May 31, 2020
I ran my numbers today.
Page totals for Genesis-to-Job + Psalms 1-90 + Proverbs & Song of Solomon = 891 pages.
In my 1730-page bible that’s 51.44%. Which is good. And now I’ve got to make a quick decision on the best way to tackle the prophets.
Note: I read Psalm 90 today – a prayer of Moses. In the middle verses he talks about the anger of the Lord.
Thinking about the Lord’s anger is a good bible-content-and-subject-management exercise. Basically a reader asks: what-do-I-do-with-this-topic? What is it with divine anger?
One popular remedy is to say the OT-God is a terrible bad-tempered surly & fearsome ogre.
Another option might be to split the testaments, leaving the awful god of the OT replaced by a sunnier, friendlier NT-God.
Moses didn’t land on either of those.
The Lord was angry and Moses knew it. Moses had experienced it firsthand. But he was pretty calm, subdued, free from psychic-agitation, phlegmatic, aware of what invites the anger: you (the Lord) spread out our sins before you – our secret sins – and you see them all.
The Lord’s anger wasn’t random & inexplicable & incoherent. It was focused & predictable, and it gained momentum over time.
Moses didn’t think the Lord’s anger was unsolicited and unfair. If he did the prayer wouldn’t be so forlorn, dejected. And if he did I’ve got to think he wouldn’t have asked the Lord to: come back to us.
Quotes are from Psalm 90:8 & 13 (NLT version)