Why I Love the Old Testament

I wrote this quick essay as an email to a friend who asked me why I liked the Old Testament so much. Its as true for me today as when I wrote it.

A few days ago on a note I wrote, “I’m totally in love with the Old Testament”. A friend wrote to my inbox and said “Okay, you got me on the Old Testament again. What do you like about it???” I began to write her a response, and started having so much fun, I decided to turn it into a note. So here’s the answer…

Anybody who has a spouse, partner or soul mate/soul friend can usually tell you who it was that introduced you to your future love. And usually – you think very positively or gratefully in regard to the person who introduced you. When I met God, at the awkward age of 17, it was the Old Testament who introduced us.

While trying to discover what it meant to be a Christian, I decided to start by reading the Bible. I did not read the bible in the smartest, easiest or best way. I read it like any other book – from beginning to end. I admit, I almost lost the battle a couple times in Deuteronomy and nearly jumped ship entirely in Chronicles. But – once I read the story of Esther, I was hooked.

The Old Testament is the story of the love promise between God and the people of Israel. (The New Testament is the story of the love promise between God and all of us). It shows the very nature of God, and people – and how we work out that love promise in good moments, bad times, stunning miracles and ordinary mistakes. It introduced me to stories of a whole and holy God – powerful and personal. A God who can create oceans, make donkeys talk, and take the time to wrestle all night with a stubborn traveler. There is so much in the Old Testament to instruct and inspire:

The Bravery: “As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15); “If I perish, then I perish.” (Esther 4:16).

The Questions: “Suppose they ask me, 'What is his name?” (Exodus 3:13); “How long, O Lord?” (Psalm 89:46); and “Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?” (Job 38:4).

The Rage: “And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.” (Genesis 4:8); Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." (1 Samuel 18:11).

The Regret: Psalm 51; “When he saw her, Jephthah tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! (Judges 11:35); But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. (Genesis 33:4)

The Courage to start over: “Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." (Genesis 4:25); Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. (Ruth 1:16)

The Acceptance of Changed Plans: Moses watching others enter the promised land but not able to go. (Deut. 34) ; David being told he cannot build the temple (2 Samuel 7)

The People in the Margins who Make the Difference: Naaman’s servants who convince him to give the miracle a chance, (2 Kings 5), Miriam who follows baby Moses to from the riverbank to see where he ends up (Exodus 2).

The Laughter: Proverbs about nagging wives, leaking faucets and dead flies; Elisha’s loser friends who accidentally poison soup and lose an axe head in a pond. (2 Kings 4); The Philistines desperately trying to ditch the ark they captured. (1 Samuel 5)

The Love: "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. (Hosea 14:4); The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love.." (Zephaniah 3:17)

The Promise:

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you,
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush [a] and Seba in your stead.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life. (Isaiah 43)

The Old Testament lets it all hang out: saints and sinners, good ideas and bad timing, love poetry, family drama and dietary law all merge to show a picture of a God who continues to reach to wayward children – again, again, again and again.

The New Testament has some fine things – The gospels with their chronology and synoptic account; the history of Christ’s disciples and the church; letters that open so connectively and close with furtive longing, and the revelation of a future where no pain exists and no sorrow abides.

But the New Testament is so polite, so reasonable. The New Testament sets a feast of love and life before us, folds the napkins, and knows what silverware to use. The Old Testament just throws all the spaghetti against the wall – and believe me – it sticks.

That’s why I love the Old Testament.

Ancora Imparo

Lectionary Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

“Ancora Imparo” is Italian for “I am still learning”. It is attributed (unsourced) to Michelangelo who is said to have uttered the famous phrase when he was 87 years old. It’s hard to imagine the painter of the Sistine chapel, sculptor of David, and self described liberator of angels (“I saw an angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”) telling someone he was still learning. And yet, I believe he was. His art was a journey, not a fact, and he learned more about it until the day he died.

When it comes to the Bible, I can say with great confidence – “Ancora Imparo”. I am still learning. I am learning from history, from the Holy Spirit, from the people – young and old alike – who I am blessed to talk with, and from the sacred library that is the Bible itself. I am unashamed in my journey of learning, and if you spend more than ten minutes near me – I will learn something from you! (Yes, I am sort of a learning vampire).

I tend to cringe when I hear someone remark “And that’s in the Bible!” to justify their actions or belief. I think it’s a backwards (and sometimes abusive) way to do things. It is not God’s desire that we see the Bible through our eyes and use it to support our faith-view. It is God’s desire that our eyes see through the lens of the Bible and we become it’s faith-view.

In other words – we shouldn’t study to make sure the Bible says what we think it says. We should study to be sure we are becoming who the Bible says God thinks we are. The book isn’t going to change. We are!

