01-Old Testament Survey

FOUNDATIONS CERTIFICATE IN BIBLICAL STUDIES
MODULE ONE
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

STUDENT EDITION
Written by:
Susan Kerr and R.J. Koerper
Glomos FOUNDATIONS: Training Curriculum for

Foundations Certificate in Biblical Studies – Module One: Introduction to the Old Testament
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Welcome
to
Introduction to the Old Testament
“The Bible is the saga of Yahweh and Adam, the prodigal son and his ever-gracious heavenly
Father; humanity in their rebellion and God in His grace. This narrative begins in Eden and
does not conclude until the New Jerusalem is firmly in place. It is all one story, and if you are
a believer, it is all your story.”
Sandra Richter, The Epic of Eden
This module offers you a broad overview and survey of the Old Testament, with special
emphasis on the Covenants and key people. The primary focus is the theme of redemption
and God’s plan of salvation.
The story of the Old Testament begins at the beginning of all created things and presents the
nature of God and of humankind. It tells of the goodness of the creation and how it fell from
its intended glory. It tells how God chose one family to be the vehicle of His revelation. It
captures the long history of those who came to be known as the Hebrew people and
eventually as “Israel.” It records the Law given to them by God, shares their poetry, songs of
worship, words of wisdom, and it documents God’s warnings and promises to them through
their prophets.
It is, through all its pages, the story of the LORD God, his ongoing and active relationship with
people, his plan to redeem them from their desperate spiritual situation and his promise to
restore all things to their original glory.
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Introduction to the Old Testament

Student Edition
Contents Page
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 5
In the Beginning ...................................................................................................................... 13
God Chooses a Family............................................................................................................. 25
The Story of Redemption........................................................................................................ 32
Understanding the Meaning of Covenant .............................................................................. 40
God Brings His People Out of Darkness and into the Land .................................................... 50
The Monarchy and God’s Covenant with David ..................................................................... 64
The Prophets: God’s Voice During Troubled Times................................................................ 77
Wisdom Literature .................................................................................................................. 89
The Messiah and the New Covenant ...................................................................................... 99
Appendix A............................................................................................................................ 106
Appendix B ............................................................................................................................ 108
Appendix C ............................................................................................................................ 109
Appendix D ........................................................................................................................... 113
Appendix E ............................................................................................................................ 114
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Chapter 1
Introduction
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and
female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27
OUTCOMES OF THIS COURSE

Once students have completed this course, they should:
 Be able to summarize the story of the Old Testament, beginning with creation in the
Genesis narrative and ending with the post-exilic prophets
 Understand the story of redemption throughout the Old Testament
 Be able to identify the covenants, characters, prophesies and stories which reveal God,
His plan, and Christ through the Old Testament
 Recognize and be able to interpret different genres of literature in the Old Testament
 Possess a greater love and appreciation for God’s story of Redemption: His love for
humankind; His sovereignty in working through flawed leaders to implement His plan;
His patience in enduring the rebelliousness of His people, Israel; and His continued
calling to them through the prophets
 Recognize, with humility, how they are like the people of the Old Testament
 See clearly that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are
the same; full of Grace and Truth
GETTING STARTED:
Questions for personal thought and discussion
 What difficulties have you experienced in understanding the Old Testament?
 Have you found the Old Testament hard to read? Why or why not?
 Do you find that God appears harsh in the Old Testament, but kind in the New?
 Did he change?
 Do you have favourite parts of the Old Testament? Do you know why?
 In your experience, has the church taught it well, or mostly ignored it?
GOING DEEPER
What is the Old Testament?
The Old Testament is the story of the LORD God and of the Hebrew people -- how God chose
them and revealed Himself to them. His purpose was that they would know Him, and that
through them His plan of salvation would be brought to all people.
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The Jewish people regard the books of the Old Testament as their sacred scriptures: truth
revealed to them from God. They wrote down these words, treasured and revered them, and
carefully copied and preserved them for more than three thousand years.
Christians also regard the Old Testament as Holy Scripture. They also believe it to be the
Word of God, which reveals Him, His character and His purposes and which records the
meticulous and steady preparation for the Saviour of the World. The Old Testament provides
the matrix (an entire cultural and religious system of beliefs, and a people) into which the
Messiah, the Son of God, came.
Who Wrote it and When?

The Old Testament is a collection of thirty-nine books which were written down over the
course of more than one thousand years. The first five books (The Pentateuch) are attributed
to Moses and were recorded around 1450 B.C. They are called “Torah” by the Jewish people.
The final book of the Old Testament canon (Malachi) was written around 430 BC.
Many of the books existed in an oral tradition long before they were put into written
language. There are many different authors: kings, priests, prophets, several shepherds and
some unknown. The books are written in a variety of genres (or styles) of literature. There
are books of history, law, prophesy, poetry, narratives, family stories, hymns, laments and
wise sayings. It is very helpful to know the differences between these genres and how to read
them, to better understand their intended message.
The canon (those books selected as the sacred scriptures) of the Old Testament solidified
over time through usage and tradition. There are several other books, referred to as the
Apocrypha, which were written during the time between the two testaments. They are
considered interesting and useful by some, but are not considered sacred by the Jews, and
are excluded from the Hebrew Bible. Catholic and Orthodox Christians often include them in
their Bibles; Protestants do not.
Why Should Christians be Interested in the Old Testament?

The Old Testament is the foundation for understanding the New Testament. Jesus was a Jew.
So were all the Apostles and all the writers of the New Testament (except Luke). They were
socially, culturally and spiritually Jewish. They knew the sacred writings of their faith, the
traditions, the history, the prophesy and the Law.
Jesus understood that he had come to fulfil what the Hebrew prophets foresaw, and what
the Jewish rituals and feasts pointed to. Without an understanding of all that came before
Jesus and all that led up to him, it is nearly impossible to grasp the fullness of what God was
and is doing in human history. In the same way, without the New Testament, the Old
Testament story remains incomplete and unfinished.1
God’s plan to redeem humanity begins in the earliest pages of the Old Testament, grows and
builds through the history of the Hebrew people, and comes into its full blazing actualization
in Christ. Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Passover lamb foreshadowed in the Exodus, provided
ultimate atonement for the sins of the people. This is the Old Testament come to life in Christ.
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But do not think that the story is over. It continues to this day, and beyond. Not all the
Prophesies have been fulfilled. Not all the feasts and celebrations of the Old Testament have
been fully realized. Through God’s church, his redeemed people on earth, the kingdom still
comes. God’s plan of redemption, though complete in Christ, is still being played out in us.
The suffering servant described in Isaiah has already come (Isaiah 53), but the conquering
King is yet on his way.
What are Some of the Challenges to Understanding the Old Testament?

 It was written in Hebrew and some small sections in Aramaic.
These are ancient Semitic languages, written right to left, in their own unique alphabets. The
translation of these words into modern languages is not always clear. Hebrew is a poetic
language, with few words (less than 9,000 compared to the more than 100,000 of modern
English). Each word carries multiple and rich meanings that must be discerned by context
and familiarity with the culture.
Following are some examples of Hebrew words which are frequently mistranslated and
misunderstood:
Yirah: often translated “fear:” “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of Wisdom (Prov. 9:10).
Yirah can mean afraid or scared, but in the sense of recognition of greatness and power; it
has more awe, respect, reverence, and worship in it than the English word “fear”. Fear of
the LORD is positive in tone – reverence for God.
Shama: to “hear,” Shema: “listen.” This is not just an act of the ears, but means to take heed,
understand, be obedient, put these words into action. “Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws
I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them” (Deut.5:1).
Lev or Levav: “heart.” This is not just the seat of emotions, but the source of all intellect and
the seat of the will. This same meaning carries over into Jesus’ teachings. “For out of the
overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).
 The customs and the culture are unfamiliar.

These are bronze age nomadic peoples as the story begins, eventually living as slaves in
Egypt, and then settling into a life of farmers and herders around family enclaves and villages
in Canaan. The bronze age of human development gave way to the iron age as their story
progresses. Customs which were clear to the original hearers of these stories often make no
sense to us. For example, in Genesis 24 we see how Rebekah was chosen to be Isaac’s wife.
This is very different from modern practices.
 The religious rituals are strange to us.

Animal sacrifices, grain offerings, the design of the Tabernacle, detailed aspects of the
priesthood and prescribed feasts are examples of the elaborate system which God spelled
out to Moses. On the surface they appear strange to most of us, but they hold layers of truth
about our God and what He is doing.
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 The geography is unfamiliar.

Kadesh-Barnea, Bashan, Elam, Aram, Moab are examples of places that will have no meaning
to us unless we study a map of that time.
 Some of the theology is uncomfortable.

When we read the book of Joshua for example, it is difficult to understand God’s instructions
with the tribes in Canaan. See the Appendix C for a discussion of this topic.
 The laws seem irrelevant and outdated.

“If a man opens a pit or digs a pit and does not cover it over, and an ox or a donkey falls into
it, the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to its owner, and the dead
animal shall become his” (Ex. 21:33–34).
 God appears harsh in the Old Testament, unlike the God of grace, forgiveness and love
in the New Testament.
Did God change? Is this a misperception from too casual a reading of both Testaments? There
are difficult passages to be sure of God’s judgement in the Old Testament, but there are also
passages of God’s tenderness, love and patience. And we must not overlook Jesus’ strong
warnings of judgement and condemnation as well. (Read Matt. Chapters 24 and 25.) But we
can be very clear on this, the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament
are the same. God does not change.
“I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6a).
Discussion Question:
 If someone were to ask you why they should read or study the Old Testament, what
would you say?
Why We Value and Study the Old Testament

1. The Old Testament writers understood these words to be the Word of God.
Read the verses which follow. What do you notice about how these authors viewed God’s
Word?
Moses
“These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to
observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children
and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all
his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.”(Deut. 6:1-2)
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Joshua
“Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right
or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law
depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do
everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:7b-8
David
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The
commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes” Psalm 19:7-8
Isaiah
The prophet Isaiah wrote of many things in his long life, both present and future to him. He
saw the near coming of the judgment of God on his corrupted people, and he foresaw the
distant coming of the Promised One. He gives voice to the eternal character of the Word of
God. The book of Isaiah was written some 700 years before Christ using poetry as its main
form; it speaks of things too grand for prose.
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field…the grass withers and
the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40: 6-8
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it, without watering
the earth, and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for
the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for
which I sent it.” Isaiah 55: 8 – 11 (emphasis added)
Ezra
Centuries later (420 B.C.) the priest, scribe, and great leader Ezra, turned the devotion of his
heart to the gift of the Law -- the word of the LORD -- in the longest psalm (Psalm 119). Ezra
was present in Jerusalem at the momentous celebration of the completion of the rebuilding
of the walls and gates of the city.
The Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem some seventy years earlier and had killed or taken
captive all its citizens. It was a charged emotional time as a new generation returned to their
restored city and heard the Word of the Lord, most of them for the first time. Ezra was the
one who read the Law of Moses out loud to the people, words that had been lost for many
years (Nehemiah 8). Sometime later he composed this Psalm. Over and over again in the 176
verses of his song, Ezra communicates that The Law has the life and power of God in it.
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Psalm 119
“Your word, O lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens…” (vs. 89)
“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” (vs. 97)
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (vs. 105)
“The unfolding of your words gives light…” (vs. 130)
“I have put my hope in your word” (vs. 147).
2. Jesus knew the Old Testament Scriptures well and quoted them often.
Jesus had an extremely high view of the Old Testament. He taught it, challenged others’
authority and teachings on it, defended His life and ministry from it, explained and defined
His deity from it, carefully followed it in His own life, and explained the meaning of His death
and resurrection from it.
Jesus’ Use of Scripture Old Testament Passages
His Testing Matt. 4:4, 7, 10 (Deut. 8:3; 6:16; 6:13)
His Teaching: “You heard it said…” Matt. Ex. 20:13, 14; Deut. 24:1, 19:21,
5:21, 27, 31, 38, 43 16:18; 19:18
House of prayer/ Den of robbers: Mk. 11:17 Is. 56:7/ Jer. 7:11
“My God, my God…” Mk. 15:34 Ps. 22:1
Road to Emmaus, Luke 24:13–27 “Moses and all the Prophets”
3. All four gospel writers reference the Old Testament Scriptures frequently.
Matthew quoted from the Old Testament no fewer than forty-three times. For example:
Matt. 1:23 from Isaiah 7:14; Matt. 2:6 from Micah 5:2; Matt. 13:35 from Psalm 78:2; Matt.
15:4 from Exodus 20:12, Matt. 21:17; 2:15 from Hosea 11:1.
Mark quoted the Old Testament some twenty-one times: Mark 1:2 from Malachi 3:1; Mark
4:12 from Isaiah 6:9-10; Mark 15:34 from Psalm 22:1.
Luke quoted the O.T. twenty-two times: Lk. 4:4 from Deuteronomy 8:3; Lk. 10:27 from
Leviticus 19:18; Lk. 23:46 from Psalm 31:5.
John quoted the Old Testament at least fifteen times: Jn. 2:17 from Psalm 69:9; Jn. 12:40 –
41 from Isaiah 6:9 – 10; Jn. 19:37 from Zechariah 12:10.
4. The Old Testament was well Known to Peter, Stephen, Phillip and Paul and is quoted
by them in Acts.
5. Paul used the Old Testament constantly in support of his teachings about Christianity.
6. The letter to the Hebrews tells us, “In previous times God spoke to our fathers through
the prophets at many times and in various ways” (Hebrews 1:1).
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7. Peter wrote, “…no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no
prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke
from God” (2 Peter 1:20, 21).
8. James urged his readers to be hearers and doers of God’s Word – all references to The
Old Testament.
9. Jude contains illustrations of godliness and rebellion from the Old Testament.
10. Revelation can only be understood against the backdrop of Old Testament revelation.
11. Throughout the history of the Church, those who wrote about the Christian faith Refer
constantly to the Old Testament.
SUMMARY
The Old Testament is the Foundation for Understanding the New.
A familiarity with the culture and background of Jesus and His apostles is essential for an
understanding of their life and teaching. Many events recorded in the Gospels and Acts take
on much deeper meaning when seen in the light of the rich cultural and religious history
preceding and surrounding them. But there is a more profound reason for this, which goes
beyond just an intellectual or secular understanding of culture and history. The events
described in the New Testament are part of a very large, intricate and sacred story woven
throughout all of Scripture, which is still playing out in our own day -- the story of the
redemption of humankind.
The Bible is the written account of God’s plan for restoring people to Himself after the tragic
occurrences of the Fall. It was God’s desire from the beginning to be in fellowship, to dwell,
with his children. But He gave them the gift of genuine freedom, with real choices and real
consequences. And they chose against Him. Immediately though, after the events in Eden,
his great plan of redemption began. It was, and is still, His way to save them from the curse
of sin and to restore them to Himself. The plan was this: He would come and do what no one
else could do. He would take upon Himself the full responsibility to set them free.
Christians have not often been taught the full story of redemption told in the Old Testament.
In the early years of the church, as Gentile believers were added in large numbers, the
Hebraic roots of the faith were gradually diminished and set aside. The “Romanization” and
wide-spread acceptance of the Christian faith under the Roman Emperor, Constantine, in the
early 3rd century, intentionally made the separation from Judaism even more distinct.
Despite a long history of neglect of the Old Testament, there is no denying that it lays the
foundation for the events which occurred on a specific Passover weekend in Jerusalem
somewhere around the year 33. Through the death and resurrection of one Jewish man, a
descendant of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, the work of atonement
was finished. The curtain of the temple, which separated God and mankind, was torn in two
and a completely new day began. The Church is an integral part of that plan which began
early in the pages of the Old Testament, immediately after Paradise was lost.
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Our story begins with Adam in the Garden of Eden but will not be finished until many more
events spoken of in the book of Revelation (Chapters 21-22) and elsewhere in the Scriptures,
come to pass. The Old Testament is not just the story of the Jews. It is also the story of all
who believe in Christ as Messiah, the Son of God.
INTEGRATION
It is the aim of this course to help pastors and students understand the importance of the
Old Testament to our Christian faith and to be drawn into the intricately beautiful story of
our God and His love for us, from the beginning. The LORD God has not left us to our folly.
Through centuries of human history, we see Him at work. These ancient words which reveal
our God to us are in our hands today. They will not return to Him void
Suggested Activity - To do on your own
Write out carefully, in your own handwriting Isaiah 55: 8-11. Pray first. Ask God to give you
understanding. Read the passage several times, out loud if you are able. Listen to it being
read. Then write it down as if you were a Hebrew scribe handling words that are precious
and sacred, words from God himself. Pay close attention to punctuation and capitalization.
Writing out scripture in your own handwriting is a very different interaction with the words
than reading or hearing them. Write down any thoughts, reactions or comments you might
have as you write, or after you have finished.
PRAYER
Almighty God, You are Immanuel, You are with us. Let us hear your voice. Speak to us here
and now. Let your living Word wash over us in ways too marvellous to comprehend. Quicken
life into us; feed us from your word; satisfy those who ache for something deep and good
and full. We desire above all things to know You. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear.
Let your Word, O Lord, bring light and achieve the purpose in us for which you sent it. Amen.
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Chapter 2
In the Beginning
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1
OUTCOMES
The students will:
 See the person and nature of their Creator more clearly
 Appreciate the value and dignity of humanity as shown in this account (made in God’s
image)
 Be able to describe God’s original relationship with Adam and Eve
 Understand and be able to explain why Adam and Eve sinned
 See the tragic effect of sin on Adam and Eve’s relationship with God
GETTING STARTED
 What are some of the difficulties reconciling science with the biblical story of creation?
 Have you, or others you know, struggled with some of these difficulties?
 How have you dealt with them?
Let us begin at the beginning. In the beautiful story of creation, we see who God is. The
language of the creation story reveals so much about the nature of God and his purposes.
Genesis is not a scientific document. Chapters 1-11 (the primeval events) are a poetic
narrative of the highest order. Good poetry is the purest note of language and in poetry
resides truth of a quality that neither science, nor journalism, nor theology for that matter,
can touch. Genesis is a true story. It tells us, in some of the finest language ever written,
about our God, and about ourselves.
It is important to remember when we read this story, that the focus is on the “who” and the
“why” of creation, not the “how” and “when.”
Some Background
The first five book of the Bible are attributed to Moses. Moses wrote down these words
sometime between 1,445 and 1,405 B.C. (Deut. 31:24-26). He described his personal
encounters with God at length in the four books which could be considered his memoir:
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. He has no doubt that God is a person; he has
met him, and he has no hesitation in attributing the creation of all things to God.
But where did this understanding of creation come from? Was this revealed to him by God
on the holy mountain. Was some of this story told through the generations by his ancestors?
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The story of the Patriarchs (Genesis 12 -36, 38) and the more literary story of Joseph (Gen.37,
39-50) are the stories of Moses’ ancestors, undoubtedly told over and over and passed down
by word of mouth. But the creation itself? We can only assume that a story of this uniqueness
(compared to other creation stories) and tender personal perspective came straight from the
Creator, Himself.
Creation
In the opening verses of the Bible, we find a pre-existent being, one who is both separate
and personal (a being), and full of vast creative force. In the first line this being, God, creates
all matter. But it is without order, and without content. And there is darkness. We sense
anticipation. His Spirit is hovering; filled with energy, filled with life, and waiting. And then,
from a place that is both somewhere and everywhere within his being comes a word, a
resonance, a calling: “Let there be light.”
In that instant, the completely spiritual quality of pure light within the creator crossed over
into the realm of physical matter. “And there was light.”
God (Elohim) then “speaks” order, sensibility and proper relationship into all things from his
own being, arranging and setting in place all that sustains life, and all that is life. But He is not
detached and distant. God is active and involved: separating (light from darkness, waters
above from waters below), naming (day and night, land, sea and sky), gathering (the waters),
delegating (to the land the ability to produce vegetation), creating order (the sun and moon
and stars to serve as signs to mark time) and blessing living things with the ability to produce
more life.
He looks it over and sees that all of it is good. He creates a perfectly habitable environment
and fills it with life. God does not need to speak ‘goodness’ into the creation. It is good
because He is good.
In Verse 26, God turns to the creation of people. The language changes here and God speaks
to himself in plural form.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule
over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,
and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
“Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” To whom is God speaking? Is this an interior
conversation? Why would God address Himself? This is our first hint that there is something
complex in the nature of God. There is something relational within the being of God that
causes Moses to record a conversational statement like this.
There is something relational and interpersonal that expresses itself now in the creation of
men and women.
God’s imprint and glory is everywhere in all that He has created so far. But in humankind
something even more intimate happens. Traits and qualities of the Creator Himself pass into
people. A family resemblance occurs.
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Does some of God’s “DNA” transfer to us? God creates men and women to contain
something of His very nature. In the same breath God gives them dominion over all the
creatures. There is something in the “ruling over” other creatures and having authority that
is part of that likeness.
What else might constitute our likeness to the Creator Himself? If there is something
interpersonal within the very nature of God, then we can speculate from this passage that
God made us for relationship, particularly for relationship with Him. We will learn more about
this in Genesis, Chapter 2.
At this point in the Creation God gives plants to people and animals for food. There is no food
chain yet. No animal has to die that something else might live. And God declares on the day
that he makes people, not just that it was good, but that it was “very good” (1:31).
Then God does a very strange thing, and rests from his work. The word also means ceases,
and so God stops and sets aside a time for marvelling, enjoying, sitting back, taking it all in.
And He blesses this time and makes it Holy. This is a period of time that is Holy, like God is
Holy, set apart and sacred, “because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had
done” (2:3). Strange and unfathomable, this God.
Keeping the Sabbath is a concept that remains strong throughout the OT. It will become one
of the prime issues that puts Jesus at odds with the religious leader of His day, as he practices
his fresh and freeing view of it. The reality of Sabbath rest for the people of God remains with
us to this day (Hebrews 4:1-11).
Questions for personal thought and discussion:

 To whom is God speaking in verse 26 of Chapter 1?
 What do you think it means to be made in the image and likeness of God?
(We will discuss this more in the FOUNDATIONS course on Christian Doctrine.)
 What is God like in Chapter 1? How do you see him?
 Why do you think God rests and seeks rest for his creation?
Before the Fall

Read Genesis Chapter 2
… the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life, and the man became a living being (lit. a living soul).
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he
had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that
were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2: 7-9
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God is Personal and Involved

In Chapter One of Genesis we have an elevated and panoramic view as God speaks all
creation, all matter, all the beginnings of life into being. Now in Chapter Two we are brought
in close to look at the creation of man and woman from an intimate perspective.
God is called by a different name here. He is no longer “Elohim” – the sovereign Creator of
Chapter One - but is called by His name: “I Am”. This is the Holy and personal name of God
given to Moses at the burning bush. God told Moses his name, and Moses uses it here.
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers
has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites:
I AM has sent me to you.”
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers-- the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob-- has sent me to you.’ This is my name
forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation” (Exodus
3: 13-15).
A name carried the presence and honour of its owner in the days of Moses. To know
someone’s name brought the knower into the realm of that person. God’s name was
intensely holy to the Hebrew people, and so, they would not speak it. They still do not, but
refer to God, whenever His holy name, “YHWH,” is used in their Scriptures, as Hashem, or
“the name.” Jesus expressed this same reverence when he taught His disciples to pray, “Our
Father in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
As God leans in close to make a man and woman, he has a name.
The LORD God is not “speaking” here as in Chapter one; he is “hands on.” He forms the man
from the earth itself. The verb is one used for an artist. You can almost imagine God bending
or stooping to add water to the dust -- shaping, sculpting, hand building his masterpiece with
gentleness and skill. This is not a portrayal of a distant and unconcerned “force.” This is our
Maker, forming for himself the intricacy that is man.
Then the LORD God moves into even greater intimacy with his newly formed creature. He
breathes the breath of life into the man’s nostrils. The inanimate and lifeless combination of
minerals, elements, and chemical bonds is given the very breath of God.
This is more than air that filled the first man’s lungs. This is the very spirit of life flowing from
the Creator into the earthen vessel. God imparted something into mankind that was
imparted to no other creature: a spirit. And the man became a living soul. Not only a “living
being,” as in some English translations, but a “living soul.” A soul has more of eternity in it,
and a far greater capacity for rising, and for falling.
Now the man lives and moves and breathes and he needs a place. So, the LORD God plants
a garden and places the man in it. Here is a comfortable place with food and beauty and good
work to do. And God makes trees to grow, with loveliness of form and fragrance, and
sustenance for the living body of the man: almonds, olives, avocados, oranges, oils and
spices, resins and sap, not to overlook wood and shade.
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This is not a boring meal or environment. These brief lines convey a description of tender
and abundant provision; not only food, but also pleasantness, safety, a sense of belonging.
But in the middle of the garden are two trees: two very different trees. One is named the
tree of life, and the other, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. One of the most
marvellous and dangerous gifts given to the man from his maker is freedom, freedom of
choice. And here, planted with all the other fine gifts of provision is the material reality of
true freedom: real choices and real consequences.
The LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and take care of
it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it
you will surely die.” Genesis 2: 15-17
The LORD God speaks to himself, noting that something is missing -- one thing in the creation
that is “not good.” “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a
helper suitable for him’” Genesis 2:18
Adam was busy. God had given him work to do, and he had the company of animals. Yet he
was lonely. He had a social need, a desire to share all this with someone, but he couldn’t find
what he was looking for in the animals. God was aware of this, perhaps because he also has
the desire to share all this with someone, and so He does something different than anywhere
else in the creation account. He forms the woman from the body of the man. He was through
with mud and did something unique and even more intimate.
“Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he
brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man
and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” Genesis 2: 23-25
Creation is complete. It is sanctified, innocent, and at rest in the same sense that God himself
is at rest on the seventh day. There is not fear; there is ample provision, and even God walks
with them in the garden in the cool of the day. But, tragically, this pleasant home will not
last.
Questions:
 Why do you think these two trees were in the garden? Was God setting them up for
failure?
 Why do you think this second account of the creation of people is included?
 What does it tell you about the relationship of God to people?
 Does God seem different in Chapter 2 than in Chapter 1? How?
Prayer
LORD God, your spirit swept across the face of the waters in the beginning and we ask that
it sweep across us now. Speak light and life into all of us new and fresh this day. Help us to
know you more intimately and to love you. Amen.
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Eden
Understanding Eden as a Covenant
Although there is no specific mention of a covenant in the Garden of Eden, it is suggested.
We will discuss the concept of covenant in detail in Chapter 5, but in Eden we see many
elements of a covenant. First, God is the Lord, and Adam and Eve are the servants or tenants.
The land belonged to God, but He gave it as a promise to Adam and Eve, if they obeyed His
conditions and remain loyal to Him. God provided Adam and Eve with everything they
needed, including fellowship with God. However, there was one part of the Garden that was
off limits. If they obeyed God, their lives would be blessed. But if they disobeyed, there would
be consequences.
As the tenant/servant in the covenant agreement with the Lord, humankind was given full
authority over the earth (if they remained under God’s authority). They had the freedom to
rule and the potential to build a civilization without violence, greed, hatred, or envy.
Governing under God, their children and grandchildren would live in a perfect world in
fellowship with God. Man’s part was to be loyal to God, submit to His plan, and love him as
“Father.”
The narrative in Genesis 2 described key components of this perfect world. Created in God’s
image, the first people were given an important job as stewards of God’s creation, and they
were to multiply and have dominion. Adam named all the animals, illustrating the kind of
role he was to play. They were given a perfect place to live where they had direct access to
God.
Adam and Eve had a relationship with each other which was complementary and suitable. In
Hebrew, the word we translate as “helper, is ezer. The other Hebrew term, kenegdo, means
“equal to”, or “corresponding to.” God gave Adam a partner, an equal who was different,
compatible, and complementary in their respective roles as husband and wife. Theirs was a
relationship of openness and joy. There was no shame (Genesis 2:25).
So much is revealed in this narrative, but the most important revelation of all is the character
of God. The LORD God is not a distant and capricious tyrant. We find a most generous and
good creator, an intimately involved and tender Father, a master artist. He is the origin, the
subject and the hero of the story.
The Fall of Man

