The Ark, the law and the new Convenant

Hello to everyone! I can't believe it is February already and apologies for a lack of blogging of late - time seems to fly by these days. I was asked prior to Christmas if there was anything I would like as a present and I said a one-year bible (NIV). I have always said to myself that I wanted to read the "good book" in it's entirety and have often been at conferences or in bookshops and seen these one-year bibles but never bought one. Anyway, so far I have managed to keep up to date although have had a couple of times where I have missed and had to catch up the next day, similarly I have read ahead when in the mood. I appreciate that this method is not every one's cup of tea but it is certainly enabling me to "feed on the Word" and I have to say is also probably going to encourage me to re-reading certain books in chapter order at a later date. It is good because it enables you to dip into some of the bible narrative in areas of the bible that perhaps you had not read or forgotten about. I have to say parts of Genesis and Exodus are very interesting and when read alongside New Testament chapters have a new and added dimension.

I have found it very interesting to re-visit the stories of Abraham, of Moses and Jacob. The genealogy of the tribes and the establishment of the early Jewish community and Israel. For many years growing up I have to say for some reason the Old Testament to me was a bit boring and full of unpronounceable names and numbers. Perhaps that was due to immaturity on my part but also I think as you get older it is important to go back and look at this stuff because I think you probably see and read things in a different light when you are a bit older perhaps.

For me reading the accounts of Moses and the Exodus and the Egyptian problem, the plagues, the parting of the red sea were a real eye opener. More recently, reading about the building of the Ark and the tremendously detailed instruction given by the Lord as to how it should be built and the ornate nature of it and all associated with, on who could enter and how they should be dressed. I could not help rejoicing in the amazing gift of Grace and the new covenant which Jesus brought about - all this stuff in the Old Testament, the complex and detailed nature of the law and of the how God's people of that time had to live. I am not being flippant in thinking - Glad that has all been done away with !! At the same time wondering whether I could have lived like that, would certainly be very difficult from a modern western mind, but perhaps if you were brought up with them then I guess you grew up to know the law. However, honouring and obeying the law; that is something they continued to struggle with throughout the Old Testament history.

It is clear the law was there to be broken, we are just not good enough or clever enough as humans to live such a life. This is where God's grace in Christ Jesus really hits me between the eyes. It doesn't matter about the law. We have no hope of keeping it. God's grace is the free gift of being totally accepted despite our mistakes, weaknesses and sin. It is not about keeping laws that we only then fall down in not keeping or about being legalistic in our approaches. It is not even about how often I can read my bible or whether I read it everyday (although this is clearly a good thing to do ) and then fail to do so. It is not about having a gospel message that preaches become a Christian and life will be great and a bed of roses or about lessening the burdens only to then heap a whole load of burdens and rules on the back of new Christians (who then immediately fail, back slide and are often lost...) It has nothing to do with me but everything to do with God's love for me and his recognition that we were lost without the Lord Jesus and his sacrifice. " Grace will set you free " and I would encourage you to embrace that and what it means, especially in a world when it is easy to be discouraged and down-hearted.