How do I begin to explain the way God has transformed my study of his Word these last two years. I wish I had days and days and days to tell you about the journey. It’s as if my Bible with its black and white print has been changed into a glorious pop-up book…each scene painted in beautiful colors.
Trying to decide what to share and where to start has been challenging. There is just so much! I As I was talking to my daughter about this she looked at me and said, “Mom…you have to tell them the stories.” She’s right…so the story begins.
Now, before I taught Women’s Bible Study at our church…I taught Kinderchurch. That’s right…preschoolers. I might have left preschool behind…but I can assure you…preschool hasn’t left me. Why do things dry and dull…when you can have so much more fun acting them out…like children do. So let’s start by dividing up the class. Most of you here (pretend you’re in class with me…ok) are going to be Israelites…but I need a couple of volunteers…you guys are going be the pagans. You don’t have to do anything…just sit there and represent a pagan. I need three…an Egyptian…a Canaanite…and a Hittite. All set? Let’s go.
Let’s set the scene. You have all just crossed the Jordan River. God parted it for you…and you walked over on dry ground. You’ve gone on to Jericho, marched around it for 7 days, and literally seen God’s power as He caused its walls to fall down. Now, everyone is gathered around the Ark of the Covenant and you are listening to God’s Law being read. Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law — the blessings and the curses — just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them. Joshua 8:34-35
When we hear the phrase, The Book of the Law, what comes to our mind? I think it would be safe to say the Ten Commandments come to mind, maybe the book of Leviticus...rule after rule...regulation after regulation...yawn...yuck...boring...snooze...zzzzzz.
In the Bible, the phrase The Book of the Law refers to one Hebrew book...broken into 5 parts...Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That's right...all five of them together make up The Book of the Law. The Hebrew word for this book is Torah. The English translators chose to translate the word Torah as Law. The Hebrew definition of the word Torah is Instruction...or Teaching. The Torah is so much more than just a bunch of boring rules and regulations...and hopefully by the end of this story the beauty of The Law...The Teaching...will come to life in a new way.
One thing that has helped me so much as I read God’s Word…is to step into the scripture and try to see it through the eyes of the people living the story. They were real flesh and blood people…just like you and me. Sometimes we have heard a Bible story or passage so many times...that it loses its life...it truly becomes a…story…familiar…and somehow unreal. So let’s step into this scene and see what there is to see.
Ok...it's time to get started. Let's play a pretend game. We'll call it… "I Wonder." Now I know you can do this…you've all been kids before. Did you notice that our scripture verses said that aliens (that’s you pagans) listened to the law being read? Let’s imagine we can actually see our new leader, Joshua, reading the law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) to the people. And let’s imagine we are watching the expression on the alien’s face as he hears the first few chapters in the book of Genesis…for the first time.
Hundreds and hundreds of tablets have been unearthed in ancient archeological digs that give us a glimpse into the ancient world of the pagans. Because these ancient tablets are older than the time of Moses, some scholars believe that the Biblical account of creation was written at a later time as a counter script to these ancient tablets. Those scholars do not take into account the oral tradition of the Hebrew people. Information was passed down orally. It is still that way today, thousands of years later with Bedouins. Their history is not written down. But just because it is not in written form does not mean it does not exist. The only information the unearthed pagan tablets give us is WHEN their particular story was written down. It does not tell us which story came first.
These tablets tell stories of the pagan gods...creation...what was believed and worshipped. These pagan creation stories will help us step into the scripture and look through the eyes of the alien. We have heard Genesis, chapters 1 and 2, over and over again...the alien...the pagan has never heard it. Let's play the "I Wonder" game and imagine what the alien was thinking about as he listened to the creation story being read…for the very first time.
I wonder if the alien was from Egypt. As he listened to the first few chapters of Genesis was he thinking about the creation story he heard when he was growing up? Was he thinking about his creator god...Re...the creation god worshipped by Egyptians? I wonder if he was thinking about how Re had come from a giant egg in the sea…and then created more gods…ruled for thousands of years…got mad and created a goddess who delighted in slaughter and blood. I wonder if he thought about the red beer that Re took and gave to the goddess, so that she would get drunk ( because it looked like the blood that she loved to drink) stop killing. Maybe he thought about how Re grew old and began to lose his power…but still continued to reign…even though his jaw shook and he drooled…and how one day Re turned into the sun.
Or maybe the alien was a Canaanite. I wonder if he was thinking about his creator god El as he listened to the creation story being read. El had grey hair, a grey beard, was a heavy drinker and would get extremely drunk at his banquets. I wonder if he thought of El…as a young god...about the time El went out to the sea and saw his two daughters. Did he remember how El became sexually aroused and roasted a bird and asked his two girls to choose between being his daughters or his wives. I wonder what he thought about El having sex with his daughters.
