Tough love from Exodus
Reading through the book of Exodus has really been working me over. As I've been reading, I've had the feeling of that akin to a spiritual Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the face in that it's been slapping me around and hitting me hard. That's never pleasant, and yet, it's so good. It's an unpleasantly good experience. It produces sober happiness. It calls for me to be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. And it couldn't have come at a more opportune time.
Remembering the years long ago when I would read Exodus and find myself giggling at the evident stupidity of the Israelites exposed in this book, I realized we clearly must be born with an innate sense of a Pharisaic posture. For it had come as a shock to me when one day I realized I was just as the Israelites in their stupidity, in their stumbling. The following are some verses that have loudly echoed in my own heart, and made me cling ever so much nearer to the Lord for His mercy. He surely is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
Beginning with a snapshot of Moses while talking to the LORD, who appeared to him through a burning bush, we see Moses shying away from the directive from the LORD to bring His people out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 4:10
But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
And the LORD responds to this excuse of Moses' in Exodus 4:11-12
Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
The LORD's first response to this inane question is 'it's not about you, Moses. Let's remember who I am, shall we?'
Continuing on, we see the incredible power the LORD exerts in the form of plagues in Egypt in the passages Exodus 7:14-10:29 and 12:29-32. And not only so, but also the act of the LORD's in the hardening of Pharaoh's heart (so that He might show His power in him and that His name might be proclaimed in all the earth, Romans 9:17).
Then, in Exodus 12:51, we read the attestation of, might I say, the mightiest work of the LORD in salvation (until that of final salvation through Christ Jesus.)
And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
The LORD brought them out. He brought them out of their slavery from the freaking mightiest nation in all the Ancient Near East. Egypt, at the time of the exodus, was not only the biggest and strongest of any nations in the world at that time, they were at the height of their own country's dominion, as well as being the biggest country thus far in the history of the world. And the people of Israel were told to remember it. How could one not?! Indeed, how could one not? And yet, the instruction is given in Exodus 13:3 that they not forget.
Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.”
An assuring evidence that the LORD was ever present with them is stated in Exodus 13:21-22.
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
And yet, here it comes...
The grumbling. The derisive complaining, recorded in Exodus 14:11-12.
They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
Wait--what? They wanted to...go back? They were envying their life of slavery? Did they not recall the centuries-long wailing and crying out for salvation? (This is one of the places that I would slap my forehead at their complete ignorance and foolish doubt.)
And oh! One of the sweetest verses, in Exodus 14:14, on the all-sufficiency of God and our own weakness and incapability.
The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.
And the LORD did fight for Israel and saved them, and Israel saw God's great power which evoked a holy fear in the people, as cited in Exodus 14:30-31.
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.
After they praised God and sang to the LORD, the next thing we read, in Exodus 15:23-24, is that because they had happened upon bitter water, they grumbled against Moses.
When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
The LORD's recent history of water-related miracles, notwithstanding.
Yet, the LORD's mercy is shown evident in the following verse 25.
And [Moses] cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
Oh, that the grumbling was put to rest, but no. Again, the people of Israel start to grumble in Exodus 16:2-3.
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Died by the hand of the LORD? They were just saved by the hand of the LORD! This would be another one of those forehead-slapping moments. Did they not remember the spectacular display of God's glory in leading them out of captivity? Their contemptuous belligerence had me in censorious astonishment.
But again, YHWH's merciful patience is displayed in Exodus 16:4-5, accompanied by faith-testing guidelines.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
And the reason for this grace is made clear in verses 6-7. Soli deo gloria.
So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?”
The following definition of grumbling, in Exodus 16:8, is nothing if not terrifying.
And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”
And what grumbling isn't against the LORD? Any form of grumbling is made with an unthankful heart. Grumbling against the LORD. That's frightening. His response?
Exodus 16:11-12
And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”
"I am the LORD your God." That's it. The Israelites response? Unbelieving disobedience to the LORD's instruction.
