Why We Should Question the Bible

Should Christians question the Bible? Absolutely. But in a way that is not typically meant by "questioning". Often unsaved people or new Christians question the historicity of the Bible, or question where it's authorship is human or divine, or if the miracles recorded actually happened, or if the moral commandments are still relevant for this modern day. This type of questioning can diminish the authority of scripture in somebody's mind. Some people ask these questions in good conscience with sincerity, but others use such questions like a jackhammer, taken to the foundation and column supports of the Word of God in a deliberate effort to undermine.

But a Christian can use questioning as a chisel and tool for Bible study that brings depth, texture and richness to the Bible while preserving it's mantle of authority in our lives.

I'll use Exodus 34:4-5 as an example and share my questioning of the Bible today. This builds off Some thought about the same passage in The Knife Edge of the Name of the Lord. Here are the verses:

So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.

In questioning the text, sometimes there are answers, sometimes there aren't. Here's how I've been questioning this text.

What was Moses' state of mind as he chiseled the tablets? Was he still angry because of the golden calf? Was he ashamed because he smashed the first two tablets after seeing the people worship the golden calf? Did Moses use a different type of rock for the second set of tablets than the first? What is the geology of Mt. Sinai?

OK, I'm a geologist so I can't leave that question unanswered. Excuse me while I do a long, exhausting google search [insert sound of clock ticking off all of 14 seconds...] Alright, I'm back. Mt. Sinai is a combination of granite, volcanic rocks, and some metamorphic rocks. Here's a picture courtesy of Wikipedia:














Since Moses was able to smash the first set of tablets containing the ten commandments, did he use a weaker rock on the first set? Did he select the rock for the first tablets based on how easy it would be to chisel? Were the first commandments made of a weathered volcanic rock, chosen by Moses because he could easily knock out the chiseling job in an afternoon while munching some mana chips? Did God instruct Moses to use the much stronger granite for the second set of tablets? Or did Moses make that decision himself? When Moses wandered the arid foothills of Mt. Sinai, did God issue a little cough when Moses looked at an outcrop of rock that was too weak? Because God is sovereign and all knowing and he knew the very rock that would be chosen by Moses, when that rock was being formed millions of years prior in the depths of the earth, did God point that rock out to and angel in heaven and say, "There it is, watch that piece. Someday it's going to be raised to the surface and exposed and I will write my law on it a second time."?

When Moses finally found suitable rock, was it laying loosely on the ground, or did he have to pry it from a nearly impenetrable slab on the mountain side. Did it require the help of Aaron? How long did it take Moses to chisel the stone? What became of the chisel that Moses used? Was it handed down to his son? Were there calluses formed on his hands in the process? Did the hands of Moses bleed when chiseling, because he labored so hard against a brutally strong granite? When Jesus worked his carpentry in the early days did his hands bleed in the same place as Moses?

[Here's where my questioning took an unexpected turn.]

Who else got calluses and blisters in the Bible? Did the Koathites get blisters on their shoulders from the poles when they carried the ark in the desert? Did the Levitical priests get blisters from swinging the blade that killed millions of animals to atone for sin? Did Peter have calluses from working his fishing nets? And when he was called to serve Jesus and leave his nets was he glad or sad when he lost the calluses? Did the man who carried the cross of Jesus get blisters on his shoulders? Was there a rookie roman soldier among those who flogged Jesus, who then went home and complained to his wife because the blisters on his hands really hurt bad? Were there blisters and calluses on the hands of the one who carved the stone that was rolled in front of Jesus' tomb. Did the Father and Son also watch that rock form in the bowels of the earth and then get exposed and mined at the surface? Did Jesus keep an eye on that stone for thousands or millions of years, knowing it would guard him in death and be the first thing he saw at his resurrection?

Yes, we should question the Bible. Often and in great detail. Questions bring out marvels and richness to an amazing, miraculous book that records God's very Word.

The Knife Edge of the Name of the Lord

Near the top of Mt. Everest, 28,000 feet high in the "death zone", there is a narrow ridge only a few feet wide that drops 10,000 feet down to one side and 8,000 feet to the other. This is a place where exhaustion is literally consuming, brain cells are killed at a rapid rate and neurological damage is certain within a very short period. And also in this place, there is little room for errors, and a misstep has huge consequences.














GK Chesterton said that theology is like walking a knife edge ridge with sheer drop offs on either side. The error of legalism falls to the right, and lawlessness to the left. If we neglect the love of God we err, if we neglect His justice we err. Both missteps can have a huge impact in our lives.

Exodus 34:5-7 walks this narrow course and makes clear that the name of the Lord encompasses both justice and love. This passage has been like the John 3:16 to Jewish people through the ages:

Vs 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with [Moses] and proclaimed his name, the Lord.

Vs 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

Vs 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

Recently I made a personal discovery about the name of the Lord. The "Name of the Lord" rings throughout scripture like a deep bell, sounding and echoing and resounding throughout the entire book. Yet I didn't notice that until just a few days ago. Some things are too big to see.

In light of this, the passage in Exodus is a real gem for me, where God steps out before Moses and proclaims His own name: Jehovah, Lord. The name that is at the same time love, mercy and forgiveness along with justice, righteousness and judgement.

If we deny an attribute of God, say his mercy and love, then we fall into the abyss of legalism. God becomes a cruel school master to fear lest we have sloppy hand writing and get a rap on the knuckles with the almighty ruler. Or if we deny his righteousness and justice, then sin has no consequence, we tread on his creation and creatures with ever increasing cruelty, without regard to judgement from a righteous judge.

Either error is a form of blasphemy because we are denying the full, complete name of the Lord.

Application
The response of Moses in Exodus 34:8 to God proclaiming His name is awesome and should also be our response when we consider the Name of the Lord:

Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

What was that like for Moses when the Lord proclaimed His name? Was the voice deafening, the sound of thunder and a rushing wind? Was it a still, small voice? Did Moses feel the voice booming inside him? When he went to bed for the next weeks and months, did the proclamation of the Lord haunt Moses, make him yearn deeply for heaven? Could Moses still hear that voice and freshly recall the Name of the Lord on his death bed as he overlooked the promised land from the east side of the Jordan river? Did Moses grit his teeth or want to haul off and knock somebody's head off when he heard that Name blasphemed?

When Moses himself sinned, was the shame and sorrow in his heart amplified because he knew the Name of the Lord included punishment for the guilty? After Moses was cleansed for his sins in the tabernacle rituals, was the joy and thankfulness in his heart magnified because he knew that mercy and loving forgiveness are part of the name of the Lord?

The details are speculative, but the result and application for our lives are clear: the Lord inspires worship, even by his name alone.