Many Christians are not quite sure what to do with the Old Testament. Common mistakes in reading it include fanciful allegory, unattached moralism, and allegorical moralism (combining the other two!). Yet the Old Testament is not just a collection of inspiring stories about people who triumphed, above all it is a message about Jesus Christ, especially his sufferings and the glories that would follow—that is, the gospel. The shape of the Old Testament shows us its incompleteness and points us to Christ either directly or through some of its major figures: Jesus is the new Adam, the new Israel, and the new David.
