AP

Matthew 3:3  This [John the Baptist] is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

Let us never underestimate the value it is to us to have the OT Scriptures to help us to understand and appreciate God’s revelation to us of himself in the Person of Jesus Christ, his Son, and his eternal Gospel.

The Archeologcal discovery of a whole library of stone tablets inscribed in cuneiform at Ugarit in 1929, and the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the late 1940s, both at times when ‘scholarly’ scepticism about the accuracy of the available OT text was at its peak, have confirmed to us that the Sovereign Creator God, who caused the Scriptures to be written infallibly in the first place, has made sure that they have been accurately preserved for us and for our benefit.

Matthew was one of the first Jewish disciples of Jesus who re-read their [OT] Scriptures with mind-blowing enthusiasm and understanding in the light of what they had observed in, and heard from, their Teacher, as they saw God’s ancient Promises fulfilled again and again in the outworking of the Gospel message in their very midst.  I can just see Matthew reading Isaiah 40 through new eyes as he reflected on the ministry of John the Baptist and its place in the announcing of Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John1:29)

Our having the trustworthy OT Scriptures at hand helps us to appreciate that the Gospel is an Eternal Gospel, the Creator’s ‘Plan A’ from the very beginning of time, and that God can be trusted as One who remains Sovereign over his Creation and gracious and faithful to all his promises.  I still meet every Tuesday morning with a group of old-timers who have retired from active ministry (Harry Goodhew, the former Archbishop of Sydney, is 95 years old) and we are reading through Exodus (having finished Genesis) in Hebrew, with more or less success, and with the help of AI (which none of us had when we were first learning Hebrew), and it is wonderful reflecting together on the outworking of the Plan of Salvation.  We realise each week how much poorer our understanding would be of God’s faithfulness, power, mercy and grace if we did not have the ready access we have to the OT Scriptures.

“Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world; they resound with God’s own heart, Oh, let the ancient words impart.  Words of life, words of hope, give us strength, help us cope in this world, where e’er we roam, ancient words will guide us home.  Ancient words, ever true, changing me and changing you; we have come with open hearts, Oh, let the ancient words impart.  Holy words of our faith handed down to this age; came to us through sacrifice: Oh, heed the faithful words of Christ.  Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world; they resound with God’s own heart, Oh, let the ancient words impart.” (Michael W. Smith)

– Bruce Christian