than another. IOW, do not say what I can't do but rather address what I do do, which in this case is say the following:

1. For example, Genesis 1:1-3 begins with “God created the heavens and the earth” by saying “Let there be…”, which indicates that the supernatural world manifests the Word of God in an impersonal way.

2. As Paul teaches in RM 1:20, “Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

3. And John says in JN 1:14, “The Word became flesh [human] and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

4. The scientific “big bang” theory regarding the origin of the universe is quite compatible with the biblical story, theorizing that just before the beginning all matter in the universe was compressed to a “singularity”.

5. The point of GN is not how the world was created or how long it took, but who created it and why. It is concerned with metaphysics rather than mere physics.

And you say, one point at a time?
 
Obadiah is the shortest book in the OT and contains nothing new.
[This does not necessarily mean that the teachings it may contain are not worth noting.]

Do you find a teaching that is key?
 
GWH said:
Obadiah is the shortest book in the OT and contains nothing new.
[This does not necessarily mean that the teachings it may contain are not worth noting.]

Do you find a teaching that is key?
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Okay, me neither, although "The day of the Lord is near for all nations" (v.15) sounds ominous.
What about key teachings in Jonah?
 
UnoiAmarah said:
Shouldn't it be Genesis 1:1-5 since that represents the period referred to as the first day....
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Well, on the one hand I could have cited only Gen. 1:1, because my focus was on creation in connection with Rom. 1:20,
but on the other hand I would not mind citing Gen. 1:3-4 in connection with John 1:1, 4-5 & 14, and Gen. 1:5 in connection with
2Pet. 2:8. I guess I will amend our website to do just that. Thanks for the feedback! (Done just now.)
Anything else?
 
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