Avoiding the Old Testament? Reconsider!

Photo Credit: Yad Vashem
It’s been more years than I like to admit that I’ve not read the Old Testament line by line. I finally made a New Year’s resolution to reconnect in a systematic way with the Old Testament, along with the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs through the Daily Audio Bible. 

The Old Testament's descriptive accounts of wars, murders, beheadings, child-killing, idol-worship and all manner of awfulness, led me to write the word “horrific” in the margins of my Bible next to the accounts. I want to fast- forward the audio… and fast!

 I’ve been troubled and yes, self-righteous thinking about these “terrible” people and events both Jewish and non-Jewish. It’s easier to excuse my own shortcomings when reading about theirs. Yet, wading through the Old Testament’s rivers of conflict and wars, I’ve finally realized once again that it’s me in those stories. Not with wars and murder, but owning the fact that we are all born into a sinful state; it's uncomfortable to accept. We are vulnerable to all kinds of failings, including Christians, of which I’m a part.

The Old Testament pulls no punches describing sin, often in detail. It graphically sets the stage for an encounter with our Redeemer. The Old Testament is raw. In your face. Yet, each book is woven with inspiration. 

For example, reading about a disobedient Moses, an adulterous David who ordered a “hit” on a husband, a cowardly Gideon, and a runaway Jonah, I'm reminded that God used each one to accomplish great tasks. 

Am I downplaying the sinful mistakes of our beloved Biblical leaders? Absolutely not. I am them! In my mind, I’ve killed. In my mind and words,  I’ve given in to anger. I’ve hurt others. I’ve settled for lukewarm. I’ve made wrong choices. Many of them. And maybe this is one reason why I, and others, tend to avoid the Old Testament … it's a way of avoiding the realities of our own imperfections.
“Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” -Mark Twain
I’m reminded once again that I must fully welcome the indwelling, incarnational Jesus so that I can have any semblance of an overcoming life. The easy way is to avoid confession and repentance. The easy way is to blame others. The easy way is to live in the grace of the New Testament while ignoring the ugliness of the Old Testament and deny my  own desperate state.

The Old and New Testaments are a whole, entwined book. They cannot and should not be separated. Old Testament is a stark record of humankind’s sinful nature side by side with profiles of God's transformation of novices into leaders. Its stories take us by the hand and lead us to our Redeemer in the New. 

There, we discover our Savior in His fullness Who makes it "well with our souls." Biblical festivals and teachings in the Old Testament vividly describe the culture Jesus lived in and the scripture scrolls He unrolled and read in synagogue. The prophecies of His coming scattered throughout the Old Testament are proven in the New Testament. 

 The Old Testament brings us to our knees recognizing ourselves in the lives of its characters. It readies us to meet our Lord Who triumphs on our behalf with unconditional love and sacrifice. Father God’s tough, sometimes harsh reactions are recounted in the Old Testament yet with stunning acts of undeserved mercy and second chances.   

When God clothed Himself in a human body and lived among us on earth, He transformed the lives of everyone who encountered Him. He was “Walking Redemptive Love.” When we embrace Him in His fullness our relationship with Him is enriched. 







No comments:

Post a Comment

Only One Name, Only One Verse

I n  my walk with the Lord, I’ve discovered that one verse can sustain me in times of crisis or challenge. Most of us have chosen what we ca...