Bryan Murawski - Preaching Difficult Texts of the Old Testament

Some time ago, my wife attended her cousins adoption party a few states away. Because she did not trust my parenting capabilities with all three kids at oncein her blessed wisdomshe took our youngest and oldest with her, leaving me with just our four-year-old boy.

During our weekend together, I took Nathan out to a local restaurant for a daddy-son outing. It was one of those restaurants that serve peanuts while you wait for your appetizer. Up until that time, Nathan had only encountered peanuts out of the shell, salted or sugared. He was immediately appalled at the sight of the crinkly, brown nuggets in the bowl in front of us.

He watched in fascination as I cracked open a shell and handed him the smooth peanut inside. That was all it took. Soon, he learned that if he took two at a time and smashed them together, usually one victor would emergethe peanut that endured the battle without cracking. He then ate the loser, selected another opponent, and got to work on the next fight. In no time, a pile of shells accumulated on our table.

Our experience at the restaurant reminded me of my uncles house during the holidays. He always had a walnut dish on the coffee table during Thanksgiving and Christmas. One of the best parts about going over there was getting to crack open the walnuts and dig out the seed inside. My family had a rule about this: As long as we could open them, we could eat them. As a teenager, I learned to crush the walnuts in my hand, though I often encountered a stubborn nut that required an instrument to pry it open. Even with a nutcracker, every now and then I got one that just didnt want to yield.

Why work so hard at cracking walnuts? Why bother giving a bowl full of unopened peanuts to restaurant guests?

Because breaking through the shells is worth the effort.

Inside the rough, creviced exterior, there awaits a tasty, healthy treat.

Some passages of Scripture look and act like a walnut. They are hard to crack. They have a tough exterior. Perhaps even an ugly exterior. They dont yield their nutrition without a fight.

Yet once the interpreter moves beyond the hard outer shell, the passage offers great theological treasure and insight. But unlike walnuts, we cant purchase these tough passages already removed from their shells. And even if we could, would we want to? Should we? Part of the fun is working the meat from the shell. Effort yields proportional rewards.

What are these tough texts that need cracking?

They are the genealogies of Scripture. They are the long lists of items found in Numbers and Ezra-Nehemiah. They are the violent or sexual texts that make parents want to cover the ears of their young children. Chapter after chapter of ancient law. Construction details on the tabernacle; geography in Joshua; theologically and linguistically complex texts peppered throughout Scripture.

Honest preachers will admit that some texts just simply preach easier than others. There is a reason why every Christian knows the story of David and Goliath but few have taken the time to read through Leviticusbiblical law is a tough nut to crack!

Yet the reward is worth the effort.

Why?

Here are three simple truths.

The apostle Paul once wrote to Pastor Timothy, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:1617). Notice that first word: All. Every book, every chapter, every verse, every last word of Scripture. All leaves nothing out.