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| 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.
