Monday, 04 February 2008 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Old Testament

What would you say if we told you that by just reading a mere, meagre, paltry two chapters of the Old Testament you could gain a complete overview of the entire OT story? Would you want to know which ones? Well, read on!

Important Chapter Numero Uno - Genesis 12

The first 11 chapters of Genesis read very much like a prologue. They set the scene, but the meat of the story doesn't really start untill chapter 12. Here God lets us in on his plan. He shares what he's going to be doing. He gives us an insight on how he's going to bring salvation to all people...

And his plan? He's going to start with Abram (later called Abraham) and build a family, then a nation, that will live godly lives and attract others to the awesome goodness of knowing Abram's God.

So key is this story, that the New Testament starts with... yes, you've guessed it, Abraham! The gospel author Matthew is keen to stress that Jesus is part of God's plan begun in Genesis chapter 12 with a man called Abram...

Important Chapter Numero Dos - Leviticus 26

I know what you're all wondering... surely Leviticus cannot contain the 2nd most important chapter of the Bible!?! Nine Christians out of every ten vote Leviticus to be the most boring book of the Bible.* While only 1 out of every 7 Christians have ever read Leviticus.** Can anything remotely interesting come out of Leviticus?

I understand and I sympathise. However, towards the end of the book there comes a gem of a chapter which reads like a summary of what is going to happen through the next 36 books of the OT. The basic gist can be summed up like this: there are incredibly good consequences for being in relationship with God and living his way, but there are increasingly bad consequences for being out of relationship with God and rebelling against his way of living. The OT tells this exact story of consequences that God spells out here.

 

So, there you have it! Reading just two chapters of the OT will give you an overview of entire Bible story! Now that sounds worth doing!

 

FOOTNOTES:
* This stat is completely made-up, but is probably true!
** This stat is also completely made-up to help illustrate the perceived boringness of Leviticus. I also have friends who own up to missing it out...