Christian Living

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October 20, 2011 – History or Reality?
9 The thing that has been – it is what will be again, and that which has been done is that which will be done again; and there is nothing new under the sun. – Ecclesiastes 1:9 AMP
Solomon was leaps and bounds the wisest man who ever lived. But knowing he was so wise, why in the world would he make such an outlandish statement? He had no idea what our world would be like almost three thousand years after his reign. It looks like the group who thinks the Old Testament is merely a history book may be right after all. Or are they?
I mean, look at our world and where we have come since Solomon’s day. We can take a telephone out of our pocket, send an email and call a friend vacationing on another continent in less than one minute. Solomon had neither telephone nor email. We can hop aboard an airplane and fly halfway across the world in well under twenty-four hours. The only thing Solomon ever saw fly was a bird, and if he wanted to go anywhere, a horse and chariot more than likely carried him. We have the ability to turn on a television or click a mouse and get the latest breaking news about anything going on in the world, anywhere, at any time. Solomon had to wait for messengers to bring him the latest breaking news from other lands, and by the time it reached him, it was far from being newsworthy. Yep, old Solomon missed that “nothing new under the sun” thing by a mile, right? After all, the Old Testament is historical and in no way applicable for today’s Christian, right? Well, before I convert, please bear with me a little bit.
Sure, I will admit that the technological advances of Solomon’s day are pale in comparison to those of present day. Today we have the world at our fingertips, but Solomon also did in his day. The Queen of Sheba travelled across the Arabian Desert to glean from Solomon’s wisdom (1 Kings 10). He didn’t have to go anywhere or sit at a computer to get his information; God had made him the center of the world around him. People sought him out. There was nothing God did not give him wisdom about, and some of it is recorded in the Book of Proverbs.
Detractors will now undoubtedly say that the Old Testament says nothing about the world we live in, but take a closer look. Proverbs alone contains instructions on managing finances, disciplining children, and even how to deal with lust and greed. It speaks of marital fidelity, business relationships, and the difference between foolish and wise people. These are all issues facing our society today more than ever, and it’s an absolute shame that these instructions are widely discarded and viewed as some old guy rattling off at the mouth.
I think the bottom line, for many; in treating the Old Testament as historical is the fact that people don’t like what they read. For example, the Bible endorses spanking children (Proverbs 23:13). This form of punishment is frowned upon by many in today’s society because it is viewed as both archaic and abusive. Now under certain circumstances I will agree that it can be abuse, but when it is performed out of love as correction to the child then it is hardly abusive. Because there are some parents who adamantly refuse to spank their children, they disregard this and probably several other instructions from the Word of God.
We have learned over the years as a society that if we don’t like someone’s opinion to simply seek another one. This happens in cases with doctors, lawyers, friendships, and also in religion. If one religious group doesn’t see things your way, you simply find another group. If you don’t like what the Old Testament says, there’s the New Testament and it teaches basically the same stuff, only it’s “New.” The point is that the Old Testament and New Testament together make up the Bible. The Old Testament is the basis of sound instruction. The New Testament provides us with the Gospels and additional precepts for Christian living. When we read the Old Testament along with the New the Bible comes alive as never before.
So now my question is why would these guys throw away the Old Testament? One word in my mind sums it up: defiance. Look at a history lesson from the Old Testament to prove this point. The Israeli people failed to put God first and slowly, over the course of several generations, turned their backs on God in defiance of Him. In the end, they lost their kingdom and were taken captive to another country.
Is God going to turn His back on you? I can’t answer that question. But I can guarantee you one thing: if you don’t follow Him, and in turn pass a godly heritage down to your children, as the Old Testament says, you can best bet that they will be ill-equipped to handle a world that is slowly losing its focus on Him. Looking back, to you it will all seem like history, but to your children it will be a harsh reality. Don’t let another day go by without making a commitment to follow Him and His every word, spoken and written.

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