Read Genesis Chapter 3
The Serpent Shows Up

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He
said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
Genesis 3:1
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The LORD God set an amazing stage for His children. He gave life, personality, responsibility
and freedom to them, and generous permission to enjoy His creation. But now, when the
time is opportune, the antagonist slithers into the story.
Who is this serpent? Where does he come from? We go to the conclusion of the story, the
Book of Revelation, to have the villain unmasked, though we’re pretty sure we know who he
is all along. His tactics have not changed.
“Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the
dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough and they lost their place in
heaven. The great dragon was hurled down -- that ancient serpent, called the Devil, or Satan,
who leads the whole world astray: he was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”
Revelation 12:7-9
Adam and Eve had an enemy. So do we. This enemy seems to know our weaknesses. He is
very interested in throwing us off tract or destroying us whenever he can. He is an enemy of
God and seeks to ruin anything that God is doing. He is subtle, insidious, devious, and sly. His
methods are still the same and we learn quite a bit about our enemy in these opening verses.
How did he deceive Eve? First, he asked a slightly twisted question that caused her to
question God. Her response indicated that she is thrown off a bit. She misquoted back to him
what God had said. Was she unfamiliar with God’s command, or was she nervous? Why did
she change it, add to it?
Now the serpent tells an out and out lie, “You will not surely die.” He is above all things a liar.
But he follows up the lie (denying the consequences) with a truth (the temptation): your eyes
will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. He is saying effectively, “You
will have something you do not have now, and there will not be any damage done. God was
not telling you the truth about this dying business.” Satan is a very good liar using the whole
liar’s tool box: clever half-truths, misquotes, blatant lies, accusations, planted questions that
cause the hearer to doubt, and dismissal of consequences. He still whispers the same lies.
The core of Satan’s temptation to Adam and Eve was to challenge the character of God.
Reread verses 3-5. Essentially the serpent was saying this: “God is withholding something
from you that you need,” (the implication is that God is not good and does not know what’s
best for us.) It is those lies about God’s character which often lead to our disobedience.
When we lose sight of the goodness of God, the temptation is always to take matters into
our own hands to make life work on our own. For Adam and Eve, and for us, the
consequences have been catastrophic.
Eve Responds
How does Eve react? She goes and looks at the tree. This was a bad move. Temptation is a
slippery slope once you are on it. It is better to flee. “Well there’s no harm in looking,” she
may have thought. And it was a very appealing tree -- lovely to look at, invitingly delicious.
It didn’t look that dangerous. And she thought, “This will give me wisdom. I would like to be
wiser. God is withholding something from me.”
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Eve had already lost the battle. She moved in closer, coveting the one thing she did not have.
God had given Eve and Adam broad permission to eat from every other tree in the garden,
even we suppose, the tree of life. God had provided richly. There was only one tree that had
a prohibition. She walked away from an abundance of provision to investigate the one thing
that she knew she shouldn’t have. Could she have done differently? Yes. This was a real
choice. Though she knew God intimately, she wrote him off. She hardened her heart and
chose not to listen and obey God, and to do what she wanted -- a completely human decision,
one with which we can all identify.
Was Adam with her this whole time? Was he curious too? Did he also eat, as some have
speculated, because he loved Eve and did not want to lose her once she had eaten? We are
not told his motivation, but he also chose in that moment to eat from the forbidden tree.
Their Eyes Were Opened

Immediately something changed. They were more aware than they were before. They were
self-conscious, and ashamed. They sensed that their nakedness must be covered. They felt
vulnerable and embarrassed. They did know more than they did before. They had knowledge
of good and evil, and not just in theory. They did something wrong, they disobeyed someone
who trusted them, and there was guilt. When God came into the garden they hid from him.
They were afraid.
These are terrible feelings. This is an awful scene. We have all been here, certainly as children
and very likely as adults. And what do we do when we are found out? We blame others of
course, just like Adam and Eve.
The Fall is Widespread. Blessing is Withdrawn.

A curse comes with this sin, this fallenness. Yes, they will surely die and return to the dust.
And their lives will be much more difficult – more pain, more toil, more struggle to grow food,
to bear their young, and more unfulfilled desires. Even the ground is cursed. In fact, all of
creation falls with them. Animals also will die. All living things will also suffer from disease,
decay, and disaster.
To be blessed is to be enriched, added to, filled, to move toward completeness. To be cursed
is to be stymied, hindered, blocked, confused, diminished and moving away from fulfilment.
Something in the human fallenness spreads this condition outward, infecting, infesting
everything. Some of the primal glory remains, but not like it was.
In Verse 21 God makes garments for them. These are garments of skin, and an animal had to
die that they might be kept warm. God himself performs this first ‘sacrifice’ on behalf of his
naked, cold children. This is the first place where we see an animal life sacrificed so that
people can live. This powerful theme, a blood sacrifice, is with us for the rest of the story.
They are Banished

God reasons with himself once again. He knows that if they eat from the Tree of Life in this
state of degradation and death, then they will live forever like this. That is not what he
intends.
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They cannot stay in the garden with the Tree of Life. It is a kindness that they are forced to
leave. Now the primary story the Bible begins -- God’s plan to redeem his children from this
degraded and hopeless state.
Tucked into the curse of the serpent is a puzzling prediction. One of the woman’s seed (or
offspring) will crush the serpent’s head, though the serpent strikes at his heel.
Discussion Question: What does this prediction mean?
Summary
Because Adam and Eve were made in the image of God, they had the freedom to make
choices. They could have chosen to follow God and stay in intimate fellowship with Him, but
instead, they chose to rule their own lives. When the enemy brought temptation into the
Garden, questioning the integrity of God, and luring Eve to be like God, she took the bait, as
did Adam, and death entered. Other consequences followed. They lost their pleasant home
and the fellowship of God. A curse fell over the man and the woman and the serpent. But a
mysterious promise remained: one of Eve’s offspring would bruise or crush the power of the
serpent (Gen. 3:15).
God’s original intention was sabotaged by the enemy through the free choice of Adam and
Eve. But that was not the end of the story. We do not suppose that God was surprised by this
turn of events, and hastily came up with plan B. His great plan of redemption through the
Son is not an afterthought. Even in the Hebrew letters which make up the opening word of
Genesis, Bereshit, “In beginning,” can be seen a distinct portrait of the presence of the father
and the son and the cross.2
By God’s mercy, Adam did not die physically at that moment (he lived to be 930 years old),
but spiritual death -- a profound separation from God -- occurred. The curse of death and
separation begun in Adam, eventually fell on the Son of Man who is known as the “Last
Adam” (Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Cor. 15:22, 45).
Consequences of the Fall

Eve:
Eve’s curse had to do with childbirth and with her relationship to her husband. She would
experience multiplied pain in childbirth and subjection to her husband. She was created to
be a co-ruler with her husband as she was created in the image of God along with Adam, but
this was broken with the Fall. Instead, competition, conflict, and loss of harmony came
between the man and the woman. But despite her sin, and the sins of countless others, the
Christ came through and into the line of fallen human beings.
Adam:
Adam was a gardener, one who cultivated the Garden. The ground had responded to Adam’s
efforts, but after the Fall, it brought forth weeds and resisted Adam. Thorns and thistles
competed with the crops Adam tried to grow. But work itself was not the curse placed on
man. Man was created to cultivate the soil, to be creative, and to enjoy labour.
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Meaningless and fruitless work was man’s curse. From here on man’s resources would be
limited and he would live under the fear of not having enough, which had been unknown in
the Garden.
Adam knew that he would return to the dust from which he was made (Gen. 3:19). The fear
of death is one of the greatest fears that mankind has today.
“Since the childrenhave flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death
he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free
those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Hebrews 2:14-15
All of Creation
The curse of sin removed Adam and Eve from God’s physical presence. They were driven
from the Garden of Eden with no way to re-enter. Humankind wandered off in exile from
God. The Fall not only impacted mankind and their future, but it affected all of creation. Paul
understood the situation and described it as follows:
“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the
one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to
decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to
the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan
inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies”
(Romans 8:19-23).
The terrible choice of Adam and Eve brought chaos and confusion, suffering and death into
the whole world. And only the redemption of humankind can redeem it.
Question: What is Paul referring to in verse 21 when he talks about “the freedom and glory
of the children of God”?
Paul answers this in verse 23, when he talks about the believers’ adoption as sons, which will
be fulfilled when the body is redeemed at the resurrection of the dead. The last trumpet will
sound a call to freedom from “this body of death” for all believers. Redemption is not just
for the individual. God will simultaneously redeem all of creation from the effects of Adam’s
sin. We read in Revelation 21:1 that a new earth and a new heaven is part of the final
redemption. God will restore all of creation to its intended state. Creation waits eagerly for
this time, and so do we.
When Adam committed treason and acted upon Satan’s lies, access to God’s presence and
to the Garden were both forfeited. The armed cherubim at the entrance of the Garden are a
reminder of everything we lost and everything we were meant to be. The consequences of
Adam and Eve’s sin passed down to us all.
As they left the presence of God, they had to face the repercussions of their rebellion. The
first evidence of The Fall on Adam’s descendants was the murder of their son Abel by his
brother Cain. Sin had entered the world and would continue to destroy the lives of men and
women.
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We will see as we go forward in this story, The LORD God prepared a way, one way, which
could lift the curse and bring man back into the fullness of the original plan.
INTEGRATION
God’s heart is to restore man and the creation.
The Psalmists struggled with the same issue. Read Psalm 73 and join Asaph’s journey from
struggling with why evil people around him prosper at the beginning of the Psalm, to trusting
in God at the end. This is a familiar journey for us all.
For Personal Reflection:

There was no more catastrophic choice ever made in human history than the choice of Adam
and Eve to disobey God. They decided they knew better how to live. They mistrusted God,
believing that He was withholding good from them, and was therefore not good. Humanity,
now separated from God, sets a similar course to make life work on their own, apart from
God. One author, Larry Crabb, framed it this way: “Sin is independence, a rebellion against
God’s authority based on disbelief in his goodness-- an independence that creates agendas
for our lives that run directly counter to his.”3
When the Lord confronted Adam (Genesis 3:9-10), Adam had the opportunity to take
responsibility for his sinful choice, but instead he hid, and when confronted, blamed Eve and
God for his choice. Humankind has been hiding and blaming God ever since. In verse 10, we
see three aspects of Adam’s fallen personality: his core motivation, his core emotion, and his
core strategy.
Core Motivation: Shame.

Shame is the belief that I am not enough. It manifests in three other self-perceptions: I am
defective, I am weak, I am dirty. Shame is different than guilt. We feel guilty when we’ve
done something wrong; we feel shame when we believe that we are wrong -- that at the core
of who we are, we are basically bad.
Core Emotion: Fear.

Humankind fears exposure; we fear being found out.
Core Strategy: Hide/Blame.

Adam and Eve hid from each other and from God. It is human nature to hide from ourselves,
denying the truth of our own sinful strategies to make life work on our own.
As we conclude this chapter, especially this last section, here are some questions for you to
think about its application in your own life.
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 How has shame impacted how you view yourself? How has becoming a Christian and
seeing yourself as a “new person” in Christ changed that view?
 What have been your greatest fears, and how have they affected your life? Your
ministry? Your relationships, especially with those close to you?
 What have been some of the ways that you have hidden from God? From others? From
yourself?
PRAYER
We want to walk with you, Our LORD God, in the garden in the cool of the day, and not be
afraid and hide. You make that possible even now. We are so grateful! You have not left us.
You made a way and paid the price to bring us back to You. You will restore all things and we
will join you fully in a new heavens and a new earth someday. The tree of life will be there,
and we will freely eat of it.
We praise you LORD God, for your love and for the glorious beauty of you.
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Chapter 3
God Chooses a Family
“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s
household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and
whoever curses you I will curse; And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:1
OUTCOMES
At the completion of this chapter, the students will:
 Appreciate how God’s great plan is revealed in the lives and stories of individual people.
 See the important role that faith in God plays in the lives of these people
 Have a better understanding of aspects of redemption from Old Testament examples
 Have a greater awareness of God’s value and purpose for individuals and families
GETTING STARTED
After the flood, life on earth begins again with Noah and his family. Their story is a grand
picture of who God is, what the world was like after the Fall, and how God worked through
one righteous man and his family. The story moves on across the generations and focuses in
on one of Noah’s descendant, Abram. Through this one man and his wife, Sarai, God brings
about the redemption of the world. The rest of the Bible is about this one family, God’s
revelation of Himself to them, and the blessing they brought to the whole world.
We will see throughout this long story, God makes numerous covenants with this family. The
concept of covenant is an important one, referred to hundreds of times in both the Old and
New Testaments. It is an important one in our study as well.
GOING DEEPER
“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and
that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord
regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled
… Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt
the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways” (Genesis 6:5-6,
11-12).
Humankind degenerates rapidly after Adam and Eve are expelled from the garden. Their first-
born son kills his brother in an act of envy. Things go from bad to worse as the generations
progress until there is so much corruption of the seed that judgment cannot help but fall. But
there is one man who is found righteous in the LORD’s eyes, and God begins again with him,
his wife, his three sons, their three wives, and an ark full of animals.
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Read Genesis 6:5 – 9:17 for the account of The Flood. Take time with it. Write down any
questions you might have or issues it raises.
Noah
Humankind fell so far from God that the whole earth was corrupted. Even the thoughts and
intentions of humankind were evil all the time. God was grieved at what His human creation
had become. In response to this evil in the human heart, God caused a flood to remove
corrupt humankind from the Earth. Noah was the only one God found who still heard and
obeyed Him.
“But Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD … Noah was a righteous man, blameless
among the people of his time and he walked faithfully with God …
So God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence
because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an
ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out’” (Genesis 6:8, 9b,
13-14).
Noah was chosen to give people another opportunity to know their Creator. In Matthew
24:36-44, Jesus compared the timing of His second coming to the Flood: “As it was in the days
of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
Jesus told His disciples to “… keep watch … and be ready, because the Son of Man will come
at an hour when you do not expect him.” The flood was a judgment, and there will be another
when Jesus returns. Judgement is not just an Old Testament concept.
Noah’s story takes place in Mesopotamia. The earth was destroyed by the great floodwaters
as recorded in Genesis 7:10-11. In 1920, an archaeological excavation in the city of Ur
uncovered a twelve-foot layer of flood deposit. There are stories in the Mesopotamian
folklore (as there are in many other ancient cultures as well) of a great flood. But unlike the
Mesopotamian and other stories of the flood, which resulted from capriciousness and
conflicts between their gods, the biblical account of The Flood gives the reason: God was
cleansing the earth because of the wickedness and perversity of humanity (Gen. 6:13-22).
God’s judgment was on everything, except Noah’s family. God judged wickedness but gave
humanity another chance. Those on the ark, humans and animals, survived and proceeded to
re-populate the earth.
God’s Covenant with Noah

God made a covenant with Noah after the Flood (Gen. 9). That covenant was established with
all Noah’s descendants and every living creature (Gen. 9:8-17). God promised never again to
destroy the earth with a flood. The rainbow was given as the sign of this covenant. This is the
first use of the word covenant in Scripture. The reality of covenant making between God and
mankind is an important one that permeates the remainder of the Bible.
As with Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:28-30), Noah was told to multiply and replenish the earth (Gen.
9:7). Noah’s three sons and their wives were with him on the ark. Their genealogy is given in
Genesis 10. But by the end of Chapter 9, family divisions had already begun.
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Personalities, temperaments and a Father’s blessings and curses will go on down through the
ages of this family. But from Noah’s son Shem will come the Hebrew people.
Why did God spare Noah? We see in later passages that Noah was not perfect in all his
behaviours, but he was aware of God and he trusted and obeyed Him. Nine generations later
a descendant of Noah’s, named Abram, was living in the city called Ur, in the Chaldean
civilization. He also heard and obeyed God.
Abraham
“So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five
years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the
possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set
out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there” (Gen. 12:1-5).
Abram heard God, though he was immersed in a pagan culture. He trusted Him and obeyed
Him though he didn’t know where he was going or why? He demonstrates an amazing and
responsive faith in God.
The rest of the story of the Old Testament is the story of God’s promises to this man and his
wife and their descendants. God saw the faith of this one man and called him to be the living
vessel through which He would come to redeem the world. God continues the working out of
his plans to save the world through one man and his wife. The rest of the Old Testament is
the story of this family. Jesus is a member of this family as well.
Abram heard God’s voice. Was it an audible voice? Did he hear it in his ear or in his heart? He
heard it clearly enough. God gave him a vision of the future. God gave him specific promises
that God Himself would accomplish:
God will make of him a great nation, God will bless (enrich and increase) him, and God will
make his name great. We can see from our perspective looking back down the ages that God’s
promises came true.
The last promise is for us: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Yes. Messiah
came through Abram, and his coming has surely blessed us all.
Abram arrives in Canaan, after an unimaginable journey up and over the ancient Fertile
Crescent, with herds of animal and many “souls” who were part of the entourage. “Abram
travelled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that
time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your
offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to
him” (Genesis 12: 6-7).
Now God appears to him and reveals more of the promise. God gives this land to Abram’s
offspring. Abram can see that it is a beautiful land. He takes in this promise and builds an altar
there and worships God. There are two problems, however. The land is already occupied by
the Canaanite people, and Abram and Sarai have no children.
He travels further through the land; taking it all in. He builds another altar, and he calls on the
name of the LORD. He is right to worship God, and to call out to him by name. Only God can
fulfil seemingly impossible promises.
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We are shown many aspects of Abram as his story progresses. He is not an idealized character.
He has real flaws. But he is also elegantly humble, as we see in his gracious dealings with his
nephew, Lot (Gen. 13:5-13). God speaks to him again after he parts from Lot enlarging the
promise. Not only is God giving this land to Abram’s offspring, but he is giving it to them
forever. And the offspring will not be a puny tribe – they will be like the dust of the earth;
they cannot be numbered (Gen. 13:14-17).
God’s Covenant with Abraham

The covenant between God and Abraham is a little different than the covenants we will study
in Chapter 5 between a lord nation and a servant nation. This covenant was between the Lord
and an individual, His servant Abraham. If Abraham obeyed, he would receive protection, a
land grant, and an enduring nation. God initially made the covenant with Abram in Genesis
12, but He renewed and expanded the covenant with him in Genesis 15 and 17.
Some years later the word of the LORD comes again to Abram in a vision. He still has no
children and is planning to make a servant his heir. God tells him straight out that he will have
a son coming from his own body. God takes him outside and has him look up at the stars. Like
the stars also, Abram’s descendants shall be so many they cannot be counted. In that starry
night, the aged childless herdsman simply believed what God said.
He believed God, and trusted that God could and would do this. “Abram believed the LORD,
and he credited it to him as righteousness” (15:6).
Because Abram believed God, the righteousness that is God’s was credited to him. Abram did
not have the law; he had never heard of the Christ, even the covenant of circumcision had
not yet happened, but he believed the LORD. Faith in God is the key. It opens the door that
God’s righteousness might pour down on an individual soul.
Many years later Paul applied these words from Genesis to all who believe in the promise God
made to Abram that night – fulfilled in Christ.
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just
as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he
faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old –
and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the
promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded
that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as
righteousness.’ The words ‘It was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also
for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in him who raised Jesus
our Lord from the dead.” Romans 4:18-24
“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
Romans 3:22-24
Paul taught believers in Galatians 3:1-4 that it is this same kind of faith God expects of
believers today. He says that it is faith that enables Gentile believers to be part of the
blessings of Abraham.
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“He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles
through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
Galatians 3:14
God made a covenant with Abram that night. God promised Abram innumerable
descendants, and a great land. But this was an unusual covenant, a one-sided covenant.
Normally both parties to the covenant would pass between the cut-apart animals, saying
effectively, “May this happen to me if I do not keep my part of this agreement.” But here, only
God passes through this blood sacrifice. This speaks a very large message about our God. This
is a very great and good King. He will accomplish what He promises.
Abram is our father in faith. We learn much from his heart for God. We also learn much from
him about how to live in faith, and how not to. Sarai comes up with a plan to help God fulfil
this promise (Gen. 16). It was an acceptable custom in that day to have an heir through a
servant if the wife was barren. “Good idea,” Sarai thought as more time passed without a
child of her own, and she sells the plan to her husband.
But it is not a good idea to move out ahead of God with our own schemes and helpful
ambitions. A son is born from this union of Abram and Sarai’s Egyptian maidservant, Hagar.
God does bless this son, but this is not the child of the promise. This act of impatience caused
Abram much personal grief and has caused endless grief down through the ages.
This son, Ishmael, will father many nations also, and his descendants will be at odds
continuously against the descendants of the promised son, Isaac. That struggle continues to
this day.
The Lord comes again to Abram, in person this time, not a voice; not a vision, and He says, “I
am El Shaddai (Almighty God); walk before me and be perfect. I will set my covenant between
me and you, and I will increase you most exceedingly” (Gen. 17:1-2, from The Chumash, a
Jewish Bible).4 EL Shaddai in Hebrew means, “God Who is sufficient; Who has sufficient power
to give and to do whatever is necessary.
Abram is ninety-nine. His son Ishmael is thirteen. God has come to make an everlasting
agreement with Abram. The reality of this covenant is so tangible that it requires a name
change. Abram means ‘Exalted Father’, which he is. But from here forward he will be
Abraham, “The Father of Many.” And Sarai, will now be ‘Sarah’; She will be called ‘Princess’,
for from her will come royalty. The names must have seemed humorous to the elderly couple.
And they were ironic, until Sarah realizes that she is pregnant. God is full of surprises, and joy.
The son who is born to them is named Isaac, which means laughter. God changed their names
as a further witness of the reality of His promise to them.
This is not a one-sided covenant, where God alone agrees to keep his word as in Genesis 15.
Now there is a sign that accompanies the covenant: Abraham and all the males in his
household are to be circumcised, and all of his descendants after him for the generations to
come.
The Bible is an earthy book. We are after all made from the earth. The sign of God’s covenant
with Abraham is painfully about fatherhood, procreation, family, and descendants. God is
making a permanent covenant with this man, his household and all who will come from him.
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This is not a sign to be taken lightly nor forgotten. And what does God agree to do? Nations
and kings (and the King of Kings) will come from Abraham’s line; the whole land of Canaan is
given as an everlasting possession to his descendants after him (In our own time, the Nation
of Israel sits again in possession of that very land); and greatest of all, the LORD says, “I will
be their God” (Genesis 17).
The Abrahamic Covenant

