Video Review: What's in the Bible? Vol. 3 - Wanderin' in the Desert

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Makes three hard Bible books entertaining and educational for kids

Cons: A tad dry a couple of times.

The Bottom Line:

Finds entertainment

In lists of laws.  Provides laughs

And education.

Pentateuchs, Levis, and Deserts, Oh My!

I'm finally beginning to see how the What's in the Bible? series might make it through the Bible in 13 episodes.  After getting through Genesis and Exodus in the first two videos, we actually tackle three books in volume 3: Wanderin' In The Desert.

Okay, so maybe getting through Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy in one hour isn't quite as amazing as it sounds.  After all, much of the content in these books are laws about how the Jews were to conduct their lives as God's chosen people.  This is a pretty easy area to summarize.

For those not familiar with the series, it's a collection of DVD's designed to teach kids not only what is in the Bible but how it relates to our lives today.  The series was created by Phil Vischer, the man behind VeggieTales.  This time, he hosts along with a bunch of giant puppets.  There are songs, there are jokes, and there are some pretty serious discussions in all of this.

Each hour video in broken down into two 30 minute segments.  The first focuses on Leviticus, the largest collection of laws in the Bible.  Along the way, we learn the difference between ethical laws (don't lie, don't kill) and ritual laws (don't trim your beard.  We also learn what Holy means and why mashed potatoes might or might not be Holy.

Part two covers Numbers and Deuteronomy, focusing on Israel's 40 year punishment for not trusting God to give them the Promised Land.  It also tackles the big question of whether or not we can trust the Bible, even talking about some of what those who don't believe the Bible offer as counter arguments to what the Bible says.  The video ends with a nice recap of the first three videos in a song about the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses) set on a river boat.  Yes, it does make sense in context (or at least to new stage manager Marcie).

A couple of times, I thought this might video might not live up to the first two.  I mean, how do you really find much of anything entertaining in these three books?  As Phil said in an interview, there is a reason we normally skip over these books when planning stories for Sunday School.  But just as it was getting a bit dry, they'd throw in an unexpected joke or song and they'd have my interest again.  The songs also snuck up on me.  I was at first skeptical, and they are a bit simple.  But I found myself smiling at how they were weaving serious truths into a catchy melody before they were done.

These videos are a great resource for parents or kids' leaders at churches.  They may not retell the familiar stories of the Bible in the ways we are used to, but they continue to put them in a theological context that is solid yet explained simply enough for kids to understand.  Heck, I'm learning a thing or two myself while being entertained.

Wanderin' In The Desert really did have a lot going against it.  While not quite the most entertaining video in the series to date, it does continue the incredible series What's in the Bible?