Today, 27 December 2020, I completed a reading of the Old Testament.  It has taken a long time.  I read the Old Testament in the left-over days between scheduled readings of the Book of Mormon.  On numerous occasions I have undertaken other readings of the Old Testament, have gotten halfway through, and have had to quit because my spirit wasn't being fed.  This time I stopped and started many times, but always resumed where I'd left off.

There is definitely a soul-feeding aspect to the Book of Mormon that the Old Testament lacks.  The same is true concerning Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts as opposed to the writings of Paul.  Paul's writings comprise 1/3 of the New Testament.  The books following Paul's writings also feed the spirit, but I find that Paul's writings do not.

The last time that I read Paul's writings I decided to underline those things that had value for me, and which I might use in the future.  Anything which didn't get underlined I would consider as dross and not useful.  I decided that thereafter it would not be necessary to read anything in those books that was not underlined.

I did the same thing as I tackled Jeremiah through the end of the Old Testament.  The first six chapters of Daniel and the last two chapters of Malachi are highly instructional, inspirational, and important.  Most everything in between need not be read again except where I've underlined or made note.

Nearly all of that material constitutes diatribes by one prophet after another against the sins of the House of Israel in the centuries leading up to the birth of Christ.  The message of each prophet is "repent or be destroyed."

It strikes me that world conditions are no different now, but the approach that our current prophets take is much different.  The prophets are still calling upon the people to repent, but then add, "and be blessed."  The threat of destruction still hangs over the heads of the wicked, but our prophets have chosen to instead emphasize the blessed future of those who repent rather than their ultimate destruction.  Rather than "repent or be destroyed," the message is "repent and be blessed."

The Old Testament prophets buried many gems among their warnings about the nations' impending destructions.  Why the gems are there, and how they fit into the narrative in which they're embedded is a mystery to me.

Zechariah, for instance, in the middle verse of chapter 9 says this:  "...thy king cometh unto thee:  he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."

I am not smart enough to understand how that has anything to do with what comes either before or after that verse, but that prophecy was fulfilled to the letter as Christ entered Jerusalem in the last week of His life.

Similarly in chapter 11 Zechariah pinpoints the future betrayal of the Savior for 30 pieces of silver, and that the silver would be "cast to the potter in the house of the Lord."  (Zechariah 11:12-13).  That is a marvelously detailed prophecy, but oddly, it is sandwiched in between 14 other unrelated non-useful verses.  It is a shining gem hidden among what I consider dross, where it runs the risk of never being noticed.

I think that is what happened to the story of Jonadab that Jeremiah relates in the 35th chapter of his book.  Never once in my life have I heard anyone ever mention this wonderful story of obedience to the Word of Wisdom.  The book of Jeremiah is a long one--52 chapters--and is followed by his book of Lamentations, all of which deals with the prophesied woes which caused Lehi to flee Jerusalem, and which brought about its destruction.

Jonadab issued a commandment that no member of his father's family should ever drink wine.  They all faithfully obeyed.  The Lord told Jeremiah to put them to the test.  He, the prophet, was to bring them into the temple and give them wine to drink.  Jeremiah called them together, brought them into a special chamber of the temple, set pots full of wine before them, gave them cups, and said, "Drink ye wine."

How could they refuse the prophet's request, and in the temple, of all places?  But that is what they did.  They explained to Jeremiah that their father, Jonadab, had given them commandment to never drink wine, and, therefore, they could not, even if the prophet himself should invite them to do so.

This is a marvelous story of obedience.  It ends with this wonderful pronouncement:  "And Jeremiah said ... Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:  Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he hath commanded you:  Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:  Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever."  (Jeremiah 35:18-19).

In other words, though all Jerusalem will be destroyed and the people slain, Jonadab's family will be preserved because they have faithfully kept Jonadab's commandment.

This is the same promise that is given in the last verse of the Word of Wisdom in section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants.  If in our day we drink no "strong drinks," use no tobacco, avoid hot drinks (coffee and tea), and eat wholesome herbs, fruits, and grains, "I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them."  (D&C 89:21).

By keeping the Lord's commandment, the children of Israel avoided the slaying of the firstborn which took place in every house of the Egyptians.  The destroying angel passed by the Hebrews' houses.  At least some of Jonadab's family was likewise spared when the Babylonians leveled Jerusalem.  We will be spared, too, in the coming days of destruction that will precede the Second Coming if we're found living the Word of Wisdom.

How was Jonadab's family spared?  I can't help but think that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego belonged to that family.  Certainly their actions in refusing Nebuchadnezzar's wine and rich foods was out of keeping with the practices of other Jews of that day.  Those boys were different, and this might explain why.

The Old Testament is replete with many wonderful and true stories with which everyone should be acquainted.  Everyone should include the book of Genesis up through Exodus chapter 20 in their rotations of scripture study.  They ought to review the stories which are embedded in the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, but most of the rest of those books really don't apply to us today inasmuch as they deal with the details of the law of Moses.

I like the history that is found in the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles.  I love the books of Ruth and Esther.  The Savior, Himself, gave commandment that we should diligently search the words of Isaiah, "for great are the words of Isaiah."  (3 Nephi 23:1).

Jesus even quoted Isaiah on several occasions.  He also quoted Micah (see 3 Nephi 21:12-18 and Micah 5:8-14), and Malachi (3 Nephi 24 and 25).  I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be an honor to write something which the Savior Himself quoted?"  The next thought that I had was that the real author of the quote was actually the Savior, since He gave those words to the prophet.  The prophet just wrote down what he was told to write.

About a year ago Marjorie made it through the entire Old Testament.  I was proud of her.  That's something everyone ought to do.  While doing it, I would recommend marking the important things that might possibly be used in future talks and lessons, and which ought to be reread and reviewed in the future.  I'm grateful for the Old Testament, but it doesn't feed the spirit like the other Standard Works do.  The peace, safety, inspiration, and comfort that we seek and need on a daily basis is to be found in the other books of scripture.