Genesis 12:1-3; 13; 15; 17; 22
Land Seed or Nation Blessing
13:14-15: Extent & Duration 12:2: Great Nation 12:2: Promise to Bless
17:7-8: Duration 13:16: # of descendants 12:3: Blessing Formula
15:13-16: Prophecy – of 17:5 Abraham: Father of 12:3: All families of the earth
leaving and returning a Multitude will be blessed: Universal
Scope
17:20-22: Nations from 17:9-27: Circumcision
two sons
Psalm 37: Humble inherit the 22: Offering Isaac 25:7-8: Personal fulfilment
land.
The covenant God made with Abraham is everlasting: made between God and Abraham, and
Abraham’s descendants. And who are Abraham’s descendants? Abraham had many other
children. But through Isaac -- the son of Promise -- and his wife Rebekah, comes their son
Jacob. From Jacob and his four wives – Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah will come twelve sons;
and from those twelve tribes comes the Nation of Israel.
Abraham is the genetic father of millions. He is, however, through faith, the spiritual father
of many more. From his seed comes the Saviour of the World, and through the Saviour comes
the adoption of multitudes into the family of God. This is the story of a very big family.
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Gal.3:29
INTEGRATION AND PERSONAL APPLICATION

The faith journey, at least for most of us, is a zigzag experience. Sometimes it is two steps
forward, one step back. The narratives in Genesis which detail the history of the patriarchs
are important ones. They highlight some key principles which we can apply to our lives. They
show how faithful God was in keeping His Word and promises, despite the difficulty of
working through flawed individuals.
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Questions:
 What lessons can we learn from Abraham?
 What do we learn about God from these passages? What is God Like?
Additional Questions for Discussion
 Did God speak more audibly back then? Do you think that God is still speaking to
people? How do we know if God is telling us something?
 Does God’s covenant with Abraham apply to us today? How?
 Have you ever moved out ahead of the LORD? How did that work for you?
Read through the passage, answer the questions and be prepared to share your answers.
A. The Abraham Narrative - Genesis 12-26
1. What is Abram called from and what is he called to?
2. What principle does the incident in Egypt in Genesis 12:10 demonstrate?
3. What is the significance of circumcision in chapter 17?
4. Paraphrase the story with Ishmael and Hagar.
5. What lessons do we learn from this situation?
6. Look at Romans 4. Why is the Abraham story so significant for New Testament believers?
B. The Isaac Narrative – Genesis 24-27
7. Read the incidents in Gen. 25:27-28 and 26:7-11. What do these indicate about Isaac’s
character?
8. In what ways was Isaac like his father Abraham?
9. How is the promise to Abraham expanded to Isaac in Gen. 26: 2-5?
C. The Jacob Narrative – Genesis 27-36
10. Describe Jacob’s character in these narratives.
11. How does God work in spite of Jacob in these narratives?
12. What lessons did Jacob learn from his encounter with the angel in Genesis 32?
D. The Joseph Narrative – Genesis 37-50
13. How is Joseph different than the previous patriarchs?
14. What are some high points of this narrative and what are some low points?
15. What do we learn about God in this story?
PRAYER
El Shaddai, Almighty God, you are completely able to accomplish all that you have planned,
even as you work with us your fallen children. Increase our faith. Help us to hear you and to
obey. Amen.
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Chapter 4
The Story of Redemption
“Israel I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the
morning mist. Return to me for I have redeemed you.”
Isaiah 44:21b-22
OUTCOMES
The students will:
 Have a clearer understanding of redemption as the key to the Old Testament
 Understand better the dire spiritual circumstances of people, from which there is no
hope except from a redeemer
 Connect the patriarchal culture of the Old Testament with God’s plan of redemption
 Comprehend the term kinsman/redeemer and see how this relates to Jesus
 Be able to explain examples of redemption in the Old Testament
The Bible is The Story of Redemption

Understanding “redemption” is key to understanding the Old Testament. And understanding
the culture of ancient Israel is key to understanding God’s revelation of himself through their
everyday life. God chose this family and the nation that grew from them. He made Himself
known, not only through direct revelation but also in and through their customs, social
conventions and their language. Through the lives, the history and the culture of Israel God
shows all people what He is like. And He shows us how mankind can have a relationship with
Him again.
Israel provides the story and a living picture of both our desperate need for redemption, and
God’s provision of it.
GETTING STARTED
What is Redemption?
In Hebrew the word is gaal which means to redeem/to act as kinsman. The meaning is
intrinsically linked to a family process. Redeem can also mean: to buy back, to free from
consequences, to ransom, release from debt, free from harm, to rescue and restore and to
avenge. In this process, the person in need of redemption must accept the offer, and the
redeemer pays the cost of their redemption.
Discussion Question: What are some examples of redemption, between people?
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“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke
of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an
outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.’” Exodus 6:6
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed
them.” Luke 1:68
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of
the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Colossians 1:13-14
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were
redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the
precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”
1 Peter 1:18-19
GOING DEEPER
From the passages above, and the opening quote to the chapter, we see that the concept of
“redemption” is key in the Bible. But how did the Hebrew people understand this term? And
why do we need redemption?
The need for and the practice of “redemption” came from the everyday customs and law of
Israel and from the nations and people who surrounded them. It is a term linked completely
to the patriarch (kinsman) and his responsibilities to take care of his family. God used this real
situation in Israel to give us insight into the meaning of redemption.
In the culture of ancient Israel, a person’s relationship to their family was everything. It was
impossible to think about walking away from your family unit and going and making a life for
yourself elsewhere. There was no security, no financial ability, no hope of help if you were
separated from them. But many times, due to war, disaster, sin, or even rebellion people were
separated from their home and family. It was a desperate situation to find yourself in. Without
someone in your family to redeem you, to take you back, to forgive you or pay the price of
your freedom, you were utterly lost, completely without hope. People understood this. There
was no other place to go.
The New Testament writers understood this also. In Revelation 5, John tells us that he was
grief stricken when he saw a scroll in the right hand of God sealed with seven seals and there
was no one to open it:
“… a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open he
scroll?’ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look
inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or
look inside.” Rev. 5:2-4
Without a redeemer, a kinsman to rescue us, there is no spiritual hope. We are utterly lost.
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The Significance of a Patriarch to His Family

Israel as a Tribal People
Israel was made up of tribes, usually headed by the oldest male family members from each
tribe. Groups of related families formed tribes. Related tribes formed clans. Related clans
formed larger groups that then formed a nation. This was how the people were governed,
and how they lived. Every aspect of an individual’s life was tied to his or her family group:
their protection; their ability to live, survive and prosper; their social life, religious practices
and laws were linked to their family, to their tribe. A person did not live an independent life
from their family.
The Patriarch’s Role

At the head of each tribe was a patriarch, who was the most powerful individual of the tribe.
The basic family unit was a household headed by the patriarch of that family. The household
generally held three or more generations with as many as thirty people. The household
included the patriarch and his wife (or wives), all the patriarch’s unmarried children, and his
married sons and their wives and children. They worked together and shared their resources
in a communal setting.
Prior to the giving of the Law to the Israelites, the Patriarch had the final word on all legal
matters in the household and was responsible for decisions for the financial well-being of the
family. If the household became too large or if the patriarch died, the household would split
as in the case of Abraham and Lot (Genesis 13:5-6). A widow or an orphan could find
themselves outside of the household, which is why the Law gave special directions to care for
these people so that no Israelite would be without hope.
“Forthe Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome,
who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and
the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing”
(Deuteronomy 10:17-18).
The Custom of Levirate Marriage

This story, placed in the middle of the narrative about Joseph, illustrates this Israelite custom
which provided descendants for a widowed woman and her deceased husband. Judah is one
of the twelve sons of Jacob, the patriarch in his household. Tamar had been married to Judah’s
son, who died. There was a provision in their culture that if a married son died, his widow was
to be married to his brother, to protect her and to raise up children through her who would
carry on the name of the deceased brother. Judah provided his second son to Tamar, and he
also died. So, Judah sent Tamar back to her family with the understanding that when his third
son was of age, he would send for her, and they would marry (this was called Levirate
marriage).
Judah did not follow through, so Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute, was hired by Judah,
her father-in-law, and became pregnant by him. Three months later when he found out she
was pregnant, he sent for her to have her burned to death because of her infidelities.
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When she revealed that Judah was the father of her unborn child, Judah admitted his failure
to provide for Tamar as part of his household through the Levirate marriage. The most
interesting part of this odd story and custom, is that the bloodline of Christ was carried on
through one of the twins she bore to Judah -- Perez.
The Patriarch’s Lineage

The line of ancestry in Israel’s society was traced through the male patriarchs. Women’s
names were typically not included in the family genealogy, unless there was more than one
wife or in the rare case where women inherited property because there was no male heir
(Num. 26:33; 27:1-11; Josh. 17:3-6). But in the genealogy of Jesus given in the New
Testament, five women are included: Tamar, described above; Rahab, who was a prostitute
before joining Israel; Ruth, a Moabitess; Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, who committed
adultery with David; and Mary, the mother of Jesus (Matt. 1:1-17).
Matthew’s inclusion of these women demonstrates to his readers that the good news of the
Messiah was for all people, regardless of their sex, background or shortcomings. Messiah
came through and for very fallen people.
Genealogies were also the means of showing the first-born of the patriarch, as the first-born
received a double portion of the inheritance of his father. This secured the first-born’s right
to rule and gave him the resources to be able to provide for the household upon his father’s
death (see Deut. 21:17; 1 Sam. 1:5).
In the stories of Jacob and Esau (Gen. 25:29-34 and 27), Reuben and Judah (Gen. 49), and
Manasseh and Ephraim (Gen. 48), however, God sovereignly chose a younger son to have the
right of the first-born. This is also shown in the story of David as Samuel goes to Jesse’s house
to anoint the next king of Israel. In this situation, God bypasses seven older sons in favour of
David, because he looks on the heart.
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected
him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
In a patriarchal society, children were part of the father’s household or tribe. When a girl
married she became part of her husband’s household. A woman’s protection was first
through her father, then her husband at marriage, and then through her son if her husband
died. This was Israel’s way of taking care of the women in their families. This practice brings
understanding to the story of Ruth, the Moabitess, and Naomi. This story will be examined
later in this Chapter to illustrate the principle of redemption.
Biblical laws were also in place telling how land was to be inherited. After the Israelites
returned to Canaan from Egypt, the land was divided between the twelve tribes of Israel by
“lots,” with the priestly tribe of Levi inheriting cities throughout the twelve territories. Land
was passed down through the male heirs from generation to generation. If a family had to
sell their land because of debt, a provision was made for the land to be returned to the family.
The land could be redeemed by a near kinsman, or in the Year of Jubilee, which occurred
every fifty years, land was returned to the original family regardless of what debt was owed
on it (Lev. 25:28).
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Family Bonds
The household, with multiple generations, lived together in a compound with adjoining
buildings and a shared courtyard. This helped them to survive economically and provided
protection for them from their enemies. The connection of the family continued even into
death as they were buried together in the family tomb. This is illustrated when Abraham
bought a plot of land for a tomb for his wife Sarah.
He is later buried there, as are Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah, and later even Joseph’s
bones are carried from Egypt to be buried there. The biblical expression of this is that a person
“slept with” or was “gathered to” his fathers. (See Genesis 23:1-20; 25:9-10; 49:29-32; 50:13.)
The family lived together in life and remained together even in death.
Jesus Used the Israelite Household Concept to Explain Heaven

The security and sense of belonging which could be found in a household living together in a
compound in the Israelite culture can also be found in the New Testament in the teachings of
Jesus.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house
has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare
a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be
with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).
This is Jesus’ farewell address to His disciples. He told them He would be leaving them, but
they wanted to know where He was going and if they could go with Him. He explained that
He was going to His Father’s house where there were many dwelling places or rooms. He went
on to say that He would be preparing a place for them and then He will come and bring them
to His home.
The Father’s house is His compound and the disciples’ destiny would be to live together in the
Father’s compound as part of His household. They knew that Jesus was telling them that they
were a beloved part of His family, and someday they would be with Him again, welcome and
safe in the family compound.
Examples of Kinsman/Redeemer in the Old Testament

The idea of redemption came from the necessities of everyday life for the Israelites. The term
is linked to the patriarch and to his responsibilities to care for his family.
Ruth and Boaz: Legal Redemption

In the book of Ruth, we read the story of a woman, Naomi, who was married to Elimelech and
had two sons. Because of famine they left their property near Bethlehem and moved to Moab
to survive. While living in Moab, her two sons married Moabite women, one of whom was
Ruth. But Elimelech and his two sons all died, leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-law.
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When she decided to return to her homeland, Naomi told her daughters-in-law to stay in their
country of Moab, but Ruth insisted on going back with her to Bethlehem and made a
commitment to take care of her.
Ruth’s words to Naomi are precious and are often spoken in marriage ceremonies between a
bride and groom. But the original words spoken by Ruth were spoken as a tribal commitment
to Naomi and her people:
“But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will
go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where
you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely,
if even death separates you and me” Ruth 1:16-17
Ruth chose to leave her own family, stay with Naomi and become part of her mother-in-law’s
family/tribe. After returning with Naomi to Bethlehem, Ruth was gleaning in the fields of
Boaz, who was a near kinsman of Naomi’s deceased husband. Her hard work and her
willingness to provide for her mother-in-law caused Boaz to look upon her with favour.
After Ruth returned from Boaz’s fields with a good supply of grain from the gleaning, Naomi
told Ruth that Boaz was a near kinsman of Elimelech (Ruth 2:3). Naomi hatched a plan to
provide for her daughter-in-law’s future. She told Ruth to go to the fields that night as the
harvest was being celebrated and lay down by the feet of Boaz. When he awoke, she was to
ask him to “cover” her because he was a close relative. This is another way of asking him to
“redeem” her. Boaz was willing to do this.
What did this mean for him to redeem her? It meant that he would buy the land of Elimelech
and bring Ruth into his household as his wife to provide and care for her and Naomi. There
was one person, however, who was closer kin to Elimelech. The next day Boaz asked the
closest relative, in the presence of the town elders at the city gate, if he wanted to redeem
Elimelech’s land as well as Ruth. When the close relative declined, Boaz bought the right to
be the kinsman redeemer.
The law of redemption involved a legal process where a patriarch could rescue someone in
his tribe who had sold his land, was in financial debt and had lost his or her tribal legal rights.
The redeemer would agree to pay off all the debts of the individual, thus restoring him. The
patriarch acted as the redeemer, to reconcile an indebted family member back to full rights
with the tribe. It cost the redeemer personally, but it brought hope to the struggling family
member.
Lot and Abraham: Patriarchal Protection

Another illustration of the importance and responsibility of the patriarch to provide and
protect is found in Genesis 14. Because their households had become too large for them to
live together, Lot and Abraham parted ways, with Lot choosing to live near Sodom. Kings from
other areas attacked Sodom and took many of the citizens as slaves including Lot and his
family. So Abraham gathered his personal 318-man army along with other local sheiks and
their accompanying armies and overtook the invaders, rescuing Lot and others from Sodom.
Abraham as the patriarch was responsible for rescuing his brother’s son from disaster. The
patriarch was expected to protect and provide for his extended family in times of war and
even to care for those who were separated through bad choices of their own.
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Hosea: Love and Restoration

A third illustration which shows God’s heart for restoring outcasts from His family back to His
household is the story of Hosea, the prophet, and his wife, Gomer. Hosea was a prophet sent
to the northern kingdom of Israel, who had fallen far away from God and were caught up in
the idolatrous practices of the Canaanites. Hosea was told to marry Gomer, a harlot. He
obeyed, married her and had three children by her. As a prostitute (very likely a temple
prostitute) she was an outcast from her family and, therefore, had no family, financial security
or protection. She was on her own and sold herself to men in order to live. She continued in
her adultery even as a married woman. (Israel as a nation is often referred to as an adulteress
by the prophets as they committed similar acts of unfaithfulness to God.)
Gomer left Hosea and returned to the lifestyle of a harlot. Later, no one wanted her services,
and she sold herself as a slave to survive. God spoke to Hosea and told him to buy her back
off the slave block and bring her home again. This is a perfect picture of the heart of God
toward His lost, adulterous people. As their Patriarch, he wants to bring them home, and
restore them to a place of love, security, and financial provision.
Redemption looks like this.
Conclusion
God used the concept of redemption in Hebrew life to illustrate his goal for humankind.
Included in this concept is also the idea of restoration. He wants to bring His family back to
Himself, back into the safety and place of belonging in His household. The patriarch was the
one responsible and the one who paid the price. He is the redeemer.
If the family member was lost through poverty (as in the case of Ruth and Naomi), or captured
by an invading enemy (as was Lot) or cast away because of poor choices (as Gomer had made),
the patriarch’s desire was to restore (bring back to full family rights) the one who was in need.
This is still God’s heart for the world today.
In the New Testament, we see God fully in His role as the Perfect Patriarch. He paid the
ransom price, the blood of His Son, to bring all who are lost back into the security and
blessings of His household.
“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many” Matt. 20:28
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of
the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins”
Col. 1:13-14
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were
redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the
precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” 1 Pet. 1:18-19
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1. As we begin to grasp the importance of the Old Testament in God’s story of the
redemption of mankind, what difference should it make in how we teach it and use it
in our ministries, both as teachers and as pastors?
2. What makes God’s story of redemption different from other world religions?
“But now, this is what the LORD says – he who created you, Jacob, He who formed you, Israel:
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine”
Isaiah 43:1
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Chapter 5
Understanding the Meaning of Covenant
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12: 1-3
OUTCOMES
The students will:
 Have a greater appreciation for our God, who enters into covenant relationships
with His people
 Have a good understanding of “covenant”
 Understand how covenant-making worked in the Ancient Near East
 Be able to identify the different components of a covenant
 Specifically understand the covenant at Mt. Sinai
GETTING STARTED
 What is the nature of agreements in your culture? Is a person’s word binding? Does a
handshake or some other symbol signify your agreement to carry out a promise?
 What goes into a formal agreement? Are there contracts and signatures? Are
documents filed with the government (deeds to land etc.)?
 Is a pledge, as in Marriage, considered binding and part of a person’s honour to keep?
Do people take their promises seriously in your culture?
GOING DEEPER
After humankind fell from Eden into their exile upon the earth (Genesis 3), God began the
process of leading them all the way to the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21-22
where they can live with Him again. This process includes five covenants, following Adam’s
broken covenant with God. They serve as steps or stages in God’s plan of redemption. These
covenants centre upon five individuals: Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus.
The first covenant after Eden was made with Noah. It is for all of creation after the Flood. The
covenant with Abraham followed and was for, and with, the people who will descend from
him. God chose a man and his wife and their descendants to be His own people (Israel), but
this covenant extended beyond the Jewish nation to all of mankind. God renewed this
covenant with both Isaac and Jacob.
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After the Abrahamic covenant came God’s covenant with Moses (the Mosaic Covenant). It is
referred to as the “Old Covenant,” or the Law. The remainder of the Old Testament is tied to
the Mosaic Covenant. The last of the Old Testament covenants was with David. His lineage
was chosen to be the lineage of the Messiah. In many ways David is a “type” of Christ. (For a
discussion of “types,” see Chapter 6, p. 63-64.)
These covenants, or binding agreements, were the progressive revelation of God in
relationship to people. Each one builds upon the one before until the New Covenant in Christ
is enacted. They show us much about God’s character, His plan, and His desire to restore His
people to Himself. They bring us forward to the moment of God’s greatest revelation of
Himself in Christ, and the institution of “The New Covenant” (Luke 22:20).
The nature of “covenant” in the Old Testament is a key to our understanding God’s plan of
redemption in both the Old and New Testaments. In Hebrew the word for “covenant” is
berith. This is one of the few times in Hebrew when a word has a single specific meaning –
this means “covenant,” of the type we will show you in this lesson.
The source of the word “testament,” in Greek, is the word diatheke, also translated as
“covenant.” In English, we use the word “testimony,” as a person’s word, and it can have legal
stature. We also use the phrase, “Last Will and Testament,” for the final legal document of
our life – our final word, promise and disbursement, effective beyond our death. A covenant
is a similar giving of ones’ word to another which is legal and binding.
The title of the collected documents which make up our New “Testament” uses the word
“testament” more in the sense of “testimony,” a true word given by those who experienced
Christ and His early church. The New Covenant in Christ’s blood is entirely different. It is the
holy, solemn and profound final covenant, given by God to us, sealed in blood.
Definition of Covenant
A covenant is an agreement enacted between two parties in which one or both make
promises under oath to do, or not do, certain actions stipulated in advance.
A covenant was a legal contract in the days of the Patriarchs, and could be made between
individuals, tribes, or nations. An example of a covenant between individuals occurred when
Abraham sent his servant back to his homeland to secure a bride for his son Isaac from among
his kin. Abraham and his servant made a covenant with each other (Gen. 24).
An example of a covenant between tribes occurred when Isaac made a covenant with
Abimelech (Gen. 26:26-33). The story of the Gibeonites tricking Joshua into making a
covenant with them is an illustration of a covenant between nations (Josh. 9-10).
In each case the agreements are made with the greatest seriousness and they are kept. It was
a matter of honour, mixed with the fear of retribution, both divine and human, that caused
these agreements to be held in the highest regard.
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How Covenant-Making Worked in the Ancient Near East

Right of Kinship
A covenant agreement gave the parties making the covenant the status of close kin, with the
privileges and responsibilities associated with that status. A person’s degree of responsibility
toward another person in Near Eastern society was determined by the closeness of their
relationship -- the closer the relationship, the greater the responsibility. The making of a
covenant with an oath brought two parties together as if they were kin. They agreed to act
like family toward each other.
The same thing happens today in marriage or adoption. By means of a legal agreement, a
person who is not kin is brought into the family with full rights, benefits, and responsibilities
as if they were kin. Through the making of a covenant, even nations made binding agreements
with each other which brought them into a degree of responsibility for each other that is like
the responsibilities and privileges of family.
Covenants Between Nations

Because the land of Canaan (Israel) lay in a strategic military location between larger powers
(typically Egypt and the various super-powers of Mesopotamia), and was a crossroads of trade
routes, there was always insecurity. Canaan was made up of many small city states and tribal
regions, who were not able to survive alone. For the sake of security these kingdoms often
united or submitted to a bigger power.
There were two kinds of treaties or alliances made. One was made between equals -- smaller
kingdoms or city-states agreed to a mutually beneficial treaty or covenant. Usually, this type
of treaty was for the exclusive purpose of a military alliance against an invading army, and
those making this type of covenant spoke of each other as brothers.
The other type of treaty was between a greater power (lord) and a lesser power (servant).
The powerful “lord” could demand submission of the lesser kingdom and would often be
referred to as the “father” and the servant as the “son.” The lord would take ownership of
the land of the servant nation, allowing the people to use it as long as they abided by the
terms of the covenant.
The lord nation was responsible to provide protection to the servant nation, and the servant
nation agreed to pay taxes in return. The servant nation was expected to assist the lord nation
in a military campaign, if needed, and to allow unrestricted travel and trade through their
territory. A servant nation was expected to be loyal to the lord nation and not make treaties
with any other lord nation, as this would be considered treason.
An example of a lord nation making a treaty with a servant nation is found in Joshua 9 and 10,
when the city of Gibeon made a treaty with the powerful nation of Israel. Even though the
Israelites were tricked into the agreement, they abided by the conditions, and Gibeon agreed
to be their servants in return for Israel’s protection of them. Later, when Gibeon was attacked,
Israel sent its army and rescued them. This shows why covenant making between nations was
a necessary and common practice in that day.
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What Did a Covenant Look Like?

