Monday, March 4, 2013

Bodies, bones, incest, and miracles - to name a few

I watched the first 2 hour episode of the History's channel "The Bible" last night, and WOW!

I was really pleased with the accuracy of it, and the apparent thought that went into it...as well as the quality of the effects. Just as awesome as any blockbuster in Tinesltown in my opinion :) 

Of course there were a ton of details that were left out, details that matter to me and are important to me as a believer, but I understand they can't include everything or the show would essentially be 95840584590454 hours long...details especially about Moses, and how they left out how hesistant he was to accept God's call. How he felt unqualified. His speech impediment. ALL that wasn't a factor and that's a huge part of the story to me. How God equips the "unable" to become able. How God uses the underdog (often!)

The series also has brought up a lot of questions for me, making me ponder things I'd never really considered but seeing it on film made the possibilities more real.

1. The opening, where Noah was in the ark with his family, really struck me. For some reason, I ALWAYS pictured the flood as rain. Just endless rain. Not a storm, not terrifying waves. Just a boring, "will it ever stop" rain. I never once considered how scared Noah and his family must have been inside the boat, trusting God to keep them safe but wondering if they might end up perishing somehow after all. Wow! So much truth there about trusting God in the storm, and how even the most faithful sometimes have to ride out the punishment of the evil. So deep....

2. What happened to all the bodies? (sealife feast? did they eventually just rot away? THE SMELL???? Where are all the bones of those people...maybe still discoverable today??)

3. Did Noah's kids have to mate to populate the earth? (pretty clearly, yes.) How many did he have? How did they decide who went with who? That part is really hard to stomach, but it's unavoidable truth. Yet I'm sure God made allowances then to avoid the mutations that come nowadays from incest.

4. Never thought about Pharaoh's son being involved in the plagues, and how the Israelites were so fearful of the passover. How they had to endure that season of wondering if death WAS coming for them too. My goodness.

5. The closing of the Red Sea was just as much a miracle and necessary as it's parting. Wow! Double miracle.

6. The sacrifice Abraham was willing to make for God...that was hard to watch. I watched through my fingers and pretty much yelled the whole way through, though of course I knew how it ended. Kept yelling "Okay, God - stop him now. Stop him...now. STOP HIM. OKAY REALLY STOP HIM". ha. It was intense. And I always (and still do especially now) wonder how Isaac was able to get past that. Talk about needing therapy. Did God just take care of that in him? Did he have a bad relationship with his dad after that for awhile? I mean, so much unanswered there. I'm going to be conducting interviews in Heaven, fyi.  (and wasn't the provisional sacrifice in Genesis a ram, not a lamb? I need to look that up. They might have gotten that one wrong in the movie)

7. And by the way, the scenes where the angels took over in Sodom was just freakin' awesome  :)

Did you see it? What'd you think? :)

I'm continuing my thoughts on this series tomorrow! Another lesson learned that is important to me and hopefully will open your eyes as well. Check back!

3 comments:

  1. I, unfortunately, missed the first hour. I was able to catch the second half and I thought it was awesome. I plan to continue watching it and hope it will be a learning experience for me, as I am a bit rusty on the Bible. :)

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  2. I'm with you. I think seeing it on film brings the story to life in the details--things we often overlook b/c of how familiar the stories are to us. I think the Red Sea scene was my favorite part...Seeing the look in the Israelites' eyes as they came face to face with a seemingly impossible situation looming before them. Feeling Trapped. Abandoned. Defeated in heart. Disillusioned in spirit. How many times have we been in their shoes? But even in that moment of faithlessnes, God is still faithful. And the impossible suddenly becomes possible. Spoke straight to my heart.

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  3. Agreeing here about the Abraham and Issac scene - when that one played out, I sat still in awe. What came to my mind was: Could I do that? Do I have that kind of faith? I think I have to admit - no.

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