Exodus 16:20
But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
And they weren't finished. More grumbling in Exodus 17:3.
But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
Unbelievable. But then in verse 6, we see GOD's faithfulness in mercy by providing for these grumbling people.
Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Reading the acts of the Israelites makes my heart quake. In righteous anger and amazed shock at their lack of trust, disobedience, self-reliance, disbelief, unbelief, unthankfulness, and pride. It becomes unrighteous anger when I think myself guiltless of this baseness. Only when I realize that I have the corner market on the execution of these sins, and am given a humble heart, and by God's grace given the attitude of the publican, I can beat my breast and beg forgiveness and mercy.
Remembering the years long ago when I would read Exodus and find myself giggling at the evident stupidity of the Israelites exposed in this book, I realized we clearly must be born with an innate sense of a Pharisaic posture. For it had come as a shock to me when one day I realized I was just as the Israelites in their stupidity, in their stumbling. The following are some verses that have loudly echoed in my own heart, and made me cling ever so much nearer to the Lord for His mercy. He surely is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
Beginning with a snapshot of Moses while talking to the LORD, who appeared to him through a burning bush, we see Moses shying away from the directive from the LORD to bring His people out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 4:10
But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
And the LORD responds to this excuse of Moses' in Exodus 4:11-12
Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
The LORD's first response to this inane question is 'it's not about you, Moses. Let's remember who I am, shall we?'
Continuing on, we see the incredible power the LORD exerts in the form of plagues in Egypt in the passages Exodus 7:14-10:29 and 12:29-32. And not only so, but also the act of the LORD's in the hardening of Pharaoh's heart (so that He might show His power in him and that His name might be proclaimed in all the earth, Romans 9:17).
Then, in Exodus 12:51, we read the attestation of, might I say, the mightiest work of the LORD in salvation (until that of final salvation through Christ Jesus.)
And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
The LORD brought them out. He brought them out of their slavery from the freaking mightiest nation in all the Ancient Near East. Egypt, at the time of the exodus, was not only the biggest and strongest of any nations in the world at that time, they were at the height of their own country's dominion, as well as being the biggest country thus far in the history of the world. And the people of Israel were told to remember it. How could one not?! Indeed, how could one not? And yet, the instruction is given in Exodus 13:3 that they not forget.
Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.”
An assuring evidence that the LORD was ever present with them is stated in Exodus 13:21-22.
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
And yet, here it comes...
The grumbling. The derisive complaining, recorded in Exodus 14:11-12.
They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
Wait--what? They wanted to...go back? They were envying their life of slavery? Did they not recall the centuries-long wailing and crying out for salvation? (This is one of the places that I would slap my forehead at their complete ignorance and foolish doubt.)
And oh! One of the sweetest verses, in Exodus 14:14, on the all-sufficiency of God and our own weakness and incapability.
The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.
And the LORD did fight for Israel and saved them, and Israel saw God's great power which evoked a holy fear in the people, as cited in Exodus 14:30-31.
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.
After they praised God and sang to the LORD, the next thing we read, in Exodus 15:23-24, is that because they had happened upon bitter water, they grumbled against Moses.
When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
The LORD's recent history of water-related miracles, notwithstanding.
Yet, the LORD's mercy is shown evident in the following verse 25.
And [Moses] cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
Oh, that the grumbling was put to rest, but no. Again, the people of Israel start to grumble in Exodus 16:2-3.
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Died by the hand of the LORD? They were just saved by the hand of the LORD! This would be another one of those forehead-slapping moments. Did they not remember the spectacular display of God's glory in leading them out of captivity? Their contemptuous belligerence had me in censorious astonishment.
But again, YHWH's merciful patience is displayed in Exodus 16:4-5, accompanied by faith-testing guidelines.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
And the reason for this grace is made clear in verses 6-7. Soli deo gloria.
So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?”
