The Wilderness Case Study
I almost started this post by saying I’m in a rut. But then I realized: maybe the "rut" is exactly where the Israelites were for 400 years.
I love this blog; it pushes me to write and to see God. But if I’m being honest? It’s exhausting work. Since I started, I’ve actually read and genuinely enjoyed more of the Bible than I ever have before—but you can only read so much before you get bored. I’ve written before about getting overwhelmed by the "fire and brimstone" of the Old Testament. I used to refuse to read those 600+ laws because, to me, they just didn’t matter. The New Testament says the Mosaic Law was fulfilled by Jesus on the cross—so why do I need to read pages of rules about stuff that feels irrelevant?
The more I study, the more I hear that the Bible is just the written form of Jesus. People say it’s supposed to change how you read—that you’ll see less about "finding laws" and more about "understanding a personality."
When I first heard that, I was like, What? Personality? I figured in the Old Testament, God is just angry, and then His Son shows up and—BOOM—we have grace, love, and all these unicorn-and-fairytales of the future. How is the Old Testament supposed to be Jesus’ personality? I knew I had to be missing something.
The Broken Mirror
I’ve learned over time that the Mosaic Law is a "mirror." I never liked that phrasing. Why do I need 600 regulations just to tell me I’m nothing without God? I already know that. The Israelites had the laws and they just did the same things over and over anyway. What’s the point? I’m not out here sacrificing animals. In my head, I don’t need the mirror because Jesus lived the sin-free life I can’t. Why do I need a mirror to tell me what I already know?
Beyond the Veggie Tales
Most of us learned the Old Testament through cartoons like Veggie Tales, children’s books, or Sunday School. We know the highlights: Noah’s Ark, Moses as the Prince of Egypt, Joseph, and Samson. But there is so much more there than what we learned as kids.
On this blog, we talk about trauma often—how it shapes our DNA and our triggers. We’ve discussed how Holocaust survivors were studied and found to have altered DNA that was passed down to their children.
Now, look at the Israelites: 400 years of being told they were property, not people. They didn't just need a "God"; they needed a complete neurological and social rewire.
The Shift: Putting on my Scrubs
The Bible is so misunderstood—cluttered by big words, language barriers, and our own projections. I thought I knew these stories, but in reality, I didn’t.
If the Bible is the written form of Jesus’ personality, as John 1:1 says, then the Old Testament isn't just God being "angry."
It’s God performing Intensive Care.
In this series, I’m putting on my nursing scrubs. We aren’t just reading Sunday School stories about the Red Sea; we are conducting a Case Study.
The Patient: A nation of former slaves.
The History: Four centuries of systemic abuse, neglect, and identity loss.
The Setting: The Wilderness (the ultimate sensory deprivation chamber).
The Treatment Plan: Exodus and Leviticus.
Let’s break down the "Law" not as a list of chores, but as a psychiatric intervention for a broken people.