Laying Down the Law

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Laying Down the Law
Looking back on my past OT studies, I found more typos than I care to admit! :-) But I also found a number of gems; studies which would be excellent to challenge your own faith and beliefs about God, or get the conversation started with a believer as to why they might want to reconsider that faith. Here are my favorites from the years gone by:

---Genesis

• The Sacrifice of Isaac is a classic point of Biblical contention. Would you do anything God told you to do, even if it was morally wrong?
• For humans to “play God” is often considered evil. What about the case with God Playing God? Is it really any better?

---Exodus

• Predators sometimes exploit their power to play mercilessly with their prey. In God: The Beast, that same theme rings through.
• How much suffering is enough? In One More Game, God will stop at absolutely nothing to let people know that He is God, even if that means their complete destruction.
• Promises, Promises. God promises that if they obey His Law, the Israelites will not have illness, miscarriages, or infertility, and they will have long lives. Long, but not everlasting...
• I'll Be There With Bells On, or I'll Be Dead. Because God would kill you for not wearing bells, or special underwear, when going to worship Him.
• We all have regrets. God does too, as you see in Repentant God, Part 2, where God wants to kill all of the Israelites which He just brought out of Egyptian slavery.

---Leviticus

• The Wrong Way = The Dead Way. Worship God wrongly, and He will kill you, and forbid people from mourning your death.
• If You Are Sick, You Are Guilty. At least, according to God. You are also guilty of sin if you have mildew in your house.
• The Second Greatest Commandment? God has a funny way of showing its prominence in the Law.
• In God's Altered Promise, take a look at how God changes His promises, adding on terms and conditions so that He is only obligated when He wants to be.

---Numbers

• God's forgiveness does not mean that God will not punish you, as you see in Repentant God, Part 3.
• God's Wrath Loves Company. Why else would God annihilate three entire families due to the guilt of three men?
• Scary as it is to consider, God Rewards Extremists.

---Deuteronomy

• The Law Makes an Impression. God thought that His perfect Law would prove His wisdom to everyone around the world. Well, it does make an impression, but not a good one for God.
• You are Chosen, but Not Special to God. Your salvation in His hands is arbitrary.
• God's Law demands absolute Intolerance for All other religions within the boundaries of His theocracy.
• You will find Virginity, Rape, and Bitter Justice in God's Law, as well as a poor understanding of human anatomy which has spawned a legacy of murders.

With my studies of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible complete, I am laying down the Law, so to speak. If I do any more detailed studies of the Old Testament, it will likely be sporadic, probably just to have a break from covering the Gospels. I will open it up to requests, though. So if you have ever had a question about the Bible and you would like my type of perspective, fire away! Leave your questions as comments below, and you just may win your own personal study, Foolishly hand-crafted. ;-)