Some assumptions
are hard to dismiss, and once they take hold in the mind, they are hard to
shake loose. I remember assuming I was funny—not funny-weird, but funny-funny.
Oh, I thought I could say funny things and others would think I was funny too.
That has been a hard assumption to break… but Kelly’s trying!
I remember
the slow process I went through to find God in the Old Testament. Now, you
might wonder, isn’t God all over the Old Testament? Isn’t it hard to read a
single page and not come across God in the Old Testament? Yes, indeed, it is
so. Well then, why did it take so long for me to find God there?
Because of
my assumptions. When I first became a believer, I eagerly devoured the
Scriptures—reading the Bible was near and dear to my heart. But, I found myself
reading simply to gain insight into the history contained in the Old Testament—which
king followed who and what prophet addressed what people. I thought of the
Bible as a rich source of facts, history and insight into the Israelites and
their religion. And, what thought I gave to God as I read the Old Testament was
basically to notice how He didn’t do things the way I wanted Him to act. Sure,
God did some pretty amazing things, but not always (or often!) the amazing
things I wanted Him to do.
And that’s
why it took me a long time to finally find the true, real God in the pages of
the Old Testament. At first, I was reading about a God, but I wasn’t really
seeing the true God—I was only noticing a god of my own imagination. But, when
I quit assuming I knew who god was,
and instead just read the Bible to meet Him, then I finally really understood
the God of the Bible.
There’s a
woman in our church who I was convinced was named “Jane”. Now it just so happens
that that is NOT her name; but, I can’t get it out of my mind that her name is
“Jane”. Every time I speak with her, I need to start by correcting my
assumptions—“no, Henry, her name is NOT JANE!”
If we insist
that the God of the Old Testament is hard to please, mean, disappointed in us,
or just all around negative, then it will be really hard to hear anything else.
But, when we read the text as it is, eager to meet the God who is present
there, we will find exactly the Lord who is: our Sovereign God, who loves us,
who pursues us, and who gave Himself for us. That is who I met in the pages of
the Old Testament—the same God of the New Testament—the very God who saved me.
As you
prepare for worship this week, check out Exodus 12:1-13.
1. In verse
one, what are some reasons God spoke to the people through Moses and Aaron?
2. Why did
God orient the Israelites’ year around this event (vs. 2)? How might that speak
to our own lives today?
3. Verse 4
is a marvelous picture of God’s grace amidst His commands. He commands
something, but then adds grace. Can you see it?
4. The
slaughter of the Passover lamb was to take place at twilight (vs. 6). What
significance can we imagine being attached to that timing?
5. Why all
the cooking instructions? What is God’s point in laying out how the lamb is to
be prepared and served?
6. What does
the “for” in verse 12 signify? How does that hold this passage together?
7. Work
through the pronouns in verse 13. Who does what? Notice the sign is for us, but
it is God who sees it. Interesting…
