The Good Portion

We bore easily. I’d blame it on modern technologies but Israel of old seemed to have the same problem. They witnessed the Egyptian plagues. They walked through the parted Red Sea. They lived day and night with the fiery pillar of the presence of almighty God. They received miraculous food six days a week. And they grew bored. Their daily bread grew commonplace, and they complained, “we loathe this worthless food” (Num. 21.5). “Jesus Christ is the same   yesterday and today and forever.”   Heb. 13:5 He never changes, nor does His word. We, too, can begin to lose sight of the wonder of it all. His un-changing word seems ho-hum. We crave more. The shift in our thinking can be subtle. Here are a few signs of boredom to look for. I admit to having done them all. We don’t read the Bible, or we read it very little. We would rather spend an hour reading or watching things about the Bible than reading the Bible itself. When we read books about the Bible we race through or skip o

The Bible is an intimidating book. It’s big; it can be difficult; and it says many things that can make us deeply uncomfortable. Knowing and understanding it requires thirsty desire, desperate effort, and a heart humbled enough by God’s power and grace to be willing to obey it. Within the book itself, we find that the God of the Bible is intimidating as well, and not just to us who are reading it thousands of years after the facts. The Israelites themselves, though they were rescued by God from slavery, witnessed miracles beyond our imagination, and walked with the visible presence of God leading and protecting them, were terrified by his word when he spoke to them from Mt. Sinai. “For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.’ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear” (Heb. 12:20-21). Israel’s response to the commands of this awesome God was refusal. They crafted for themselves a ne