Since I will be teaching Old Testament this upcoming school year, I have decided to make it my goal to read/listen to the whole OT this summer. I decided to start at the end and move backwards. Today I just began Jeremiah.
The prophets are some of my favorite books--they are becoming even more interesting to me everyday. Some people get confused about the message and think it is all about how angry God is. I am able to see even more just how relevant the message is for our day.
As I listened to Ezekiel I really heard God's heart for repentance. He does not like sin at all and is very patient with his people to repent. However, if they will not repent, there will be consequences and judgement.
So many of the examples of sin in the prophets are exactly what I am seeing and hearing about in our world today. People have put idols before them, like television, movies, sports, appearances...or like I earlier wrote about my own schedule. We don't think of ourselves as being a nation with a lot of statues or golden Buddhas, but we really do put other kinds of images before our eyes. And sexual immorality is a huge problem today--many people don't take marriage seriously! It grieves me so much to hear how carelessly people are giving themselves to someone else sexually without even giving thought to God--or as the prophet Jeremiah says, "without even blushing". Instead, I think we should heed the message of the prophets--to cry out to God and repent of our sin and the sin in our land. How much time do we really spend soaking in God's word? How much time do we spend praying? How much time do I?
I encourage everyone to spend some time every day reading God's Word. We cannot let ourselves be deceived or polluted by the world. We need to stand firm against the devil's schemes, or we will become just like Israel who turned from God's ways and hardened their hearts against Him. The consequences of living for ourselves are too grave to not think about. Let us purify our hearts and come before our God. Let us kneel before our Maker. Let us draw near to Him and He will draw near to us. (Disclaimer--I didn't bring my Bible over here to the internet or I would have shared more verses with you).
2 comments:
I really loved reading this post! :) You are truly an amazing person Mrs Becker! Your love for God and his word is so inspiring! :) I had a wonderful time talking with you today!! :)
Im so glad to hear that your feeling better now!!
Joy Choi
I love the prophets as well. I wish that I could teach Old Testament again! That's my favorite class that I've ever taught. Doctrine/Apologetics is right up there, though.
Right now I am involved with Beth Moore's study on Daniel. I love hearing new insights into a book that I know fairly well. The personal applications that she made and the parallels she drew between Babylon and American society were especially challenging. Sometimes we tend to overlook the stories we learned in Sunday School when doing serious Bible study, but coming back to them as an adult can bring wondrous new truths to our attention. Too often the modern American church overlooks the powerful lessons of the Old Testament. Far too often, we forget that the God of the Old Testament is also the God of the New. Even though we have a more complete understanding of salvation by grace than did OT saints, we worship the same God, and His character has not changed. We can learn much from reading and studying the Old Testament.
When I look back over the lessons that God has taught me, three that stand out as being the most intense emotionally and the most influential in my decision making have been from Psalm 139, Haggai, and Micah--all OT books!
In my personal study, I've been doing a lot of listening to the Bible as well. Just before Easter, I was listening to the gospel of Matthew. It made the celebration of Resurrection Sunday that much more exciting having just heard the story of the ministry and crucifixion of Christ.
There is something very powerful in hearing the Word spoken aloud. It brings to light nuances and connections I often miss when reading the Bible. Also, it's very beneficial for tackling larger portions of Scripture at once.
Post a Comment