Or… maybe if he was a Canaanite he was thinking of El’s son…Baal…the god of fertility…of thunder, lightening, rain…a god that fought with everyone…and loved sex expecially with Asherah...who was his mistress as well as his mother. Was he thinking about how Baal once fell in love with a goddess that took on the form of a cow…and then how Baal had sex with the cow...many times...and how Baal fathered the horned buffalo…and bulls. (I know that it feels like we are wading through slime right now...but please stay with me...we only have one more false god left to go...and then I promise you...we will begin to see a Beautiful picture unfold...as the alien realizes the love of the true God...for the first time.)
Last but not least…I wonder if the alien was a Hittite and was thinking about his creator god Kumarbi who was the cupbearer to the old father god. Was he thinking about how Kumarbi rebelled and bit off the sexual organ of the father god and swallowed it and became pregnant with the Storm-god, the Aranzahus (Tigris) river, and Tasmisus. Kumarbi then spit the Tigris and Tasmisus out on a mountain and the Storm-god tried to come out as a bowel movement. He then ate the son of another god and was cured so that the storm-god came out another way. Later Kumarbi had sex with a rock and the rock gave birth to Ullikummis…another sick, twisted god.
Ok...thanks for staying with me...we are through with the nasty, yucky, false...slimey gods. It doesn’t really matter what country the alien came from, because all the countries had similar stories about their “gods” and creation. Most of their creation stories involved wars and sexual relationships between human-like gods and goddesses. The pagan world believed that their gods had created the seas, sky, and land through sex, violence, and murder. Their gods had limited power and did not care one little bit about morality…not one little bit…they just wanted to get more power over other gods. They did not care about people…if they thought about humans at all it was as slaves to serve them. (Now...the beautiful picture begins to unfold...)
I wonder what the alien thought when he heard the first few chapters of the Law…the creation story in Genesis. It must have flipped his world upside-down. This God was all-powerful. He was all-good. He cared about what was good. He cared about people. He created the world with his words…not his bodily functions. He made man in his image…and then called it very good. He put his own breath into man. He wanted a relationship with man. He put man in a beautiful garden. He gave man the tree of Life to live forever. He made the entire earth for man to rule over. He blessed man. He was nothing like the unconcerned, nasty, cruel, false, pagan gods.
I wonder what the alien thought when he heard about Adam and Eve’s sin…did he cringe while he was waiting for the wrath of God to consume them. I wonder what the alien thought when he heard the promise God gave Eve that she would have a descendant (Jesus) who would crush Satan’s head. I wonder what the alien thought when he read that God made leather clothes for Adam and Eve to protect their body from the harsh thorns they would encounter as they lived outside the Garden of Eden. I wonder what he thought about grace.
I wonder what the alien thought when he heard about Noah and how God saved his family and the animals. I wonder what the alien thought when he heard about man’s rebellion at the Tower of Babel and how God did not wipe the people out but scattered them and confused their language. I wonder what the alien thought when he heard about mercy…after mercy…after mercy…from an all-powerful God.
I wonder what the alien thought about Abraham and the promise God made to him. I wonder what the alien thought when God told Abraham to kill his cherished son. I wonder what the alien thought when God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his only son and provided a substitute…a ram…to be killed in the boy’s place....on the very same mountain where God would one day give his own son to be sacrificed for our sin.
I wonder what the alien thought when he heard about God’s deliverance of the people from Egyptian slavery…about a God who would love slaves…and call them his people. Did his heart leap for joy? Did he want to shout from the mountain tops…”THIS GOD IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER GODS…THIS GOD IS FANTASTIC…I WILL DO ANYTHING THIS GOD ASKS…BECAUSE THIS GOD LOVES ME!!!!!!!!!!!!” I wonder what he thought when he heard this verse that said God’s Law was for him. This verse is from the book of Leviticus…a book that many Christians call “the most boring book in the Bible.”
“You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born. I am the LORD your God.'' Leviticus 24:22
He must have been overwhelmed with joy!
The "Law" is the story of God reaching out to man from Adam’s very first breath to the very last word in the book of Deuteronomy. May our prayer be the same as David the Psalmist…
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalm 119:18
God loves you...His Word is truly an unfolding story of His love and pursuit of each one of us. Please join me for Part 2 of "God Gave us His Word!" If you have ever felt like you are on the outside looking in...or that God has passed you over...not heard your prayer...you won't want to miss the next story. Remember...we know the end of our story. With Him...Dreams really do come true!
