Insights

I decided to start a blog to record my insights and "interesting facts" about my readings in the Old Testament. As a layman I realize my entries may be occasionally skewed or shallow. However, I wanted to put these thoughts online so I could have them in a manageable format as a record of what I've learned.

I remember vividly the morning when I decided "I will read the Bible today." I was four. I opened the huge book with the black cover and started out. "In the"--got that much. Easy. That third long word stumped me and I had to quit. As I grew older I made it a goal of mine to read through the Bible. It hasn't always made sense to me, especially the O.T. Now on my fourth or fifth reading, some things are finally starting to make sense. I used to read the stories as what I call an "exercise in recognition." I'd be reading along, some of the text unfamiliar or incomprehensible, and there, in the middle of all those odd circumstances and unpronounceable names would pop up a familiar story like "David and Goliath." There was instant recognition and anticipated pleasure in reading over the events I knew would happen. "Here's the part where he picks up five stones." Of course it had to be five. That was the story. "And here Goliath says he will feed David to the birds. Ha! He'll find out better in a few lines." I was reading as if I were watching a flannelgraph presentation. Here's David, here's Goliath, here's the famous slingshot, and the five stones.

Maybe it was the literature classes in grad school. Maybe it was a more mature understanding of life. Anyway, this time around, I began to see the characters as real people, with real motivations, fears, faults, and a complex environment. It was enlightening and thrilling to newly appreciate stories like David and Goliath, realizing all the characters were real people and were at least as complex as I am. I started to think about what it meant to a camp of hardened soldiers to have a giant like Goliath threaten them. I learned about the history of the giants (or Rephaim), and how they had been symbols of wicked tyranny in generations past. I learned how God wanted them systematically destroyed. I imagined what it meant for David to offer to fight one single-handedly.

I began keeping a journal and writing down my insights. I began looking up all the cross-references, checking out archeological sites, and creating a backdrop for the dramas recorded in the Bible. I began seeing the characters as real people, with "like passions" such as mine. As I told my husband about the things I was discovering, he told me I needed to write them down--others might be interested. It could be he's just biased, but at any rate I wanted to record these things down for myself. I don't want to lose the blessing of discovery and the strengthening of my faith that has come as I read about Bible heroes. I don't want to lose the sinking feeling of self-recognition as I read about the failures. So, hoping no true Bible scholars hurl any projectiles at me, I'm recording my insights here.



Youthful David by Andrea del Castagno