THE SAVIOUR IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. (Isaias 53:6-7) The Orthodox Church is extremely fortunate in having many writings of holy people who have experienced God's presence in the world and have recognized His attempts to lead us to Himself. Of all these writings the collection known as the Holy Bible or Holy Scripture best presents the truth of God's loving care of the world. These various writings of Holy Scripture are divided into two sections: the Old Testament, consisting of 49 books and the New Testament, consisting of 27 books. The Old Testament was written by holy Hebrews who lived before our Lord Jesus Christ and who desired to record some of the many ways God chose to prepare His people for the coming of His Son into the world as the Savior of the world. These authors, because of their holiness, were inspired by God and clearly saw that just because man had left the Grace of God, God had not abandoned the world and that He desired not the death of sinners but their return. They recorded many of the ways God guided, protected and blessed the Hebrew Nation. The history of the Hebrew nation is a history of a people who would for a time remember God and then, due to temptations stemming either from hardships or luxury, would forget God and often times refused to accept the man of God, the Prophet, who would try to lead them back to God, Both in the history and the prayers of the Hebrew nation, which are recorded in the Old Testament, we can see that the Hebrew nation longed for the day when its Lord would be always with the world and when His Glory would be known by all. The Hebrews knew that once in the history of mankind God was not a stranger to man, for Moses had recorded that Adam and Eve heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). They also knew that such a close relationship as Adam and Eve had with God was lost when Adam and Eve lost the right to live in Paradise, in the Grace of God. In the Old Testament we see God guiding the Hebrew nation so that someday He would be able to say to the descendants of Adam, Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43). This hope of the Hebrew nation was not based on a simple human desire but on the Word of God Himself. As soon as man lost the Grace of God, God promised that one of the descendants of Adam and Eve would destroy the power of the devil (Genesis 3:15). Not only did God promise that the power of the devil would some day be destroyed but He also appointed the nation from which would come He Who would destroy the power of the devil (Genesis 22:18). The Old Testament is sure that the hope of a Saviour is not a hope which has risen from the people but that it is a promise which has come from God. The Old Testament teaches us that the Saviour is almighty. This Saviour in the Hebrew language is called Messiah which in Greek is Christos. The Old Testament presents us with a definite history of the preparation of the Hebrew nation for the coming of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. In the books of the Old Testament the Prophets taught the Hebrew people about the coming of Christ. The Hebrews also showed their expectation of Christ in their prayers. The Book of Psalms contains many prayers that teach about the Messiah. In the second Psalm, for instance, we see the Divine Nature of the expected Messiah, The Lord said to me, You are My Son., today have I begotten You (Psalm 2:7). The Messiah's Divine Nature is Also seen in Psalm 109 (110) The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool (Psalm 109:1). In the twenty-first Psalm we are given a vivid description of the sufferings which the expected Saviour will go through;

how He will cry out to God for help and His persecutors will laugh at Him for putting His hopes in God. The scene of the Crucifixion is described even to the point where the Psalm states, They parted my garments among themselves and cast lots upon my rainment (Psalm 21:18). The Old Testament also teaches us about the suffering of Christ. The great man of God, the Prophet Isaias, teaches us that the Saviour of the world would bear the grief and sorrows of all and that He would be despised and rejected by men (Isaias 53:3). Isaias saw the Salvation of the world, yet he described this great moment in a manner which could only be understood with the coming of our Lord: He was oppressed, and he was afflicted., yet lie opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth (Isaias 53:7). The Mystery of our Salvation was expected in the Old Testament but because of its great depth and the unwillingness of the majority of the Hebrews to love their God with all their heart and with all their soul, very few of them could reach the heights of Prophet Isaias and understand what type of Saviour they should expect. By the time our Lord came, the majority of the Hebrews expected the Messiah to be a political leader who would bring them victory against the Romans, who occupied their country. Many people, when they saw the great acts of our Lord, thought that He was the king of the Jews, who was to lead them to victory and establish His glorious kingdom. When they realized that our Lord did not intend to establish a worldly kingdom, their anger knew no limits and Isaias' prophecies came true; And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death., although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth (Isaias 53:9). Most of the Hebrew people did not understand what they were taught in the Old Testament. Their leaders twisted the teachings of the Holy Prophets and confused the people. Some of the people, however, understood and they became the first Christians. Later the Hebrew leaders (Rabbis) tried to change the Old Testament so that people would not see that it taught about our Saviour. Hundreds of years later the Protestants used this distorted Bible of the Rabbis. The Orthodox Church still uses the same Old Testament that the first Christians used. It is called the Septuagint. The Old Testament books, especially the Book of Psalms, are read in all the services of the Orthodox Church and should be read by every Orthodox Christian at home.