The following definition of grumbling, in Exodus 16:8, is nothing if not terrifying.
And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”
And what grumbling isn't against the LORD? Any form of grumbling is made with an unthankful heart. Grumbling against the LORD. That's frightening. His response?
Exodus 16:11-12
And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”
"I am the LORD your God." That's it. The Israelites response? Unbelieving disobedience to the LORD's instruction.
Exodus 16:20
But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
And they weren't finished. More grumbling in Exodus 17:3.
But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
Unbelievable. But then in verse 6, we see GOD's faithfulness in mercy by providing for these grumbling people.
Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Reading the acts of the Israelites makes my heart quake. In righteous anger and amazed shock at their lack of trust, disobedience, self-reliance, disbelief, unbelief, unthankfulness, and pride. It becomes unrighteous anger when I think myself guiltless of this baseness. Only when I realize that I have the corner market on the execution of these sins, and am given a humble heart, and by God's grace given the attitude of the publican, I can beat my breast and beg forgiveness and mercy.
posted by Jennifer at 10:21 AM
15 Comments:
NICE! Man...I'm becoming more of an Old Testament freak as of late...synthesizing the OT for my sermon on Zephaniah was so awesome for me!
Some thoughts for you to encourage you to feast on the unquenchable riches of the word:
Exodus is amazing, for in that book God allows Israel to start "knowing" by his covenantal name; "Yahweh", which means "I AM". The thing is that since God's covenantal name communicates his eternality and timelessness, he begins a never ending revelation to Israel of that quality of himself.
From that day on, Israel would be Yahweh's people and he would be their God. Exodus 29:45 comments on this. Up until Exodus, God has been known by his relationship to the patriarchs. God speaks to Isaac and refers to himself as the God of "your father Abraham" (Gen. 26:24) and then as "the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac" (28:13).
In Exodus 3:6 God introduces himself to Moses as "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." but then reveals himself by a NEW name; "I Am". God chooses Israel, in order to make himself known to them, to be THEIR God.
Exodus 6:7 records when the Lord says "I will take you as my own people, and I will be YOUR God. Then you will know that I am the LORD YOUR God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians".
That was ultimately God's goal with Israel; to make himself known to them and be their God.
Psalm 106:6-8 says:
"We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. Yet he saved them FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE,to make his mighty power known."
As you read through Exodus and the rest of the Old Testament, you see God constantly, and I mean CONSTANTLY, commenting on how he's going to do something (discipline, redeem, judge, etc.) and the response will be some variation of "Then you will know that I am the Lord".
God's revelation of his eternality is seen in his everlasting radiating forth of his perfection, patience, power, persistence, promise (remember this WHOLE operation starts with 1 promise to Abraham, and all of salvation history is a footnote that says "God keeps his word"), plan and praise.
Genesis 17:7 records God saying to Abraham "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you." This is re-stated in Exodus 6:7 and is one bookend of God's revelation of himself in history.
God wants to be the God of Abraham's seed, and ultimately the entire world. God's heart for all nations is impossible to miss in his original promise:
"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 2:2-3)
God's original promise was for all nations, hence all us Gentiles have blogs about Christian theology.
Then, all of the Old Testament is summed up Hosea 11:
"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.
It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.
I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.
"Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?
Swords will flash in their cities, will destroy the bars of their gates and put an end to their plans. My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them.
"How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.
I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man— the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath.
They will follow the LORD; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their homes," declares the LORD."
So Israel runs from the Lord and chases Ba'al, Asherah and other pagan idols for 800+ years, has the 10 tribes tossed away by God in 1 Kings 17 (for only a short few thousand years), has the 2 remaining tribes tossed into Babylonian captivity, and has them come back to the land that was promised them. But, they still don't abandon idolatry; instead of worshipping the idols of the gods around them, they make their own idol; an idol called "Messiah".
They expect a military leader who will kill the Samaritans, kill the Romans and establish an earthly kingdom where Israel rules the world, like in the days of Solomon.