When a covenant was made, each party would take an oath promising to do certain things
and agreeing that certain consequences would take place if the obligations were not met.
Usually, an animal sacrifice sealed the agreement, and the animal was often cut into two
pieces. Therefore, it became known as “cutting a covenant.” The animal sacrifice was also a
way of saying to each party that the consequence for breaking the covenant would be similar
to the fate of the sacrificed animal. The sacrifice was then roasted and eaten at a meal shared
by the two parties.
Terms of a Covenant
The curses, or consequences, for not keeping a covenant were written into it, along with
blessings for keeping it. This helped insure that each party would be loyal to the covenant and
keep it. In the case of unequal covenant powers, the lord would be called the “father” to the
servant. The servant in return would be expected to love his lord and be loyal to him. If he
failed to keep his covenant with his lord, it would be as if he had betrayed his lord and hated
him.
In the Old Testament the idea of covenant between God and Israel is a covenant between
two unequal powers where God is Israel’s “lord” or “Suzerain” and Israel is His “servant” or
“vassal.” A formal agreement was drawn up to document a covenant between two nations
in the time of ancient Israel, similar to a legal contract in our own day.
Parts of a Covenant
The typical parts of an unequal covenant between a lord and servant are listed below:
Preamble: A list of the names by which the lord nation, would be known
Reason for Making the Covenant: Reasons why the servant nation should enter into this
covenant with the powerful lord nation and accept its leadership as king
Expectations and Obligations: A list of the expectations that the lord would have regarding
the servant nation, including tribute (taxes) and military assistance if needed
Blessings and Curses: A list of blessings which would come if the provisions were followed;
and a list of curses or punishments which would come if provisions were disobeyed or ignored
Witnesses: The witnessing of the covenant by the gods of each party
Ratification: After both parties swore to the covenant, sacrifices were made and then eaten,
and a written record of the covenant was made for each party to bring with them.
Periodic Reading: The servant nation would be required to read the document periodically as
a reminder of its conditions.
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God’s Covenant with Abraham

In Genesis 15, God confirmed His covenant with Abram, with a sacrifice of this nature. Abram
was still childless many years after God’s first promise of offspring had been made to him. At
this time God told Abram that he would have more offspring than stars in the sky, and Abram
believed God. God also told Abram that he would be given the land of Canaan for his
inheritance.
Abram asked God how he could know that this would happen, and God told him to prepare
animal sacrifices and cut them into two pieces. This was an invitation by God for Abram to
“cut a covenant” with Him in the standard way that parties cut the covenant between each
other in Abram’s day. The unique and surprising thing about this covenant was that only God
passed between the pieces of the blood sacrifice. (Read more about this covenant in Ch. 3,
pp. 28-30.)
Discussion Question
 Why was Abraham put to sleep and only God passed between the animal pieces?
The Covenant at Mount Sinai

The covenant God made with Moses and Israel at Mt. Sinai followed this same covenant
structure which existed between nations in Israel’s day. God entered into this practice, this
covenant agreement, which was identifiable to people of that time and culture, as the way to
come close, reveal more of Himself and His plan and make a very clear statement to His
people: God desired a relationship with them.
At the time of Moses, Egypt was the most powerful nation, and the Israelites were their
slaves. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the oppressed labour force, the
“chain gang,” for Egypt’s massive building projects. But when the time was right, God sent
Moses to be their deliverer. When Moses returned to Egypt after forty years in the desert of
Midian, he confronted Pharaoh to let his people go, bashed the gods of Egypt and declared
that God was the Lord of Israel, not Egypt.
After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt through the Red Sea, God directed the sprawling
multitude to Mt. Sinai. There He made a covenant with Israel, known as the Mosaic Covenant.
Through this agreement, Israel was officially changed from a group of slaves into a nation
ruled by God.
Israel suffered hundreds of years of slavery and submission to a nation who worshipped their
own (demonic) gods and demanded Israel honour them as well. It took the Law at Mt. Sinai
to give the Israelites a new identity and the ability to become “the people of God.”
The Law given at Sinai brought order to the people’s lives. It gave them direction for living
and organized the events of their lives. Through a calendar of daily sacrifices, a weekly
Sabbath, and religious festivals during each year, God brought consistency and purpose to
their lives through fellowship with Him. They were given regulations about relationships with
family and neighbours, diet and health. They were taught about the awfulness of sin and
shown a process for the forgiveness of sins through blood sacrifices. (See note below.)
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Through their forty years of wandering in the desert, due to disobedience, they were shaped
into a people who would be able to confront and defeat the inhabitants of Canaan (the
promised land).
God revealed His plan to Israel through this covenant with God as the Lord and Israel as the
servant. This was not a covenant between equals but a covenant between the greatest power,
God, and the lesser power, Israel. And with this covenant there were responsibilities,
blessings, and curses.
The Mosaic covenant was structured like other covenants of that time as shown below:
Name of the Lord Nation: “I am the Lord your God.”
Reason to Enter this Agreement: “Who brought you out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2,
Deuteronomy 5:6, 6:12, 8:14, 13:5, 13:10)
Expectations and Obligations: Unlike the other covenants of the time which were usually
based on fear and intimidation, God made provision for the Israelites first and then asked
them to obey because He had already acted for them (ref. under “Reason”). God’s goodness
came before the people’s response of obedience. This is true of grace today as well.
Exclusive Loyalty:
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form
of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not
bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the
children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my
commandments” (Exodus 20:3-6).
Blessings and Curses: Blessings would come if Israel abided by the conditions of the Mosaic
Covenant, but curses would follow if Israel was disobedient to the covenant. These are listed
in Deuteronomy 28. This agreement between God and His people was called The Code of
Deuteronomy. Reading through this will help you understand the blessings and curses which
fell upon Israel as time went on.
Witnesses: God Himself was witness to this covenant as the only true and living God. Heaven
and earth were also called to witness the covenant (Exodus 24:1-11).
Ratification:
“When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with
one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down everything the
Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain
and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young
Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship
offerings to the Lord” (Exodus 24:3-5).
Periodic Reading:
“Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will
do everything the Lord has said; we will obey” (Exodus 24:7).
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“Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for cancelling
debts, during the Festival of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord
your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing”
(Deut. 31:10-11).
A Note on the Blood:

Following the sacrifice of the young bulls mentioned above Moses takes their blood and
sprinkles it first on the altar, and then onto the people.
“Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar”
(Ex. 24:6)…“Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘This is the blood
of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words’” (Ex.
24:8).
This is a vivid and difficult scene to most of us living in the world of the 21st Century. It may
not have been that easy for the Israelites either. Why the blood? Why does an innocent
animal have to die in order to make this agreement real? To everyone standing there with
drops of blood on them, we can imagine that the power of this agreement was boldly clear.
In the New Testament there is blood poured out as well. Christ ratifies the New Covenant
through His own blood:
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and
gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it,
all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness
of sins” (Matt. 26:26-28).
In the New Covenant, the Lord of the Universe is the Lord who enters a covenant with
mankind, but He is also the sacrifice that ratifies the covenant. May God help us all, in our
minds and in our hearts, to bridge the gap between biblical times and ours, so we can
understand what Jesus has done for us, and the price He paid, through the shedding of His
blood.
Additional Study: Take time to review the book of Hebrews, especially Chapters 9-10. As you
read, take special note how many times the words “blood” and “sacrifice” are used,
particularly to contrast the Old Covenant under the law, and the New Covenant under Christ.
Conclusion
The Mosaic Covenant at Sinai was between God and Israel -- a covenant between two who
were unequal in power. God, as the great Lord, gave to Israel, as the servant nation, an
opportunity to be in a covenant relationship with Him. He offered this to them because of His
love for them and His choice of them, sealed many years before in His covenant with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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They had good reason to want to be in covenant with Him. He had brought them out of their
bondage in Egypt with mighty acts of power. He promised them provision, protection, and His
presence, but He also expected their loyalty, gifts, and love. This was sealed through the oaths
of the people and the blood sacrifices.
A copy of the law was made and there was to be a public reading of the law every seven years.
God was slowly putting into effect His plan to bring mankind back to Himself, and the Mosaic
covenant was the next step in the journey of redemption for mankind
The concept of covenant, though daunting and foreign to us, has large and lovely implications.
Is it true? God desires to be in a relationship with us? How do people enter into a relationship
with God? What is God like that we might draw near to Him? What would He expect from us?
God helped us answer questions like these through this great covenant at Mr. Sinai. He was
teaching His people, and all who are interested, what it is like to be in a treaty with the Great
and Glorious King, using this concept from the culture of the Near East at the time of Abraham
and Moses. The Mosaic covenant was not just between Moses and God, however. This
covenant was made between God and his people, “This is the blood of the covenant that the
LORD has made with you (the people) in accordance with all these words” (Ex.24:8).
In the first Abrahamic Covenant, only God walked through, giving his blood oath, His life, as a
guarantee that He would fulfil the promises made to Abraham. In the Mosaic covenant, the
blood was shed through the sacrifices. Later, when Israel did not live up to their agreement
to follow the laws God had given them, they also, by God’s stipulations, offered a blood
sacrifice to atone for their breach in the contract.
The Davidic Covenant

Many years later God picked another individual man and made another covenant with him,
and his descendants. This is the continuation of God’s promise to Abraham that all people will
be blessed through his offspring. An eternal King will come through David’s line.
“I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you … I will raise up your offspring to
succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will
build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever … I will set him over my house and
my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.” 1
Chronicles 17:10b-14
Note: The Davidic Covenant is discussed in more detail in Chapter 7.
Noah and his sons and their descendants, Abraham and his descendants, Moses and the
Israelites, and David… all entered into a special covenant with God. Each covenant
progressively drew the world closer to the time of the culmination of His redemptive plan at
the cross. These covenants were the perfect picture to portray God’s unfolding plan for the
redemption for mankind. They become an organizing factor as well for the rest of the Old
Testament.
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The New Covenant

Jesus offered His life, His blood, as the seal, the ratification, the price of the New Covenant.
This seal is not symbolic. It is as real as the blood on the lintels and doorposts in long ago
Goshen; as real as the drops of blood Moses sprinkled on the people at Sinai. Real blood. It
covers us still. Under the covering of the precious blood of Christ, our sins are gone and
genuine relationship with God is possible. Because of it, we can have the fullness of his living
law, His thoughts and words in our minds and on our hearts. We can be His people.
The New Covenant was an unconditional promise (a Royal Grant covenant, like the Covenant
made with Abraham) made to the disciples when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper: “In the
same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do
this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (1 Corinthians 9: 25). The disciples would
have connected Jesus’ words to God’s promise spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people
of Israel and with the people of Judah… “This is the covenant I will make with the people of
Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their
hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31: 31, 33
In one real sense, this new covenant is yet future to us, and will be fully instituted when Jesus
returns to set up His earthly kingdom as the true reigning King. But in the meantime, this new
covenant is lived out in us as believers -- God working through the indwelling Holy Spirit to
fulfil the requirements of the law in us (Romans 8:1-4).
It is stunning to realize that God instituted and with agony sealed and completed this New
Covenant relationship in order to be in relationship with us. Why has He done this? The only
answer, almost too precious to receive is: because He loves us.
In light of this, our only response can only be as Paul described:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1

Are We Still Bound to the Old Covenants and the Law?
Class Exercise: Agree or Disagree.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Give the reasons why.
 Since we are “no longer under the law but under grace,” as Romans 6:14 tells us, the
Old Testament law no longer applies to us.
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 The Old Testament law is a good thing, and Christians should still try to obey it as best
they can.
 God promised He would bless Israel materially if they obeyed Him, and there is every
reason to believe that God will do the same for us if we obey His law (Deuteronomy
28:1-11).
 If a person is not prospering (or healed), it must mean either there is sin in their life, or
they just don’t have enough faith to believe that God wants them to be well and
prosperous.
 Certain aspects of the Old Testament law still apply to us (the moral law) but the parts
having to do with the civil and ceremonial aspects of the Nation of Israel have no direct
application to us.
1 Chronicles 17:14b
“… his throne will be established forever”
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Chapter 6
God Brings His People Out of Darkness and into the Land
“As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came
over him. Then the LORD said to him, ‘Know for certain that your descendants will be
strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred
years.’”
Genesis 15:12-13
OUTCOMES
The students will recognize:
 How God protected and prepared Moses to lead His people.
 How God built His attack against the forces of darkness and rescued His people.
 How God protected and prepared His people to become a godly nation.
 The significance of the Passover and its connection to Christ as the Passover Lamb
 The different components of the Tabernacle and their connection to Christ
GETTING STARTED
Abraham has a premonition of a dreadful darkness in the verse above. He experiences some
of what his descendants will experience. This is more than political oppression. This reaches
far into the spiritual realm.
Discussion Questions:
 What is that darkness?
 Do you have any familiarity with a darkness of that kind in your own country or culture?
 Have you, or anyone you know, been rescued from it?
A Review: From Abraham to Moses (Genesis 24-50)

The rest of the book of Genesis tells the story of Abraham’s family through his son Isaac, the
son who was promised by God. Isaac takes a wife, Rebekah, from Abraham’s brother’s family.
They have twin sons: Esau and Jacob. Jacob also returns to his mother’s family to marry his
cousins, the two sisters Leah and Rachel, and later their two maid servants, Zilpah and Bilhah.
From them will come twelve sons. From these twelve sons comes the Nation of Israel.
God repeated the promise given to Abraham to both Isaac and Jacob – their descendants will
be numerous, kings will come from their line, and the land will be given to their offspring. God
also changed Jacob’s name to Israel. Israel means “he struggles or wrestles with God.” In every
sense of the word the nation known by this name, and we who are their spiritual descendants,
are in a real relationship with God.
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We are in an active, interactive, personal relationship with The Almighty God, grappling and
striving to know, love, and serve him. God also “wrestles” (persists, perseveres and exerts
himself) with us. Israel is a very good name.
Jacob’s youngest son Joseph was his favourite, because Rachel, his mother, was Jacob’s
favourite wife. (Later one last son, Benjamin, was born to Rachel.) Jealousy arose in the other
brothers and they wanted to kill Joseph but are convinced to sell him into slavery. So, he was
sold to a band of Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. His brothers told their father, Jacob,
that Joseph was killed by animals.
Joseph’s story is a fascinating one of a man who rises from slavery, betrayal and imprisonment
to become second in command of all of Egypt. Joseph was intelligent, faithful, and aware of
God. He will ultimately save his family from famine, and bring them all to Egypt (Genesis 37,
39-50). And he forgave them.
“And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here,
because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you…God sent me ahead of you to
preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it
was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:5, 7-8a).
… “Even though you intended to harm me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a
numerous people, as he is doing today” (Genesis 50:20).
Joseph was highly favoured by Pharaoh. His family was given fertile land in Goshen, the delta
of the Nile. The family prospered and multiplied. But as time went on, the deeds of Joseph
were forgotten, and new Pharaohs resented and feared the growing Hebrew population.
The Hebrews were eventually enslaved by the Egyptians and became the slave labour force
for the massive Egyptian building projects. (Ex. 1:11). Four-hundred years passed.
There are two stories in the Moses narrative as well -- Moses’ and God’s. The way God uses
all things should be an encouragement to us. God wastes nothing in the lives of those who
love Him. He uses our trials and suffering for good and for His glory! “And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His
purpose” (Romans 8:28).
GOING DEEPER
Moses’ First Forty Years (Exodus 1 – 2:14)
The Egyptians not only cruelly enslaved the Hebrew people, they then demanded infanticide
on male children. Pharaoh ordered that Hebrew baby boys be thrown into the Nile (Ex.1:22).
One mother hid her baby boy in a basket at the side of the river, and he was found by an
Egyptian princess, who had compassion on him. The infant’s sister, Miriam, was standing
nearby and offered to find a wet nurse, who happened to be the child’s own mother.
He was named Moses, was raised up for a time by his own family, then raised in the palace as
Egyptian royalty. He was educated, sophisticated, and completely familiar with Egyptian
ways. But he was a Hebrew in his heart. Abraham was his direct ancestor through the line of
Jacob’s son, Levi.
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As a grown man, he was aware of the oppression of his people, though he was distanced from
it. One day he saw an Egyptian slave master beating a Hebrew. In anger he killed the man. He
was found out and fled for his life.
Moses’ Second Forty Years (Exodus 2:15-25)

Moses fled to the Sinai Peninsula. He was taken in by a Midianite family (also descendants of
Abraham through his second wife Keturah), married one of the daughters and became a
shepherd. He wandered that desert country with the sheep for forty years. His familiarity with
the land will serve him well. Meanwhile back in Egypt the suffering of the Hebrew people
intensified, and they cried out to God.
Moses’ Third Forty Years (Exodus 3 – Deuteronomy 34)

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led
the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the
angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.
Moses saw that though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go
over and see this strange sight – why the bush does not burn up.”
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush,
“Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are
standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying
out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come
down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land
into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey … So now, go. I am sending
you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:1-10
Thus, Moses was commissioned. He was 80 years old and far removed from Egypt and from
the Hebrew people. He proceeded to bargain and argue with the LORD, and even tried to get
out of this calling. But he asked God to tell him his name. A name carried with it the authority
and presence of its owner, and Moses will need that authority when he returns to Egypt. And
God told Moses his name.
This is a most intimate passage. God reveals his name nowhere else. “God said to Moses, “I
AM WHO I AM.” This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus
3:14-15). God told Moses his holy name, and Moses shared it with the Hebrew people. It
comes down to us even now through these Scriptures. God then showed Moses aspects of
His power and sent his brother, Aaron, to help him. Moses, somewhat reluctantly, returned
to Egypt.
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This is not easy work, even with the LORD God on your side. There is a process in the battle
against the darkness. Pharaoh refused the request many times, the Hebrew people did not
really want to leave, and they did not much care for Moses as a leader. But there was also a
much larger problem. Egypt was a dark kingdom. Much, if not all, of their religious practices
were dark and demonized. The thick and dreadful darkness that Abraham felt in his
premonition was real.
A series of ten plagues came upon Egypt as Pharaoh repeatedly refused to let the people go.
These were ten confrontations and de-throning of Egyptian gods and goddesses. Each of the
plagues brought into sharp focus some aspect of Egyptian worship or idea of sacredness and
made a stench of it. The final plague killed the god of the Egyptians, the first-born son of
Pharaoh. God’s judgment fell heavily on Egypt.
In the showdown between the gods of Egypt and the God of Israel, YHWH’s power and ability
to control nature overwhelms, in sharp contrast to the impotence of the gods (demonic
forces) of Egypt, despite some counterfeit moments. God was giving to Moses and His people
through this demonstration, a growing picture of who He was -- His holiness, His power, His
ability to deliver, and His love for them. They, like the Egyptians could not ignore YHWH, who
went to such lengths to show Himself to them, to unmask the evil, and to rescue them from
this hopeless mire.
Many facets of God’s character are revealed in this book. They should strengthen our faith as
well. God was more than able to deliver His people and He can deliver us. He is a mighty and
sovereign God. The true nature of our God is of the utmost importance to understand.
Following is a quote from a classic book on the character of God, The Knowledge of the Holy,
by A.W. Tozer.
“The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion,
and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater
than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts
of God. For this reason, the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and
the most significant fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what
he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.”5
 Do you agree or disagree with Tozer’s assessment that what we think of God, either
individually or as a church is the most significant belief? Why or why not?
 What are some factors which impact a person’s view of God, in addition to the
Scriptures?
 Is it possible that our view of God is somehow diminished or skewed, and is not as
accurate as Scripture has intended it to be?
 What factors influence how we view God in His Word?
 How does our view of God effect the way we live by faith as Christians?
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These questions should challenge our thinking regarding how we view God. This was also the
struggle of Moses and the Hebrew people in trusting the great I AM of Exodus to lead them
into the Promised Land.
There were high points when their faith and obedience was clearly focused on YHWH and His
ability to care for his people. But there were far too many low points, when they lost focus,
depended on their own resources to make life work, and sadly fell into idolatry and
disobedience. As we continue through the Old Testament story, we need to keep before us,
what these passages teach us about God and His character.
The Passover
“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron … “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth
day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household … The
animals you choose must be year-old males without defect … Take care of them until the
fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter
them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of
the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs … This is how you are to eat it: with
your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it
in haste; it is the LORD’S Passover.
On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both men and
animals – and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be
a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No
destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. Exodus 12:1-13
God gave the Hebrew people specific instructions, through Moses and Aaron, about what to
do the night of the final plague, the night before the great Exodus. This is the LORD’s Passover.
He instituted it. It is celebrated to this day by Jews everywhere. The sacred importance of this
cannot be stressed enough.
The Passover meal included a lamb, slaughtered that night at twilight, whose blood was
painted onto the door frames of each of the Israelite’s homes. At midnight, when death came,
those under the cover of the blood of the lamb were spared. Death “passed over” them.
Down through the ages the Israelites celebrated this Passover as a reminder of God’s
judgment on the Egyptians and His miraculous deliverance of His people. The night before He
died, Jesus celebrated a Passover Meal with his disciples. Only this time, as Jesus understood
so clearly, He was the Passover lamb.
“The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” John 1:29
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“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne … He
came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne … and they sang a
new song:
You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,
Because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God
From every tribe and language and people and nation,
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God …”
Revelation 5:6a, 7, 9-10
The blood of that innocent lamb on the doorposts saved the lives of all first born of the
Hebrews that night. But all firstborn males, both people and animals, died in the Egyptian
homes, including Pharaoh’s son. Because of Christ, we also are under the covering of the
blood of the Lamb of God, and the angel of death will pass over. What happened in Egypt that
night so long ago was a glimpse into a far greater truth now in place for those who trust in
Christ.
The Exodus
Moses now had the full attention of Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and all the Hebrew people.
Pharaoh said, “Go, worship the LORD as you have requested” (Genesis 12:31b). The Egyptians
gave them silver and gold and clothing, and the Hebrew nation, possibly more than a million
people, left with their kneading troughs and unleavened bread on their shoulders. Men,
women, children, all of them, even some Egyptians, with all their animals, went out from
Egypt.
They hadn’t gotten far when Pharaoh changed his mind, and he came after them with his
entire trained army and horses and iron chariots. Only a miracle could save them, and that’s
exactly what God had in mind – a miracle of biblical proportions. The waters of the sea parted;
the Hebrew nation passed through on dry ground; Pharaoh’s army came after, was trapped
in the mud, and drowned as the sea rushed back in.
Moses and Miriam wrote this song. They had seen what God can do.
“I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him”
“In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.”
You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance –
The place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling,
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The sanctuary, O LORD, your hands established.

The LORD will reign for ever and ever.”
Exodus 15: 1-3, 13, 17-18
God devastated Egypt with blow after blow of judgment until Pharaoh gave in to Moses’
request. God humiliated and defeated the great emperor of Egypt, destroyed his nation’s
economy, and drowned his army in the Red Sea. God declared to Egypt, to the Israelites, and
to all other nations of that day, that Israel belonged to the mighty and Only God! The Exodus
of the Hebrews from Egypt is the most significant event in the history of Israel. The Scriptures
repeatedly refer to this great act when God delivered them from bondage in the land of Egypt
and brought them into the Promised Land. God rescued Israel through miraculous works of
monumental proportions and claimed them as His own.
The Law
After God led the children of Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea, He brought them to Mt.
Sinai. Here, God brought Israel into a covenant with Him, again using the language of a
standard lord/servant covenant common in that day. By entering this covenant, Israel was no
longer just an assembly of Hebrew people; they became a Nation under God’s authority.
God fulfilled many of his promises to Abraham from Genesis 12:1-3. According to Exodus
12:37, there were more than a million Jews who left Egypt and met God at Sinai. God enlarged
His covenant relationship at this point from individuals to the nation, as He continued in the
redemption of Adam and his offspring, intending that they be priests and a holy nation who
would witness to the world.
Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This
is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You
yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought
you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you
will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a
kingdom of priests and a holy nation’” Ex. 19:3-6a
As a nation, Israel was taught what God expected of them through the Law, the Tabernacle,
and the sacred gatherings and appointed feasts, which organized their calendar around God.
God gave them these things to do which included the daily sacrifices in the Tabernacle, the
keeping of the Sabbath and the annual feasts, and the various sin offerings and free will
offerings of the people.
Even though God dwelled among them in the Tabernacle, the people did not have free access
to God as Adam and Eve did in the Garden. But Israel was chosen as God’s nation, and as such,
they were to be ruled by God. Any human rulers of Israel were working under God’s authority,
though we see that many did not live up to this high calling. The people and the land belonged
to God as the Lord of their covenant. This also made the enemies of Israel the enemies of
God.
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How would God’s rule be carried out? God established three “offices,” through which He
would rule and lead the nation: prophet, priest, and eventually king (see Deut. 14-20). (Judges
played an interim role before there was a king.) The priests represented the people before
God; the prophets spoke God’s word and warnings to the people; and the king led the nation,
its armies, and its people in the political affairs of everyday life. God was the true King, but a
human king was put in place to lead the nation in following God and in keeping the covenant
made with Him. The purpose of these three offices was to keep the nation true to God.
The Law that was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai and written down by him in the books of Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, contained commandments and regulations, but is
much more than that. It is the word of God, living and active, and a tangible revelation of who
God is. God came down to that holy mountain, gave them his word, his law, and then dwelt
with this people actively for forty years.
There is much they needed to know about Him, and there is much they needed to know about
sin. Most importantly they needed to understand His character, primarily His holiness.
Much of what is called the Law is not rules and legal requirements at all but is a material and
virtual representation for something ethereal, and holy – intangible and incomprehensible.
How does God communicate the inexpressible to his people? He gives representations, signs
and symbols, foreshadowing “types,” which point the way to the coming of the “real thing.”
Types in the Old Testament

A type in the Bible is a representation by one thing of another. It is a person, thing or event in
one period of biblical history which has its fulfilment or realization in the New Testament, or
in a time future to our own. Adam is considered a type of Christ:
“ Nevertheless,death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those
who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a type of the one to come”
(Romans 5:14).
The Passover lamb points to and was fulfilled in Christ’s death. “Get rid of the old yeast, so
that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb,
has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Typology is a special kind of symbolism. A type is a “prophetic symbol” representing

something real in the future of redemption. Thus, a type in the Old Testament “looks ahead
to,” or foreshadows, a person, event, or thing in the New Testament. Another example would
be Noah’s ark as a type of salvation:
“to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah
while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through
water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt
from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ… “ (1 Peter 3:20-21)
The reason a type is important is that it represents something even more real in the heavenly
realm than in the physical. It helps believers in the New Covenant era to understand more
profoundly the spiritual reality behind the material symbol.
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The Mosaic Covenant contains many types, and they illustrate and bring to light all that God
has done and is doing in redemption.
The Tabernacle
The Tabernacle and the Temple provide many types (see definition above) which are
understood by New Testament writers as “shadows” (Colossians 2:17, and Hebrews 8:5)
which pointed to the reality of Christ as our redeemer. For that reason, it is important for
believers today to understand the structure and function of the Tabernacle, and later, its
expanded form in the Temple. God commanded Moses to construct the Tabernacle after the
specific pattern which God showed him.
“Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.”
Exodus 25:9
The purpose of the Tabernacle was to enable God to live among His people, though they had
limited access directly to Him. All the rituals, sacrifices, furnishings and clothing were lessons,
teaching mankind about God and how to be in relationship with Him. At the time of Moses,
the Israelites were living in tents, moving from place to place. So, God lived in a tent among
them. When they entered Canaan and build houses for themselves, God allowed Solomon to
build Him a permanent house as well, the Temple. It was in the Tabernacle that God’s
presence was among His people for the first time since the Garden of Eden.
“Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord
their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord
their God.” Exodus 29:45-46
The message of the Tabernacle was this: God lived among His people, and He was holy.
Because of the sin of mankind, only limited access to God was available and that was
specifically controlled. Coming into the presence of God could occur only at the right time and
only by those who were consecrated. The Tabernacle is a type for the believer today, showing
how access to God is granted through the full atonement of Jesus Christ.
The average Israelite could only come as close to God as the Outer Court. Today, believers
can come boldly to God’s throne room and find mercy and grace to help them. This is the
same idea the Apostle John had when he described the incarnation of Jesus.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory
of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14
Even at the crucifixion of Jesus, the idea of the Tabernacle as a type, illustrating Christ and His
role for humanity was materially present. When the veil of the Temple was torn at Christ’s
death it signified free access to God’s presence because of the atonement of Christ.
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“Atthat moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth
shook, the rocks split.” Matthew 27:51
In the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle or the Temple, only the High Priest could enter. Now,
all are invited to enter in.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might
possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8
The book of Hebrews elaborates on the ministry of Jesus our High Priest, who opened the way
for us to enter God’s presence.
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of
God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable
to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way,
just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:14-16
Understanding the Tabernacle as a type, can help us draw closer to God’s ultimate intention
to bring man back into fellowship with God again through the atoning work of Christ.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among
the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with
them and be their God.” Revelation 21:3
Activity
1. The Gate: What is the Old Testament significance?
 What is the New Testament parallel? John 14:6, John 10:9
2. The Brazen Altar: What is the Old Testament significance?
 What is the New Testament parallel? Hebrews 9:22, Mark 14:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19,
Hebrews 9:13-14, Hebrews 10:10, 14, 18, 2 Corinthians 5:21
3. The Laver: Old Testament significance?
 New Testament parallel: Ephesians 5:25-27, Hebrews 10:22
4. The Table of Showbread: Old Testament significance?
 New Testament parallel: John 6:35, 49, 50, Revelation 3:22
5. The Menorah: Old Testament significance?
 New Testament parallel: John 8:12, John 9:46
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6. The Ark of the Covenant: Old Testament significance?

