I often wondered as I grew up why the Old Testament was so important. I thought that the New Testament was something to focus on because of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. All that He began, the Christian life, and eternal life. But I’ve grown to appreciate and see how important Old Testament Scripture actually is. It comes down to this: The entirety of the Old Testament continually points to Jesus in the New Testament.

Today we’re starting in the Old Testament Book of Genesis. Genesis is a Book of “beginnings.” It reveals God’s purposes and plan for His creation, and it sets the stage for the entire Bible. Genesis begins with the creation of the world and universe, then the beginning of sin and separation, the beginning of civilization, and the beginning of God’s covenant through the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

The story of Joseph is the one example we’ll look at today from Genesis. His story can be found in Genesis 37-50, where he is the favored son, he receives a coat of many colors from his father, he has dreams his brothers don’t appreciate. They becomes so jealous and sick of Joseph that they sell him to some passing merchants sending him away from everything he knows. But God has a bigger plan. Let’s see how Joseph and Jesus’ lives parallel each other, even while being separated by 1900 years:

Be encouraged. Thousands of years ago, in the beginning, God set his plans in motion. Through the life of Joseph, we can see an one early example of God’s Word pointing towards Jesus. We can also see that God uses all kinds of people to accomplish His purposes. Even people like you and me. No matter how insignificant or sinful we might feel, no matter what the situations in life look like, God loves us and wants to use us to fulfill His plans. May we each recognize and live with that faith no matter what comes are way.