“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (John 12:21).
More people watched "The Bible" last night than any other program airing on network television. That has to come close to the "miracle" category. In the words of Joshua, "As for me and my house..." we watched. We actually watched with several hundred friends at our church, many of whom don't get cable and couldn't watch it otherwise. I believe this was true of many churches across the country, making the ratings inaccurate on the low side!
In our group, there were three kinds of responses to Episode #1. Many absolutely loved it and were blown away that a show like this could make it to broadcast television. A few didn't care for it because it changed parts of the story and some people think you should never do that. So... Aaron didn't speak for Moses (where would Charleton Heston have been if Cecil B. DeMille had John Carradine speak all his lines?). So... we had a Ninja angel in Sodom. (Angels did carry swords in the actual book when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden). And, of course, the spies that were sent into Jericho had a small battle that isn't in the original. I know for some, these things should never have been in the dramatization. (Note: there was a note at the beginning pointing out that it is a dramatization.)
But what I came away with was the amazing amount of critical biblical events that were accurately portrayed. God as the Creator...Man and woman created by God...the temptation and the Fall...an actual Flood...God calling Abraham...the destruction of Sodom...a real burning bush, with a personal God speaking to Moses...a real Passover...a real Exodus...real stone tablets engraved by God... The list goes on and on. From my vantage point, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey accomplished their main objective. Tell the Big Story. Get millions of people exposed and interested in the Bible. Spark a little debate and discussion. They hit the bull's eye when you see the big picture.
And then to have the show be seen by over 13 million people! And on the History Channel! Way to go Mark and Roma!! And since I've seen the rest of the series, let me assure you, the best is yet to come! Wait till you see the scene that contains today's text!
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