Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Boring?

Two of the things in the Bible that I most often hear described as boring are the book of Leviticus and the genealogies. I'd like to share what God has done to change that in me (I used to feel that, too).

Leviticus: God has been opening my eyes to His holiness. He is set apart, holy, separate. We tend to make common (profane) His name and who He is. We tend to try and make Him and His Word match our opinions, our "science," our values, our desires, etc. When we do that we profane Him and His Word. Leviticus has become, for me, an amazing reminder of His holiness. It is filled with reminders of the fact that that which is for Him will be set apart, holy, not used for the common. That God has a way and it is His way or no way. That He is holy and I am not and that I must follow Him instead of expecting Him to follow me (a reminder David should have thought of before Uzzah died moving the ark, and not after . . .) Leviticus reminds me of how, though God is holy and a vast separation exists between us and Him, Jesus paid for our sin and now His Word says we as believers are a holy nation, His own special people, set apart unto Him, no longer of this world, no longer Satan's but now, instead, God's adopted children for all of eternity. It makes me so grateful! Leviticus is a constant, repeating reminder that God will not be profaned or made common. He is holy, and all that is for Him will be set apart as well. And so, now, I enjoy it. It reminds me. It blesses me. It encourages me to not become casual with God or to try and to things half way or my way and just assume He'll be OK with that. He is holy, holy, holy. He is God. It is His way, not mine.

Genealogies: I read them as history. Real history! Recorded history. Verified history. So much of our "understanding" of origins and history is based on a scrap of writing or a bunch of theories without evidence, but the genealogies gives us a person by person listing of history back to the first man. It is amazing! And, most important to me, the genealogies with the accompanying ages at births and deaths, give us the age of the earth. Yes, it is the genealogies that form the corm foundation of the young earth interpretation of Genesis, which I believe is one of the most critical views we will adopt in our walks. If the genealogies are true then we must interpret Genesis as literal and the world as very young. If they aren't, then the Bible is a fairy tale and we might as well throw it out along with all the revelation in it of God and of His promises to us. When I read the genealogies I realize I am reading an accurate, detailed listing of the line of men to Adam. It is my family tree. It is my history. And I am more and more convinced that God gave them to us in such detail that we could do exactly what I described—count them out and realize that Genesis must be interpreted and stood on as a young earth account, historical and detailed and accurate. When I read the genealogies I read with amazement, realizing God has given them to me to strengthen my faith in His Word and to give me the basis to stand with confidence on a literal reading of Genesis. Wow! Thanks, Lord!

Maybe these will bless you. Maybe not. But they bless me and I thought I'd share them. Thanks for reading. May you have an amazing week in the arms of the Father!

6 comments:

  1. Regarding the "boring" genealogies, I had always had the mindset of: "It may not seem important to me, but it is important to someone." Thank you for showing me how they really are important for me as a child of God wanting to walk in His full light and truth.

    Blessings and hugs!

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    1. You are so welcome for any way God might use me to bless you, Amy! My view on the genealogies is something that I have only recently come to see, but it is astounding to me (and so like God!) to put into something that most people would quickly read over the very core of the foundation of our young earth belief, which is in Hebrews 11:3 the very first requirement of faith! Wow! We sure miss you. Blessings and hugs back from our family to you.

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  2. Amen. This post so blessed me Erick. Thank you. I will try to read the genealogies as God who is "holy, holy, holy" gave them to me as history.

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    1. Amen! It really changes it, doesn't it! To just skim over it as opposed to reading and absorbing and realizing this is real history---our family tree as Christians!---and that God gave it to us as the foundational form of trusting His account in Genesis as literal, hence trusting the whol Bible! Wow! Thanks for reading and sharing back.

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  3. Thank you dad. Yes, I actually read the posts that I comment on. Ha, ha. I have not read Leviticus yet but when I get there I will try to remember that he is holy. As for the genealogies, I DID tend to read them as "boring" but now I will not near as much. :)

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    1. You are so welcome, Bethany! Nothing in God's Word is in vain or wasted. I'd never seen the genealogies in this light until recently, but now they are amazing to me! Love you!

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