Hi Everyone!
My first week of bible study was not as easy as I had originally anticipated. Go figure! I've quickly learned that when someone like myself, who has never set out to read the bible in its entirety, finally sits down to do so, it is not like reading any other book. I've found that to truly understand God's word, requires both thorough reading and thoughtful reflection. Many times I find myself re-reading what I've just read in hopes of finding the message that I am suppose to take from it. Sound familiar?
So, I set out at the beginning of last week thinking I would already be on Exodus by now, after all it's not like I'm completely unfamiliar with the stories of the bible. Boy was I wrong!
To date, I've successfully made it through Ch. 28 of Genesis. I'm not going to be hard on myself though. After all, I know that there are biblical scholars out there who probably spend half of their lifetime or more trying to decipher God's word. It is simply not something that can be rushed, especially if you've never read the bible before.
That being said, I've absorbed a lot in the 18 or so pages that I've read through so far. I've also noticed a couple of common themes in quite a few of the stories. The first being that God seems to be quite angry and has no problem whatsoever dishing out the punishments. In Genesis an image of an angry God is continually painted & He is not a force to be reckoned with. If you are not entirely sure about what I mean, just read the stories of Adam & Eve, Tower of Babel, Noah's Ark, Sacrifice of Isaac, Sodom & Gomorrah, etc...
The second common theme I noticed is how unfair things appear at times. To give a couple of examples, there is the story of Jacob and Esau (Ch. 25-27). Jacob repeatedly deceives his family (taking from his brother, Esau, the eldest son ranking with all of the fringe benefits to boot & his father's blessing) & yet Jacob seems to come out ahead, or at least so far that seems to be the case (I will have to see if any of Jacob's high jinks catch up with him when I continue my reading tonight). So for the time being, I'm left to ponder why this is? Kinda makes me angry when I think about it. Reminds me of the kids in school who use to constantly cheat & never got caught. They just always appeared to cruise through life with ease & very little repercussions or remorse.
Also, there is the story of Sodom & Gomorrah (Ch. 18-19). Lot & his family are spared from God's wrath & destruction, but Lot's wife is turned into a pillar of salt for gazing back at the city. Seems a little harsh. Doesn't it? What gives? Perhaps some of you out there can help shed some light on these story lines and/or common themes & what it all means since I am new to this.
Until then, I'm going to keep on reading & reflecting. Thanks for stopping by!
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