OT vs. NT

It's been a while since I read anything out of the Old Testament. I think I got into this weird mindset of thinking that the OT was full of a bunch of stories and laws & regulations that we really don't have to follow anymore. But last night, I decided that I would start reading through the OT again. I just read a few chapters of Genesis and saw that my reasons for not reading the OT were completely absurd. Yes, there are quite a few stories but each story is included for a reason; there is some underlying value, principle, etc. that God is illustrating. In the New Testament, God kinda just throws a bunch of commands out there (which I totally dig) but in the OT, the stories illustrate the rewards/consequences of either following or not following these commands. We get to see firsthand God's grace, compassion, wrath, anger, etc. I think that's pretty cool.

Even from reading just a few chapters in Genesis, God taught me the importance of not coveting/being jealous. The entire reason that Adam and Eve ate the apple was because the serpent deceived them into being jealous that God had all the wisdom. They wanted it, too, so they ate the apple. And obviously God told them not to eat from the Tree of Life so He punished them (can't wait to have kids; thanks, Eve) And Cain killed Abel because he was jealous that God like Abel's offering better than his. He wanted God to like his just as much or more than Abel's. Cain even went so far as to lie to God (we think that's ridiculous but how often do we do that? think about it...). So God booted him out of the Garden of Eden.

I don't know how you see all of this but I really do think there are lessons to be learned in the OT if you just give it a chance.

Oh and my last final is tonight. Then I'm done with ICC forever!