 The Manna, The Budding Rod, The Tablets
 New Testament parallel: John 6: 32, 48-50, 1 Corinthians 15:20, John 11:15-26, Romans
3:20-22
7. The Mercy Seat: Old Testament significance?
 New Testament parallel: Hebrews 9:3-5, Romans 3: 24-25, 1 John 4:10
8. The Altar of Incense: Old Testament significance?
New Testament parallel: Romans 8:34
9. The Holy of Holies and the Veil: Old Testament significance?
 New Testament parallel: Hebrews 9:7, 10:19-22, 9:24-26
 John 1:14 tells us that Jesus “dwelt among us.” The word dwelt literally means
“tabernacled” and pointed Jewish readers back to the Old Testament Tabernacle, the
very dwelling place of God. The verse also says that Christ was full of Grace and Truth.
How were both truth and grace illustrated in the Tabernacle and in the different
components we just studied?
 How is the tabernacle a “type” of the New Testament believer (you and I)?
 What implications does that have in how we live our lives?
Keeping the Law

It is overwhelming just to read all the Law. It is impossible to keep it. Many have tried. Many
still try both in Judaism and in other legalistic religions. There is a defeating sense of “I will
never be good enough. The standard is too high.”
Many believers today view the Law recorded by Moses as restrictive and outdated. They
believe that there is no further need of it if you are in Christ. But this is a not a correct idea of
the Law and its purpose. Paul speaks of the law as being good, though, even he was not able
to keep it.
“For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through
the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy,
righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means!
Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about
my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.”
Romans 7:11-13
Humankind had drifted so far from God they had forgotten how holy He was and what He
was like. Through the Law, the Israelites learned that God was very different from the pagan
gods of Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia, and that He expected His people who were in
covenant with Him to be different as well. It should be noted that in the Sermon on the Mount
(Matt. 5-7), Jesus did not do away with the Law but taught the importance of motives as well
as behaviour. The Law could not make men perfect.
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“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.
For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make
perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being
offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have
felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for
the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Hebrews 10:1-4
The great need of man is a new heart. This is accomplished through the New Covenant.
Jeremiah prophesied of the day when the New Covenant would come and man’s heart would
be changed.
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people
of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their
ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my
covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will
make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their
minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Jeremiah 31:31-33
So, the Law was not the problem—humankind was. The problem is in the failure of fallen
humanity to keep the Law because of their sinful nature. Jesus said the Law would not be
done away until it accomplished its purpose:
“For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least
stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
Matthew 5:18
Paul wrote about the purpose of the Law—to bring us to Christ by showing us our need for
redemption and for a Redeemer: “So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might
be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (Gal.
3:24-25).
Jeremiah’s word about the new covenant foreshadowed the necessity of new birth which
comes as part of man’s redemption. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Very truly I tell you, no one can
see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3).
The Spirit will write the Law on the hearts of people, making the carrying out of the New
Covenant very different from trying to live out the Mosaic Covenant. Instead of working and
striving to keep the rules and be “good enough,” the motivation of the heart becomes one of
love and gratefulness to our great and good Redeemer God. Willing and wholehearted
obedience comes because He first loved us, and now we can live out the greatest
commandment -- to love Him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength.
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The Law Versus Rabbinic Teachings

An important distinction made in the New Testament is between the Law of Moses and the
rabbinic law. After Israel was carried into captivity because of their sins and failure to keep
the Law, rabbis wanted to keep the Law more faithfully, and they began to interpret and add
long addendums to the law. The traditions and instructions of various Jewish teachers were
designed to help the Israelites keep the Mosaic Law, but in their zeal, these teachers added
many customs and traditions God had not ordained. Legalism abounded, and the true
motivation for keeping the Law was often lost by the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes of
Jesus’ day. Jesus strongly condemned this legalism and false adherence to the law.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your
spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—
justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the
former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. “Woe to you, teachers
of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside
they are full of greed and self-indulgence” Matt. 23:23-25
INTEGRATION
Discussion Questions
 Read verses 1-6 of Chapter 7 of Romans. What does Paul say our relationship to the
Law is now that we have received Christ as our Saviour?
 In verse 6, Paul makes a distinction between serving in “newness of the Spirit” or serving
in “oldness of the letter?” What is the difference between the two?
 In Paul’s argument, which follows in Romans 7: 7-13, is the Law the problem, or is the
problem something else? If so, what is the problem?
 In Romans 7: 14-24, Paul describes that inward struggle in detail. Describe that struggle
in your own words? Give an example of how that shows up in your life today?
 In verses 7:25 - 8:6, Paul describes how the Law will be fulfilled in us. How does that
happen?
 Practically speaking, how does this work itself out in our lives? Should we stop trying to
keep the Law then?
CONCLUSION
God brought his people out of slavery, oppression and spiritual darkness. The story of the
Hebrew people is our own story. There is a great darkness, and without God and his mighty
hand we are trapped in it. It is his desire to bring us out, and he has accomplished what we
could never do on our own. The Apostle Peter picks up on the great theme of the Exodus and
claims it for those who believe in God’s finest work of redemption through Christ.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,
that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful
light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10
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Following hundreds of years of slavery, it then took forty years of wandering in the wilderness
to purge the people of unbelief, murmuring, and idolatry. The Israelites started out with a
slave mentality from their many years of oppression. God was developing them into a people
of faith and courage who would be able to conquer Canaan and take the land He had promised
to Abraham.
When Moses and his generation died off and the next generation grew up, God appointed a
new leader. God chose Joshua, to replace Moses and lead the people across the Jordan River
into the Promised Land. The books of Joshua and Judges record the struggles of the people to
remove the Canaanites from the land and possess their new homeland.
Through the Mosaic Covenant, God fulfilled many of His promises made originally to
Abraham. In the next chapter, we will see the covenant further extended to David, from
whose line Messiah will come.
PRAYER
Almighty God, you who share with us your holy name, you desire that we know you, and love
you. You see that we are trapped in darkness and you have heard our cries. You will do
amazing things to rescue us. You have a marvellous plan to save us from the evil kingdom and
bring us into your marvellous light. We thank you.
Give us eyes to see and ears to hear. Teach us about Yourself. Teach us how to love you with
all our heart and mind and strength. Amen.
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Chapter 7
The Monarchy and God’s Covenant with David
“After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him:
‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him
to do.’
From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Saviour Jesus, as he promised.”
Acts 13:22 -23
OUTCOMES
The students will:
 Understand the role of the judges in the Old Testament
 See Israel’s pattern of disobedience
 Have a better understanding of Israel’s desire for a king
 Appreciate God’s selection of Samuel to prepare Israel for a king.
 Understand the qualifications for a king
 Grasp the spiritual significance of an earthly king
GETTING STARTED
With the establishment of the Mosaic covenant, God chose to dwell among humankind again,
and He established His right to rule Israel. He chose the offices of prophet, priest and king as
His earthly agents to carry out His plans and will for the nation. In the days of the judges,
before there was a king in Israel, God used the judge as a warrior or military commander who
brought Israel victory over its enemies. It was God’s intention, however, that Israel as a nation
under the Mosaic covenant would eventually have the office of the king to lead them
politically and militarily.
The covenant with Moses began at Mt. Sinai and continued even after the Northern Kingdom
of Israel was conquered and destroyed by the Assyrians (722 BC), and the Southern Kingdom
of Judah was conquered and removed from the land by the Babylonians (586 B.C.).
Israel would not be an independent nation again (until modern times), except briefly during
the Maccabean period of independence (167-63 B.C), though there was no heir of David on
the throne.
Although the Israelites lost their political autonomy, they continued as a community of faith
both in Babylon during the exile and after they returned to their homeland under the decree
of Cyrus in approximately 530 B.C. Though still under the Mosaic and Abrahamic covenants,
they lost the sense of being a nation ruled by God. Their hope was in the promised Messiah
who would overthrow their oppressors and re-establish the nation as a theocracy with their
King, from the line of David, on the throne again.
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GOING DEEPER
From the Mosaic Covenant to the Monarchy
Israel in the Time of the Judges
Descriptions of Israel’s transition to a monarchy are found in the books of Joshua, Judges,
Ruth and 1 Samuel. This is known as “the Period of the Judges.” During this time, the tribes
of Israel lived separately, but they came together for religious festivals and to defend against
a common enemy. For the most part, each tribe ruled its own members, and tribal leaders
handled their own internal affairs.
There was no standing army, no temple, no common building construction projects and no
single ruler. A judge rallied the people to unify in a time of crisis but did not exercise political
rule over all the tribes. During this time, the Tabernacle was located at Shiloh.
The lesson of this era was that success, prosperity, and peace followed the Israelites if they
kept covenant with God, but trials and defeat would be their lot if they broke covenant with
God and disobeyed Him. This cycle repeated itself many times during the period of the Judges.
Stages in the Cycles of Israel During the Period of the Judges
 Obedience—This was a time of peace, prosperity, and security.
 Disobedience—Israel got careless in their living and broke God’s covenant.
 Oppression—When Israel fell into sin, God sent foreign oppressors who defeated them
and make their lives miserable.
 Repentance—Israel cried out to God, confessing their sins and disobedience to God and
to His covenant with them.
 Deliverance—God heard their prayer and, in His mercy, sent them a deliver, a judge,
who led the people into victory over their enemies.
A judge was a military leader first, who united the people against their enemy. Normally, he
or she served for several years during which time peace and prosperity were experienced.
Israel would then drift away from God, and the cycle was repeated. Twelve judges are named
in the book of Judges, but the backsliding of Israel goes deeper each time. The author of
Judges tells us the condition of the people without a king: “In those days Israel had no king;
everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25).
The people of Israel became increasingly like the Canaanites who were in the land. When
Israel crossed into the Promised Land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, they had
numerous victories but also encountered great resistance. They settled primarily in the
central hill country of Canaan because the more fertile, lowlands were occupied by the
stronger Canaanite people. As time went on they proceeded to mix and mingle with the
Canaanite people.
They did not value their covenant with God enough to let it direct their lives. When they
demanded to have a king like the nations around them, they believed that their problem was
the outside oppression by foreign nations. They did not see their problem as an internal one
-- disobedience to God. They failed to see God’s use of enemy nations as instruments of His
discipline to bring His people back to Him.
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Samuel
Preparation for a King
Samuel was the last and greatest judge of Israel, and we are told much about his life. He was
the person God used to bring about the transition to a monarchy in Israel. His birth was the
result of prayer by his godly mother, Hannah, who “gave him to the Lord” (1 Samuel 1 - 2:11).
Samuel was raised by Eli, the priest. Early in his life he learned to recognize the voice of God.
This set him apart as a judge and prophet of Israel. Samuel stands out as a man of integrity
and character who followed God closely, while living in a society which had drifted away from
God. He was the one who anointed Israel’s first king, Saul, and his eventual replacement,
David.
After judging Israel for several years, Samuel was approached by the tribal leaders who
demanded to have a king like the nations around them. God had made it clear that His plan
for Israel was that they would eventually have a king to lead them, but he must be one who
followed God.
“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it
and settled in it, and you say, ‘Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,’ be sure
to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow
Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite.”
Deuteronomy 17:14-15
God gave criteria and directions for the future king of Israel: Deut.17:14-20
1. He had to be chosen by God.
2. He had to be an Israelite, not a foreigner.
3. He was not to multiply wives, horses, or gold and silver. “Multiplying wives” referred
to making military alliances with foreign powers through marriage. Multiplying
horses meant trusting in military might rather than the Lord. Multiplying gold and
silver would cause the king to rely on his national treasure and wealth instead of on
God.
4. He was to write a copy of the Law for himself in the presence of the priests and read
it all the days of his life.
5. He was to fear God and obey all of God’s statutes and laws.
As we will see later in God’s covenant with David, if the king kept the conditions of the
covenant and remained loyal to God, then God (as his Lord) protected Israel from its enemies
and prospered the nation abundantly. The idea of the monarchy originated with God.
When the elders of the tribes came to Samuel to demand a king, God told the people that
when they asked for a king they were rejecting Him (1Sam. 8:4-20). This seems to contradict
the passage in Deuteronomy 17, but it does not. The Israelites wanted a king for the wrong
reasons. They wanted a king so that they could be like the nations around them, to fight their
battles for them and to bring them peace and prosperity. They did not want a king who would
lead their nation into obedience to God. They did not understand that peace and security
came from obedience to God’s covenant.
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Saul: Israel’s First King

“There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of
Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. Kish had a son named Saul, as
handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than
anyone else.” 1 Samuel 9:1-2
Saul was a tall and handsome man. He was privately anointed first by Samuel and then openly
selected before the people by lot, affirming that God was behind his selection. Casting lots
was like flipping a coin, but it put the outcome in God’s hands. Saul’s stature indicated he
could be a good military commander, and his good looks would help him in diplomacy. He
should have been a good choice, but he lacked the heart and character necessary to be king.
Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin and was a popular choice for king. Since he was the first
king with no forerunner to lay the foundation, he had the difficult task of pulling all the tribes
together, preparing a standing army to fight against Israel’s enemies (particularly the
Philistines) and setting up and administrating the monarchy.
The Philistines were a people group who came from Greece and entered Canaan around 1200
B.C., several hundred years after the Israelites. They were well armed and conflicts between
Israel and the Philistines were numerous. By the time of Saul and David, they were the chief
enemies of the Israelites.
Two incidents in Saul’s life, early in his reign, revealed serious flaws in his character. The first
incident (1 Sam. 13:5-14) occurred when Samuel was late to offer sacrifices for Saul and his
army before they went to battle. Saul hastily offered the sacrifices himself even though this
was the priest’s sole responsibility. Samuel sharply rebuked Saul’s impulsive act, declaring to
him that his kingship would not endure because of his disobedience.
“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your
God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But
now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and
appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
1 Sam. 13:13-14
The second incident is recorded in 1 Samuel 15:1-35. God sent Saul to destroy the Amalekites,
telling him not to spare anyone or anything, including the livestock. Saul partially obeyed, and
that was his mistake—he thought that partial obedience was the same as total obedience.
“But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in
obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of
rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because
you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
1 Sam. 15:22-23
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Later in his life, Saul was ruthless in trying to keep others from taking his throne, particularly
David. Jealousy, insecurity, and personal ambition blinded Saul to his role as king in covenant
with God. His part in the covenant should have been loyalty and obedience. In return, God’s
role was to protect his kingdom with peace and security.
Saul’s life ended tragically on the battlefield along with his sons, fighting against the Philistines
(1 Sam. 31). Israel scattered, fleeing from its enemy. Saul had failed in his role as king.
David
Long before Saul was killed, God chose his successor, David. Three incidents in David’s early
life show why he was called by God to be the next king, and why he would succeed where
Saul had failed. The first incident occurred when Samuel was told to go to Bethlehem, to the
house of Jesse and anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king. Samuel looked over the oldest
son and thought that he must surely be the one. However, God spoke to him a profound truth-
-one that we need to remember today:
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected
him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” 1 Samuel 16:7
After Samuel examined all the sons of Jesse, he came to the youngest one, David. God told
him that David was the one He had chosen. This reminds us of the passage in Deuteronomy
17:15 where God told the people that their king must be one whom the Lord choses.
David was a worshipper of God with a heart open to his LORD. In a second incident, Saul was
experiencing bouts of depression and vexation from demonic spirits. David was brought to
him to play on his harp and sing (1 Sam. 16:14-23). All his life David wrote songs and prayers
to God. Many of the Psalms were written by David, testifying to his heart for worship and
adoration of God.
The third incident occurred in David’s early years before he became king, and it reveals many
of his qualifications to be king -- the familiar story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). The
Philistines were facing the Israelites and the giant Philistine champion, Goliath, challenged
Israel to send its best man to fight him. The battle between Goliath and Israel’s champion
would determine the fate of the whole confrontation. The nation which lost would then have
to serve the other.
Neither Saul nor any of his men had the courage to face the giant. But God’s timing brought
David to the camp of Saul’s army to visit his brothers at the time Goliath bellowed out his
challenge. David told those near him that he would face the giant and win. When David was
brought to Saul, he was questioned about how he, a mere youth, would be able to defeat the
seasoned warrior with his armour and weapons. David replied that God had helped him in the
past and would help him that day. His faith and courage were rare indeed.
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“But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a
bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the
sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your
servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of
them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.” 1 Samuel 17:34-36
With five smooth stones and sling David defeated and killed the giant who had a shield, a
sword, a javelin, and body armour. David’s faith in God gave him courage and boldness as he
faced Goliath.
“David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I
come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom
you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and
cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and
the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those
gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is
the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45-47
One big difference between David and Saul is that David understood his dependence on the
Lord for strength and victory. As we saw in the covenant agreements studied in earlier
chapters, loyalty to one’s lord was the supreme quality desired in the servant or servant
nation.
God’s Covenant with David

Although David had been anointed by Samuel to be the next king, it took years before David
saw the fulfilment of that prophetic word. When Saul realized that David would one day be
king, he spent ten years hunting David to destroy him.
After Saul was killed in battle, David became king over the southern region where the tribe of
Judah lived. One of his first acts as king was to conquer “Jebus” and make it his new capital,
changing its name to Jerusalem. Having a national capital served as a unifying force to bring
together the twelve tribes of Israel.
David then brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, though not without some difficulty.
The Ark of the Covenant was ‘where God dwelled’, and David wanted God to live in his capital
city. David was then able to conquer the Philistines and subdue the surrounding nations,
fulfilling the promise from God about the land that Abraham’s descendants would one day
occupy. Under David and his son, Solomon, Israel occupied the greatest amount of the land
which God had promised.
When David asked God about building a Temple, God told him that he could not built it, but
that Solomon, would. God responded to David’s request, not by giving him permission to build
a temple, but by making a covenant with him promising that his house would continue, and
his throne would be established forever.
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‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days
are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your
own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for
my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he
will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with
floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took
it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will
endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” 2 Samuel 7:11b-16
God’s covenant with David was a promise of an everlasting kingdom which will come from
David’s direct genetic lineage. This promise leads to Christ, the Great King, God and man,
directly descended from David, whose kingdom will never end and whose throne is
established forever. The promise comes down through David’s son Solomon, who built a
“house” (the temple in Jerusalem) for His name, and then to the other kings in David’s line
who ruled for a time.
Those who were not faithful to God were disciplined by the hands of men, and we read what
happened to their earthly kingdoms. God used the oppression of foreign enemies as a means
of discipline when His people failed to keep covenant. Having an earthly king did not change
God’s method of dealing with disobedience and was not a guarantee of peace and well-being
if the king and the people turned from God. In the accounts of David’s successors in Judah,
the Southern Kingdom (1 and 2 Kings), only eight of the twenty kings were godly. The others
were disciplined as God had told David.
From David’s descendants would come the King of Kings. Did David understand the vastness
of this promise? We can see from some of his psalms and prayers that he had been given
prophetic insight of things to come – great things that only God could do.
The promise to David was an exceedingly great promise, which has come to pass. We can rest
in complete assurance that the Kingdom of God’s Son, coming through the human line of
David, is an everlasting kingdom.
Note: The Hebrew word for “house” is Bayit or Beth. It is a rich word meaning one’s family,
descendants and possessions. It also was used for the Temple and can mean “the dwelling
place of.” (Beth – lehem means the “house of bread”.) In this covenant we see that David
wanted to build God a “house,” or Temple, but God offers him a “house,” a royal lineage, an
everlasting dynasty, instead.
The Prayer of David after Receiving God’s Covenant Promise

David models, in his prayers and in his psalms, a tender and submissive heart for God.
Spending time in the words David addressed to God helps us all to pray and to praise better.
“Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And
as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the
future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign
LORD? 2 Sam. 7: 8b-19
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“O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a
house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer. O Sovereign LORD,
you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your
servant. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in
your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your
servant will be blessed forever.” 2 Sam. 7: 27-29
As you read these words of David consider these questions:
 What do you notice about David’s view of God, his character, and his Word in his
prayers?
 What is his view of himself?
A Brief Overview of Israel’s History After David

Before David died, he chose his son, Solomon, as his successor. Solomon was a brilliant
administrator and an able diplomat who made alliances and treaties with neighbouring
countries. His strength came from asking God for wisdom to rule His people in a godly way.
“Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this
great people of yours?” God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have
not asked for wealth, possessions or honour, nor for the death of your enemies, and since
you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over
whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will
also give you wealth, possessions and honour, such as no king who was before you ever had
and none after you will have.” 2 Chronicles 1:10-12
Solomon’s loyalty in keeping the covenant with God brought him and his people riches,
honour, and peace. Solomon acknowledged that God was the real king and that the people
belonged to Him. He was successful during much of his reign as king. He built forts throughout
the land to secure it against invading enemies, doubled the size of the Jerusalem, built an
elaborate palace for himself, and constructed the Temple which rivalled the grandeur of any
in its day.
Solomon had flaws, however. He became ambitious politically and sought to expand and
make his kingdom secure by doing just what God had forbidden in Deuteronomy 17:
multiplying wives, horses and chariots, and gold and silver. In his old age he compromised his
faith and worshipped the gods of some of the foreign wives he had married for the sake of
political alliances. The result of his broken covenant? God split the kingdom in two.
“So the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant
and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from
you and give it to one of your subordinates’” 1 Kings 11:11
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The Division into Two Kingdoms

After Solomon’s death, a split occurred, and the two kingdoms never reunited. Ten tribes
from the northern kingdom, known as Israel, were given to Jeroboam I. The other two tribes
made up the southern kingdom and were known as Judah. Solomon’s son, Rehoboam was
the king of Judah. War between the two kingdoms became common.
Jerusalem was in the southern kingdom and the Temple was there. All Jewish men were
commanded to come to worship at the feasts of Israel. To counter this, Jeroboam I established
a mixed religion, combining Judaism and the idolatrous worship of the Canaanites, to keep
the people from returning to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:25-33). Worst of all, he set up two golden
calves, emblems of Baal, to be worshipped in Dan and Bethel. He even refused to allow the
Levites to serve as priests. Consequently, not one good king is recorded in the north. The
northern kingdom of Israel, as seen in Scriptures, was in rebellion against God.
There was no enduring dynasty in the northern kingdom, though several significant dynasties
are mentioned: Jeroboam, Omri and Jehu. In the southern kingdom, a son of David remained
on the throne except for a brief time when Athaliah (wife of Jehoram) murdered her
grandchildren and reigned for six years. This time is known as the period of the divided
monarchy.
“So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day” (1 Ki. 12:19).
Other Reasons for the Division