The true messiah comes, they don't recognize him (cause he looks NOTHING like their idol of "Messiah") so they kill him as a fraud. They kept waiting for their idol of "Messiah" to show up, and regardless of their warnings to not miss the one that came (that's what Hebrews 6:1-6 and 10:26-30 are talking about!), they're STILL waiting for their self-styled "Rambo Messiah" to show up.
He will show up eventually, but there's a hecka lot of Jews who died in sinful rejection of him when he came the first time.
But, reading Revelation, one sees the sister verse to Genesis 17:7. After the end of things, when God's plan has FINALLY played out and Israel has experienced thousands of years of learning what exactly is meant by the name "I AM", the Lord says something interesting:
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with MEN, and he will live with them. THEY WILL BE HIS PEOPLE, and God himself will be with them and be THEIR God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." - Revelation 21:3-5
finally...finally...FINALLY!
Finally this whole mess gets pulled together in one fell swoop and God keeps his word to Abraham. Over thousands of years, the rise and fall of human civilization, Yahweh keeps his word. He exalts his name before all creation, bfore all men, before his people. Praise him.
Okay. That was a tad bit o' ramble. I plead sleep brain rambling. I guess some things are good to ramble on about though, eh?
You don't have to plead anything. (I maybe should have just let you write my post...ha) That was a wonderful reminder to read -- of the faithfulness and steadfastness of our God. Our God...one that we know - that's incredible!
Oh, I just love when I read for His namesake - it's all over the place and that's the end to which He works - for His glory. AAAAAH, I love it!!!
And, I'm a bit of an OT freak, myself. So, welcome. I'm still waiting on that full OT-sythesized paper, or whatnot you're coming up with... :) Your sythesizing the OT for your sermon on Zephaniah was awesome for me too...! ;)
I have heard people use Exodus 4:10 as a self-esteem booster: "Don't feel bad if you aren't as gifted as others in certain areas. See, Moses had trouble speaking and God used him to speak to Pharaoh. He can use you, too."
Yes, that may be true, but as you so clearly noted, the point was that it was all about God.
It seems people just can't help but twist scripture. Not that they are reading something false into the text, but that they just don't seem to be able to grasp the true meaning.
Soli deo gloria!
Lee - I totally grew up with that version of Exodus 4:10 - totally.
It's been hard trying to find everything that I learned growing up and "re-file" everything. Man, every single thought and what I had learned had to be reshaped into "right, all to the glory of God...all for His namesake. Got it." I had to relearn how to think about pretty much everything. That's why I'm so freakin' excited to raise my kids (should God be pleased to bless me with children) as God-glorifying, Christ-exalting Calvinists!! WOOT!
Woot indeed! (Did I say that right?)
Anyhoo...
Hey Kiddo, the OT rocks! It is so bizarre to find alleged Bible teachers who avoid the Old Testament. How can a Spirit-filled Christian not notice that there is soooo much great stuff there?!
This is my second year teaching the 4th & 5th grade Sunday School class. These little guys are having a blast learning about the OT. We started with creation, and we’re at young King David right now. I make every effort to communicate this passionately. It’s good stuff!
B-Baps, I’m not going to ask your ages, but I’ll volunteer mine. I’m 41 now. I did not come to faith in Christ until I turned 21. It is so cool to witness your zeal for the Lord’s truth and righteousness. I’m thankful that He has revealed His light to you.
Craver - welcome!! You have now been knighted in the Honorable Wo0t-hood for proper usage and execution. (Do we have to call you Sir Craver from now on?)
Speaking of wo0tness, what you said on getting into the OT deserved one! Moreover, I don't know that one can fully grasp the weight of salvation without some sort of basic knowledge of the OT. I mean, the OT is all about pointing toward Jesus and coming salvation and righteousness before the Father through Him!
Hey, by the way, I don't remember if I clarified this, but just so you know, Craver...should you and the fam ever be up in the Minneapolis area, ya'll are to come and partake in hot cocoa, fire, sledding and churching it up with us. :) (And then maybe I'll finally figure out the riddle of you and the Sturms!)
no nO NO! Your post was awesome! I maybe shouldn't have going nutso on things...the last thing I want to do is discourage you! I guess I sometimes see to do that with people, and I hate that and maybe even need to apologize for dancing all over the comment section of your blog.
Believe you me babe, there's been a tad more written about the OT than I threw up there, and I was just sharing some kool insights that I've gleaned from other, exponentially wiser men than myself.
I just wanted to share some of the thing's that I'VE learned with you! That's what you're supposed to do with tasty truths, right? Prep them up (study, clarify and organize your thoughts), organize them on a new "rhetorical crust" (rephrase them in a new, original way to yourself or your audience), bake a pie (internalize the truth...i.e. let it dwell in you until your bones burn and you just HAVE to share SOMETHING) and then take it to a potluck so everyone can enjoy their glorious preparation and presentation and participation (preach/teach/blog/yodel/whatever it and pass your refined learnings onto others who will do the same)?
Be encouraged Hib! Don't ever think lowly of yourself just because someone is better at something (anything) than you perceive yourself to be (NOT saying that person is ME at ALL!). Instead, grab everything you can from them and grow.
There was a time when my sister was dating a Mormon and I was uncomfortable with it (because he wasn't a Mennonite!), but I thought "Well, at least he's a Christian...She could do worse!"
I've grown a TAD since then and learned just a LITTLE. Don't be frustrated that you're starting SOMEWHERE...everyone does that. Just keep pigging out on the word and get FAT!
Hahaha, no no no, not at all - I enjoyed reading what you brought to the table!! Fo sho yo. You're absolutely right in that, well, that pie analogy.
Wo0t on truth.
But either way, thanks for the encouragement. :)
Well, if this isn't a "Cyber space Christian Mosh pit"
(everyone is worried about bumping into eachother and the apologies flow 'like buttah')
hehe...just a jokey joke. I love you friends!
Anycrux, Great post fo' shizzle.
Back in the early days of my faith, I remember that when we would review a text in the old testament we would all tilt our heads back (looking as if we were going to fall asleep in the chair)
And we'd all say "Old testament, assume the position." then everyone would snore jokingly.
We thought we were so funny - but man that was foolishness.
My little brother opened my heart up to the OT - he said something to the affect that there are precious diamonds deeply imbedded in the text, and you have to read and pray and think and study to find them. And DUDE !
Romans 15:4
"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
Piper said that there is encouragemnet from the Lord to be had in ALL of the bible - even in the lists of names listed in the lineage of Christ.
Yeah, I know, I was like wha???
Anyone wanna go find some diamonds?
They are a girls best friend......(well, the OT diamonds that is)
Daasy - I thought you were going to say it's a cyberspace Christian mosh pit because Lyndon was rocking out with his comment! :) (I was totally head banging as I read it.)
Hm, I certainly had the same sleepy regard of the OT before (you're right - foolish). Until I was basically told the same thing. And I ADORE finding those diamonds in there now!! They are the diamonds I'm partial to...
"- even in the lists of names listed in the lineage of Christ."
My own pastor has preached on that. Isn't it amazing?! I was excited when I looked at the Flood and noticed the genealogies there. It's cool too, if you can find out what the names mean, 'cause sometimes that's informative.
In response to the lack of posting and as said from A Mighty Wind, "a whaaa haappaaannnned?"
I know, I know....I deserve to be in Purgatory myself, eh?
One may go up today, but we'll see how that works.
My link on Armchair's blog intrigues me. "The untimely death of Jen"...is this to somehow imply that I may be, in fact, dead - by way of lack of posting? Is it in some twisted fate of irony my own Purgatory?
you've condemned yourself! how ironic
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