I am a Jesus pusher!!! There is no reference in the Old Testament of “going after God” as a disciple. One can easily understand this lack. The Old Testament man had no vision of what God was like except for His qualities. They found it hard to conceive of following after Him. The idea is associated with idolatry. Many time the Israelites “went after other gods” (Judges 2:12; Deuteronomy 4:3; Jeremiah 11:10). But “going after” Jehovah could not be conceived in light of who He is.
Everything changed when Jesus came. This Greek verb (akoloutheo) seems to be reserved for being a disciple of Christ. There are a few exceptions when it is used in a general sense. This term referring to discipleship is confined to the four Gospels (except for Revelation 14:4). This is of major importance. In the Old Testament context the idea of being a disciple of Jehovah is not proposed. God is far removed from the people; His will is only known through His prophets. In other words, instruction and learning came by revelation from God through the prophets. In the realm of revelation there is no place for the master-teacher relationship. The authors of the epistles present the indwelling of God within the believer with an extremely different emphasis. However, in the Gospel accounts, Jesus, God in the flesh, is accessible to us. In Jesus, we know God! I am a Jesus pushing disciple of Jesus!