We are finally coming to the end of the old testament in our storytelling trip through the Bible. It has taken me close to 6 months to get here, but I feel like it has been worth our effort. This is the first time that any of these students have been part of lessons that put the story of the Bible in context.

Tomorrow we are going to talk lightly about the prophets and then take a few moments to recap what we have learned about God from the Old Testament and what we have learned about people in general.

For me the most fascinating thing is what happens after Malachi. The fact that God goes silent for 400 years is amazing to me. God has been showing up and speaking through prophets or judges or leaders at least every 80 years or so, and most of the time more than that, and now suddenly the curtain closes on the story of God and doesn't reopen until the Greek empire has already come and gone and the Romans are in power and in charge of Israel.

Here is the cool thing. There were still people who believed and who worshiped. Sure there were people who got things wrong and people who used religion to promote their own agenda, but there were also people who were still faithful, still believing the stories passed down through generations. So that when the story opens again and we find John crying out in the wilderness people know enough about God to respond.

I really can't wait to dive into the New Testament, but I think we are going to take a short break and do a more traditional type of lesson for a while and then get back to it next month.