44. Old Made New

Old Made New: A Guide to the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Greg Lanier. 2022. 197 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Pop quiz. Name that Bible verse:

1. "Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord."

2. "He catches the wise in their craftiness."

3. "You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan." 

Scratching your head? That is understandable. These would not make anyone's Top 10 Bible Verses list. If you had to choose, you would probably wager that they are from the Old Testament (OT). And you would be correct: Exodus 13:2, Job 5:13, and Amos 5:25-27, respectively. But they also appear in the New Testament (NT). While these verses are somewhat unfamiliar to us, they were not unfamiliar to the NT authors.

I would give this book an A+++++++ for organization and clarity. I have got nothing but love and appreciation for a book that keeps things well laid out (organized) and incredibly clear. Lanier says what he means and means what he says. He clearly promises what he's going to be doing, what he is doing, and what he has done. It's almost like you've got the author in the room with you going "Do you follow?" and "Are you with me?" and "We good?" The topic, the focus, the point is always center stage. There's no side-stepping or distractions. 

What is the book about? How the Old Testament is used in the New Testament. (Or how the writers of the New Testament made full use of the Old Testament). 

What is the goal? What does he hope to accomplish? He wants YOU (the reader) to come to appreciate the awesomeness of making these connections (for yourself) and following through to studying these passages. WHY and HOW and WHAT. He shares a three-step process for studying these Old Testament passages when they pop up in the New Testament.

The three step process: 1) Identify the Passage, 2) Double-click on the OT 3) Listen to the Remix.

At its most basic, it can be summed up as read it in the New Testament, read it in the Old Testament, compare and contrast the wording/phrasing, ask thoughtful questions about context and meaning. You should spend time thinking about what it meant in the Old Testament and how that meaning may have shifted (or may not have shifted) in the New Testament. WHY did the NT writers choose that specific passage. 

There are just FOUR chapters in this one. FOUR. Chapter one is an overview of the skills, the "tools of the trade." The remaining three chapters are, "The Old Testament and the Gospel," "The Old Testament and Jesus Christ," and "The Old Testament and the Church." 

What can we learn about the gospel...by reading the Old Testament? What can we learn about Jesus Christ...by reading the Old Testament? What can we learn about the church....by reading the Old Testament? Each chapter CELEBRATES both the Old and New Testaments and show them as ONE. 

Lanier's enthusiasm of the subject definitely began rubbing off on me. I appreciated how much he loves the subject and how excited he is to get others involved in studying the Bible this way. 

There are SO MANY figures (or charts) in this one. My attention doesn't always thrive with this format, but, in this instance I was hooked. I learned so much! 

So while this is a book about how-to-study-the-Bible-for-yourself, it is also very much a BASIC, straight-forward gospel-presentation. I mean these are the abc's of the gospel. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible