Here at the Honor Academy, we are given a Bible Reading Plan. We have to read anywhere from three to six chapters per day; by the end of our year here, every intern will have read through the entire Bible. Well, a couple days ago, I finished the first five books. Infamous for being boring and inapplicable, those books are the ones that stop so many of us Christians from ever making a dent in fulfilling our repeated resolutions to read the entire Bible. And yes, some of it was painfully repetitive and seemingly pointless. But here’s the crazy part: I learned a TON from those “useless, outdated” books!
The books outline the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness into God’s Promised Land. God told them that He would be with them, that He would guide them and not forsake or leave them. He provided manna for them so that they wouldn’t be hungry. They ate the very same food that angels eat! But over and over, they complained against God. They whined that they’d rather be back in Egypt, working themselves to death as slaves, because at least then they had fish and meat to eat. God got mad; He sent them quail, saying, “Fine; if you want meat, I’ll give you meat. But you won’t receive it without consequence.” They ate the meat, then God killed them. The lesson? God will give us what we need. He will feed us and provide for us, and the food He gives us will be GOOD. But we are so like the Israelites; He gives us the best we could have - the food of angels - and we whine for the old days when we were in chains but had meat.
Reading those books also forced me to address really hard aspects of God’s character. It would be so much easier to stay in my little New Testament bubble, and only ever talk about God’s grace and mercy, about how He forgives over and over again. But to do that would be to ignore a vital part of our faith’s history. The God that led the Israelites through the wilderness seems harsh, and even sinful at times. He sent the Israelites to conquer cities and kingdoms, and told them not to spare a single person -- not a man, not a woman, not an infant. He even told them that if they did not live up to the covenant that they had agreed to, He would take away every blessing that He gave. He would send plagues down on them, they would have famines, they would even resort to eating their own babies.
When I first read those words, it was really hard to stomach them. How could Someone so holy do something so horrible? What about mercy? What about love? It’s easy to think like that, but it’s not right. Those cities that God told the Israelites to devote to destruction? They were filled with all sorts of evil - disgusting acts of worship to pagan gods were the norm. The citizens of these cities would even sacrifice their own children to the fiery mouth of a chunk of metal named Molech. God knew that if the Israelites spared some of these people, their culture would be tainted, and soon the Israelites themselves would be offering up human sacrifices to non-living idols. And about the curses? God never wanted to curse them; He desired only to bless His children and love them always. But if they didn’t have to fear any repercussions for their sins, then what would stop them from committing them? God repeatedly warned them of the dangers of straying from His holy ways; but He wasn’t unjust. And really, why would anyone ever want to worship a god who was unjust?
It’s hard for me to fully convey through writing all that I’ve learned through my journey through the Bible so far. Maybe this post seems just as boring as the pages of Deuteronomy and Numbers. I don’t know, but I hope not. Here’s what I do know, though: if you’re a Christian, and you haven’t read the Bible in its entirety, today is the day to start. I haven’t made it far yet, but I can guarantee that if you go into it prayerfully seeking to understand God’s ways more clearly, then you will not be disappointed.