Ode to the Beautiful Pentateuch

O Penteteuch, O Penteteuch!
How engaging is your detailed architectural instructions of the Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant.
How lovely the way you expound on all customs involving the Sabbath and festivals.
You say, "Come drink deeply of the extensive details of laws regarding the appropriate treatment of slaves, laws of restitution, and laws of justice," and I bound towards your Word with great exuberance.
I draw on you at times when I need to offer up Peace Offerings, Sin Offerings, and Guilt Offerings.
If it were not for you I would be at a loss as to what part of the altar to sprinkle the blood of oxen.

In the post-modern era the Penteteuch can indeed look daunting and antiquated at first glance. Even I must confess that my mind has often wanted to go on vacation once I get to the middle of Exodus, telling my eyes, "Wake me when we get to Joshua." Just look at the Sadducees in the New Testament. These guys esteemed the writings of Moses above the rest of Scripture and they were among the most manic jerks that Jesus encountered. It seems like most of the content of the Pentateuch was written with architects and fanatical lawyers in mind. However, with some discipline and illumination from the Spirit I have found joy in my daily readings through these books and will bid them a fond farewell as I finish Deuteronomy by week's end.

So here's my brief takeaway...

The first five books of the Bible are the foundation for understanding the doctrine of God. Without them our understanding of God and our ability to effectively function in this world as Gospel witnesses is severely crippled.
Genesis paints an incredibly powerful picture of God the all powerful creator of everything who spoke all that is into existence. Many an accomplished scientist through the ages have achieved amazing discoveries in their respective fields by holding close the understanding that they were examining our Heavenly Father's craftsmanship.
The doctrine of Imago Dei begins to unfold as we see how man was created as a sort of first fruits of God's creation. Through this we are shown the vital necessity of our relationship with God and dependency on fellow man.
We also see how Adam & Eve first put the will of man into the bondage of sin and how God pursues restoration to overcome our stiff-necks and hard hearts.
What becomes clear as the chapters continue is that the value of life is tremendous but also dwarfed in comparison to the glory of God as the nations that oppose God and His chosen people are turned into cautionary tales.
As the wickedness of man is always juxtapositioned to our great God, all the seemingly tedious rules, rituals, and instructions written in the heart of the Pentateuch can be appreciated as a way for fallen man to approach the God of great faithfulness and perfection.

And through it all there is a thread of unfolding revelation of the Gospel that redeems and restores. Instead of wincing at the old "barbaric practices" that were given to God's people, we can celebrate knowing that these were the beginnings of the restoration process and as we continue on in faith we may set our sights on using bricks to continue building up the Church rather than stones to rock the faithless to a permanent sleep.

All that being said, I still believe some chapters to be written strictly for architects and lawyers. ;)