Genesis
Genesis Chapters 1-11 and Genesis 12-50
In Chapter 3 we have the fall into sin, and the snowball of sin at
this point starts to grow
But the people instead of doing what God said decided to come
together and build a city to their own glory.
Chapter 11 verse 4 and they said “let us make a name for ourselves.”
And so they constructed the Tower of Babel
So God confuses their languages and they start to be scattered and
fill the earth. And so the people are now separated from God.
Eventually Abraham had Issac and Issac had Jacob and then Jacob
had 12 sons and his favorite son was Joseph. He gave him the coat
of many colors and then shortly after that Joseph had two dreams
that he shared with his brothers.
Joseph’s brothers sale him into slavery and Joseph through a 17
year period of time ends up as the second in command to Pharaoh
in Egypt.
There is a severe famine in the land and all of Jacob’s family end
up in Egypt under the protection of his son Joseph. And this is
where Genesis leaves off as it ends.
His main concern is the growth of the Israelites and they may come
against him and overthrow his kingdom. So he decided to make it
very, very hard on the people. And so the people cried out to God
and He heard their cry and brought them a deliverer by the name of
Moses.
The people eventually would come to and cross through the Red
Sea. Pharaoh and his army followed and they were killed. And
the Israelites end up at Mt. Sinai.
In Exodus 19 we see God entering into a covenant with His people
and in Chapter 20 God gives Moses the Ten Commandments. We
also see in Exodus that God commands Moses to build a tabernacle
to be with them in the wilderness and this is where God would dwell
with His people. (John 1:14) The word became flesh and dwelt
(tabernacled) with us.
The people receive the instructions, they build the tabernacle and at
the end of Exodus 40:34-35, the glory of the LORD filled the
tabernacle.
Numbers
The book of Numbers picks up at Mt. Sinai and the people are
going to head toward the promised land.
Each of the men over 20 that qualify for war are numbered
They organize around the tabernacle as they go through the
wilderness
In Numbers 10 they set out and keep moving until they hit the
region known as Kadesh-Barnea
And just south of the land they send in 12 spies (1 from each
tribe), to check out the land
When they come back they report that the land is just as God had
told them. And they have two men holding a cluster of grapes on
a single pole.
But the problem is the people over there are giants and the
Israelites would appear as grasshoppers compared to them
So they take a vote and 10 vote no and 2 vote yes. But the 10 are
able to convince the others that they should not go into the land.
The 2 that voted yes would be the only 2 over the age of 20 from
original group that would enter the land and that was Joshua and
Caleb.
They said God says that this is our land, He is with us and we are to
possess that which He has given us to occupy
He also said that the over 20 population would all die in the
wilderness and the promise He made would go to their children.
Deuteronomy
Moses had committed a sin in Numbers 20 where he struck the rock
instead of speaking to it. And because of that God told Moses that
he would not be able to enter into the land.
Joshua
The mantle of leadership is now passed from Moses to Joshua
Right when they get into the land the first battle is that of Jericho.
The book of Joshua is about success in taking and dividing the land
among the 12 tribes. It is a book of great victory.
Judges
In Deuteronomy Chapter 7 God says to the people:
Destroy all the Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites,
Amorites,Perrizites, Hivites and Jebusite
Don’t intermarry with any of their women
Don’t ever worship their gods
The most prominent phrase in the book of Judges is “Israel did evil
in the sight of the LORD”
Judges 2:11
Judges 3:7, 3:11
Judges 4:1
Judges 6:1
Judges 10:6
Judges 13:1
And each time the people did evil the LORD sent a nation to punish
them. But the people would cry out and God would bring judges like
Jephthah, Gideon, Samson, and Ehud.
They would defeat Israel’s enemies and there would be peace in the
land for awhile until that judge died.
This was about a 300 year period of time in which there was a
loosely held together federation of tribes.
And since there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in
his own eyes.
Ruth
The book of Ruth takes place during the time of the Judges. It is a
wonderful bright shining light in a time of great darkness.
In this story we have a Moabite (Gentile) who gives her life to the
LORD.
Ruth eventually marries Boaz who is her kinsman redeemer and they
have a son who is Obed the grandfather of king David.
Ruth is one of the 4 women mentioned in the genealogy of the Lord
Jesus in Matthew.
1 Samuel
The book of 1 Samuel is a transition time from the period of the
judges to a time of the kings.
He is not a great king but brings stability and peace and rules for 40
years
2 Samuel
This is about the reign of King David, who reigned for a period of
40 years. But ever after adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her
husband Uriah, was known as a man after God’s own heart.
1 Kings
In 1 Kings 1-11 we have the kingship of Solomon who was
David’s son. He rules for 40 years and then in 1 Kings Chapter 12
the kingdom splits.
2 Kings Chapter 22 – 605, 597 and 586 B.C the Babylonians are
now the world power and they capture the southern kingdom of
Judah.
It is here that Israel will be held captive for a period of 70 years as
told to them by Jeremiah
Ezra who is a teacher and a scribe comes back around 497 B.C.
and brings revival to the people
Nehemiah
Then about 444 B.C. Nehemiah who is the cupbearer to the king of
Persia goes back to his homeland to rebuild the wall.
Here is a summary review of the events
Creation, fall, flood and tower
Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph
Exodus – Moses leads the people of Israel out of Egypt and hands
the mantle to Joshua
Conquest – Joshua is all about victory and conquest
Judges – one generation removed the people fall back into their
evil ways, it is a dark time
Kingdom – Israel comes under one king but then after some time
the kingdom splits, with the North being captured by the Assyrians
and the South being captured by the Babylonians
Exile – the Jews are scattered around the world
Return – God as He promises brings His people back to the land.
Zerubabbel rebuilds the city, Ezra rebuilds the people and Nehemiah
rebuilds the wall
Silence - At the end of the Old Testament for 400 years
Remember now the remaining 22 books of the Old Testament
5 books of experience
17 books of prophesy
Each of these fit within the chronological timeline of the first 17
books of the Bible
Next we come to the prophets that are divided into the following
categories:
The major prophets – 5 books – Isaiah through Daniel
The minor prophets – 12 books – Hosea through Malachi
Ester
The book of Ester chronologically takes place between Ezra 6 and 7.
This tells what takes place with all the Jews that did not return to
the land and remained scattered.
Ester becomes queen of Persia.
And the famous lines in the book to me are when her uncle
Mordecai says:
“and who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a
time as this?”
And with this you have the end of the Old Testament
Obadiah pronounces judgment on Edom