Always remember...you are Sought After,
Trying to decide what to share and where to start has been challenging. There is just so much! I As I was talking to my daughter about this she looked at me and said, “Mom…you have to tell them the stories.” She’s right…so the story begins.
Now, before I taught Women’s Bible Study at our church…I taught Kinderchurch. That’s right…preschoolers. I might have left preschool behind…but I can assure you…preschool hasn’t left me. Why do things dry and dull…when you can have so much more fun acting them out…like children do. So let’s start by dividing up the class. Most of you here (pretend you’re in class with me…ok) are going to be Israelites…but I need a couple of volunteers…you guys are going be the pagans. You don’t have to do anything…just sit there and represent a pagan. I need three…an Egyptian…a Canaanite…and a Hittite. All set? Let’s go.
Let’s set the scene. You have all just crossed the Jordan River. God parted it for you…and you walked over on dry ground. You’ve gone on to Jericho, marched around it for 7 days, and literally seen God’s power as He caused its walls to fall down. Now, everyone is gathered around the Ark of the Covenant and you are listening to God’s Law being read. Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law — the blessings and the curses — just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them. Joshua 8:34-35
When we hear the phrase, The Book of the Law, what comes to our mind? I think it would be safe to say the Ten Commandments come to mind, maybe the book of Leviticus...rule after rule...regulation after regulation...yawn...yuck...boring...snooze...zzzzzz.
In the Bible, the phrase The Book of the Law refers to one Hebrew book...broken into 5 parts...Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That's right...all five of them together make up The Book of the Law. The Hebrew word for this book is Torah. The English translators chose to translate the word Torah as Law. The Hebrew definition of the word Torah is Instruction...or Teaching. The Torah is so much more than just a bunch of boring rules and regulations...and hopefully by the end of this story the beauty of The Law...The Teaching...will come to life in a new way.
One thing that has helped me so much as I read God’s Word…is to step into the scripture and try to see it through the eyes of the people living the story. They were real flesh and blood people…just like you and me. Sometimes we have heard a Bible story or passage so many times...that it loses its life...it truly becomes a…story…familiar…and somehow unreal. So let’s step into this scene and see what there is to see.
Ok...it's time to get started. Let's play a pretend game. We'll call it… "I Wonder." Now I know you can do this…you've all been kids before. Did you notice that our scripture verses said that aliens (that’s you pagans) listened to the law being read? Let’s imagine we can actually see our new leader, Joshua, reading the law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) to the people. And let’s imagine we are watching the expression on the alien’s face as he hears the first few chapters in the book of Genesis…for the first time.
Hundreds and hundreds of tablets have been unearthed in ancient archeological digs that give us a glimpse into the ancient world of the pagans. Because these ancient tablets are older than the time of Moses, some scholars believe that the Biblical account of creation was written at a later time as a counter script to these ancient tablets. Those scholars do not take into account the oral tradition of the Hebrew people. Information was passed down orally. It is still that way today, thousands of years later with Bedouins. Their history is not written down. But just because it is not in written form does not mean it does not exist. The only information the unearthed pagan tablets give us is WHEN their particular story was written down. It does not tell us which story came first.
These tablets tell stories of the pagan gods...creation...what was believed and worshipped. These pagan creation stories will help us step into the scripture and look through the eyes of the alien. We have heard Genesis, chapters 1 and 2, over and over again...the alien...the pagan has never heard it. Let's play the "I Wonder" game and imagine what the alien was thinking about as he listened to the creation story being read…for the very first time.
I wonder if the alien was from Egypt. As he listened to the first few chapters of Genesis was he thinking about the creation story he heard when he was growing up? Was he thinking about his creator god...Re...the creation god worshipped by Egyptians? I wonder if he was thinking about how Re had come from a giant egg in the sea…and then created more gods…ruled for thousands of years…got mad and created a goddess who delighted in slaughter and blood. I wonder if he thought about the red beer that Re took and gave to the goddess, so that she would get drunk ( because it looked like the blood that she loved to drink) stop killing. Maybe he thought about how Re grew old and began to lose his power…but still continued to reign…even though his jaw shook and he drooled…and how one day Re turned into the sun.
Or maybe the alien was a Canaanite. I wonder if he was thinking about his creator god El as he listened to the creation story being read. El had grey hair, a grey beard, was a heavy drinker and would get extremely drunk at his banquets. I wonder if he thought of El…as a young god...about the time El went out to the sea and saw his two daughters. Did he remember how El became sexually aroused and roasted a bird and asked his two girls to choose between being his daughters or his wives. I wonder what he thought about El having sex with his daughters.
