400th Birthday

 Earlier this year, on April 20th to be exact, I finished listening to the New Testament and I blogged about that experience briefly here on my blog.  Although I did not mention it then, the high point for me in reading the New Testament was that I was reading the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) during the Easter season.  I really enjoyed hearing again about the life of Jesus Christ and doing that at Easter time.  

Then, in the elation of that accomplishment, I rashly decided I would listen to the Old Testament, and I posted that commitment on the blog at that time, hoping that my public declaration would hold me to that goal.  And it did.  Oh, it did!  I often wanted to give up this Old Testament goal all together.  

For starters, the  King James Version of the Bible has 66 books and 1189 chapters, with the New Testament having only 23 of those books and a mere 260 chapters.  For those of you unwilling to do the math, that means that the Old Testament of the KJV has 43 books and 969--did you catch that????--969 chapters.  

Now I had read the Old Testament cover to cover once before so I thought I knew what I was getting into.  No, I can say I did not really know what I was getting into.  It is all together different to hear 969 chapters of the Old Testament than to read 969 chapters of the Old Testament.  Anyone who knows me knows I am an avid and a fast reader.  Reading 969 chapters is a lot but not overwhelming.  Listening to that many chapters was overwhelming.

At the beginning, I enjoyed parts of the text and would look up reference material when I had questions.  However, about the time when I was reading of the division of the kingdoms into "Israel" and "Judah," it began to seem like I would likely never finish the Old Testament in my natural life time.  So I began to listen in large chunks of chapters--as many as I could hear at any one sitting--eager to put this task behind me.  That was both good and bad. Good because I finished sooner but bad because it was often too much, really.  Once you cram that many chapters into your head, it is all you can do to collect your thoughts and move on with your day once you have finished listening. 

Another reason not readily apparent at the mention of the Old Testament is that, among other things, it chronicles people who are doing all kinds of terrible things.  There where times when my kids would pass through the kitchen while I was listening to the Old Testament and they would say, "Mom!  What are you listening to?! That's creepy! Turn it off!"  Yep, sometimes it was "creepy."  There is a difference between reading a recitation of awful events and listening to a recitation of awful events.  There is a graphic quality to hearing it that is unsettling.

During the time of my New and Old Testament listening, I found out that this year is the 400th birthday of the King James' translation of the Bible.  What a serendipitous thing!   I wish I could say that I knew that before I undertook my Old and New Testament listening goals, but I did not, although I am pleased with that convergence.  

Here's to the first and last time I will ever listen to the Old Testament start to finish--and I have accomplished that goal in a very auspicious year to boot.