Solomon was from the southern kingdom, and he was accused of giving preferential
treatment to those in the southern area. Solomon’s building projects were magnificent and
costly to the public treasury. Solomon turned to higher taxes and forced labour. This hit the
northern region the hardest. After Solomon’s death, Jeroboam, with elders from the northern
region, appealed to Rehoboam to ease their burden and stop unfair treatment of those in the
north. Rehoboam rejected Jeroboam’s appeal, and Jeroboam led a revolt against the southern
kingdom, severing the nation into two.
Although God allowed the division because of Solomon’s sins, He did not sanction Jeroboam’s
religious rebellion. God condemned the apostasy of Jeroboam and pronounced judgment on
the northern kingdom. “This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and
to its destruction from the face of the earth” (1 Kings 13:34).
Repeatedly when the wickedness of the Northern Kingdom is mentioned, reference is made
to the sins of Jeroboam. The Northern Kingdom, Israel, broke its covenant with God and was
eventually conquered and driven into exile by the Assyrian Empire in 722 B.C. (2 Kings 17:1-
18). Those who remained or returned became a mixed race of people with a blended and
compromised religion. The Samaritans descended from them.
“So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe
of Judah was left…” (2 Kings 17:18).
In the Southern Kingdom of Judah, every king who was from the line of David was compared
to him as the standard of one who had a heart for God. “Ahaz was twenty years old when he
became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do
what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (2 Kings 16:2).
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Prophesies of Return to the land

Judah also failed to keep its covenant with God and they were conquered and carried away
by Babylon. The Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C., and Judah was removed from the land
God had promised Abraham. But unlike Israel in the North, Judah was given a promise that
they would one day return to their homeland. Ezekiel, a prophet in exile in Babylon, foretold
the day of Judah’s return.
“And say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the
nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into
their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will
be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two
kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any
of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them.
They will be my people, and I will be their God.
“‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will
follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my
servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their
children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. I
will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish
them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My
dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the
nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them
forever.’” Ezekiel 37:21-28
Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem during the period before it fell to Babylon. He foresaw
seventy years of captivity before Judah and Israel would be able to return to the land of
Canaan.
“This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to
you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for
you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope
and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You
will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,”
declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations
and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the
place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:10-14
These prophesies looked out to both a near fulfilment, and across the ages to a future
fulfilment as well. Today we live in the awesome time spoken of by those prophets, when that
future vision is being realized, with Israel as a nation again on the land which God promised
to them.
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CONCLUSION
The Covenant with David was an expansion of the Mosaic Covenant, which promised that the
Messiah would come from the lineage of David and that He would reign one day as King of an
eternal kingdom. God dwelt among His people in the Temple in Jerusalem during the reign of
the kings. The promise to Abraham of the land of Canaan was largely fulfilled during the reign
of David and Solomon but was lost through the broken covenants of the Northern and the
Southern Kingdom.
The exiles from Judah (who became known as Jews during their Babylonian captivity) had the
prophetic promise that they would return to the land, see a son of David one day ruling again
and that there would no longer be two nations, but one. Most importantly, God promised
that He would dwell among His people, that they would keep His covenant, and that they
would be His people.
The exile made the people desire even more the time when the Messiah, the anointed one,
would come and redeem God’s people and shepherd them in righteousness. This covenant
promise of restoration and forgiveness was one devout Jews still clung to when Jesus was
born in Bethlehem.
INTEGRATION AND APPLICATION

Two incidents in the life of David are worth exploring for personal applications. Although
Scripture identifies David as a man after God’s own heart, and he was, still he failed badly on
two different occasions. We can learn several lessons from these.
The Sin with Bathsheba
The sin of adultery is a most significant sin, but there was a deeper issue here as well. When
David should have been fighting and leading his troops, he stayed home. He should have been
assertive and active in his role as military commander, but he stayed behind, misused his
power, and sinned with Bathsheba.
David’s actions here are a harsh illustration of the struggles that all of us face, and the
temptations which occur when we don’t step forward and carry out our God-given role at
home, in life, and in our ministries. Instead of fighting, David remained in the comfort of his
palace. This became a set up for his greatest failure. One sin led to another; one cover up led
to another, and eventually David caused the murder of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband.
A verb used repeatedly by David, in 2 Sam 11, is the verb “sent,” found in verses 1, 3, 6, 9, 13.
You can see David trying to control things. Sometimes we mistake being a leader with being
in control, especially at home.
For the men who are reading this lesson, we know that as men we are wired to fix things and
to be in charge. But there is a significant difference between being responsible and in being
in control. Sometimes we make choices for our own sake -- to have our own way -- instead of
choosing what’s best for our family or our church. In 2 Samuel 12:1, God sends Nathan to
David, to confront him on his sin and David responds. To his credit, David takes full
responsibility for his sin. Psalm 51 records David’s prayer of repentance and confession.
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The Sin with his Son, Absalom

Absalom’s half-brother, Amnon, raped Absalom’s sister. Angry and in premeditated fashion,
Absalom murdered him. In 2 Samuel 13:38, he flees, but after three years, David has him
brought back to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 14:23). In verse 28, we find out that he is there for two
years and never sees his father. In the verses to follow, there is no evidence of repentance in
Absalom’s heart, and no reconciliation in David’s.
A surface reunion occurs in verse 33, but there is no deep reconciliation between David and
his son. Perhaps during those two years, David’s bitterness grew as he thought about the
murder of Amnon. For whatever reason though, he held his son at arm’s length (2 Samuel
14:24) and did not pursue him like he should have.
Contrast this with the story of the Prodigal Son -- the Father waiting, running after the son,
totally contrary to the culture. But David did not and during those two years Absalom’s own
bitterness grew. Eventually he led a rebellion to take the throne away from his father (2
Samuel 15. In 15:13). David is forced to flee the city and hide in the wilderness, where he
recovered his focus. Absalom dies by the hand of David’s general, Joab and his men, before
David can reconnect with his son.
David’s words of anguish and regret are recorded in 2 Samuel 18:33: “The king was shaken.
He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: ‘O my son Absalom!
My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!’”
Our families are targeted by Satan. If he can disrupt or destroy our family, then our ministries
and the families in our churches also suffer. Though the following questions apply primarily
to men, women can also focus on their relationship with their husbands and children, and
how the Lord may be speaking to them as well.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

 In what areas have you been passive in your family rather than being intentional as the
leader of your home?
 Where is there a greater need for forgiveness where you may have held a family
member at arm’s length?
 What are some areas in your life that have weakened your home? How can those areas
be strengthened?
Conclude this chapter by sharing in small groups and praying for each other. If there is time,
read Psalm 51 (David’s prayer of repentance) aloud together in your small groups.
Psalm 51:10-12
“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
Or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
And grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
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PRAYER
Lord, we are a stiff-necked people also. Please soften our stubbornness that we might be led
by you in the paths of righteousness and blessing. We want you to be with us whereever we
go.
We know that we live under a new covenant of grace and an infilling of your Spirit. Do not let
us take this treasured position for granted. Teach us to worship you acceptably with
reverence and awe. Amen.
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Chapter 8
The Prophets: God’s Voice During Troubled Times
“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God,
and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times,
what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’”
Isaiah 46:9-10
OUTCOMES
The students will:
 Have a greater appreciation for the message of the Prophets
 Have a better understanding of the themes of the prophetic books
 Understand God’s judgement of Israel, and God’s future hope for Israel, as told by the
prophets, as part of His Covenant with them.
 Know the characteristics of true prophets and false prophets
GETTING STARTED:
In our own day, the office of the prophet, the gift of prophecy, and the current resurgence of
prophetic ministries in churches around the world has been a source of encouragement but
has also been a source of confusion and even division within churches and denominations.
God was very specific in setting forth guidelines for the office of prophet. It is important to
review this as we begin. Deuteronomy 18:9-22, is a foundational passage which outlines the
components of prophetic ministry:
 A Precedent (Deut. 18: 9-14)
 A Person (Deut. 18:15)
 A Purpose (Deut. 18:16-17)
 A Procedure (Deut. 18:18-19)
 A Protection (Deut. 18: 20-22)
Answer and discuss the questions below as you explore this passage.
 What warning does God give Moses regarding prophets and other spokespersons for
God in verses 9-14?
 Why was this warning important when you consider the culture the Israelites were
going into?
 Describe the prerequisites for a prophet in verse 15.
 In verses 16-19, what was the prophet called to do?
 What was the proof of a prophet’s credibility according to verses 21-22?
 What was the penalty for being a false prophet?
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GOING DEEPER
Israel’s prophets carried out an essential ministry: calling people back to holiness, back to
God. Their messages were rooted in the covenant blessings and the curses laid out in the five
books of Moses and represented God’s passion and will for His people. The prophets did not
preach popular messages and were not often liked nor tolerated. Some were killed. They went
to battle with the monarchy, false prophets and, many times, the priesthood, as they warned
the people of impending disaster.
The prophets can be compared to a “press secretary” of a nation’s president, in that they did
not speak their own words -- they represented the president’s (the LORD’s) thoughts and will.
They spoke for God. The Apostle, Peter, was an eyewitness to the prophetic messages fulfilled
in Christ and he understood that their message was direct revelation from God. What the
Prophets had spoken, came to pass in front of his eyes. He reminds us of the active and living
relevance of their prophesy.
“And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay
attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star
rises in your hearts.
“Above all you must understand that no prophesy of scripture came about by the prophet’s
own interpretation. For prophecy never had it origin in the will of man, but men spoke from
God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” 2 Peter 1: 19-21
The words of the prophets are indeed, “a light shining in a dark place.”
The Law Provided the Basis for the Prophetic Message of Judgement
The passages to follow are part of the agreement made between God and the Hebrew people
at Sinai. These are part of the Mosaic Covenant. The prophets were thundering reminders
that this covenant was real and in force.
“If you heed these ordinances, by diligently observing them, the LORD your God will maintain
with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors; he will love you, bless you,
and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain
and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock in the land
that he swore to your ancestors to give you. You shall be the most blessed of peoples…”
Deuteronomy 7:12-14a
“Take care that you do not forget the LORD your God, by failing to keep his commandments,
his ordinances and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. When you have eaten
your fill and have built fine houses and live I them … then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the
LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery … If you do forget
the LORD your God and follow other gods to serve and worship them, I solemnly warn you
today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD is destroying before you, so
shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.”
Deut. 8: 11-12, 19-20
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The Time of the Prophets

The age of the prophets began with Samuel just before the reign of King David (about 1100
BC), though there were some prophetic voices before. David functioned as a prophetic voice
at times, among the many other roles he played. After David, came the era of the Kings, with
increasing spiritual degeneration in the people and their leadership. The voices of the
prophets rose to warn the people to return to their God or face the consequences.
Most of the prophets were active in the years before the defeat of The Northern Kingdom by
the Assyrians in 722 B.C., and before the defeat of the Southern Kingdom by the Babylonians
in 586 B.C. Malachi is the final prophet in the Old Testament, writing around 440 BC, during
the time of Ezra and Nehemiah and the return of the people to Jerusalem following their exile.
John the Baptist is considered by many to be the last of the Old Testament prophets, who
ushered in the Messianic age.
Who Were the Prophets?

The “Major Prophets,” whose writings are preserved in our Bibles, are Isaiah, Jeremiah, and
Ezekiel. They are called “major” because they were prominent figures in the history of Israel
and they left us large collections of prophetic messages and biographical materials.6
Lamentations is included in the prophetic books because it was written by Jeremiah. Daniel is
not classified with the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, though he clearly received prophetic
visions. The visions in the book of Daniel are written more in the style of apocalyptic literature;
not in the style of the other prophetic books.
There are also twelve Minor Prophets whose writings we have. They are arranged in most
Bibles from Hosea to Malachi. The term “minor” has nothing to do with the importance of
their message, and the books are not necessarily in chronological order.
Other key prophets noted in the Bible are Elijah and Elisha, and the “Court Prophet,” Nathan,
who received God’s word for David. These three prophets played key roles but left no
writings.
Why Do We Study the Prophets?

The prophetic books are not always easy to read, understand or interpret. They contain harsh
language, confusing visions and much poetic imagery. Sometimes it is not clear who the
original recipients were and just what the message was for them, or for us.
But this is the word of God, sounded forth from the mouths of men He chose to speak His
message. Wisdom, study, prayer and the Spirit are needed to interpret these words and to
translate them forward to our own culture and time. One quarter of the Old Testament is
prophecy. Paul’s words to Timothy are particularly relevant to Old Testament prophesy:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for rebuking, correcting and training
in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”
2 Tim. 3:16-17
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The Prophets continue to warn us that what we do matters to God. They admonish us to be
alert, to be careful to stay close to God and to honour Him with our lives. “Return to me,” is
God’s ongoing call through the Prophets. Without the message of the Prophets, our
understanding of God’s character and person, and His overarching program for history would
be not be complete.
In addition, Jesus shared with the two on the road to Emmaus the exceeding value of the
prophets:
“He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And
beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the
Scriptures concerning himself” Luke 24: 25-27
The Messengers: What Were the Prophets Like?

Prophets were ordinary people from many walks in life, who received an extraordinary call to
be God’s spokespersons during troubled times. Sometimes their call to the prophet ministry
was dramatic, to say the least. Consider the call of Isaiah:
It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and
the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six
wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with
two they flew. They were calling out to each other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”
Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among
a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.” Then one of
the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.
He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is
removed, and your sins are forgiven.”
Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will
go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:1-8
Amos, a grower of figs and a shepherd, was an unlikely but obedient prophet.
“But Amos replied, ‘I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just
a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD called me away from my flock
and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’” Amos 7: 14-15
Daniel, whose book contains significant prophecies regarding the nations, was a statesman
and advisor to the king. But when God gave these people His message, they were absolutely
compelled to give it. Jeremiah said this:
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When I speak, the words burst out. ‘Violence and destruction!’ I shout. So these messages
from the LORD have made me a household joke. But if I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak
in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out
trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!” Jeremiah 20:8-9
Their Message
Overall, the prophetic message can be summarized as follows:
 To remind the people of their God, his promises, and his covenant
 To warn them of the consequences of disobedience
 To indict the people for wrongdoing
 To proclaim immanent judgment
 To call the people to repentance
 To explain what the people’s response should be
 To give people hope in God’s ultimate ability to fulfil his promises, in spite of judgment
 To restore people’s hope in God’s enduring love, despite the tragic consequences of
losing their nation, their temple and their land
 To tell of future deliverance and restoration
 To reveal the coming of God’s promised one
 To describe the future “Day of the LORD”
There were three stages of the prophetic ministry during Israel’s history: pre-monarchy, pre-
classical, and classical. The early prophets were Moses, who was a prophet/leader of the
people during the Exodus and wilderness years; Deborah a prophet and judge during the time
of the Judges; and finally, Samuel who began as a prophet of the people, and then became
the prophet to the king (Saul).
The next class of prophets included Nathan, Elijah and Elisha, whose ministries and prophetic
words were primarily directed to the kings and involved military advice, and rebukes or
blessings. Nathan was a “Court Prophet,” serving King David. There were many court prophets
during the years of the kings, but, unlike Nathan, most were “ear ticklers”, who told the kings
what they wanted to hear.
The final category was the classical prophets, who message was addressed to all the people.
Theirs was a message of rebuke for the conditions of society, warnings of destruction and
exile, a call for justice and repentance, and promises of a Messiah and eventual restoration.
“The Day of the LORD,” was a recurring theme as well (Joel 2:28-32). All the Major and Minor
prophets are considered classical prophets.
Activity
Read the book of Micah. This is a short book which contains nearly every aspect of Old
Testament Prophesy. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, writing at the same moment,
addressing the same issues. His book is beautifully written in the form of classic prophetic
poetry.
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Identify the passages in Micah which address the following issues:

 The sins of the people;
 The judgement and its consequences;
 True and false prophets;
 The Last Days;
 Deliverance;
 The promise of Messiah;
 The future of Israel
Interpreting and Applying Old Testament Prophesy

Old Testament prophecy is often misunderstood in its meaning and intended purpose and
misapplied. Less than two percent of Old Testament prophecy is messianic; less than five
percent specifically describes the new covenant age and less than one percent concerns
events still future to us.7 Yet some teachers and pastors use prophetic literature which has
already been fulfilled as if it were still in the future, to speculate about the end times and
current events.
Principles of sound biblical interpretation apply as much to prophesy as to all of scripture but
are set aside many times in our day. In general, the prophets gave a two-fold message:
 They were forth tellers: They challenged the people and their leaders to repent and
return to righteous living.
 They were fore tellers: At times their message did look ahead, not as predictions, but
as statements of what God was going to do.
Prophets did not predict the future. Since God is the Sovereign Lord of the future, their
statements about the future were expressions of what God showed them He was going to do.
He is the first cause of all that happens. This may seem like a subtle distinction, but it is an
important one. For a prophet to be a true prophet in the biblical sense of the word, his
prophecies must be 100% accurate. If God told him what was going to happen, it would
happen.
Self-proclaimed prophets today are sometimes accurate, sometimes not, but make
allowances for themselves if they make mistakes in predicting the future. The test of a true
prophet of God is accuracy in every case.
We will look at several of the Prophets. Some prophetic messages seem obscure and difficult
or are not addressed to us (such as Nahum’s prophecy concerning the destruction of
Nineveh), but these rich documents reveal so much about the LORD and are many times
beautifully expressed. All of Scripture is for us and there are abiding principles in each of the
prophets which are relevant to our lives today.
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Isaiah
“This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15
If the purpose of Isaiah’s book could be summed up in one phrase, it would be this: “Trust in
God.” Isaiah ministered during the reigns of two kings who demonstrated both sides of this
statement: Ahaz, who did not trust God but trusted the Assyrians (2 Kings 16), and Hezekiah,
who trusted God to deliver Judah from the Assyrians (2 Kings 19), which He did.
The overarching theme was God’s presence with Israel. God, who holds the nations and the
cosmos in His hands (Isaiah 40), was present to help Judah when they trusted in Him.
The book is divided into two sections. The first thirty-nine chapters warn primarily of coming
judgment; the last twenty-seven chapters speak more of deliverance, comfort and
restoration, which comes ultimately from the Messiah. More than any other Prophet, Isaiah
wrote of the vision of the coming Messiah (Is. 9:1-7, 11:1-3, 52:3 -53:12).
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, Because the LORD has anointed me to preach
good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom
for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the
LORD’s favour …”
This was prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-2a, and claimed by Christ in Luke 4:16-21
Themes in Isaiah
His Son’s Names as Signs:
In Chapters 7-9, there are three “sons” whose names have prophetic significance. (The names
of Hosea’s children also bore witness to Israel’s future.) One of Isaiah’s sons was named
Shear-Jashub, which means “A remnant will return.” God gave the second son the name
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which meant “quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil,” but the third
“son” was named Immanuel, “God with us” (7:14, 8:8, 10). This was Isaiah’s vision of Jesus’
incarnation centuries later. These names told of God’s short term and long-term plans for
Israel.
“Here am I, and the children the LORD ha give me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from
the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.” Isaiah 8:18
The Servant:
There are four sections of the book of Isaiah designated as Servant Songs. They speak of a
Servant who will be key in fulfilling God’s plan for Israel (42:1-7; 49:1-9; 50:4-11; and 52:13-
53:12). Both Israel and Cyrus are referred to as servants, but the descriptions of this Servant
go far beyond the immediate situation and point to Jesus, not only as servant, but the ideal
Davidic King, who would both serve and reign (Chap. 11 and 55:3-5).
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The Holy One of Israel:

This title of God is used almost exclusively by Isaiah. It emphasizes not only His holiness, but
His righteousness in judging Israel for their sinful rebellion against God. Yet in the end, this
Holy God brings His people back to himself for His name sake (43:22-28).
Redeemer:
This title for God is used more than a dozen times in either noun or verb form in Isaiah, (41:14;
43:14; 44:6,24; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7, 26 to name a few), but only four times elsewhere in
Scripture. The focus of this title is on God’s Grace as the basis for His redemption of mankind.
Eschatology:
This word refers to the time of the end. Isaiah emphasizes the future kingdom of Israel, with
a descendent of Jesse (Jesus) on the throne.
Daniel
Daniel was a prophet, and a revered statesman during the reigns of two world leaders. He
was taken into captivity as a boy by the Babylonians and rose to prominence as an advisor to
at least two kings, a Babylonian, and a Persian. He provides a strong example of living by faith
in a hostile world.
The book highlights the sovereignty of God over kings, nations, and empires, manifested
personally in the lives of Daniel and his Jewish friends. Daniel was given an apocalyptic vision
similar to the one John described in Revelation.
Themes in Daniel:
The Kingdom of God:
In contrast to the kingdoms of the world, which come and go (the Babylonian, Persian, the
Greek and Roman Kingdoms all came and went), God’s Kingdom (2:44) will put an end to all
kingdoms and will endure forever.
Daniel 7: 9-14 refers to the “Son of Man” who will rule this kingdom. The gospels identify this
“Son of Man” as Jesus. Jesus often took this name for Himself.
Pride and Perseverance:
Daniel records the downfall of leaders Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. The visions he had of
the fourth beast in Chapter 7, the little horn of Chapter 8 and “The king who exalts himself”,
show us that “pride goes before the fall.” Chapter 12 was a reminder to the people to
persevere through this time of God’s judgement and endure in the hope of the resurrection.
Jonah
Jonah is unique among the prophets in several ways. The book is written as a story about an
event in Jonah’s life and not as an oracle, vision or prophetic poetry as are found in other
prophetic books. The odd miracle of the fish and the message of the book make it different
as well, but significant lessons are taught about God, and about obedience.
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The “Sign of the prophet Jonah,” which Jesus refers to in Matthew 12, gives this little story far
more meaning. And Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the great fish is messianic in all its ways,
and beautiful in composition.
This book demonstrates that God reserves the sovereign right to be compassionate to
whomever He wishes, and that He honours even small steps towards Him. The bigger lesson
was for Israel. If God was compassionate toward a people as wicked as the Assyrians, then
He certainly would show compassion toward Israel if they repented and turned back to Him.
In the book of the Prophet Nahum, though, we see that the response of the Assyrians was
shallow and short lived. Ultimately, they were judged and condemned.
Themes in Jonah:
God’s Compassion:
When we are introduced to Jonah in the book of 2 Kings, we see God’s compassion showed
to the Northern Kingdom during wicked king Jeroboam II’s reign (2 Kings 14:25-27). In the
story of Jonah, we see the faith of both the pagan sailors and the people of Nineveh in contrast
to Jonah’s cowardice and bad temper. But it is God’s sovereign right to act with mercy toward
whom he chooses, and when He wishes. In the case of the Assyrians, they repented, and God
honoured that.
Anger:
The thread of anger is woven throughout the book. The anger of God is assumed (towards
Nineveh for her wickedness) which begins the sequence of sending Jonah to pronounce
judgment. Despite Jonah’s declaration that God is slow to anger (4:2), Jonah was not. In his
anger, the prophet rebuked God because he didn’t think God was angry enough. In this book,
God’s righteous anger is balanced by his compassion, and he must be granted the freedom to
exercise either.
God told Moses in Exodus 33:19 (which Paul uses as part of his argument in Romans 9), “I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion.”
Words of the Prophets

Following are verses from five of the prophets. Each book offers its own treasures. It is good
to take time with these prophets of old.
Jeremiah 9:23-24:
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man
boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, But let him who boasts boast about
this:
That he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and
righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.
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Ezekiel 33: 23 - 33
Then the word of the LORD came to me…therefore say to them “This is what the sovereign
LORD says…You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his
neighbour’s wife. Should you possess the land?
…I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end…Then
they will know that I am the LORD when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all
the detestable things they have done”
“When all this comes true – and it surely will – then they will know that a prophet has been
among them.”
Hosea 14: 1-4

Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!
Take words with you and return to the LORD.
Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips …
“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely,
For my anger has turned away from them.
Micah 6: 8
…He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Malachi 3: 1
“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord
you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire,
will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
INTEGRATION AND PERSONAL APPLICATION.

“A prophet is more than a mouthpiece for God. He or she is someone who helps the people
of God hear the voice of the Lord and obey8 ”
The statement above was made to help explain Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts in Ephesians
4:11-16. In describing the blueprint of the church, Paul tells us there are prophetic and
apostolic roles present in the operation of the church.
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“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all
reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and become mature, attaining
to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and
there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful
scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the
mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and
held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part
does its work.” Ephesians 4:11-16
There is controversy and division in our churches today about issues surrounding both
prophets and apostles, and their respective roles in the church. This section intends to help
clarify the role of prophecy in our churches. It is important to identify key differences between
the Old Testament and the New. Recognizing these differences is critical in understanding
how this gift operates today.
In the Old Testament, prophets of God were held to an absolute standard: if they spoke
falsely or delivered a message other than what God told them they were to be put to death
after the first offense. After Jesus came, He sent His Holy Spirit to indwell every believer and
we no longer need prophets to tell us God’s message in the same sense as they did in
Scripture. We have the completed canon of Scripture as well.
Every believer is responsible to hear God’s voice and determine His will. The Bible and the
Holy Spirit work in tandem to provide that needed instruction. This passage in Ephesians
states very clearly that the role of the prophet has now shifted dramatically.
The Primary Ministry of a Prophet is to Equip God’s People to do God’s Work.

