A few years ago I set out to read the Bible the way I read most other books. Instead of reading it in little sections (as I usually do), I decided to read the Bible in large chunks, the way I might read a novel. Reading it that way was a very different experience. In larger sections, I was able to notice the flow of the story, how things fit together, and the overall sweep of the events. I saw things I hadn't seen before.
Interestingly, the Bible isn't just a bunch of unrelated episodes. It tells a story. And when I started reading the Bible that way, I was able to see that.
One of the first things I noticed in Genesis was how often God showed up. That probably shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was.
One of the next things I noticed was that, when God showed up, He didn't always give the same instructions. Yes, I know that God never changes and that he is the same yesterday and today and forever. Still, I noticed that his specific instructions changed with circumstances.
For example, God told Abraham to go (Genesis 12). More to the point, he told Abraham to go to an unnamed land, a land that God would show Abraham. When I encountered that story, I figured that God was telling all of us to go. That made sense to me.
When I kept reading, though, I came to Genesis 26 where God told Isaac specifically to stay where he was. There was a great famine at that time, and God explicitly told Isaac not to go down to Egypt (where there might be food), but to stay right where he was.
Evidently, sometimes God wants us to go and sometimes he wants us to stay.
Fair enough. But I still had more to read. In Genesis 31, God told Jacob to go back home, back to the place where he had been born. Earlier, God had told Abraham to go to a new place; here God told Jacob to go back to an old place.
And just because we might need one more alternative, God told Jacob in Genesis 35 not to go home at all, but (this time) to go back to Bethel and build an altar.
Always one to look for lessons, I was left wondering what I should do.
Should I follow Abraham and go to a new land, one that God would show me? Or should I be like Isaac and stay right where I was? Or should I follow the example of Jacob and go back to the land of my birth? Or should I follow yet another example from Jacob and go to some other place that had special meaning from the past?
And how exactly would I know when to do which thing?
Actually, the only way to know what God wants in a particular moment is to walk with him. In fact, that's the common pattern for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In every moment, they were walking with God - and, in that walking, God made his will clear.
And the same is true for us.
Sometimes, we need to go to a new place. Sometimes, we need to stay. Sometimes, we should go back to where we came from. Sometimes, God would have us go someplace else.
How do we know when to do what?
Quite simply, God shows us as we walk with him.
We might think that the specific instructions matter most. But what really matters most is the walking . . .
One of the next things I noticed was that, when God showed up, He didn't always give the same instructions. Yes, I know that God never changes and that he is the same yesterday and today and forever. Still, I noticed that his specific instructions changed with circumstances.
For example, God told Abraham to go (Genesis 12). More to the point, he told Abraham to go to an unnamed land, a land that God would show Abraham. When I encountered that story, I figured that God was telling all of us to go. That made sense to me.
When I kept reading, though, I came to Genesis 26 where God told Isaac specifically to stay where he was. There was a great famine at that time, and God explicitly told Isaac not to go down to Egypt (where there might be food), but to stay right where he was.
Evidently, sometimes God wants us to go and sometimes he wants us to stay.
Fair enough. But I still had more to read. In Genesis 31, God told Jacob to go back home, back to the place where he had been born. Earlier, God had told Abraham to go to a new place; here God told Jacob to go back to an old place.
And just because we might need one more alternative, God told Jacob in Genesis 35 not to go home at all, but (this time) to go back to Bethel and build an altar.
Always one to look for lessons, I was left wondering what I should do.
Should I follow Abraham and go to a new land, one that God would show me? Or should I be like Isaac and stay right where I was? Or should I follow the example of Jacob and go back to the land of my birth? Or should I follow yet another example from Jacob and go to some other place that had special meaning from the past?
And how exactly would I know when to do which thing?
Actually, the only way to know what God wants in a particular moment is to walk with him. In fact, that's the common pattern for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In every moment, they were walking with God - and, in that walking, God made his will clear.
And the same is true for us.
Sometimes, we need to go to a new place. Sometimes, we need to stay. Sometimes, we should go back to where we came from. Sometimes, God would have us go someplace else.
How do we know when to do what?
Quite simply, God shows us as we walk with him.
We might think that the specific instructions matter most. But what really matters most is the walking . . .