Last month, I decided to challenge myself to read the Bible cover-to-cover before getting back to the United States in June. Like a lot of people, I was not as excited about the Old Testament as the New Testament. And the OT is loooooong. Going into this challenge, I had one goal in mind. And that goal has been to find the goodness and grace of God throughout the OT. Many people view God in the OT as angry and legalistic while viewing God in the NT as loving and merciful. I have been the person to hold this view before, and I think that is why I was dreading reading the OT so much. After making it through the Torah, I have found that the grace of the Lord we so love is VERY present throughout the days of the Israelites. You just have to look for it. It is a pretty fun treasure hunt, and I am excited to share with you all the biggest lesson I learned from the first five books of the Bible.
From the moment God relinquishes the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, there is one thing I noticed happening over and over and over again. Despite the obvious power God had over Pharaoh, and despite the fact that God rescued the Israelites from slavery and was leading them to the Promised Land, they continued to disobey God and forget what He had done for them. The amount of times I noticed the Israelites complaining and God reminding them of what He did for them were countless. But for some reason, despite the Israelites’ continued return to their ungrateful mindset, God still showed them mercy and CONTINUED to fulfill His promise to them. This fact really hit me in Deuteronomy 6 and 7.
Deuteronomy 6:12 “be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
This reminder is given countless times throughout the Torah.
But God has patience. And he still gives it to the Israelites and loves them through their downfalls, as can be seen in Deuteronomy 7:
Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the people on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”
Deuteronomy 7:8-9 “But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery (…) he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations…”
I could go on and on about the prevalence of the goodness of the Lord to the Israelites, and I highly recommend you all read Deuteronomy 8 as well. It goes into detail about not forgetting God. So why did I feel the need to share all this?
Because we are all Israelites. How many times has God brought us out of OUR Egypts? Out of our oppressions or toxic patterns? And how many times have we fallen back into those patterns? Somehow, no matter how many times we go back to things that are not good for us or forget what Jesus has done in our lives, He is still right there waiting for us with open arms. Jesus shows grace in a way that the human mind is unable to comprehend. And it is pretty dang cool.
For you, Egypt could be an addiction, depression, an unhealthy person you’re trying to let go of, or many other things. Personally, my Egypt revolves around anxiety, panic attacks, and getting my worth from fleeting things of this world like approval and recognition. And guess what? Jesus has helped me through all of that. It would probably take me days to share with you every moment in my life that Jesus has saved me or opened my eyes and given me strength. And it all comes from the simple act of surrendering to Him. But it would also take me days to tell you every instance in which I have ignored or forgotten what Jesus has done for me and chased fleeting pleasures instead. JUST like the Israelites.
But Jesus is always waiting for me with open arms. He is abounding in grace and His love for me, and you, is limitless. When we fall, He is there to pick us back up. The Torah really convicted me in this area – not in a legalistic way, but in a REAL way. It made me reflect on my own life and behaviors, even current ones, that don’t glorify the sacrifice Jesus made for me. Why is it so easy for me to fall back into patterns I know hurt me and I know the truth about? Because I am human and I will always mess up. I am not saying this to be a downer. I am saying it because it is true. None of us are perfect, but we can continue to press into Jesus.
I invite you to spend some time with God and really think about what your Egypt is. What has He brought you out of? And how often do you fall back into it or forget what He did for you?
He will always be there, despite our shortcomings – despite the fact that we are all Israelites. He loves us in an incomprehensible way. The reason I wanted to write about this topic is for one purpose and one purpose only: to glorify the grace of Jesus.
