Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Open your bible to Matthew 1:1 and lay the New Testament portion on a table edge, with the Old Testament hanging over the edge. It will fall will it not? Now do the opposite, lay the Old Testament on the table and the New Testament over the edge. It is no surprise that the Old Testament will support the New Testament and not allow it to fall.

That is a matter of physics. If you could weigh the spiritual matters, perhaps the reverse would be true. Perhaps. What did Jesus say? Judgement, mercy and faith and the things that ought to be done are in the Old Testament. Have you found them? Do you even look?

Grace is such a large part of our Christian heritage that we tend to bathe in it. Saved by grace thru faith is in the forefront of our minds and experience. It is easy to find in the New Testament and that is perhaps why the majority of our reading time is in the New Testament. I will not fault anyone for reading their New Testament.

Do the weightier matters keep you from reading the Old Testament or is it that you only enjoy light reading?

Deuteronomy 11:18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

The Lord said it and the Lord did it.

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

When I read Psalm 1.1 this morning I immediately thought of Romans 8:1. Paul being a student of excellence in the Old Testament would reveal Christ to the synagogues using scriptures that were familiar. Paul was able to go beyond the obvious prophetic verses that foretold of the coming Christ.

So much of what was written in the OT was wisdom without the ability to walk upright. Failure was the norm for any human effort in trying to achieve the blessings promised. Psalm 1:1 spoke to the blessings which would become available if you were able to keep the law. Romans 8:1 tells us how to obtain those blessings.

The giving of the Holy Spirit only comes thru faith in Christ. The ability to obtain the promises spoken of in the OT are only possible by walking in the Spirit, in obedience to faith, not obedience to the law or legalistic precepts.

Daniel 9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

Obtaining the blessings of mercy and forgiveness for sin was never found in obeying the laws which were so strict that no superhuman effort could ever obtain them.

Deuteronomy 21:8 Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.

Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

God said it, then God did it.