The Old Testament, 'What a load of rubbish'

Recently I spoke to a member of a local church, I found what he said quite shocking in some ways. He believed that the church 'needed to make some changes' which I couldn't disagree with, but he then got down to specifics. 'We need to change our services' he said, 'the readings from the Old Testament, what a load of rubbish!' 

Others may not speak in such stark terms but deep down may feel the same. Several well-known Christian leaders have sparked controversy in recent years by suggesting that the Old Testament is not really God's revelation to us but a record of people in conversation with God. That it is not 'true' but shows mankind's interaction with the Devine, therefore there may be errors or misunderstanding in the Scriptures 

I have been seeking to look at my own view of the Old Testament and trying to define what I think of some of the challenging details that are found from Genesis and Malachi. My default position for years has been to believe that all of the Bible is God's word, that it is reliable, trustworthy, true and reveals the Gospel from first page to last. There is much I don't understand, that challenges my mind and heart, that raise more questions than it answers. But I always come back to asking the question, 'How did Jesus view the Old Testament?'

As a disciple of Jesus, a learner, a follower, an apprentice; I want to have the same attitude to the Old Testament that he did

When Jesus was born, he fulfilled the Old Testament 

As Jesus was growing up, he would have learned the Old Testament 

When Jesus went into the synagogue p, he read the Old Testament 

When Jesus was baptised, he heard God his father referenced the Old Testament 

When Jesus approached Jerusalem, the crowds shouted the Old Testament 

When he was on the cross, he quoted the Old Testament 

After Jesus rose from the dead, he explained the Old Testament 

This approach does not seem to answer all my questions, but it does root me in a person I can trust. It does seem to be a place of security from which I can search for deeper understanding 

The Old Testament is full of the revelation of Christ, as these two verses indicate. I think therefore that I will stick to this approach 

You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life

John 5:39

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself

Luke 24:27

The Old Testament, a load of rubbish? That is not what Jesus thought

Lighting

In Numbers chapter seven 'when Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings. He also anointed and consecrated the altar and all its utensils. Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of families who were the tribal leaders in charge of those who were counted, made offerings.' For the next twelve days a different tribe brought offerings that were to dedicate the alter; silver plates, finest flour mixed with olive oil, gold dishes filled with incense, young bulls, rams, goats, male lambs and oxen

Then came the climax of the proceedings as Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, days of sacrifice had been leading up to this moment. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was about to speak to his servant Moses. What would he say? What would be Gods instruction? What would be the culmination of this incredibly important event? What would be the first words from the divine mouth?

God said to Moses, 'speak to Aaron and say to him, when you set up the lamps, see that all seven light up the area in front of the lampstand.’ (Numbers 8:1) Can that be right, God's first words were to ensure that the lighting was right, that the tabernacle had the correct ambiance? God would go on to instruct Moses about the Levitical priesthood, the Passover and other important issues, but correct lighting came first?

Looking at various commentaries there are suggestions that the lamps point to the 'let there be light' command in the Genesis account of creation, to Christ as Light of the World in the Gospels and to the Bible as the source of God's revelation to mankind. Whilst there is clearly truth in these explanations could the simplest explanation be that the tabernacle had no windows and therefore needed light? God wanted his people to see when they approached him, he didn't want them stumbling in the dark

Perhaps the lighting department at IKEA has more importance than I thought!

Rest

Return to your rest, my soul,

for the Lord has been good to you

Psalm 116:7

Go back to where you know you belong, find again the place of inner peace. It is a place that can be found because God has been good to me. However it is out of reach unless I acknowledge the moral beauty of God's love for me. It is not found within alone, it is in submitting my feelings and experiences to the goodness of the Creator. My soul can only return to rest; rest cannot be found by searching for it or by exploration. As a disciple of Jesus I have already entered God's rest, it is my new dwelling place. It is the context in which I now live 

So there is a sence that my soul needs to return to the place in which it already dwells, to experience that which I already have. Rest is not a place that we go to, it is not a mental state which we seek to attain. Rest is not an absence of conflict, rest is not found internally or externally. Rest is found in a person

We don't seek rest for the first time we return to what we have known before, to the one we have known before. We return to a person, the Lord, who has been good to us

It is like coming home to a place I never should have left, to an awareness that was somehow always there but which I did not recognise 

Thomas Keating; Open Minds, Open Heart