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    Sometimes reading the Old Testament can be depressing. In those tales of the peoples and times that led up to the coming of the Messiah, we see the testament of sin in its stark reality, and too often that is a reality we would rather avoid. The reading from Deuteronomy is one of those tellings we would rather just ignore, especially since we know from the rest of the Bible that the very warnings contained therein eventually befell God’s Chosen People. If the people whom God chose were so sinful that they could not even heed the warnings that God gave them directly, then what hope is there for us?
    Yet, hearing such warnings and reading about the reality of sin does us good. How so? Because it forces us to pay attention to sin, or perhaps more correctly, it forces us to pay attention to the reality of sin. When we read God’s warnings or the descriptions of ancient peoples falling into sin, we see in those warnings and tales a reflection of ourselves, and in that reflection we are driven evermore toward our Savior.
    Indeed, it is in the acknowledgement of sin that we come closest to Jesus Christ and the redemption He provided us through faith in His death and resurrection, for if we do not acknowledge our sin, then what need to we have for a Savior? That is the role of the Law and the purpose of the Old Testament, to not only tell the story of the Messiah, but also to remind us that the Messiah came because we are all sinners in need of a Savior. That reminder is the best kind, because it is that reminder, when acknowledged in faith, that gets us to Heaven.
DLH
