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The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament
We tend to look to the New Testament to tell us about Jesus, yet it was the Old Testament about which Jesus said, “the Scriptures point to me!” In The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament, Bible teacher Nancy Guthrie takes readers from Genesis through Malachi, shining the light of Christ on the promise of a descendent who will put an end to the curse of sin; the story of a father who offers up his son as a sacrifice; the symbol of a temple where people can meet with God; the prophecy of a servant who will suffer; the person of a king who will rule with righteousness—and so much more. Day by day throughout the year, readers will see the beauty of Christ in fresh new ways, creating a deeper understanding and appreciation for who Jesus is and what he accomplished through his Cross and Resurrection.
810 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2010
168 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Guthrie
81 books567 followersNancy Guthrie teaches the Bible at her home church, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee, as well as at conferences around the country and internationally, including through her Biblical Theology Workshops for Women. She is the author of numerous books and the host of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast at The Gospel Coalition. She and her husband host Respite Retreats for couples who have faced the death of child and are co-hosts of the GriefShare video series.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 11, 2023
“Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” Luke 24:35
Many people have commented to me in Bible Studies over the year that they wish they could have been part of that conversation on the Road to Emmaus (and the author herself says the same in her introduction) – so as to understand more about the old testament, but only 10 versus later (and one paragraph later in this book) we read how to the rest of the disciples Jesus “opened their minds so they could understand the scripture” Luke 24:45.
This book steps through the Old Testament book by book (with no book omitted) picking passages from each and showing how they correspond to the life of Jesus and to the New Testament.
Many if not most will be well known to most regular full-bible readers but even for those reading this book as a daily study bible is an excellent way to gain a holisitic understanding of the bible and of God’s plan
And even the most seasoned reader will I think spot a couple of areas they had not connected – for me (just as two examples) the links between Jacob’s dream and the calling of Nathaniel and the full role played by Judah when the brother’s visit Joseph in Egypt.
And for those who restrict their reading largely to the New Testament and Psalms plus a few better known Old Testament stories – particularly those who struggle to tie the two books together, this will be invaluable.
And for those who don't read the Bible at all - well this book, the Scriptures and the full Bible all point to what really matters.
“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the scriptures point to me” by John 5:39
December 31, 2020
When we look at Israel’s history leading up to entry into the Promised Land, we see a picture of the experiences of the soul prior to conversion. In Exodus, as the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, we see the natural self in bondage to sin and Satan. In Leviticus, as Moses detailed the required offerings, sacrifices, and cleansing rituals, we see God speaking, making known his holy requirements. In Numbers, the record of the Israelites’ wanderings, the people of God are in a great howling wilderness, which is how the world appears to one who has been awakened by the Spirit. Then Deuteronomy teaches the strictness and spirituality of the law, which cuts into pieces all self-righteousness and reveals that Another than Moses must become the Captain of one’s salvation if ever he is to enter into all that God has promised.
The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament is a daily devotional that takes us through the Old Testament, not verse by verse but with comprehensive coverage, showing how what is written there echoes in the New Testament.
In the Garden as God originally created it, there were no thorns. But that changed when Adam and Eve sinned. God said to Adam, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you” (Genesis 3:17-18). From that day on, this instrument of pain intruded into the perfection of the original creation. Every pricked finger, every overgrown field, every ugly thornbush was meant to be a reminder of the frustrating pain of sin.
But when Christ came, he transformed the thorn from a reminder of the Curse into a reminder that he has broken the Curse by taking it upon himself. Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. ‘Hail! King of the Jews!’ they mocked, as they slapped him across the face. John 19:1-3 What better symbol than a crown of thorns to speak to what Jesus was about to accomplish on the cross? “When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing” (Galatians 3:13)
Revelation describes a day when we will be in a new garden where “no longer will there be a curse upon anything” (Revelation 22:3). Jesus will be there, wearing a crown—in fact, many crowns—but no longer a crown of thorns.
