the tindog coffeehouse

I’m exactly six months in to my year-long commitment to read through the Bible (well, six months plus a week). A couple of months ago, I posted a spreadsheet showing my progress. Below is the latest update. Since January, I’ve finished 1 Samuel and read more in Psalms. I’ve also completed 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Hosea, Joel, Obadiah, Micah, and Malachi (I like that guy!). I’m currently making my way through 1 Chronicles and Isaiah. I haven’t made any more progress in the New Testament. According to the schedule, I won’t be back in the New Testament until late June.

I’m glad I’ve kept up, but to be honest, it isn’t always the funnest thing to do. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I don’t like reading the Old Testament (it is God’s Word after all). But the historical books can be a little, um, dry, and the prophetic books can be both confusing and rather grim. Unlike the New Testament, it’s hard to see how much of it really applies to our daily lives.

The main thing I’ve gotten out of it, though, is context. You see the full history of Israel and Judah, how their constant disobedience over hundreds of years resulted in serious consequences but how God (ever-loving and ever-holy) never abandoned them. It’s the picture of a parent who has to discipline their rebellious child but never stops loving them.

A lot of people say the God of the Old Testament is vastly different than the God of the New Testament. They point out how jealous and angry and vengeful God appears in the Old Testament but how loving and gracious He is in the New Testament. Surely because of these differences, they figure, the Bible can’t be valid. I disagree.

As I read through the Old Testament, I see a God who loves His children, who only wants the best for them, and who begs repeatedly for them to turn away from their sin and return to Him. He is the epitome of love and grace. Tough love, yes, but love nevertheless. And in that way, the nature of God has never changed.

Previously:
Bible reading progress now in spreadsheet format
Thoughts on Genesis