Or… maybe if he was a Canaanite he was thinking of El’s son…Baal…the god of fertility…of thunder, lightening, rain…a god that fought with everyone…and loved sex expecially with Asherah...who was his mistress as well as his mother. Was he thinking about how Baal once fell in love with a goddess that took on the form of a cow…and then how Baal had sex with the cow...many times...and how Baal fathered the horned buffalo…and bulls. (I know that it feels like we are wading through slime right now...but please stay with me...we only have one more false god left to go...and then I promise you...we will begin to see a Beautiful picture unfold...as the alien realizes the love of the true God...for the first time.)
Last but not least…I wonder if the alien was a Hittite and was thinking about his creator god Kumarbi who was the cupbearer to the old father god. Was he thinking about how Kumarbi rebelled and bit off the sexual organ of the father god and swallowed it and became pregnant with the Storm-god, the Aranzahus (Tigris) river, and Tasmisus. Kumarbi then spit the Tigris and Tasmisus out on a mountain and the Storm-god tried to come out as a bowel movement. He then ate the son of another god and was cured so that the storm-god came out another way. Later Kumarbi had sex with a rock and the rock gave birth to Ullikummis…another sick, twisted god.
Ok...thanks for staying with me...we are through with the nasty, yucky, false...slimey gods. It doesn’t really matter what country the alien came from, because all the countries had similar stories about their “gods” and creation. Most of their creation stories involved wars and sexual relationships between human-like gods and goddesses. The pagan world believed that their gods had created the seas, sky, and land through sex, violence, and murder. Their gods had limited power and did not care one little bit about morality…not one little bit…they just wanted to get more power over other gods. They did not care about people…if they thought about humans at all it was as slaves to serve them. (Now...the beautiful picture begins to unfold...)
I wonder what the alien thought when he heard the first few chapters of the Law…the creation story in Genesis. It must have flipped his world upside-down. This God was all-powerful. He was all-good. He cared about what was good. He cared about people. He created the world with his words…not his bodily functions. He made man in his image…and then called it very good. He put his own breath into man. He wanted a relationship with man. He put man in a beautiful garden. He gave man the tree of Life to live forever. He made the entire earth for man to rule over. He blessed man. He was nothing like the unconcerned, nasty, cruel, false, pagan gods.
I wonder what the alien thought when he heard about Adam and Eve’s sin…did he cringe while he was waiting for the wrath of God to consume them. I wonder what the alien thought when he heard the promise God gave Eve that she would have a descendant (Jesus) who would crush Satan’s head. I wonder what the alien thought when he read that God made leather clothes for Adam and Eve to protect their body from the harsh thorns they would encounter as they lived outside the Garden of Eden. I wonder what he thought about grace.
I wonder what the alien thought when he heard about Noah and how God saved his family and the animals. I wonder what the alien thought when he heard about man’s rebellion at the Tower of Babel and how God did not wipe the people out but scattered them and confused their language. I wonder what the alien thought when he heard about mercy…after mercy…after mercy…from an all-powerful God.
I wonder what the alien thought about Abraham and the promise God made to him. I wonder what the alien thought when God told Abraham to kill his cherished son. I wonder what the alien thought when God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his only son and provided a substitute…a ram…to be killed in the boy’s place....on the very same mountain where God would one day give his own son to be sacrificed for our sin.
I wonder what the alien thought when he heard about God’s deliverance of the people from Egyptian slavery…about a God who would love slaves…and call them his people. Did his heart leap for joy? Did he want to shout from the mountain tops…”THIS GOD IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER GODS…THIS GOD IS FANTASTIC…I WILL DO ANYTHING THIS GOD ASKS…BECAUSE THIS GOD LOVES ME!!!!!!!!!!!!” I wonder what he thought when he heard this verse that said God’s Law was for him. This verse is from the book of Leviticus…a book that many Christians call “the most boring book in the Bible.”
“You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born. I am the LORD your God.'' Leviticus 24:22
He must have been overwhelmed with joy!
The "Law" is the story of God reaching out to man from Adam’s very first breath to the very last word in the book of Deuteronomy. May our prayer be the same as David the Psalmist…
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalm 119:18
God loves you...His Word is truly an unfolding story of His love and pursuit of each one of us. Please join me for Part 2 of "God Gave us His Word!" If you have ever felt like you are on the outside looking in...or that God has passed you over...not heard your prayer...you won't want to miss the next story. Remember...we know the end of our story. With Him...Dreams really do come true!
Always remember...you are Sought After,
Until next time,
Cynthia
Cynthia
