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Saturday, February 18, 2012

Why You Should Read Leviticus...

I have never been one to read the entire Bible every year. I've read the whole thing a few times and find daily Bible Study and prayer vital to walking this path with strength. But a while back, a friend of mine asked me to help her get all the way through it (not necessarily in a year) for her first time. So, I did her a favor and developed a reading plan that alternates between Old and New Testament books with particular emphasis on spacing out the "hard to get through" books of the Old Testament.

At a large family dinner, I was discussing how it's difficult to read 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles even with short NT books between them because they recount the same rulers twice, with slightly different purposes. One of our relatives perked up and said she just skips the "genealogies and stuff". While this isn't the first time I'd heard this, I still hadn't come up with a good response or reason for thinking they're still important to actually read (not skip, skim or daydream through), so that's what I've set out to do today.

The first reason that comes to mind is that, well, they are still the Word of the Living God. Although reading a story twice or trying to keep up with (confusing) genealogies can be trying, the fact is it's still in there. I really don't think that anything God says or deems important should be ignored.

Number two: reading the entire Bible, including the "boring stuff", helps us to grasp a smidgen of how ridiculously amazing and complex God's plan of redemption was/is. When you read that the Saviour (if you're new to Bella Red, i like to spell things the British way sometimes:) was to come from the stump of Jesse, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. That is, until you connect Noah to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob then to Joseph and Israel's captivity in Egypt which brings you to Moses and eventually you'd get to Ruth and Boaz who had Obed who fathered Jesse who fathered King David. Then when you read about Israel's actions after that, you'd realize that Isaiah called it a stump because God had to cut back His people so far that His own son was the only shoot remaining, the Righteous Branch, that could rescue them.

I encourage you to make the time you spend in parts of the Bible you're tempted to skip as much fun as possible. When I was reading the early books I looked into the places that the Israelites traveled and what lies there today. I took an interest in the traditions and festivals and thought about why God instituted them. Once, I made unleavened bread for a small group of believers and we got together on Good Friday, watched the Mars Hill movie on the events of that evening and we took communion together. It was a beautiful time and the bread and wine made it feel super-legit!

Thirdly, it's pretty darn good proof! Not that we should need it, but you can look at secular accounts and find people and occurrences from the Bible listed there. It is so neat to see the facts in God's word confirmed through other ancient texts! This includes events such as the flood, the tower of Babel, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you researched every encounter Israel had with another culture, you would find that many of those cultures record those events as well! This confirms that God's people, Israel, are a very ancient nation and have been roaming and living in that land for ages! I have also heard of a few secular texts that recorded that Israel was quite protected, blessed or even that their God must have been very real and powerful.

Okay, so now that we've had this discussion, are there any parts of the Bible you will read differently? Are there any passages or parts you think you'd like to go back and do more research (Biblical or otherwise) on?

*Please be careful when you search for Biblical information produced by people. Christian or not, we're all human and can make mistakes. When looking at secular resources, use extreme caution and discernment!

1 comment:

  1. Good thoughts here. Read this because of the title. Was wondering if anyone else adored Leviticus like I do...the handbook on how to live life. Just as Jesus taught in parables and those listening did not always understand if you 'chose' to dig deeper you would find the gems. And so it is with the entire Old Testament.
    I'm not sure if I have read the entire Bible even after 35 years of following Jesus and I have never been able to understand why anyone wants to try and do that in a years time. I'd probably be bored too. But when you read any Scripture with the Holy Spirits help it is good to sit and ponder what He has taught you. I have spent months on one chapter. Perhaps I'm just a difficult student....but any time spent with Father is good. Amen?
    Praying blessings overflow in your life for your faithfulness to our great Father.
    Bonnie

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