Bland Rice

Lately, I have spent a considerable amount of time pouring into the Old Testament. I am loving it. In the spring I took the Pentateuch class at the Bible College, and since then I have been studying post exilic books like Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah. This was much of the basis of my solitude that I wrote about in my last post.

I am writing about it because I feel that I would be remiss if I did not spend time encouraging more people to study the Old Testament. Many people find the Old Testament to be like fried rice. Some restaurants that serve fried rice serve a delectable and moist treat with meat, eggs, vegetables, and even seafood in the rice. Some fried rice is bland and uninteresting. The best fried rice is among the best food ever, I get excited thinking about it. But when fried rice is bad, it’s uneatable.

The Old Testament however, is less hit or miss than people think. When people have a hard time being intrigued by the Old Testament it’s usually because they are too lazy to put the time in to find out what it is really saying – like people who don’t like fried rice because they are too lazy to find the restaurants that prepare it the best. I don’t care if you have to buy commentaries, create Old Testament study groups, or take classes at the Bible College; you have to pour into this spiritual goodness. The best part is – it is only through an understanding of the Old Testament that one can truly understand the New Testament and Christ himself. Without a balanced view into the whole Scripture, your picture will always be incomplete.