Many of the key themes are, of course, familiar, and, with 365 entries to fill there are inevitably some that are a little stretched and some repetition, but the overall scholarship and theology is very impressive and, as someone who would think I know my bible well, there were some connections that, while perhaps obvious, hadn’t necessarily occurred to me for example Genesis 10 lists seventy nations that came from the sons of Noah—nations that eventually covered the face of the earth. When Christ came, he sent out seventy disciples, two by two, to preach the gospel, or David and Jesus both crossing the Kidron Valley in their despair (2 Samuel 15:23 and John 18:1).
Overall, the strongest such book I’ve read and highly recommended.
The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament is a daily devotional that takes us through the Old Testament, not verse by verse but with comprehensive coverage, showing how what is written there echoes in the New Testament.
In the Garden as God originally created it, there were no thorns. But that changed when Adam and Eve sinned. God said to Adam, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you” (Genesis 3:17-18). From that day on, this instrument of pain intruded into the perfection of the original creation. Every pricked finger, every overgrown field, every ugly thornbush was meant to be a reminder of the frustrating pain of sin.
But when Christ came, he transformed the thorn from a reminder of the Curse into a reminder that he has broken the Curse by taking it upon himself. Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. ‘Hail! King of the Jews!’ they mocked, as they slapped him across the face. John 19:1-3 What better symbol than a crown of thorns to speak to what Jesus was about to accomplish on the cross? “When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing” (Galatians 3:13)
Revelation describes a day when we will be in a new garden where “no longer will there be a curse upon anything” (Revelation 22:3). Jesus will be there, wearing a crown—in fact, many crowns—but no longer a crown of thorns.
Many of the key themes are, of course, familiar, and, with 365 entries to fill there are inevitably some that are a little stretched and some repetition, but the overall scholarship and theology is very impressive and, as someone who would think I know my bible well, there were some connections that, while perhaps obvious, hadn’t necessarily occurred to me for example Genesis 10 lists seventy nations that came from the sons of Noah—nations that eventually covered the face of the earth. When Christ came, he sent out seventy disciples, two by two, to preach the gospel, or David and Jesus both crossing the Kidron Valley in their despair (2 Samuel 15:23 and John 18:1).
Overall, the strongest such book I’ve read and highly recommended.
December 31, 2020
Powerful look at how all of the Old Testament points to God and what He has done for us. It is a year-long devotional that powerfully challenged me everyday. I would do it again next year if I didn’t have one planed already. SO GOOD!
December 30, 2021
It's been my habit over the last several years (I forget exactly how many) to have a book like this on the go through the year. It's a collection of 365 short meditations and it became part of my morning ritual through 2021 as I would sit at my breakfast table reading the news and reading that day's piece from this.
This one is very helpful because it brings together so many different strands showing how the Old Testament points very directly towards the Jesus we read about in the New Testament. I have know Christians who ignore the Old Testament in the Bible in the belief that is has been superseded by the New Testament and is no longer relevant. This book shows clearly that whilst Christianity might be based on the events of the New Testament, the Old Testament shines so much light from so many different directions that, in the end, the New Testament illuminated by the Old Testament is a deeper, more rounded and, indeed, more relevant thing. Not only that, but the Old Testament in itself has a lot of things to say to us that aren't then developed in the New Testament but which can enrich the faith of someone who calls themself a Christian.
It's true to say that if, like me, you have called yourself a Christian for over 50 years then quite a bit of what you read here will not be new. I spent quite a few years not just as part of a church but actually leading a church and that involved quite a lot of Bible study and teaching of others. But, even if I had seen quite a bit of the material here before, there are still a lot of new insights. And it's good to be reminded of other things through the year and to see them in context with other ideas. Every book of the Old Testament gets a look in here, so it is a comprehensive overview.
Thoroughly recommended for anyone who wants a readable overview of the Old Testament and how it points towards the New Testament.
This one is very helpful because it brings together so many different strands showing how the Old Testament points very directly towards the Jesus we read about in the New Testament. I have know Christians who ignore the Old Testament in the Bible in the belief that is has been superseded by the New Testament and is no longer relevant. This book shows clearly that whilst Christianity might be based on the events of the New Testament, the Old Testament shines so much light from so many different directions that, in the end, the New Testament illuminated by the Old Testament is a deeper, more rounded and, indeed, more relevant thing. Not only that, but the Old Testament in itself has a lot of things to say to us that aren't then developed in the New Testament but which can enrich the faith of someone who calls themself a Christian.
