Tag Archives: Old Testament

Testament to the Truth: The Old Prepared the Way for the New

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Minor Prophets not so Minor

You may have noticed names like Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi over the last few days as we have worked our way through the “Minor” Prophets. Perhaps you’ve also noticed a larger trend: over the last 40 days or so, we have written and read about every book in the Old Testament. That means if you have been following along, you have now read at least a part of every book in the entire Old Testament. Way to GO!

This amazing and unique collection of writings is unique among other all other ancient literature. It established a universally acknowledged standard of law, encouraged us to act with faith and vision, and it gave us glimpses of a Creator who is not only above us but also among us and for us. He is not a whimsical, capricious deity but the God who created us, cares about us, and came from beyond us.

The Old Testament is Amazing

In Isaiah 55:8 He says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” In Jeremiah 29:11 He says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

When talking to Moses, He identified Himself not as the Almighty God of the Universe, but as the personal God of relationship, saying, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” (Exodus 3:6). In the Old Testament we have been encouraged to have courage (Deuteronomy 31:6). We are called to seek and depend upon God’s presence (Judges 6). The Old Testament demonstrates stubborn love in the beautiful story of Ruth.

In the story of David we saw both triumph and tragedy, rejoicing and repentance. The Old Testament offers advice about good leadership (Exodus 18:19-21), how to live (Proverbs) and even offers some surprising insight about how to have a great sex life (Song of Solomon). It also points consistently to a Messiah who will come, not as a reigning Monarch but as a suffering servant (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22).

Between Malachi and Matthew

During the time between the Testaments, Israel suffered at the hands of invaders and despots who destroyed their temple and deported their leaders. In the midst of their devastation there were always glimpses of hope, and they were always a people who clung stubbornly to the idea that God would redeem them and love them through the coming Messiah. Even while predicting gloom and doom, men like Zephaniah and Malachi provided striking images of joy that included a tender lullaby or a frolicking calf…

The richness and depth of the Old Testament tell the story of God’s revelation. He is the Creator who made all things. He is the Lord who walked with Adam and Enoch. Because he valued relationships, He identified himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Working through the Old Testament provides a rich historical and spiritual backdrop that offers insight about the Coming King.

testament

A Journey You Can See in the Mirror

There is also the very curious parallel that Israel’s story has for every believer: their journey begins in faith; they are enslaved by the culture and values of a foreign land; they have to be rescued from “the fleshpots of Egypt” through miraculous means; even though they have experienced God’s presence they often long to return to their previous life; their old ways result in evil consequences, and they are motivated to repent and accept God’s authority once again.

They are headed to the Promised Land, temporary sojourners whose reward is in front of them, influenced by God’s Spirit but dabbling in the flesh: imperfect, often unfaithful followers of the God who offers them refuge and promises them He will not leave them or forsake them. Sound familiar?

The Old Testament provided a foundation and set the stage for the New Testament, where we are going next. I hope you’ve enjoyed some of the snapshots from Habakkuk, Hosea, Esther, Job…the have prepared us for “the rest of the story.” As we go forward, we will take a tour through every New Testament book as well, so that by the end of another 30 days or so, you will have read through every book in the Bible. I hope you will see the message of hope and love that resides in each of them, and that it will whet your appetite for more!

Two Testaments, One Story

Read the Bible. If you can, you’ll
Have a living owner’s manual,
Full of drama, wisdom, history,
Kings, adultery, even mystery;
Prophets bringing holy fire,
Psalms that lift your spirit higher;
The older Testament and the New
With literature designed for YOU,
Stories full of love and loss,
A hero lifted on a cross!
Sin required an awful price,
And Jesus made the sacrifice.
No matter what your time or place,
Your nationality or race,
God offers His Amazing Grace
To everyone who seeks His face.
At least, that’s what my Bible says…

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Cowards Who Fled Because They Felt Like, Well, Grasshoppers

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The well-known James Allen motivational quote said, “As a man thinketh, so is he.” His little book in 1903 said that our minds are powerful instruments that influence our actions and our destiny. About the same time, Henry Ford said, “If you think you can, you’re right. And if you think you can’t, you are right.” The story we’re looking at today says it this way: Think Like Grasshoppers, Play Like Grasshoppers…

grasshoppers

How We See It

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:30-33, NIV)

When the Hebrew spies returned from viewing the Promised Land, they were called upon to report back about what they had seen. Most of them were intimidated by who and what they saw there. They said they had seen Nephilim, who are defined in Genesis 6:4 as “sons of god and daughters of men”. No one knows exactly who the Nephilim were. You can’t build a race of warriors from a single verse, but perhaps the term was referring to some type of illicit antediluvian offspring of fallen angels and earthly women. Legend had it that these powerful beings descended from demons who impregnated human women.

Bear With Me, here

(This is speculation on my part, but I personally believe that there must have been a possibility that such unions occurred. If they did, there could have been some type of genetic contamination that happened before and during Noah’s lifetime. Although the presence of depravity in and of itself would justify mankind’s destruction, the Nephilim logically suggest another reason for God to exercise such severe judgement. It seems logical to me that part of the reason why God implemented the flood was to eliminate all traces of that genetic contamination from the earth. But I digress.)

A Less Than Inspiring Report

The Nephilim were mighty warriors, larger-than life characters against whom ten of the spies they felt they had no chance. (God did not seem to factor into their equation, by the way.) Only Joshua and Caleb believed that they could take possession of the land, but the other spies were unanimous in their insecurity. They said that they felt as small as grasshoppers in their own eyes, and that the citizens of the land viewed them in the same way. Coincidence? Perhaps James Allen nailed it: “As a man thinketh, so is he.”

Think of yourself as small and you will play small. If we feel like grasshoppers, we will act like grasshoppers. Others will see us as grasshoppers. But turn it around! Think of yourself as godly, and you will start to display godliness; if you see yourself as God’s handiwork, others will see you the same way. Put God in charge of things. You will reflect His character and be filled with His strength and courage. Think of it this way: you can go into battle with grasshoppers, or you can go into battle with the Lord of Hosts. Kinda changes the playing field doesn’t it?

Grasshopper Games

If you see yourself as small, then that is how you’ll play.
When you think you’re lost, then you will never find the way.
If you moan and say you can’t, then you are nothing like that ant
Who didn’t gripe and cry and rant
But moved the great big rubber tree plant.
Israel sent some spies to look into the promised land;
Ten of them came back and said, “Oh no! We’re under-manned!
We saw some great big Nephilim, and really, we are scared of them,
We felt like grasshoppers in their sight,
And ran from there in total fright!
They’re not the guys we want to fight!”

But Joshua and Caleb stood, and said, “Let’s take this land! We could!
The Lord of Hosts is on our side, and we don’t have to fear or hide,
Our army can go forth with pride, and we will never be denied!”
But Israel was quite dismayed at what the other spies had said:
The Promised land was long delayed because their leaders were afraid…
When you fear only God and know the work and plans are His,
THINK BIG!! And just be confident in who your LEADER is!

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread