An Old Testament Christmas

Many folks have asked why I only write Old Testament novels. Why not write Paul’s story? Or choose one of the lesser known women of the New Testament, like Peter’s wife or the woman Jesus healed from her twelve years of bleeding.

Would it surprise you that the person who helped me understand how Jesus saved me from eternal death used the Old Testament to explain it?

I’d heard disjointed Old Testament stories since my childhood, and other folks had shared the Good News that Jesus fully paid my sin-debt through his innocent blood shed on the cross. But no one else had connected ALL of it, showing me that God’s plan of redemption began long before Jesus came to earth.

Would you pick up any other autobiography and begin reading it in the middle?

God’s 3-Act Structure

When I began studying the craft of fiction, Jeff Gerke introduced me to the 3-Act Structure in his book, Plot vs. Character (my Amazon aff link), and revolutionized my writing world. In a nutshell, Act I is the portion of the book that introduces the main characters and begins the hero’s journey. Act II fleshes out the conflict and sets up the climax in Act III. It’s in Act III that we readers get that satisfying “ahhh” feeling, the resolve we’ve waited for through the ups-and-downs of every twist-and-turn!

The Bible has many of those twists and subplots. When the God of Creation recruited 40 authors to write 66 books on 3 separate continents, combining 3 languages, over a period of 1,500 years to write His-story (history) with a single theme–do you think He had a specific plan in mind? Ummm . . . yah.

So why do we start reading it at the end of Act II? Why skip the main characters, plot development, and conflict rising to the ultimate crescendo of Jesus Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection? That “ahhh” is so much more satisfying when we understand the Old Testament stories that foreshadow the Messiah’s march to the Cross.

Why Not Read the Old Testament?

Lots of faithful, devoted Christ-followers focus on reading the New Testament–and only the New Testament. I’m not trying to condemn or judge. In fact, my precious dad spent all of his 80+ years on this earth immersed in the Gospels alone, and I’m certain I’ll see him in eternity.

However, I’d like to help those who might avoid reading the Old Testament for either of these reasons:

1. I don’t understand it.
2. It’s too violent.

My Faulty Reasoning:

I used to say, “God is a god of love in the New Testament and a god of wrath in the Old Testament.”

Notice I didn’t capitalize “god” when describing Yahweh differently in the two Testaments. Yahweh doesn’t change. I’d created a “god” to fit my own understanding and needed to find a way to see God for who He truly is in the Old Testament.

The unchanging God started to click when that guy showed me the Gospel in both Genesis 3:15 and John 3:16 (I married him, BTW). Then he said every word of the Bible–from Genesis to Revelation–was a love letter written to me in Jesus’s blood, ending with a description of the day I’d meet Him face-to-face. I’ve created a 9-minute video to give you a quick romp through the Bible His-story. I hope it helps . . .

About That Violence . . .

Why did Cain kill Abel? Why did Cain’s descendant, Lamech, kill a young man and then brag to his wives about it (Gen. 4:23)? And did it really need to be recorded in the Bible? Evidently so–because in the next chapter there’s another man named Lamech who bears a righteous son, Noah.

By then the world had been infiltrated by immortal beings and become violent beyond repair.

“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them . . . The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Genesis 6:4–5

Have you ever pondered what might have become of humankind had Elohim not stopped the perilous decline of humanity? My first trip to Las Vegas gave me a shocking glimpse into God’s heart toward evil, and I believe His wrath is fueled–by His love. That’s right. His love. I also believe His mercy drives His justice. For more on these thoughts, check out God’s Heart of Anger, Grief, and Love from my October 11, 2021 blog post.

Here Comes Abraham

We humans have chosen our own way from the very beginning. Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden (Gen. 3). Noah got drunk as soon as he planted a new vineyard (Gen. 9:18-29). And of Noah’s three sons: one was cursed, one was blessed, and one was an avid explorer. When their descendants tried to become gods by their own efforts (building a tower to heaven), God changed their communication to “babble” and scattered them over the earth (Gen. 11).

God could have given up on this ridiculous human experiment–except, none of it was a surprise to the Creator who stands outside of time. The Great Author knows the end at the beginning and saw Act III before He spoke the first Word of Act I.

So He continued with His plan by choosing a single family to save the world.

Advent 4,000 Years Ago:

If you watched my short video above, you know how the main characters of the Old Testament march toward the Advent of Jesus Christ’s birth. Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Messiah were from the lineage of Noah’s blessed son, Shem–often called Semites.

While reading Genesis during my quiet time in 2021, I became enamored with one of Shem’s early descendants–a man named Terah. His story is recorded with these few verses:

“Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.” Genesis 11:27–32

I’ve spent some time researching the culture, nations, and people who impacted Terah’s family. For the 2022 Patreon FictionFix monthly short stories, I’ll write a serial novella that answers these questions:

• Who was the man, Terah, and did the blessed line of Shem live or worship differently than other tribes around them?
• How did Terah’s son, Haran, die?
• Why did Terah take only Abram, Sarai, and Lot with him when he left Ur?
• Who were the daughters of Terah/Haran/Lot–and other important women in Shem’s lineage–that played key roles in God’s Love Letter to the world?

The Daughters of Terah

If reading the Old Testament still feels overwhelming, please consider reading the Daughters of Terah as I begin publishing stories about Iskah, Milkah, Sarai, and others in FictionFix monthly emails. For more information on how to subscribe, CLICK HERE!

Know someone who might also enjoy my new monthly FictionFix series from Patreon.com? Share the Short Stories page, and encourage your friends to read sample chapters!

Today’s Question:

• Do you enjoy reading the Old Testament? Why, or why not?
• What tools have you found helpful to understanding the Bible–whether reading Old Testament or New Testament?