Ocala First Connection

This week we finish with the first five books of the Bible – called the Torah (meaning “Teaching” or “Law”). In less than two months, we have read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Bible Year has been a real blessing for our church and especially for all who have committed to doing the readings each day. Well done!  One question that was asked a couple weeks ago in our Bible Study was “Why do Christians need to read the Old Testament?” That is a great question and a common one when we encounter “ its harsh moral codes and ancient cultural norms (that) come across today as obsolete at best, barbaric at worst.” You may share a similar sentiment and be asking the same question. I gave the best answer I could at the time, but felt there was more that needed to be said.   I came across an article by Brent A. Strawn, professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School: We Need to Read the Bible Jesus Read . Strawn is an ordained minister in The United Methodist C

I am amazed at how quickly we are moving through the Bible. We finished Genesis back on Wednesday, January 19. Just eleven days later, on Sunday, January 30, we finished Exodus.  And we are already ten chapters into Leviticus.   The first 15 chapters of Exodus tell the foundational story of Israel. God delivers his people by bringing them through the waters of the sea and into the wilderness.  So now what?    Well, now on to the Promised Land. It was 250 miles from where they left Egypt to the land that God had promised Abraham. Given the number of Israelites – all ages of men, women and children, plus their possessions and livestock – perhaps two to three months would be needed to make the journey.  So why did it take them 40 years?     The problem is that the shortest route would take them right into the land of the Philistines who would most likely kill them all. And the shortest route would take them through the most arid parts of the Sinai desert where they would likely perish any