I’ll be honest. The New Testament is an easier read than the Old Testament for most people. It gets to the point, and it’s easier to see how it applies to your life. It gives us succinct stories, answers to our questions, and great snippets of verses to quote regularly. Bada bing, bada boom. The Old Testament can get a little long in the tooth. Sure there are some exciting stories of the earth’s beginnings, some cool miracles, some comforting psalms, and wise proverbs, but much of it comes down to this king, and that battle, and genealogy after genealogy, and all the “thou shall”s and “thou shalt not”s. How is this relevant to my life? Why do I care who wins this battle, or how closely that king followed God? Why do I care how many sons that guy had? And why are there so many weird laws back then? These are all questions I’ve struggled with as I've read through the Old Testament, and many times when I’ve started, I don’t get much past Genesis or Exodus before I lose interest and flip back to the New Testament. My New Year's resolution back in January this year was to read through the entire Bible. This is something I’ve done a time or two before, but this time around I've found that God has opened my eyes to a few things, and I'm developing a greater appreciation for the role the Old Testament plays in my life and in my views of God. Hopefully some of these things will inspire you to read through yourself. 1. God’s Not Done Yet – Be PatientAs you read through some of the stories in the Old Testament, you’ll find that the world back then isn’t so unlike our world today. Sometimes the world just seems hopeless, people around us have lost all interest in the God of the Bible, and no one cares about His ways. Everything seems to be going downhill fast. I have found myself thinking on more than one occasion during my reading, “Man, that sounds just like today!” Nothing has really changed. But you know what? God is still here. People are still following Him, even after all those seemingly hopeless times throughout history. After periods of severe disobedience by God’s people in the Old Testament, a leader would rise up who turns things around, and the people would recommit themselves to following God. Sometimes this takes generations though. You have to be patient and keep reading to see the entirety of what God is doing. I’m realizing how small a blip in history my life is. I can only see the here and now, but God has been constant from the beginning of time. He’s seen generations after generations, good times and bad times, abundance and famine. None of those people living through some terrible times in the Bible knew what the end of their story would be. We have the advantage of seeing their “future” (now history), but at the time, they weren’t any better off than us. They didn’t know; they were just living in the moment. This inspires my confidence in God, knowing that He’s not done yet and that He survives the worst times of our world’s history. I just have to keep “reading” and wait for His next move! In your own life, you’ve probably been through some slumps that seem like they will never end. Marriage or money problems, sickness, depression, maybe even war depending on when and where you live. You might even be in one of those slumps right now. But you know what? God’s not done yet. He’s come through time and time again for people throughout history, and those people too probably thought everything was all over. Sometimes people even die before they see the end of the story, but I promise, God’s not done yet. So how does that help you if you might die before you see better times? That brings me to my next point about what the Old Testament teaches us. 2. Life Isn’t About You We don’t like to hear that, and this isn’t what the world teaches. The world tells us that we’re special, we deserve everything we want, it’s OK to do whatever we desire, and it’s OK to believe anything that sounds good to you. That’s all a big lie. As big a deal as someone like Moses or David or Solomon or any of the famous Old Testament characters were, they were still just a name in a long line of genealogies. They all did some good, if only a little, just like you. They all sinned, just like you. They all died, just like you will. And the story went on after them, just like it will go on after you’re long forgotten. Depressing? Only if you believe life is about you. So what’s it all about then? How do you fit in? The One constant from the beginning of time into eternity is the triune God Himself. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s all about Him, and the Old Testament shows that time and time again. God created, God led his people, God performed miracles that continue to be told to this day, and God sent prophets to tell about the coming Messiah, His Son, who would appear in the New Testament to save mankind from the eternal consequences of their own sin. All other people come and go, but God is forever. People may play a small role in God’s plan, but it’s not about any of them. Your perspective changes when you recognize that everything centers on Jesus, God Almighty. Instead of looking at everything wrong with your own life, or spinning your wheels trying to make something great of yourself, you seek to understand what God is doing in the grand scheme of things. You seek to know Him and to make Him known. When the focus is off yourself and your immediate circumstances, you find greater purpose in life. Your short time here on earth is a thread that God has chosen to weave into His story, even if you don’t recognize how. But he put you here, so that means you’re valued by Him! The Bible is full of many great leaders and many great players in God’s story, but all those seemingly insignificant names in the genealogies are part of God story too, and so are you. Each one of those names in the long boring lists of Chronicles had a life. They had jobs to go to, and kids to chase after, and sickness in their families, and arguments with their neighbors. Zoom in close up on any one of those names and you will realize how small each person is in relation to God’s big plan. It’s like looking up at a starry night sky and thinking about how far away and how vast the universe is, and how big the God is who created it all. It’s really quite humbling. 3. It’s One Big StoryIf you open up the Old Testament and read a few verses or a chapter, chances are you won’t feel particularly nourished or enlightened or see a ready application for your life. (Kind of like how most of your own days don’t seem particularly special.) The Old Testament isn’t like that. It’s about a bigger plan and a bigger story, and you don’t really start to see how everything fits together until you read through its entirety. It takes time! But just like life, over its course you can start to see how it all ties together, and you begin to see the bigger story unfolding. You will learn about God’s steadfast character as He interacts with people throughout time. You will learn about people in general, and how often you can relate to situations or to how someone else responds to life’s challenges. You’ll see God come through on His promises. You’ll just get to know Him. Not just about Him, but you’ll get to know Him. A Challenge and Some TipsI challenge you to read through the entire Old Testament. When you’re deep in the trenches of a boring section, keep going. Instead of trying to find little applications from each verse and chapter, keep your eyes open to the bigger picture. Skim over the genealogies if you need to, and just know that they’re there and that God had a purpose for them. Watch the story of God’s people unfold as He creates them, leads them, saves them, gives them what they want, saves them again from what they thought they wanted, and so on. The more you read, the more you’ll start to see reflections of your own life and your own time in history. You’ll see God more. You’ll see His full character and His thoughts and His ways of operating in people’s lives.
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AuthorFull time office worker, full time wife, and full time lover of Jesus. I'm kind of a Bible nerd, and I have a passion for finding ways to introduce Jesus in a practical way to everyday people doing everyday things. Archives
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