Confusion and Clarity

Jesus advocated change. His followers advocated doing things differently. As Jews, men had to be circumcised on the body. As Christians, they were told to be circumcised spiritually in the heart (and the body could be spared). The old eating laws were changed and shrimp was back on the menu (along with food offered to idols for those who didn’t mind that kind of thing). The old seating laws (temple classism, and religious sexism) were changed. Now the poor, women, and eunuchs were all baptized and part of the faith. Suddenly, the old laws had new meanings and prophecy became the present. Imagine their surprise when they got a letter that said, “All scripture is God-breathed.” (2 Timothy 3:16).

By “holy scripture” – the epistle didn’t mean the New Testament, the Gospels, and book of Revelation. Those writings were still being written, collected and debated. By “scripture” the writer meant the Torah, the writings of the Prophets, and laws given to Israel. How weird for the converted Jews and Gentile Christians who had been living a new way to get a letter that says “Keep living your new way in Christ because the old way is good”. WHAT? Which is it??? Old or New? Law or Love? And even more confusing - the answer they got to the “law or love” question was: “Yes”.

Fortunately there is also some clarity. Notice Timothy is told that the scriptures “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (3:15). Wait a minute…if the writer is talking about the Torah, written before the common era, where does Jesus come in? Jesus comes in through the prophets who foretold the Messiah. The Holy Scriptures of Israel’s past talked about the fact there would be change – there would be a Messiah. The prophets said new people would be grafted in to the faith. There would be peace. There would be love. The old laws prepared the people to live faithfully so they could have faith enough to live a new way when the Messiah came. The law led us to love.

The code of Leviticus/Deuteronomy had one purpose for the Hebrews: to teach them to live their lives in such a way that others could see they were God’s people. (That’s what the no mixing fabrics, foods, and purity rituals were all about – showing other cultures about the One God). We don’t have to avoid shrimp, sacrifice doves, or avoid poly-cotton T-shirts. But Leviticus still challenges us to live our lives in such a way that others can see we are God’s people. The method, in the light of grace, has changed. But the meaning is the same. Law leads to Love. The law won’t change, but we will.

Those Itching Ears….

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead,
to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of
teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears
away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all
situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the
duties of your ministry.”

Whenever I hear about the itching ears Timothy was warned about – its usually in the context of someone fearing the Bible is being used too “liberally” and that the tough realities of Christ are being ignored for a popular or social gospel. But, like the question about the law – there is more than meets the eye (or ears!).

In the time this letter was written, the Gnostics were in a theological war with the followers of Christ through the Apostles. The Gnostics believed Jesus didn’t really die (and hence was not resurrected), they thought they needed special wisdom, and put more emphasis on deities than salvation. To the converted Christians who came from Pan-theistic (many gods) cults – the Gnostic theology sounded good – you could have Jesus, and still believe in other stuff and impress each other with special knowledge. It proved to them that the people who worshiped many gods weren’t wrong all along. Those were most likely the “itching ears” the letter was warning about. They were warned about forsaking the truth and grace of Jesus Christ for a story that made them feel right.

And what about our itching ears? What myths do we turn to? Some people turn to stories passed down in tradition (like that it was an apple Eve ate, or that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute – the Bible says neither). Others follow church dogma, and confuse it with Biblical truth (nowhere does the Bible say that you have to be a “member” of a church to take communion or do anything else). People who preach “prosperity faith” see the teachings on giving, but forget the widow’s mite and the mandate to help the poor (not the church fund). Parents who correct their children by hitting them see the scriptures about the “rod of correction” without considering it’s a metaphor for teaching discipline or learning what that Hebrew word translated “rod” really meant.

We all have itching ears. We all want to hear what we already believe. We want the Bible to back us up and prove we were correct. And we are all warned not to forsake the truth and grace of Jesus Christ for a story that makes us feel right. How do we not? How do we stay true to our Messiah? We need to follow the advice given to Timothy. “Keep your head in all situations…do the work of an evangelist”. Use your brain and make some sense! An evangelist is a “good messenger” – someone who shares the good news not the old fears.

We are called to act with grace, not react with self-righteousness. Don’t memorize verses – live them. Don’t make the Bible a part of your life – become a part of it. Forsake condemnation and follow Christ in conversation. Don’t use the Bible to prove you – but strive with your life to prove the Bible. Then lean, lean, lean on grace – and don’t forget that’s what is holding you up. For by grace are we saved…

I believe the Bible is the Word of God, carried to us by human hands, and it tells me who God is, and who I am supposed to become as an individual and in a community. As for everything else – "Ancora Imparo".