Last night on the History channel aired the highly anticipated two hour event simply entitled, The Bible. The TV series will air in five, two hour episodes and has been getting good promotion on social media from pastors such as Craig Groschel of Livechurch.tv in hopes to raise the viewership.  I'm always skeptical of any type of Bible re-creation movie/tv series for fear that it will be poorly done, cheesy, or in bad taste. But I was thoroughly impressed with the first episode.There was so much packed into the first episode.

Episode one opens with breathtaking cinematography of Noah and the flood while he is speaking with conviction and passion about the six days of creation and the reason they are on the boat.  

The rest of the first hour of episode one shares the relationships and impact of the life of Abraham. Details of his troubled relationship with Lot, his inability to wait on a child with Sarah, and interacting face-to-face with three angels concerning the demise of Sodom are all artfully portrayed. In the second hour, they fast forward 400 years to the enslavement of the Egyptians and the life of Moses. We see the raw emotions facing Moses after he finds out he was adopted, his killing of a man, to then spending 40 years in exile out in the wilderness. Moses then has an encounter with God through the burning bush and we see his clear determination and trust in God to help him free his people. The cinematography again is stunning as they transition through all 10 plagues until Pharaoh finally lets Moses' people free. The episode ends with the climactic crossing of the Red sea and the beginning of Moses handing off the leadership baton to Joshua.

I strongly encourage you to check out this first two hour episode and make sure to set your DVR or keep your Sunday night's free at 7pm Central to be a part of this journey. The acting is spectacular and it might give you the best glimpse into the pure humanity of the situations facing the people. Something about seeing the pain and joy on their faces really brings the story home to a new level. Definitely a recommendation to check out.