In my thirty years in the mainstream church, Old Testament stories were mostly just cool old stories, and didn’t really play much into doctrine. If you felt like reading them… Great. If not, no big deal.
Sometimes the stories were used as inspiration for us today.
David and Goliath, Sampson, Moses…
But can these stories be more than just interesting history?
I now recognize that all of the details in the Torah and Tanakh [comprising the “Old Testament”] are instruction for us.
Yes, today. Right now.
We get to read what happened to the people of the exodus when they complained, when they did not obey, when they did not have trust or faith, and when they tried to do things their own way.
It never worked out well for them, did it?
Why is this important to us today?
Jeremiah 16:14-15
14 “Therefore, the days are quickly coming,” declares Yehova, “when it will no longer be said. ‘As Yehova lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’ 15 Rather, ‘As Yehova lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ So I will bring them back into their land that I gave to their fathers.
It is going to happen again.
And when it happens, we need to know what occurred the first time so we can avoid making the same mistakes.
I don’t know what the second exodus will look like. I don’t know if it will happen during my life time.
But I can study the lessons available to us, and make sure I don’t make any of the mistakes they made.
Ecclesiastes 1:9-11
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done will be done again.
There is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything about which is said,
“Look! This is new!”?
It was already here long ago,
in the ages long before us.
11 There is no remembrance for former things,
and things yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.
Everyone is familiar with “nothing new under the sun.”
But how many are familiar with verse 11?
We would be wise to consider the former things, and learn from them.
Korah and his people got sucked into the earth for rebellion.
After seeing Korah get sucked into the earth, the people still grumbled in rebellion. Yehova sent a plague and 14,700 were killed before Aaron was able to intervene, making atonement for them.
Aaron’s two oldest sons were killed at the tabernacle for bringing ‘strange fire’ before Yehova. Was this random?
No, they were commanded not to do so in Exodus 30:9. They did not follow instructions.
A man was stoned to death for cursing Yehova.
Another man was executed for intentionally profaning the Sabbath.
Yehova wanted to destroy the entire nation of the Hebrews, with the exception of Moses, because of the golden calf.
Instead, the Levites were sent among the people striking friends and brothers with the sword, and 3000 fell that day.
Even though Yehova assured the people He would precede them, and drive out their enemies before them, the people (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb) were fearful and refused to obey.
The men who gave a bad report about the land died before Yehova. Only Joshua and Caleb were spared.
Worse yet, that entire adult generation (over 600,000 men alone) were sentenced to die in the wilderness!!
There are additional examples of disobedience and lack of faith, and the subsequent consequences.
Who wants some of that?
Not me…
Let’s learn from the previous generations.
Let’s set our minds and our hearts on the ways of Yehova, and shed our desires to follow our own ways.