It's true to say that if, like me, you have called yourself a Christian for over 50 years then quite a bit of what you read here will not be new. I spent quite a few years not just as part of a church but actually leading a church and that involved quite a lot of Bible study and teaching of others. But, even if I had seen quite a bit of the material here before, there are still a lot of new insights. And it's good to be reminded of other things through the year and to see them in context with other ideas. Every book of the Old Testament gets a look in here, so it is a comprehensive overview.
Thoroughly recommended for anyone who wants a readable overview of the Old Testament and how it points towards the New Testament.
January 3, 2020
The writing was rich and helpful. As I read it, I wished that the corresponding passages were listed at the head of each page, or that it followed a more regular pattern of moving through the OT. As is, in order to read through the OT in a year, i had to camp out on some passages for several days and speed or skim over others.
December 13, 2010
"The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament" is a year-long daily devotional. Each entry had the day's date, the title for the devotional, the page-long devotional (which included short quotes from the Old and New Testament with a summary of an event or passage from the Bible), and a short prayer related to the lesson.
It's a Christ-focused devotional that compares the Old and New Testament. In the various devotional entries, the author used "just like such-and-such happened in the Old Testament, Jesus dealt with a similar circumstance in the gospels" or "...Jesus was even better" comparisons, she pointed out some types and symbolism found in the Old Testament that pointed toward Jesus, and she discussed various Messianic prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus.
I think all of the Old Testament books had at least one devotional entry. Several Old Testament books were covered in detail, sometimes with multiple entries per event or verse. For example, the first four months of devotionals covered only Genesis and Exodus. Another month was spent on the Psalms. Three and a half months were spent on all the books of the major and lesser prophets.
You need to read the title for each devotional entry to get the most out of the devotional since some connections weren't obvious or were a stretch. I didn't agree with the accuracy of a few of the author's theological statements, especially in the section about Noah, but I enjoyed the devotional overall. However, with so many obvious references to Jesus found in the Old Testament, I was disappointed that so many of the devotional entries focused on tenuous comparisons that weren't originally intended nor were later made in the New Testament.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
It's a Christ-focused devotional that compares the Old and New Testament. In the various devotional entries, the author used "just like such-and-such happened in the Old Testament, Jesus dealt with a similar circumstance in the gospels" or "...Jesus was even better" comparisons, she pointed out some types and symbolism found in the Old Testament that pointed toward Jesus, and she discussed various Messianic prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus.
I think all of the Old Testament books had at least one devotional entry. Several Old Testament books were covered in detail, sometimes with multiple entries per event or verse. For example, the first four months of devotionals covered only Genesis and Exodus. Another month was spent on the Psalms. Three and a half months were spent on all the books of the major and lesser prophets.
You need to read the title for each devotional entry to get the most out of the devotional since some connections weren't obvious or were a stretch. I didn't agree with the accuracy of a few of the author's theological statements, especially in the section about Noah, but I enjoyed the devotional overall. However, with so many obvious references to Jesus found in the Old Testament, I was disappointed that so many of the devotional entries focused on tenuous comparisons that weren't originally intended nor were later made in the New Testament.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
December 5, 2019
I’m not finished with this book. Yet l must say it quickly became a favorite of mine. Every book of Nancy Guthrie’s l have read has taught me so much. Her approach to God’s word is so real and makes me hungrier to know more. To know Him more deeply. She brings out points in Scripture that most people wouldn’t think of. This is a book l don’t ever feel like l will ever be done with.
January 1, 2020
This book is rich. I will never be the same. The insights the author shares have brought increased meaning to Old Testament stories I thought I understood. Through this book, I have grown spiritually in ways that are very real, albeit a little hard to define. I have recommended this book to my friends and have away several copies as gifts. Thank you, Nancy Guthrie.
January 2, 2025
Absolutely mind-blowing. The entire Old Testament is about Jesus. How did no one ever teach me this in all my years of studying the Bible?!? A life-changing book in my view of God. Each chapter is extremely short and easy to read but so profound. 10/10 recommend!!!