Other New Testament passages offer further insight:
“Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19-21
“But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them.”
1 Corinthians 14:3
There are some in Christian circles who claim the same level of authority and divine calling as
an Isaiah, or a Jeremiah, of the Old Testament. If so, then they should be judged by the same
standards as the prophets of old. In that case, it is doubtful that any of them would be alive!
Here are some things to consider when discerning the role that prophecy plays in the church
today. It is a gift Christ has given to the church, not an office in the Old Testament sense of
the word.
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Ephesians 4:11 -13

1. Prophets (those with the true prophetic gift) are called by Jesus to help equip the saints to
learn how to hear from God more effectively and respond with obedient faith.
 False prophets claim special knowledge from God saying that only they can explain
God’s secrets. They put themselves in a place of power and importance which is
inappropriate in the body of Christ.
2. Prophets empower others to minister and use their spiritual gifts
 False prophets put themselves above others and misuse that power.
3. A prophet’s message is always consistent with the Word of God, the Bible, and does not
contradict the Word.
 False prophets claim new revelation that supersedes the Word and replace it.
4. A Prophet’s message draw us closer to God and creates a strong desire to want to know
Him more deeply and intimately.
 False prophets glorify themselves primarily as the ones who exclusively know the truth.
5. A Prophet stands in the gap and challenge God’s people to be right with Him.
 False prophets have enough truth to make them sound legitimate, but enough error to
lead people away from God and the truth of Scripture.
6. A Prophet welcomes the discernment and critique of their message from other Christians,
and are humble and teachable when corrected.
 False prophets are threatened and defensive when their message is challenged.
Author’s Note: There is much confusion in our churches worldwide regarding prophets and
the gift of the prophecy and how it should operate in the church. God is doing amazing things
in his church, and He is moving in powerful ways, but it is important that the Word of God
provide the guardrails to keep us from the kinds of teachings that will move us away from the
Bible and the glory that belongs to God alone.
Satan will come as an “angel of light.” God’s word tells us that in the last days, false prophets
will arise. Jesus warned of this in Matthew 24:11. Much discernment is needed to properly
evaluate any prophetic message and how it is used in the church.
PRAYER
Our Sovereign LORD, The Holy One of Israel, help us to know and to remember what is
important to you. And help us to do it. Help us to have a proper reverence for you, to not take
you for granted, or take all your blessing too lightly. Don’t let us ever forget you. Show us
what is not pleasing in ourselves and teach us to repent.
We thank you for your great work of redemption. The Prophets saw such things in the future,
but we have received the fulfilment of your greatest promise. We are so grateful.
Help us always to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you. Amen
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Chapter 9
Wisdom Literature
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
OUTCOMES
The students will:
 Understand what is meant by “Wisdom” in the Bible
 Have a greater appreciation for biblical poetry
 Be able to recognize different kinds of parallelism in Hebrew poetry
 Have a greater hunger to know the Wisdom of God and to live it
GETTING STARTED
“In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.
But you remain the same, and your years will never end.
The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you”
Ps. 102: 25-28
“Praise the LORD, O my soul;
All my inmost being, praise his holy name”
Ps. 103:1
These words from Psalm 102 and 103 were written down, in Hebrew, on a piece of parchment
more than 2,000 years ago. A small remnant of that scroll was included in the Dead Sea Scrolls
Exhibit and was viewed by the author in August 2018.
These words were neatly copied in tiny script by Jewish scribes in the ancient monastic
community of Qumran, near the Dead Sea, some 200 years before Christ. The scroll was
placed in a stoneware jar, and miraculously survived the ravages of climate, insects and
people.
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These scrolls were discovered between 1947-1956, along with many others on which were
written Psalms, Genesis, Isaiah and other writings from the Hebrew Scriptures. The
translation of the Hebrew reads just as we read it in our Bibles today. This remarkable
preservation of God’s word may shed some light on the value these ancient people, and the
LORD God Himself, put on these words of Wisdom.
“The word of the LORD stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8
OVERVIEW
The Wisdom books contain some of the Bible’s most beautiful, profound and, in some ways,
most challenging literature. The Psalms comfort and encourage us, while the depths of Job
confound us and drive us back to safer ground; Proverbs presents a somewhat comfortable
cause-and-effect way of life, but Ecclesiastes reminds us that we can neither understand nor
control our world – all is vanity. All through the Bible’s books of wisdom, however, is the
reassurance and companionship of these writers who struggled with the same real questions
and emotions as we do. And they did it so well, with refinement of thought, beautiful use of
language, and an open transparency to God.
In this study we introduce The Wisdom Books and provide some help in reading and
understanding Hebrew poetry. Nearly one third of the Hebrew Bible is written as poetry,
including large sections of the prophetic books. A poetic way of thinking permeates much of
the Old Testament, and the New Testament as well. The Hebrews were a poetic people.
This is an important understanding for many in contemporary culture, who have inherited a
more rational perspective, primarily from Greek influence, and who struggle with metaphoric
language, the tension of paradox (“seemingly contradictory realities”) and issues left
unresolved. Your own culture and language may be more akin to the poetic and less linear
qualities of Hebrew. But no matter what lenses you are wearing, the Wisdom Books provide
us with profound thought and excellent poetry, and they touch our hearts as we spend time
in them.
Wisdom was a valued commodity in Old Testament thought and its presence was not limited
only to the Wisdom Literature. God’s word was always valued as the epitome of true wisdom
and knowledge. But in wisdom literature, the writers have also astutely observed people’s
actions and distilled the results into concentrated statements which show how a disciplined,
prudent and Godly life produces a wise result.
Many equate poetry with The Psalms and wisdom with The Book of Proverbs, but five Old
Testament books are classified as poetry and wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible. The
Wisdom books are Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The Poetic books are Psalms and Song of
Solomon, though Job 3:1-42:6 and all of Proverbs are written as poetry. Ecclesiastes includes
both poetry and prose.
 “Wisdom” pertains to the content and perspective of the writing

 “Poetry” is a form of writing by which thoughts are expressed
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A quick summary of the Wisdom Book is as follows: Proverbs records wise sayings; Job
addresses and grapples with the question of suffering, and Ecclesiastes explores the folly of
defining wisdom from a human perspective.
Lamentations is an additional book of poetry giving voice to the grief of the people over the
destruction of their nation by the Babylonians. It was most likely written by Jeremiah and is a
testimony to his greatness as a poet.
GOING DEEPER
Psalms
The Psalms are rich in emotional content and God has used them through the years to
minister deeply in the lives of His people. They were written to express the wide range of
human emotion, even extreme emotion, from despair and depression (Psalm 88 and 102), to
confusion and doubt (Psalm 73,) to the highest adoration and praise (Psalm 150). They are
prayers addressed to God, or songs that sing of His truth and character.
The Psalms are written in the language of the heart, and they make a way for us to come to
God as we are. Because the authors of these poems were so transparent before God, they
give us full permission to bring our anger, our misery, our questions about God’s mercy and
justice straight to God. We can join our voice with the psalmist’s cry for help. They give us
words to express our anguish, our fear, and our joy, and show us how to bring our whole self
to God.
There are several types of Psalms. They were composed to be read aloud, or sung, as many
were part of the Jewish Psalter, the hymn book of Hebrew worship. There are psalms of
praise, thanksgiving, lament, songs of wisdom, ballads of salvation history, Songs of the King,
and “Songs of Ascent” (these were sung on the way up to Jerusalem to worship), among
others. Those that are deeply emotional prayers, crying out to God, are referred to as
“Imprecatory” Psalms.
Hebrew Poetry
“Poetry is heightened speech, far more compressed than prose … it requires a more
contemplative approach and requires more continuous interpretation than ordinary
language. Yet poetry developed before prose in virtually every culture that we know. Small
children love poetry … Despite what we have been conditioned to think, biblical poetry is far
from inaccessible … it has a power and beauty all its own. Perhaps that is why poetry pervades
the Bible … the ability to interpret poetry is a requirement, not an option when we read the
Bible.”9
Biblical poetry, like all poetry, relies on imagery and figures of speech and is written in verse
form. Hebrew poets thought in strong images. They were adept at describing emotions using
metaphors of concrete and sensory images:
“For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is smitten
like grass, and withered, I forget to eat my bread” (Psalm 102:3-4).
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This poet gives us a portrait of extreme loneliness and depression. These are metaphors and
similes. They make a bold comparison of one thing to another and are the backbone of biblical
poetry.
In addition to its vivid imagery, a defining characteristic of Hebrew poetry is its distinctive
structure, called parallelism. Parallelism is the use of two or more successive poetic lines to
strengthen, reinforce or develop each other’s thought. Almost always in biblical poetry, a
second line will complete, enhance, underscore or contrast the first line.
There are four major types of parallelism:
1. Synonymous – The second line of the verse repeats the thought expressed in the first line
in a similar grammatical form.
“The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46:7).
“The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1).
2. Antithetic – The second line of the verse states the truth of the first, but in a contrasting
way.
“For the Lord knows the way of the righteous
But the way of the ungodly perishes” (Psalm 1:6).
“My son, keep your father’s commandment,
And forsake not your mother’s teaching (Prov. 6:20)
3. Climactic – The second line completes the first by repeating part of the first, and then
adding to it.
“The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
The floods have lifted up their voice” (Ps. 93:3).
Thy right hand, O LORD, glorious in power,
Thy right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy” (Ex. 15:6).
4. Synthetic – Together these lines form a complete thought; the second line completes or
expands the first, without repeating any of it (as climactic parallelism does). This is a form of
“couplet,” two which together form a whole.
“As a father pities his children,
So the LORD pities those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13).
“I have installed my King
on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6).
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“The prime function of any verse form, including biblical parallelism, is artistic beauty and its
enjoyment. Parallelism is an example of the skilful handling of language, and it satisfies the
artistic urge for balance, symmetry, rhythm, and shapeliness.
Biblical poets were artists with a love of beauty and eloquence. When the writer of
Ecclesiastes stated that he “sought to find pleasing words” (12:10), he expressed a theory of
writing that applies to all of the poets of the Bible.”10
Activity: Recognizing the relationship between lines in Hebrew poetry helps in understanding
its meaning. Read the lines below and write down the type of parallelism used.
“For the Lord knows the way of the righteous
But the way of the ungodly perishes” (Psalm 1:6). _____________________
“The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
not so the hearts of fools” (Proverbs 15:17). ________________________
“Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself” (Proverbs 26:4). ____________________
“Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge” (Psalm 19:2). _____________
“Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength” (Psalm 29:1). ________________
“I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips” (Psalm 34:1). ____________________
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, _________________
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4). ________________
“I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). _____________________
Some Themes of the Psalms

Protection from Enemies
David had many enemies during his life who sought to kill him. He was a fugitive on the run
from both Saul and later from his own son, Absalom. Many of his psalms beg God for
protection, and praise God for his deliverance. There are many who know exactly what David
is talking about, and the presence of these prayers give strength and hope in times of fear
and desperation.
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Kingship
There are nine Psalms which are considered Psalms of the king, or to the king (2,18,21,45,72,
89, 110, 132, 144). David most likely wrote four of them (18, 21, 110, 144) and they are full of
military imagery. Others describe kings in the Davidic line and look to a future ideal king and
his kingdom. Psalm 2, for example, is descriptive of the coming King, Jesus, and the blessing
(2:8) of land which goes back to God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:17.
Nature and Creation

In contrast to the polytheistic (many gods) and pantheistic (god as nature and created things)
cultures which surrounded the Israelites, many of the Psalms (8,19, 29, 65, 104) mark a
significant departure from pagan beliefs. These Psalms establish God as Creator, distinct from
His creation. They show that creation reveals God and that God made humankind as the
crown of His creation.
The Retribution Principle

There are two parts to this principle we often see in the Wisdom Literature:
1. The first part affirms that the righteous will prosper and the wicked will suffer;
2. The second part says that if you suffer, it is because you are wicked or sinning and if you
are prosperous it is because you are righteous.
The first part is generally supported in the Psalms and the rest of Scripture, though not as a
direct correlation, as other books (e.g. the arguments of the friends in the book of Job) will
testify. This principle has led to all kinds of distortions of biblical theology related to prosperity
and suffering.
The “prosperity, health and wealth gospel,” and “legalism” are some of the extreme teachings
which Christian leaders have promoted based on this principle. The Israelites struggled with
this question: “How can God let the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper?” With the added
insight of the rest of Scripture, especially New Testament teaching on these subjects, we can
be more balanced with this issue, especially the second part of the retribution principle.
Activity - Consider the following scenarios:

Example #1:
You are attending your home church and your pastor spends the entire message telling his
congregation that God’s desire is for them to be rich. He cites Psalms 35:27 and 1:3 as the
biblical proof text for that belief. He defines prosperity as material wealth. “If you have
enough faith and obey God,” he says, “you will be rich.” If you support his ministry with your
tithe, God will bless you financially, the more you give, the richer you will become.
 Using those Psalms and looking at the overall context of the entire Psalm, respond to
his teaching. Is his use of those proof texts legitimate? Why or why not?
 Does God want every Christian to be rich? Be able to support your answer biblically.
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 What New Testament passages help provide additional insight into this controversial
issue?
Example #2:
A member of your congregation confides in you that he has been struggling with depression
for years. In his previous church the pastor told him that the reason for his depression was
because there was sin in his life. If he would confess, and then repent, his joy would return.
He searched his heart and couldn’t find anything other than perhaps the depression itself was
because of lack of faith, which he confessed. But the depression still did not go away.
Desperate, he sought you out because he did not know what else to do.
 How would you address this problem with him?
 Are there times when depression is caused by sin? Defend your answer biblically.
 Are there times when depression is not caused by or related to sin?
 How would you help him?
Example #3:
A member of your congregation was recently robbed and physically assaulted. After the initial
shock wore off, she became increasingly angry and during a prayer meeting prayed openly
that God would punish her attacker and even quoted the prayer David prayed in Psalm 69:22-
28. You are concerned because you see anger and bitterness dominating the thoughts and
the emotions of this person.
 How would you reconcile David’s prayer and other places in the Psalms (35, 83, 69, 107
among others) that pray for retribution against our enemies with Jesus’ teaching in
Matthew 5: 43ff about loving our enemies?
 Is it wrong to want justice in a situation such as this? How do you deal with that tension?
The Wisdom Books

Job
“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after
my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own
eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Job 19:25-27
Purpose. There is a two-fold purpose to this book.

1. To Correct Wrong Thinking - A common religious teaching is that good is rewarded and
evil is punished. “You reap what you sow.” Some people take it for granted that “this is the
way life works.” Job’s friends believed it, and apparently, to some degree, so did Job. But the
events of this book, which pre-date Deuteronomy, Proverbs and the Prophets, challenge that
conclusion. Job contradicts this bit of conventional wisdom and forces readers to broaden
their ideas about God and suffering.
2. To Instruct - The Bible offers various explanations for suffering:
 Suffering of believers can be God’s discipline for misbehaviour (Ps 39:11; Jer. 30:11;
Heb. 12:5-11; Rev. 3:19);
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 Suffering can bring spiritual maturity (Rom. 5:3-5; Rom. 8:17; 2 Cor. 1:3-9; 2 Tim. 2:3;
4:5-8; Jas. 1:2-4);
 Suffering can be an opportunity to glorify God by faith (1 Thess. 1:6-10; 2 Thess. 1:4-5;
Heb. 11:37-12:1). We are told that the condition of the man born blind was so that God
might be glorified in his healing (John 9:2-3).
Main Theme: God’s character. The debate as to why a good person suffers fades away when
God shows up.
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked
off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were
its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone – while the morning stars sang together, and all
the angels shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7
What we learn about God:
1. God’s eyes are always on His own.
2. God puts His reputation on the line by trusting in believers.
3. God is Sovereign
What we learn about Satan:
1. Satan is accountable to God
2. Satan is behind the evil of this world
3. Satan is neither omnipresent nor omniscient
What we learn about mankind:
1. A person’s attitude is more important than their circumstances
2. Nothing can come into a person’s life, beyond their control, that can ruin God’s purpose in
their life.
Hidden away in a section of Job where you would not expect it, is a succinct prophetic passage.
We quote it at the beginning of this section (Job 19: 25-27). In the midst of all his suffering,
Job understood that he had a redeemer, who would come to stand upon the earth, and that
Job would see him, with his own eyes one day.
This is one of the oldest books in the Bible, predating Moses, but it contains in these three
sentences the great vision of redemption, restoration and resurrection – an amazing verse!
Proverbs
These are a collection of wise sayings, attributed primarily to Solomon but they include
sayings from others as well. This book provides advice for “skilful living.” The Hebrew word
which is often translated as “wisdom” can also mean “skill” and refers to the ability to do
something well. Wisdom can be thought of as God’s Truth, put into practice, giving one the
ability to live well.
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Structure. The book contains two movements.

Proverbs 1-9 introduces the wise sayings and offers great wisdom in its content.
Proverbs 10-31 is a collection of proverbial sayings.
Purpose. These sayings were collected to inform the young in the ways of the world. Some
believe the proverbs were used to educate those who would hold offices in Israel’s
monarchical system.
Proverbs 1:1-7
“The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
For gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
For receiving instruction in prudent behaviour,
doing what is right and just and fair;
To give prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young --
Let the wise listen and add to their learning,
And let the discerning get guidance --
For understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Themes
The Fear of the Lord:
In contrast to the literature of the Egyptians and Babylonians, Old Testament wisdom
literature acknowledges only one God, and in Him and only Him is the wisdom and knowledge
to live life well. The Hebrew word fear has much more of the idea of great reverence, honour,
awe and worship when it is used in reference to God.
Wisdom on Key Elements of Human Behaviour:

The book of Proverbs offers insight on different topics that are practical, worthy of our study
and applicable to our lives. Two such areas are: human speech and human sexuality (the
virtue of a monogamous marriage and sexual purity within that relationship).
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An Additional Activity - Psalm 139:

There is a rich progression in this Psalm. It begins with the Psalmist reflecting on the attributes
of God.
1. What characteristics of God does David reflect on in the first 12 verses?
2. In verses 13-18, these characteristics become very personal to David. In what way?
3. In verses 23-24, how does David translate the knowledge about God into an intimate prayer
to God?
Search me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24
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Chapter 10
The Messiah and the New Covenant
“Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant; I have made you, you are my
servant; Israel, I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins
like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”
Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst
into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, he
displays his glory in Israel.
Isaiah 44:21-23
OUTCOMES
The students will:
 Know the events which ended the Babylonian exile and allowed the Jews to return to
Judah.
 Be able to distinguish the four identifying factors of the coming Messiah.
 Have a far greater understanding of the unity of the Old and the New Testament
GETTING STARTED
Question for Reflection and Discussion
 As we studied different aspects of the Old Testament in this course, how has the Lord
spoken to you about the ways the Old Testament looked ahead to the coming Messiah?
The End of the Exile

In 539 B.C., the Persian leader, Cyrus, conquered Babylon, ending the Babylonian Empire. His
name had been prophesied by Isaiah some 200 years earlier as a deliverer of Israel, “…who
says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem,
“Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’ Isaiah 44:28
The following year, in 538 B.C., Cyrus made a proclamation that all the exiled Jews in Babylon
were free to return to their homeland and rebuild it.
“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfil the word of the Lord spoken by
Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation
throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed
me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up
to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in
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Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be
living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with
freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’” Ezra 1:1-4
The ‘Pilgrim Psalm,’ below, shows the excitement in the people of God at being allowed to go
home.
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dreamed
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
Psalm 126:1-3
The Jews Return from Babylon

The Minor Prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, describe the Jews’ return home under the
leadership of Zerubbabel and the eventual rebuilding of the Temple. Years later (457 B.C.),
Ezra led a spiritual revival in Jerusalem bringing the people back to their covenant with God.
Nehemiah, a contemporary of Ezra, returned as well to help rebuild the walls of the city of
Jerusalem in 445 B.C. This all occurred amid much opposition from the surrounding nations
who did not want to see Israel restored.
After spending 70 years in exile, the returning Jews under Zerubbabel were not the same
people who had been carried off as slaves to Babylon. They had been changed in many ways
by their captivity and by the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. These were the Jews
of the Southern Kingdom, Judah, who were conquered by the Babylonians.
Over the next 400 years there would be only a brief and tumultuous period as an independent
nation. They were subjected to the Persians, then the Greeks and, finally to the Romans at
the time of Jesus. But many held on to the promises of the land being restored and a son of
David ruling them once again.
The returning Jews no longer spoke Hebrew as their common language, though they used the
Hebrew scrolls in worship. They spoke Aramaic. Since they had no temple while they were in
captivity, they developed synagogues as places to read, study and discuss the Scriptures. They
brought this concept back with them as well.
Because they understood their captivity was a result of their disobedience to God’s covenant,
they became much stricter in observing the Law. Rabbis became important because they
taught and interpreted the meaning and application of the Law to the people. Various
rabbinical schools existed, emphasizing different interpretations of the Law.
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When the Jews returned to Jerusalem, the synagogues co-existed with the sacrificial worship
that occurred in the Temple.
Religious practices became stricter. Jews were cautioned to only marry Jews, observe strict
dietary laws, and keep legalistic observance of the Sabbath. The intention was to keep the
Jews pure and separate from other nations. The Jewish monarchy had died out, though there
was hope for it being re-established under the Messiah. The priesthood replaced the
monarchy as Jewish leadership.
Note: The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles were written during this time to retell the story of the
God of history-- more specifically the God of Israel’s history—and to emphasize Davidic
kingship. These are basically the same events of 1 and 2 Kings but were written looking back
after the exile. The sermon-like narrative is a theology of hope for the post-exilic Hebrew
community, affirming that God is faithful. He will restore Davidic kingship and fulfil His
promise to raise up a shepherd-king like David to rule over Israel. (See also Jeremiah 33:15-
16; Ezekiel 34:23-24)11
The Son of David

Although the hope of a son of David sitting on the throne of Israel seemed impossible to many
in Israel, there were other faithful Jews who still believed the Messiah would come. Several
promises from Isaiah were remembered as promises from God.
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”
Isaiah 11:1
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on
David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and
righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish
this.” Isaiah 9:6-7
They believed that the coming Messiah, from the lineage of David, would free Israel from its
foreign dominion and re-establish self-rule again. Many hoped for prosperity, peace, and
political autonomy as in the days of David and Solomon. At the time of Jesus, the enemy who
needed to be overthrown was Rome.
Old Testament Scripture Showed the People What to Look for in a Coming Messiah.
1. He would be a son of David.
Matthew opens his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus traced back to David (Matt. 1:1-17).
Both Jesus’ legal father and biological mother were from the line of David. Matthew wrote
his gospel to the Jews and he used Joseph’s lineage to prove Jesus’ genealogy in a patriarchal
society. Luke used Mary’s lineage in writing to the gentiles who accepted the mother’s family
line.
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Through conversations with God, Joseph and Mary both also understood their mission to rear,
guide, and protect this special child who was the long-awaited Messiah, the King of the Jews.
For those with ears to hear, there is little doubt for Jew or Gentile about Christ’s place in the
line of David and His fulfilment of God’s covenant.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is
conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him
the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21
2. A prophet would come before him.

Another sign the Jews looked for, regarding a coming messiah, was the word of a prophet.
There had been no prophets in Israel for hundreds of years. The 400 years between the Old
Testament and the New Testament are known as the “silent years,” because there was no
prophetic word. John the Baptist is identified as that prophet who came before the Messiah
and announced his coming, as foreseen in the writings of Isaiah. All four of the gospels
introduce Jesus with the prophetic declarations of John the Baptist.
“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through
the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’” Matthew 3:1-3
3. Messiah would be anointed as king.

In the Old Testament this was done by a prophet (1 Samuel 10: 1, 5-6, 16:1, 13). But with
Jesus, rather than anointing him with oil, which was a symbol of the Holy Spirit, God sent the
Holy Spirit Himself to anoint Jesus as the Christ, with the voice of God declaring, “This is My
Son.” Jesus of Nazareth is shown to be the One who was to come, the rightful son of David
to all who were looking for Him.
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter
him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be
so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was
opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice
from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:13-17
4. Isaiah prophesied: The Messiah would be born to man, and He would be God.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
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John described Jesus as the Word made flesh who dwelt among us (Jn. 1:1,14), indicating that
God lived among His people again. Paul called Jesus the “Last Adam” and the “Second Man.”
God’s great rescue plan of redemption is completed in Christ. As the “Last Adam,” Christ paid
the full price of redemption, the price of all of Adam’s sins. As the “Second Man”, Christ rose
from the grave and begin a new race of men, those “born from above.”
So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was
of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.” 1 Corinthians 15:45-47
and
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things
were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers
or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all
things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is
the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have
the supremacy.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to
himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his
blood, shed on the cross.” Colossians 1:15-20
Christ came as a man to live and die to bring man back to God. We see the first promise of a
redeemer from Eve’s seed, in the earliest pages of Genesis, is fulfilled. And I will put
enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your
head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15
Jesus, the Mediator of a New Covenant

God’s promise to Abraham was that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed:
“Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be
blessed through him.” Genesis 18:18
Paul tells us that this promise extended God’s blessings to Abraham on to the Gentiles as well:
“Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw
that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham:
“All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with
Abraham, the man of faith. Galatians 3:7-9
Through Christ, the Covenant extends to all who will believe. The place where God meets with
His people is no longer the Holy of Holies in the Temple.
“For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk
among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’” 2 Corinthians 6:16
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CONCLUSION
The Tree of Life Shows up Again, at the End of the Story
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the
throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side
of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.
And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22: 1-2
It has always been God’s heart to dwell among His people in perfect harmony as their God,
and for them to walk with Him in love. It was this way in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden.
And it will be again in the New Jerusalem:
“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and
his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for
the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 22:3-5
The redemption of humankind, as told in this ancient story, was a long and painful journey,
for people and for God. We wonder, was there not an easier way? Did God not have a magic
wand He could have waved over all the fallenness?
When God created a real flesh and blood world and endowed His children with intelligence,
will and freedom, He must have known where it would go. Perhaps God understood that the
prodigal child must first leave home, before he can ever return wholeheartedly to his Father.
He also knew what it would cost.
God came after His child and this is His story. Graciously, intricately and steadily preparing the
way, moving toward the time when He Himself would cancel the curse of death. This is not a
God we could have imagined without Him telling us.
An Exercise: The God of the Old Testament

In the second century, a theologian named Marcion came to the following conclusion after
extensive study of both the Old and New Testaments: The God of the Old Testament was not
the same as the God of the New Testament. The Old Testament God was judgmental, strict,
and demanded reciprocal justice. The New Testament God, the true Heavenly Father, as
represented by Jesus Christ, is full of Grace and Mercy.
Marcion, then summarily dismissed the Old Testament, and even parts of the New Testament
that he deemed inconsistent with a Gospel of Grace and Mercy. The early Church leaders
declared that he was a heretic and dismissed his ideas.
Unfortunately, many Christians still think in a similar fashion and struggle with the goodness
and mercy of God in parts the Old Testament while failing to recognize the warnings of wrath
and coming judgement in the New Testament.
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Questions for Personal Reflection and Small Group Discussion

 Using only your Old Testament, how would you refute the Marcion heresy and
communicate that the God of both the Old and the New Testaments are the same, full
of Grace and full of Truth?
 Has Your Image/perspective of God in the Old Testament changed with this Study?
How?
 Have you drawn closer to God as you have studied the Old Testament? If so, how?
OUR PRAYER
Almighty God, You are the Great I AM, The One Who Sees, the One Who Hears, Our Healer,
Our Provider, Our Hope, Our Greatest Joy. You are high and lifted up, but You are near -- You
are with us.
You gave us your living word, your Torah, your Wisdom, through these Holy Scriptures. And
then your living Word came as our Messiah.
You are our redeemer, our Saviour, our dearest friend, our guide, our comfort, our precious
Father. We love you. We thank you. We cannot wait to see you face to face.
Until that day, in all our ways, may we honour you. Amen.
105
Appendix A
An Approximate Timeline for the Old Testament
Creation, Fall, The Flood, Babel The undatable past*

Abraham and Sarah 2100 B.C.
Isaac, Jacob
Joseph 1900 B.C.
Egyptian Slavery 1850 – 1450 B.C.
The Exodus and the Time in the Wilderness 1450 – 1400 B.C.**
The Period of the Judges 1400 – 1050 B.C.
David 1000 B.C.
The United Kingdom 1000 – 900 B.C.
Divided Kingdoms, Israel and Judah 900 – 586 B.C.
Northern Kingdom fell to Assyria 722 B.C.
Southern Kingdom fell to Babylonia 586 B.C.
Return to Jerusalem – Restoration 500 – 400 B.C.
Intertestamental Period 400 B.C. – 0
* The Hebrew calendar begins with creation (figured to be 3761 BCE.), and is based
primarily on the moon, and on their interpretation of God’s timing, revealed in the Law. This
is a very different format than the Gregorian Calendar above, which is based on the sun. Our
year 2017-2018 is the Hebrew year 5778.
** This is the traditional date given for the Exodus, but some scholars have proposed
evidence for a later date, around 1275 B.C. Below is a comparison of both dates and the
evidence used for each.
106
Dating the Exodus

The building of the Temple of Solomon was begun in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon
(1 Kings 6:1). According to that verse, the date was 480 years after the children of Israel left
Egypt. From history it is known that Solomon began his reign in around 970 B.C., making the
date of the Exodus around 1447 B.C.
Other Old Testament scholars hold to a later date for the Exodus, around 1275 B.C. Below is
a chart taken from Arnold and Beyer’s book, Encountering the Old Testament.
Evidence 15th Century Date 13th Century Date

1 Kings 6:1 – 480 years from The numbers are taken The 480 years are ideal
Exodus to Solomon’s temple seriously and are literal. numbers and figurative.
Exodus1:11, Israelites built The name Ramesses was Since Ramesses came to
the city of Ramesses, named also used prior to the 13th power in 1279 B.C., the
for pharaoh of the 13th century exodus could not have
century. occurred prior to this time.
Judges 11:26, Jephthah Jephthah was approximately Jephthah had no historical
refers to 300 years between correct, placing the records and was making a
his day (c. 1100 B.C.) and the conquest around 1400 B.C. broad generalization.
conquest of Canaan.
Merneptah’s Stela, the 13th Since Pharaoh mentioned Other groups in the
Century pharaoh mentioned them by name, the Israelites inscription are designated as
“the people of Israel” as must have been there for an territorial city-states. Only
inhabitants of Palestine extended period of time. Israel is referred to as a
The 13th Century approach people. She must have been
does not provide enough a relative newcomer to the
time for Israel to become area. The 15th Century date
recognized by Egypt. leaves too much time.12
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Appendix B
Maps of the Old Testament
Two wonderful resources:

https://www.bible-history.com/maps/old_testament.php
http://www.cartogis.org/images/winners/moody.pdf
This downloadable book has maps, photos and written descriptions.
Mesopotamia
Teacher Note: This map is intended to be filled in by students as an activity to help them be
more familiar with the region. You can show them on a larger map (if you have one) the
rivers, and have them add the Jordan River, Sea of Galilee, and the Dead Sea; show Egypt,
Goshen in the Nile delta, Mt. Sinai, Mt. Nebo, the land of Canaan, the possible location of
Haran, and Abraham’s journey, and correctly position Jerusalem.
108
Appendix C
Joshua and the Canaanite People
“When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the
men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the
city. They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—
men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.” Joshua 6:20-21
This passage, along with others in the Old Testament, (Deuteronomy 7:1-5; 20:16-18; I Samuel
15:2-3) have been a source of difficulty and confusion for both Christians and unbelievers.
The issue can be simply framed in this question:
 How could God command this kind of killing?
Or we can ask the question in a different way:
 How can the God of the Old Testament be the same God of the New Testament as
manifested through the life of Jesus, who was full of grace and truth?
These are difficult questions, but important ones, because the answers will both reflect and
inform our understanding of God’s justice and mercy. We approach the topic from two
perspectives, one in the context of the culture of the Israelites and Canaanites, when God led
them into the promised land. The second is a larger perspective which focuses on the
character of God as being both righteous and merciful. Before we address the problem there
are some important foundational biblical truths we need to keep in mind which will guide us
whenever we judge something that God has done.
1. As Creator and Ruler of all people, God has absolute rights of ownership over everything
and everyone. Scripture clearly states this. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth” (Genesis 1:1). “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” (Psalm 115:3).
“Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’” (Job 9:12).
2. As Creator and Ruler, he is just and righteous in all he does. “What then shall we say? Is
God unjust? Not at all!” (Romans 9:14). “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways
are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he” (Deut. 32:4). When we
pass judgment on something God does, we are putting ourselves in his place, a position we
have no right to be in. We are not the ultimate standard of the universe, God is sovereign and
just, and subsequently what He does is right. This does not prevent humble questioning and
seeking to gain greater understanding and acceptance. God, however, does not owe us an
answer. Scripture gives us clues regarding God’s commandments to his people, Israel, in
general, and to this situation specifically, which will give us greater understanding of this
issue.
In forming Israel as a covenant community, God required purity from his people. Many Old
Testament passages emphasized the importance of removing evil from their midst
(Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7, etc.). Another passage states why.
109
“The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess.
But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been
destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying,
‘How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.’ You must not worship
the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of
detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as
sacrifices to their gods.” Deut. 12:29-31
Other passages are also worth quoting:
“It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take
possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your
God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob” (Deut. 9:5).
“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the
detestable ways of the nations there … Anyone who does these things is detestable to
the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those
nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God” (Deut. 12: 9, 12).
God’s commandment to destroy the Canaanites was not because of the goodness of the
Israelites, it was because of the wickedness of the other people groups within Canaan. This
purging was not genocide; it was not “ethnic cleansing” as many claim. This was God’s
judgment on a fertility cult which tied eroticism of all varieties to the agrarian seasons. Incest,
pederasty (men sexually abusing boys), bestiality, and worst of all child sacrifice were all
manifestations of this Satanic idolatry. In the worship of the demonic gods of Molech
(Leviticus 18:21) and Kronos, thousands of infants and children were burned alive.
For God not to judge this evil raises more questions. Where was God? Why didn’t He do
something about these heinous atrocities? Would we not question His goodness, His power
if He did not take action? God hates evil, and one day, evil will be judged and vanquished for
good when Jesus Christ returns at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead. (Acts
10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5).
We read what God said to Abraham regarding the Canaanites (the Amorites), “In the fourth
generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet
reached its full measure” (Genesis 15:16). God did not bring judgment on them for another
400 years.
In his encounter with Abraham, Melchizedek, king of Salem, (located in Canaan, probably
Jerusalem), acknowledged God Most High. The people in Canaan were not without a witness
to the one true God, at least to some extent (Gen. 15). God was patient with the Canaanites.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter
3:9). Indeed!
Later, as recorded in the book of Joshua, we see that the Canaanites had some foreknowledge
of who God was, and His deliverance of His people in Egypt. Rahab, in her testimony to the
spies (Joshua 2:9-13), and then the Gibeonites, in Joshua 9:24, tell the leaders that they had
heard about the God of Israel, and they feared Him. Because they acknowledged God, their
lives were spared, and they became part of the covenant community, even though they were
Gentiles.
110
The principle illustrated here is important. Our God is merciful and patient. He gave the
Canaanites 400 years to repent, yet they did not. The book of Jonah records a similar
opportunity for the Assyrians. They did repent, at least for a short period, and God’s judgment
was postponed.
Prior to the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19, God told Abraham he was about
to punish these cities for their evil. In the subsequent dialog with Abraham, God told him He
would spare the city even if there were only ten righteous people living there. But as the next
chapter reports, there were no righteous people living there. In fact, the evil was graphically
illustrated in the Sodomite men’s attempt to rape Lot’s guests (angels) in Gen. 19:1-9. God
intervened, the cities were judged and destroyed.
The story of Rahab, in Joshua 2, illustrates God’s mercy for those who acknowledge the one
true God, and also the importance of faith, whether a person is a Jew or a Gentile. Her
exemplary faith is even cited in the hall of fame of faith in Hebrews 11. In contrast, a few
chapters later in the book of Joshua, Achan, an Israelite, disobeyed God, was found guilty, and
stoned to death. God is holy and requires holiness from His people.
There are always consequences for sin, and sin must be dealt with. Romans 6:23 is clear: “For
the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Summary
The conquest of the Canaanites in the book of Joshua was neither ethnic cleansing nor
genocide. God cared nothing about skin colour or national origin. Aliens shared in the same
legal rights in commonwealth as Jews. Leviticus 19:34 stated this clearly: “The foreigner
residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were
foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
Foreigners like Rahab, and later Ruth the Moabitess, were welcomed into the community.
God cared only about sin, and the conquest was an exercise in capital punishment on a
national scale, for hundreds of years of unthinkable idolatry and debauchery. When a
community or a nation sins, there are consequences for everyone in that population, even
children. When His own people Israel did evil and God brought famine and drought, adults
and children suffered alike. Every act of corporate judgment sustains collateral damage.
The Israelites were told to complete the conquest of Canaan, but they did not, sparing some
of the tribes. “When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labour but
never drove them out completely” (Judges 1: 28). The consequences of Israel’s failure to
complete the conquest as God had commanded were tragic for them and are recorded in the
book of Judges.
Before long, Israel compromised, intermarried with the Canaanites, and adopted the same
despicable habits which caused God to judge Canaan. Eventually, Israel too was judged, and
their nation conquered. God hates sin, and sin must be dealt with. It was God’s desire that
Canaan be cleansed of its evil and become a place where truth and love for God and others
would flourish. Israel had been designed to be a kingdom of God’s representatives (priests)
to the nations, and the blessing promised to Abraham was to be realized by everyone.
111
Though Israel failed, and was judged for her failure, God’s plan will ultimately be fulfilled
through Jesus Christ, who took our place in paying the price for our sinfulness, and who will
one day return to take care of the problem of evil once and for all. Israel as a nation, at least
for now, has been set aside as the primary means of God blessing the world. Now, the church
is God’s blessing to others, as we Christ followers go out and share the good news of salvation
through Jesus Christ and seek first God’s kingdom in this world.
As we reflect on this chapter in God’s story, what should our response be?
Recognition of the holiness of God, and of our own depravity. Many commentators have
tried to sanitize this period in history and reframe the story to minimize what happened. The
reality is that sin is something God takes very seriously, and the issue of sin must and will be
dealt with. When we begin to challenge or mistrust God for how He has dealt with nations,
we are putting ourselves in a very precarious position. God is God, we are not.
Gratitude for God’s patience and His mercy, and His grace shown to us through Jesus Christ.
When we comprehend our own sinfulness, and realize what Jesus has done for us, because
He is that good, our perspective changes. We become grateful for all that God has done for
us. The appropriate response from us is what Paul exhorted his readers to do in Romans 12:1,
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Humble Acceptance of His ways, recognizing that He alone is the Sovereign Lord.
Sometimes, especially when we don’t understand, we can go before Him like Job, Habakkuk,
David and others in Scripture, and struggle honestly, but always remember who He is and
what we are.
A Desire to Share the Good News with Others. God is so patient, and as quoted earlier, His
desire is that none perish. He has given us the commission to go and make disciples of all the
nations, and this is our window of opportunity to do all we can before Jesus Christ returns.
A commitment to praying for your country and other nations as well. Paul exhorts us to pray
for leaders in 1 Timothy 2:1-5 and Daniel also prayed for his own people (Daniel 9).
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Appendix D
Old Testament Chronology
Old Testament Time-Line

Dates* Chronological
Books
Pre-History Genesis 1-11
c. 2100 Genesis 12-50
1500-1400 Exodus
Late 1400 Numbers
1400-1350 Joshua
1375-1050 Judges 8th Century

Prophets
United Kingdom 1 Samuel
Joel, Jonah, Amos,
1050-930 2 Samuel
Poetry and Hosea, Micah
Wisdom Divided Kingdom 1 Kings
Literature Israel 930-722 7th Century
2 Kings
Psalms, Judah 930-586 Isaiah, Zephaniah,
Proverbs, Habakkuk, Micah
605-518 Captivity
Ecclesiastes, Nahum, Jeremiah
Reconstruction Ezra
Song of
Exile Prophets
Solomon Nehemiah
Ezekiel, Daniel
536-400
*Some Dates Are Difficult to Define Post-Exile Prophets
and are Approximate.
Haggai, Zechariah,
Malachi, Obadiah?
113
Appendix E
Chronology of the Prophets
Author’s Note: Reading the prophets can be confusing sometimes, especially in determining
to whom they were writing and when. The follow chart provides a guide to the historical and
biblical context for the different prophets.
Summary of 8th Century Prophets
Prophet/Date Theme Context Outline King(s)
Jonah Salvation 2 Kings Disobedient Jeroboam II Uzziah
(753?) to the 13:10-25 or Prophet 1
Gentiles 2 Kings Distressed Prophet
14:23-29 2
(25)
Declaring Prophet 3
Displeased Prophet
4
Amos Israel's Sin 2 Kings Pronouncement of Jeroboam II Uzziah
760-753 and God's 14:23-15:7 Judgment 1-2
Justice Promptings of
Judgment 3-6
Pictures of
Judgment 7:1-9:10
Promises After
Judgment 9:11-15
Hosea God's 2 Kings An Unfaithful Wife Jeroboam II Uzziah to
755-715 Loyal Love 14:23-18:12 and Faithful To Hoshea Hezekiah
Husband 1-3
An Unfaithful
Nation and Faithful
God 4-14
Micah Judah's 2 Kings 15- Message to the Pekah and Ahaz and
735-700 Injustice 18 People 1-2 Hoshea Hezekiah
and 2 Chron. Message to the
YHWH's 27:1-32:23 Heads of Jacob 3-5
Justice Command to Listen
to God 6-7
114
Summary of 7th Century Prophets

Prophet/Dat Theme Context Outline Kings
e
Nahum Doom of 2 Kings 21:1-18 Declaration of Manasseh (if
663-612? Nineveh 2 Chron. 33:1- Nineveh's Doom 1 663) or
c. 660 10 Description of Josiah (if 612)

Nineveh's Doom 2
Reason for Nineveh's
Doom 3
Zephaniah Judgment 2 Kings 22:1-2 Judgment - Josiah
632-628c. to Blessing 2 Chron. 34:1-7 Introspection 1:1-2:3
620 Judgment - Evaluation
2:4-3:8
Future Hope 3:9-20
Habakkuk Problems 2 Kings 23:31- Testing of Faith 1 Jehoahaz
609-605 of Faith 24:7 Teaching of Faith 2 Jehoiakim
2 Chron. 36:1-8 Triumph of Faith 3
Joel The Day of 2 Kings 12:1-21 The day of the locusts Hezekiah (if 701)
701 or 586 ? the LORD 2 Chron. 24:1- 1 or
27 The day of the LORD 2- Zedekiah (if 586)
3
Jeremiah Warning of 2 Kings 22:3- Jeremiah's Call 1 Josiah
627-580 Judgment 25:30 Prophecy Against Jehoahaz
Major 2 Chron. 34:1- Judah 2-45 Jehoiakim
Prophet 36:21 Prophecy Against Jehoiakin
Gentiles 46-61
Zedekiah
Fall of Jerusalem 62
(Lamentations) (Gedaliah)
Isaiah Judgment 2 Kings 15:1- Message of Judgment Uzziah
740-680 and 20:21 1-35 Jotham
Comfort 2 Chron. 26-32 Historical Interlude 36- Ahaz
Major
Prophet 39
Hezekiah
Message of Comfort
40-55
Everlasting
Deliverance 56-66
115
Exile and Post Exile Prophets

Prophet Theme Context Outline Ruler Gentile Ruler
/ Date
Daniel God is 2 Kings Daniel’s Personal Story 1 Jehoiaki Nebuchadne
Sovereign 24-25 God’s Plan for the Gentiles m zzar
Over the 2-7 Jehoiachi Darius
Nations God’s Plan for Israel 8-12 n’s Cyrus
Zedekiah
Ezekiel That they 2 Kings Ezekiel’s Commission 1 Jehoiachi Nebuchadne
may 24-25 Judgment on Judah 2-24 n zzar
know
that I am Judgment on Gentiles 25-32
the Lord Israel’s Restoration 33-48 Zedekiah
Obadiah Doom of Daniel Destruction of Edom 1-16 In Nebuchadne

580? Edom and Deliverance of Israel 17-21 Captivity zzar II
Ezekiel
Haggai Rebuildin Ezra A Call to Action 1 Zerubba Darius I
520 g the 5:1-6:15 A Call to Courage 2:1-9 bel
Temple
A Call to Catharsis 2:10-19
A Call to Hope 2:20-23
Zecharia Future Ezra Eight Visions 1-6 Zerubba Cambyses
h1-8 Blessing 5:1-6:15 Four Messages 9-14 bel
(520- for Israel
515)
Zecharia Messiah's Ezra 5:1- Messiah's 1st Advent 9:1- Zerubba Xerxes I
h Return 6:15 11:17 bel
9-14 Esther Messiah's 2nd Advent
(480) 12:1-14:21
Malachi Appeal to Nehemia The Nation's Privilege 1:1-5 Nehemia Artexerxes I
432-424 the h 13:1-31 The Priest's Pollution 1:6-2:9 h 113
Unfaithfu
l The People's Problem 2:10-
3:12
The Lord's Promises 3:13-
3:6
116
End Notes
1 Walton, 2006, p.74.
2 www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmnUkNT55gU A Hebrew lesson, in English.
3 Crabb 2005, p. 92.
4 Scherman, 1997.p. 73.
5 Tozer, 1961, p. 9.
6 Dockery, 1992, p. 374.
7 Fee and Stuart, 2003, p. 182.
8 Cole 2014, p. 159.
9 Ryken, 1992, p. 159-160.
10 Ryken, 1992, p. 183.
12 Arnold and Beyer, 1999. p.109.
13 Walton and Hill, 2009, p. 309.
14 Koerper, 2010.
117
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Academic, 2008.
Cole, Neil, Primal Fire: Reigniting the Church with the Five Gifts of Jesus; Carol Stream,
Illinois, 2014.
Crabb, Larry. Connecting, Nashville, TN: Word Publishing, 1997.
Dockery, David S. Editor. Holman Bible Handbook. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible
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Fee, Gordon D. and Stuart, Douglas. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Grand
Rapids, MI, 2014.
Hill and Walton. A Survey of the Old Testament, Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 2009.
Koerper, R.J. Old Testament Survey Class notes, Lakewood, CO, 2010
Peterson, Eugene. Leap Over a Wall, San Francisco, CA, Harper, 1997.
Rabbi Scherman, Nosson. Editor. The Chumash. Brooklyn, N.Y: Mesorah Publications,
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Richter, Sandra L. The Epic of Eden. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press. 2008.
Ryken, Leland. Words of Delight, A Literary Introduction to the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Academic, 1992.
Tozer, A.W. The Knowledge of the Holy. New York, NY: Harper& Row, 1961.
Walton, John H., Strauss, Mark L., Cooper Ted. The Essential Bible Companion. Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2006.
118
About the Authors
Susan Kerr is a writer and editor of the FOUNDATIONS Curriculum for Global Action. She has
a degree from Tufts University in Urban Studies, and a Master of Architecture degree from
the University of Colorado. As a skeptical young mother, she picked up a Bible and began
reading in the Gospel of John. She had never read it and was completely unprepared for the
life and hope it quickened within her, and for the compelling person of Christ. Since then, for
more than thirty years, she has dedicated herself to studying, writing about, and teaching the
living word of God. She has written numerous Bible studies and commentaries on the
Scriptures, and currently writes adult Sunday School Curriculum for the international
publisher, David C. Cook. She is also the Coordinator of Adult Education at Windsor Gardens
Church, in Denver, Colorado
R.J. Koerper is the Vice President of Curriculum and Training for Global Action and the Dean
of GA’s Global Church Foundation school. He also served as president of Global Action for a
year. He graduated from Montana State University-Billings with a degree in psychology and
received his Master of Divinity degree from Western Seminary in Portland. His professional
career includes 29 years as an associate professor in the Biblical Studies/Theology department
at Colorado Christian University. He created the youth ministry degree program that
continues to be used to train youth pastors who are serving in this field all over the world. In
addition, R.J. pastored for several years, and had a private counseling practice. He and his
wife, Ermie, live in Golden Colorado.
119

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FOUNDATIONS CERTIFICATE IN BIBLICAL STUDIES

INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

Glomos FOUNDATIONS: Training Curriculum for

Introduction to the Old Testament

Introduction to the Old Testament

OUTCOMES OF THIS COURSE

Who Wrote it and When?

Why Should Christians be Interested in the Old Testament?

What are Some of the Challenges to Understanding the Old Testament?

 The customs and the culture are unfamiliar.

 The religious rituals are strange to us.

 The geography is unfamiliar.

 Some of the theology is uncomfortable.

 The laws seem irrelevant and outdated.

Why We Value and Study the Old Testament

Questions for personal thought and discussion:

Before the Fall

God is Personal and Involved

The Fall of Man

The Serpent Shows Up

Their Eyes Were Opened

The Fall is Widespread. Blessing is Withdrawn.

They are Banished

Discussion Question: What does this prediction mean?

Consequences of the Fall

For Personal Reflection:

Core Motivation: Shame.

Core Emotion: Fear.

Core Strategy: Hide/Blame.

God’s Covenant with Noah

God’s Covenant with Abraham

The Abrahamic Covenant

INTEGRATION AND PERSONAL APPLICATION

The Bible is The Story of Redemption

Discussion Question: What are some examples of redemption, between people?

The Significance of a Patriarch to His Family

The Patriarch’s Role

The Custom of Levirate Marriage

The Patriarch’s Lineage

Jesus Used the Israelite Household Concept to Explain Heaven

Examples of Kinsman/Redeemer in the Old Testament

Ruth and Boaz: Legal Redemption

Lot and Abraham: Patriarchal Protection

Hosea: Love and Restoration

INTEGRATION AND PERSONAL APPLICATION

How Covenant-Making Worked in the Ancient Near East

Covenants Between Nations

What Did a Covenant Look Like?

God’s Covenant with Abraham

The Covenant at Mount Sinai

A Note on the Blood:

The Davidic Covenant

The New Covenant

In light of this, our only response can only be as Paul described:

INTEGRATION AND PERSONAL APPLICATION

A Review: From Abraham to Moses (Genesis 24-50)

Moses’ Second Forty Years (Exodus 2:15-25)

Moses’ Third Forty Years (Exodus 3 – Deuteronomy 34)

The sanctuary, O LORD, your hands established.

Types in the Old Testament

Typology is a special kind of symbolism. A type is a “prophetic symbol” representing

6. The Ark of the Covenant: Old Testament significance?

Keeping the Law

The Law Versus Rabbinic Teachings