In conclusion

I have now finished reading the first 599 pages of the Bible, less than half of the Old Testament. Genesis through Nehemiah is only four-fifths of the entire Bible, and yet there is such a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and encouragement packed into there. Before this, I have skimmed the first 15 or so books, but I have never really read them, and taken the time to understand and go over the verses. When you do, there’s all sorts of interesting facts, encouraging stories, and lessons for us to take with us. I find that this was a very beneficial reading, and I am glad I took the time do to so. I recommend that you do the same, if you haven’t already, even if it’s just one or a few books. Just those few books contain so much that will benefit you, if you take the time to study the verses. You will thank me later.

A new perspective (literally)

As I start a new chapter in my reading, I immediately notice something different. This story is being told a bit differently from the rest. Instead of the story being told from an outside perspective, this particular story is being narrated from the inside. The narrator is actually the main character in the story. It’s a refreshing change, one that an aspiring writer should consider when writing. You could even insert yourself into the story, to mix it up. Instead of watching the story play out from above, you would be down on the ground with all of the other characters, helping move the story along. It would also be interesting to have a story where you only know what the narrative character knows and is thinking, and not the other characters. A story told by several different characters is also intriguing, switching around the narrator every so often. Changing around the way you tell a story makes it interesting for the readers; it constantly keeps them on their toes.

Worldly value vs. God’s value

A man was about to give a sacrifice to the Lord, to redeem himself from his sins. He had received the necessary offering materials from another man, who said he would give the materials to the first man for free. But the first man said, “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the Lord my God offerings that cost me nothing.” So he bought the items.

This man felt bad, almost guilty, for offering something to the Lord that he hadn’t paid for. But this man forgot one thing: earthly things like money don’t matter to God. He doesn’t focus on how much the offering costs us; he is interested in the thought, faith, and heart put behind it. God would prefer an offering that we gave with our whole heart and costs us little, over an expensive offering that we gave without a second thought. It’s like the story of the poor widow’s offering: God would rather us be like the widow who offered almost nothing but gave it with all of her heart, than the supercilious rich man who gave much but gave it without love for God. God really does want the offerings that cost you nothing, like your time, love, praise, gratefulness, and obedience.

So next time you’re about to give an offering, tangible earthly things or non-tangible, remember the real reason you are giving the offering. Remember that worldly value or expensiveness doesn’t matter to God.

It isn’t a new thing

The world we live in right now is filled with countless stories of suicide. For whatever reason, the person felt as if they couldn’t keep on living, and decided to do something about it. It is a sad and heart-breaking thing to know that these people felt like the world would be better off without them. While these stories may seem more pronounced and abundant right now, suicide is not a new thing. There are multiple accounts of it in the Old Testament. While the reasons for it may have been different back then, the general idea was no different. This just goes to show that the world we live in as of now hasn’t really changed that significantly from the world of the Old Testament. The actual earth, atmosphere, and technology may have changed, but the people really haven’t. We are, and always will be, humans.

Summer Fruit

Reading through an account a man’s great generosity, I stumbled across a term listed in the items he donated that I’ve never heard before: summer fruit. It was listed along with some other foods knew, such as raisins, grapes, bread, and such. I wondered is this referring to the fruit that grows in summer? Or is it a special fruit whose name is unknown? Maybe this fruit grew back in the time where this story occurs, and doesn’t grow anymore. Either way, it reminds me of all of the imaginary foods created in books by story tellers that I had wished I could taste. What does ambrosia taste like, and what do Bertie Bott’s every flavor beans taste like? Let’s not forget the Hogwarts feasts. Could you think of any imaginary foods you would like to taste?

Why the roof?

There’s an interesting story that tells of the downfall of a king, in which a beautiful woman is seen, leading the king to sin. It is an intriguing story, outlining the devastating mistakes of the king, and contains many moral lessons. But what interests me most is the fact that the beautiful woman was seen bathing on her roof. Why her roof? It seems odd to me that she would choose that obviously open space instead of her enclosed home. And how does she get up there? A ladder maybe? How does she bring her water up there? Isn’t the bucket of water quite heavy? It would be difficult to take a bucket of water up a ladder. What if the water sinks through the roof of the house and damages it? Also what if the roof was unstable and she fell through, injuring herself? Even though she probably had a good reason for it, it seems to me that it would’ve been much simpler to skip the roof and bathe inside.

Beards

A long time ago, a few men were sent out by a powerful leader as messengers to a fellow official. These men were not sent as a threat, but the official they were sent to must’ve thought they were sent as spies. So the official did something rash to these men, and sent them back as a warning. The men came back to their master and they were deeply humiliated. They didn’t even want to show their faces in public because of what the official had done to them. What horrible thing was done to these poor men? Were they tortured? Marked permanently? Disfigured? No, these men weren’t tortured or disfigured; but one of the most significant marks of their high rank was taken from them. The official had shaven half of their beard off! That official must have meant serious business, or he wouldn’t have done something so terrible. Beards back then must’ve been very significant, and shown the prominence and high rank of that man. It’s really interesting how impactful that was, and what back then showed the position and status of a man.

Struck down

There is an account in the Old Testament of the moving of the Ark, the box containing the two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. It was the most sacred object of the tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem, where it was kept.

Now God had told David to move it to a safer place, so he instructed a young man to place the ark (without touching the ark, only the handles) on an oxen-pulled cart and make his way to the safer place. God gave another extremely important command: under no circumstances should anyone ever touch the ark. So the young man started the journey. While the cart was rolling along, the oxen stumbled and the young man, probably out of fear of the ark falling, reached out and steadied it. He touched the ark, disobeying the most important command God had given him. Even though he had reacted out of fear, and meant no harm, God had specifically told him not to touch the ark. So the young man died for his quick actions and irreverence to God’s ark. You may think “Well that’s completely unfair! It’s not his fault: the young man only meant to steady the ark. He probably wasn’t thinking of the command he had been given. He doesn’t deserve to die, that’s just cruel.” While the man did only mean to keep the ark safe, he forgot to trust that God wouldn’t let the ark fall. He relied on himself, and not God.

Getting our priorities straight

I find it interesting how the earthly values in this world have changed over time. A long time ago, things like land, fabrics, clothing, dyes, meats, fruits, livestock, and grains were traded and sold. These were amongst the most important tangible items back then. Even birthrights were sold. Today, however, it seems that all that matters in the world is money. Money can buy almost anything: food, land, businesses, any product you can find in a store, clothing, favors, you name it. It has been said that money can’t buy happiness, (and it still can’t) but lately it seems to be coming pretty close for some of the world. It can persuade people to do almost anything. It’s true that you do school to become educated, but also to get into college. You do college to get a degree, which in turn allows you get a good job, so you can earn money. It seems as if the world revolves around it. It is stunning to me how reliant we are on it, but how could we not be, living in the world we are now. Maybe we should take a step back and prioritize, and refocus our sights on something other than money.

Jealousy

It is a dangerous feeling. It causes anger, irrational thought, paranoia, and all sorts of other harmful emotions. It can be sparked by the smallest of things, and we often aren’t aware of the jealousy until it’s too late. Before you realize it, you have done something rash and extreme to get rid of that jealousy, something you would’ve never done if you were in your right mind. That there is the point, however. Jealousy causes you to be out of control. It causes even kings to fall; no one is free from it. Jealousy is dangerous, more than we realize and want to realize. Be wary of jealousy, and be ready to fend it off, or you will suffer the consequences of your own actions.