July 12, 2017
I am really loving this book! I'm learning a lot that has been surprising! I am currently using it in a youth series that I'm teaching about Jesus in the Old Testament and the authpr makes connections I have never thought of or heard about
December 31, 2017
An insightful look at scripture as a whole, walking book by book through the Old Testament and connecting it all to God’s ultimate plan for redemption through Jesus.
January 13, 2020
Rereading again in 2020!
Read
October 17, 2020Jesus in the Old Testament - Genesis to Malachi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRBLx...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRBLx...
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December 31, 2022I learned so much from this book. Anything by Nancy Guthrie is wonderful. Looking forward to reading more of hers and have read quite a few already.
January 3, 2024
Life-changing view of God's plan
December 31, 2024
Easy reading, points to the redlines through the Bible pointing to Jesus
November 4, 2025
I read this book with my daughter as a morning devotion before school. We really enjoyed it. It was easy to understand with lots of proof texts.
March 14, 2024
The amount of work that went into this devotional is staggering. There were times I felt it was repetitive, so I took my time and put it aside occasionally. I would recommend to anyone looking for a solid 1-year devotional to understand how the entire Bible begins and culminates with Jesus.
January 2, 2024
I absolutely loved reading this for a year and diving into where Jesus is found within the Old Testament. I gained deeper understanding of the Bible as a whole and of Jesus!
October 28, 2010
The "One Year" devotionals are written for the busy person who wants to develop a daily habit of growing in their relationship with the Lord. This particular 365-day devotional is meant to take you through the Old Testament day by day, showing you the pictures that were meant to point us to Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
When I was given the opportunity to review this book, I jumped on it because I enjoy seeing the symbolism that represents Christ in the Old Testament. Some of the entries were of things I had already known, but there were plenty that were new to me.
The devotional is created in a way that you can simply start on any day of the year. The reading covers one page, and there is a brief written prayer at the bottom concerning the aspect of Christ that was focused on in the devotion. It would take someone about 5 minutes to sit and read the devotional for the day, thus meeting the criteria of fitting into a person's busy schedule.
The readings are sweet and something to carry in your thoughts through the day as you contemplate the character and work of the Lord Jesus. However, there is an aspect of the devotional that I was a little disappointed with. Although there are scripture references sprinkled throughout each devotion, including at least one scripture quoted within the text, I would expect there to be a main scripture reading provided at the heading of each day. There is not.
I would suggest using this devotional in addition to a daily Bible reading. I believe it would enhance a quiet time.
Overall I would give this book 4 stars for good content that's easy to understand and for its use as a wonderful companion to any daily quiet time.
I wish to thank Tyndale House Publishers for providing me with a free review copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
When I was given the opportunity to review this book, I jumped on it because I enjoy seeing the symbolism that represents Christ in the Old Testament. Some of the entries were of things I had already known, but there were plenty that were new to me.
The devotional is created in a way that you can simply start on any day of the year. The reading covers one page, and there is a brief written prayer at the bottom concerning the aspect of Christ that was focused on in the devotion. It would take someone about 5 minutes to sit and read the devotional for the day, thus meeting the criteria of fitting into a person's busy schedule.
The readings are sweet and something to carry in your thoughts through the day as you contemplate the character and work of the Lord Jesus. However, there is an aspect of the devotional that I was a little disappointed with. Although there are scripture references sprinkled throughout each devotion, including at least one scripture quoted within the text, I would expect there to be a main scripture reading provided at the heading of each day. There is not.
I would suggest using this devotional in addition to a daily Bible reading. I believe it would enhance a quiet time.
Overall I would give this book 4 stars for good content that's easy to understand and for its use as a wonderful companion to any daily quiet time.
I wish to thank Tyndale House Publishers for providing me with a free review copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
October 16, 2025
This amazing book draws the old and new testaments together in ways I may never have seen on my own. And in bite sized pieces! It has been a treasure to compare and contrast the characters and events of old to Christ.
January 3, 2023
Exceptionally good devotional book. I learned a lot of things while reading it and highly recommend it to everyone.
October 31, 2014
Great book...I'm just so terribly slow with devotionals.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews