Is the Bible a Self Help Book?

Too often we read the bible, Old Testament specifically, and relate it to our lives. We use it to gain good morals and motivation for our day to day, which is not a bad thing, but it soon becomes it’s only purpose in our lives. We look to the Old Testament and only see how we can conquer our own Goliath’s or find our own Promised Land, and we miss the main point. We get so consumed with our own lives and how scripture can help us that we overlook what it is really saying. Jesus says the purpose of the events in the scriptures were to testify of Him, the Coming Messiah! (John 5:39) The purpose of both the Old Testament and the New Testament is Jesus. You can look in every book of the Old Testament and find the foretelling of Jesus, every story testifies of His coming.

When Moses and the Israelites escape Egypt, they begin the long journey to the Promised Land. The people begin to grumble and were losing hope because they were hungry (Exodus 16:3) but the Lord took care of them and promised to rain down bread from heaven every day to feed them. (Exodus 16:4) 

This event was just a foreshadow of Jesus, in the book of John Jesus tells the Pharisees that it was the Father in heaven that gives the true bread from heaven. (John 6:32-33) He goes on to say that He (Jesus) is the Bread of Life whoever comes to Him will never go hungry or thirsty. (John 6:35) 

The Phillistines had a champion named Goliath, he was a giant and was thought of as unbeatable. (1 Samuel 17:4)  No Israelite soldier could face him, he was just too powerful. There was a shepherd boy from Bethlehem named David, David was the youngest of 8 sons and his three eldest brothers followed Saul and fought for Israel. (1 Samuel 17:12-13) One day, David’s father Jesse sent David to deliver some food to his brothers on the battlefield. He came just as Goliath was challenging anyone from the Israelite army, overhearing Goliath and knowing he had the Living God on his side he chose to enter battle with the giant. He took with him only a sling and five stones. He struck the giant in the head with a stone killing Goliath immediately, he overcame all odds and won the battle for his people. David was exalted and crowned king of his people.

Fast forward a few hundred years, we have another shepherd from Bethlehem. (John 10:14)  His name is Jesus, and like David he is facing a giant of an opponent. That opponent is sin, and sin has been laughing at and taunting Jesus’ people. Sin is unbeatable, it is too powerful. Jesus brought even less then David to the battle, where David brought a sling and 5 stones, Jesus brought a cross and three nails. He struck sin down, overcame all odds and won the battle for His people. Jesus was exalted and crowned King of Kings. (Revelation 19:16)

Hosea was a faithful prophet of God, and God commanded him to marry a prostitute. (Hosea 1:2) He obeyed God and married a prostitute named Gomer and had two sons and a daughter with her. Now, even though Gomer had a faithful husband and a loving family, she could not let her previous life go, she eventually left Hosea and went back to her life as a prostitute. (Hosea 3:1) Not only does Hosea go and get her back, he also pays a great price for his own wife.  Even when she turned to the pleasures of her past, Hosea still loved her and still considered her his bride.

This is another foretelling of Jesus, the church is called the bride of Christ. We(the church) are a lot like Gomer, we are married to a faithful and loving Partner, yet we constantly look back at the pleasures of this world. We often times choose these things over the relationship we have with Jesus, because of this Jesus had to buy us back. Like Hosea He paid a great price to buy us back. (1 Corinthians 6:20) 

**Written by Jeff Evans**