Opening the Old Testament.

In our Wednesday night small group, there was a large portion of people who said they have trouble "getting into" the Old Testament. I have a different perspective, not because I am a stupendous scholar, but God in His goodness has made much of it real to me.

Some background: When I was seven, I decided I was going to read the Bible cover to cover. I didn't know whether anyone had actually read it, so I wanted to be the first to have done so. At first I read it sporadically. I often lost my place and must have re-read Numbers a dozen times. Then, by the time I was in 6th or 7th grade, I started reading it earnestly. I read two chapters every day. If I missed a day, I read five chapters the next. (It was an arbitrary number, but it motivated me to keep on track.) By the time I was in ninth or tenth grade, I had done it! Cover to cover. I didn't understand all of it, but I had done it. Then I started over. And I did it again. And again. Each time, I learned more, understood more.

I also attribute my love of the OT to my name. Growing up named Miriam, I had my name mispronounced almost every way imaginable. But there was One (besides my family) who knew my name intimately. It was there in Exodus 15 and elsewhere.
God knew my name! To my childhood mind, that meant God was probably Jewish and could say it perfectly. (I love when people with non-English accents pronounce my name: it sounds so perfect!)

Now, there are many excellent works out there about the Bible. What's different about my opinion? I don't have much of a sales pitch for you. I've read the book, I love to write, I am able to pull gems out of almost any scripture, I have a good command of Strong's Concordance. I'm also a nurse with experience in infection control. That means Leviticus is an amazing work about staying healthy in a world full of ickiness (both physically and spiritually). I was raised by very civic-minded parents who helped me see the social implications of the Old Testament law, from not muzzling the ox who treads grain to not moving a property marker.

So there you have it. May the Word unfold like a flower before you and bless you with its sweetness.