Book excerpt: Exploring the changes between the Old and New Testament provides an open window to the wide-ranging vision of God’s work in the human race. It is actually a remarkable vision, which stretches from the beginning of the universe to the end of time as we know it. But many aspects of the Old Testament are difficult to understand today. The ancient origins of the Old Testament (OT) explains part of the difficulty. The OT was written thousands of years ago, in cultures and time periods very different from our own. These vast differences in culture make many practices in the OT seem unusual today. Understanding and making sense of the changes between the OT and NT is one of the key purposes of this book. Many changes become more understandable when you compare God’s instructions for a nation (OT), with God’s instructions for freely gathered communities of faith who follow Jesus as Messiah (NT). These changes will be highlighted in the chapters of this volume, along with other key principles for understanding differences between the Old and New Testament. God’s greater purposes will be in view, along with current insights and concepts.