Is the Old Testament relevant?

For many people, myself included, the Old Testament can often times seem disconnected from the New Testament. On the surface there seems to be a contradiction in how God acts in the Old and New. Since Jesus is obviously the center of the New Testament, a tempting option is to forsake all but Psalms and Proverbs when studying the Bible, except maybe for a small group study or for a sermon series! I think that part of the reasoning for this is that the OT is a bit more mysterious on one level and it really takes a lot more effort for many (including me) to understand and see the lessons that God has for us therein. All that said, I have decided to undertake the task of reading through Deuteronomy and see what cool (pardon the cliche) God-lessons I can find!

To that end, I was reading this morning in the first Chapter and found something pretty cool. In the last half of the chapter, Moses is addressing the Israelites regarding their first arrival at the doorstep of the promised land. Anyone who grew up in Sunday school will remember that the Israelites were afraid to just go in as God commanded and instead sent in 12 spies, only 2 of which brought back a good report. In the Deuteronomy account, when Moses tells them the punishment will be to turn around and go back to the wilderness, they acknowledge they have sinned and change their minds. So they decide to put on their armor and tell Moses that they are ready to fight! But, it is too late and Moses tells them that the LORD has said He is not with them. But they went in anyway and the Amorites 'came out against them you and chased you as bees do, and crushed you...'

We can see here that the Israelites, despite the many blessings and provisions God had already provided, did not have a faith strong enough to trust God in the face of such a daunting enterprise and so many unknowns. So they make the choice to reject God and choose their own path. It is only in finding out the consequence of their actions (40 years in the wilderness) that they have a change of heart to do what the LORD had required. But, alas it is too late and they fail in their human attempt to do what God was ready and willing do if they had chosen Him first. It was a bitter lesson they learned by not choosing God.

So is that the end of the story? Thankfully no, God is always faithful in His promises, even when we are not in return. Forty years later, we all know the story.

What I got out of this was the lesson of trusting God when He FIRST calls us to action. There is a difference between receiving a vision and acting on that vision. God promised the land to Abraham, but it was not delivered for several hundred years. Yet the time came and the people failed to act. This story challenged me to act when I know God is calling me to action on the vision that He has given to me. I hope that anyone who reads this passage or this blog post, will read it and be challenged to act!

God is calling us to trust Him and act when called! And that on the first time, not only after we have found out what the alternative will be. May we all be strong enough in faith do so!

God bless you and keep the faith!