Boring OT sections

[Henoch]

When I read sections that superficially seem dry and boring(like long censuses or genealogies or e.g. from my recent reading apportioning of Canaan to the 12 tribes or numbers 36) how do I read to obtain the maximal spiritual benefit out of those sections? Do I allegorize the numbers/spiritualize the text
Let's deal with an example here. How can I interpret Numbers 36- the allottment of inheritance to the daughters of Zelophehad with a gospel lens??
What do I do so that they don't turn boring?

May the Lord help me to see the wonderful things in his law but I just find these things tedious to read occasionally
Is there anything I can do to change this?

 

[Polanus1561]

How wonderful God knows the names of His people. How wonderful is His faithfulness to His promises.

 

[Henoch]

How wonderful God knows the names of His people. How wonderful is His faithfulness to His promises.

Amen!!

 

[Joshua]

The first step is to rebuke ourselves for having such attitudes about the Word of God (and I bet this corruption has been manifest to each of us, I know it has to myself), and renew our resolution to receive it as that, the very Word of God; confessing that any boredom, despair, presumption, ____________ (fill in the blank with any wrong reaction) is due to ourselves and not the LORD. Then, we spend our best efforts meditating and considering why the LORD would have it so in His Word to us, knowing that it is for our good. It is also not necessary to view everything "through a gospel lens," that sentiment itself subject to all manner of disagreement on definition, etc.

We might consider, for example, the specificity of the commands for the creation of the tabernacle... we might meditate upon the fact that the LORD is meticulous about how He will be obeyed, and what He requires in worship. The LORD God of truth is precise, and does/commands all things well. He alone is worthy, then, of our worship. We might, from this, consider our own failures ably to worship Him aright, apart from a perfect Mediator.... namely, the LORD Jesus Christ.

When we come to passages about genealogies, we might meditate upon the importance of church membership, and how these lineages may point to this.

In Numbers 36, we might consider a larger principle: Moses was brought an apparent problem, with regard to the inheritance of the daughters of Zelophehad, but that it was not a problem, rather an opportunity to ascertain the mind of the LORD (which we have testimony that He did, vv. 5-6, 10). They learned something with regard to the preservation of their earthly inheritance, and how it might be preserved.

There doesn't have to be an immediate "gospel lens" from that passage to justify its existence, and -yet- there can be much meditation upon the mercies of God in His particular revelation to His people such that He does not leave them without direction.... certainly meditation upon THAT will lead to gospel uses. The LORD has designed for our mediations upon the Scriptures -when not being contradictory unto or distracting therefrom- to be inexhaustible. This is a feature, not a bug, that we might be like the godly man in Psalm 1, mediating upon His law, day and night. The perceived boringness/tedium/"needless" repetition associated to certain passages lies with our own fallenness & corruption, and not with any of God's words, every which one is pure, profitable, preserved, and perfect (Prov. 30.5, 2 Timothy 3.16, Isa. 59.21, and Ps 19.7).

 

[Henoch]

The first step is to rebuke ourselves for having such attitudes about the Word of God (and I bet this corruption has been manifest to each of us, I know it has to myself), and renew our resolution to receive it as that, the very Word of God; confessing that any boredom, despair, presumption, ____________ (fill in the blank with any wrong reaction) is due to ourselves and not the LORD.

Then, we spend our best efforts meditating and considering why the LORD would have it so in His Word to us, knowing that it is for our good. It is also not necessary to view everything "through a gospel lens," that sentiment itself subject to all manner of disagreement on definition, etc.

We might consider, for example, the specificity of the commands for the creation of the tabernacle... we might meditate upon the fact that the LORD is meticulous about how He will be obeyed, and what He requires in worship. The LORD God of truth is precise, and does/commands all things well. He alone is worthy, then, of our worship. We might, from this, consider our own failures ably to worship Him aright, apart from a perfect Mediator.... namely, the LORD Jesus Christ.

When we come to passages about genealogies, we might meditate upon the importance of church membership, and how these lineages may point to this.

In Numbers 36, we might consider a larger principle: Moses was brought an apparent problem, with regard to the inheritance of the daughters of Zelophehad, but that it was not a problem, rather an opportunity to ascertain the mind of the LORD (which we have testimony that He did, vv. 5-6, 10). They learned something with regard to the preservation of their earthly inheritance, and how it might be preserved. There doesn't have to be an immediate "gospel lens" from that passage to justify its existence, and -yet- there can be much meditation upon the mercies of God in His particular revelation to His people such that He does not leave them without direction.... certainly meditation upon THAT will lead to gospel uses.

The LORD has designed for our mediations upon the Scriptures -when not being contradictory unto or distracting therefrom- to be inexhaustible. This is a feature, not a bug, that we might be like the godly man in Psalm 1, mediating upon His law, day and night.

Amen!!
Thanks for the answer brother!

 

[Ed Walsh]

When I read sections that superficially seem dry and boring (like long censuses or genealogies or e.g. from my recent reading apportioning of Canaan to the 12 tribes or numbers 36) how do I read to obtain the maximal spiritual benefit out of those sections? Do I allegorize the numbers/spiritualize the text

Greetings,
As mentioned in previous posts, I read the Old Testament three times as much as the New, for obvious reasons. It's three and a half times as long as the New Testament.

I used to feel the same way you did until I realized that the word of God has places like dictionaries—resources for study and not for casual family reading. You wouldn't read the phone book to your kids, would you? So I've made peace with reserving 2 Chronicles chapters 1 through 9 for research purposes and not just mindless, boring reading.

Ed

 

[RamistThomist]

I allow myself to see patterns and chiasms and that gets me excited.

 

[CasualWestminsterEnjoyer]

When I read sections that superficially seem dry and boring(like long censuses or genealogies or e.g. from my recent reading apportioning of Canaan to the 12 tribes or numbers 36) how do I read to obtain the maximal spiritual benefit out of those sections? Do I allegorize the numbers/spiritualize the text
Let's deal with an example here. How can I interpret Numbers 36- the allottment of inheritance to the daughters of Zelophehad with a gospel lens??
What do I do so that they don't turn boring?

May the Lord help me to see the wonderful things in his law but I just find these things tedious to read occasionally
Is there anything I can do to change this?

Rejoice that God does not allow his children to lose their inheritance and portion in the heavenly Canaan because of any earthly circumstance or affliction.

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

"To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you."


If we're not reading the O.T. text with its typology and gospel symbolism in mind we're not going to be edified by it.

 

[Jack K]

You don't have to read all parts of the Bible at the same speed or in the same way. Some parts should be read slowly, meditating on each thought and on many of the individual words. Other parts can be read quickly, reflecting only on the overall theme. To approach every passage the same will make a few sections feel boring and will cause you to miss great beauty in other sections.

As for the daughters of Zelophehad, I think they're actually somewhat important in redemptive history. They represent the second counting in the book of Numbers, the second generation that truly wants the promised land and expects that God will give it to them. Why is that generation so concerned about who will get which shares of the inheritance? Because they have faith. They believe God will drive his enemies out of the land, and they treasure the shares they will receive when that is done. Compare that to the first generation who did not believe God would give them any land at all to divide.

The story as a whole prefigures our inheritance in Christ, and the importance of faith in receiving it. The details found in the various complaints and how they were settled also show God's generosity in assuring a full inheritance for all who have faith: for every tribe, for both men and women, and for both the descendants of rebels and the descendants of loyal covenanters. It makes an excellent, gospel ending for the book.