At various points during the painting of a picture the casual observer may think they know what the painting is going to be; but then the artist adds more lines and colours and the picture changes.  It’s only when the artist sits back and says, “It’s finished” that you can really know what was in his or her mind from the beginning.

 

So it is with the Bible and especially the Old Testament.  God is the artist and throughout the Old Testament a picture is painted, through books of history and prophetic writings that add layer upon layer of shape and colour.  But it is only when Jesus announces from the cross, “It is finished” that you can finally look back and see how the whole picture came together, and what was in God’s mind from the beginning.

 

Never make the mistake of picking one point in the Old Testament and judging the whole of Christianity by it.  To judge an artist’s work before it is complete is to do the artist a disservice, and if you walk away before it is finished you may find that you have missed out on a work of great beauty.