Old Testament Overview

Introduction

Let’s start with a little pop quiz this morning. Does anyone know what this is? (Hold up a solved Rubik’s Cube and wait for someone to answer the question). Good! It’s a fun little puzzle that holds the attention of many nerds, such as myself. Now, you’ve been able to correctly identify the Rubik’s Cube, what if I were to ask you to solve it? (Quickly mix it up). What? You can’t solve it? But you knew it was a Rubik’s Cube, so why can’t you solve it? Because no one has taught you how. So, it really doesn’t do any good to hand you an unsolved Rubik’s Cube and say, “Have fun”? That would be ridiculous.

Let’s try another question. What is this? (Pick up Bible). Great! Now, if I were to ask you to go through the Scriptures and explain the overarching story in detail could you do it? Maybe to some extent. We are all in different places in our Bible knowledge and understanding. There’s always more to learn. Sadly, the thing we often do with new Christians is hand them a Bible and say, “Have fun.” Sure, we can learn a lot from reading the Bible on our own and we need to, but there is a lot of the Bible that is confusing. Sometimes all you need is someone to show you how to use the Bible in order to jump start the journey of understanding.

What we want to do this week and next is look at the story of Scripture and see what its all about.

I. Background

A. If we want to understand the Scriptures we need to know the point

1. Jesus is the primary focus of Scripture

2. Galatians 3:24 “So then, the law was our tutor until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.”

B. The overarching theme of the O.T. is God working throughout human history to bring about His promised Messiah to save the world

II. The Books of Law (Genesis-Deuteronomy)

A. Genesis shows us the beginning of all things (Genesis 1:1) (God’s good creation, mankind’s fall, the beginning of multiple languages and societies, etc.)

1. Genesis 1-3 presents us with the backdrop for the rest of what Scripture is about, God redeeming what mankind has corrupted with sin.

2. Genesis zeroes in on Abraham, a man who lived by faith in God. He is given the promise of blessing all nations through his seed (fulfillment in Jesus, Galatians 3:16)

3. Thus, we see Isaac as the son of promise, his son Jacob as the head of the chosen nation (Israel) to bring about a blessing for all mankind (the Messiah)

B. Exodus-Deuteronomy are the rest of the books of Law

1.God chose Israel to serve the purpose of being a nation of priests (Exodus 19:5-6) and eventually bring the Messiah into the world

2.We follow how God established the nation and the set up the parameters for guarding the nation from sin (keeping the nation geometrically isolated and religiously isolated in order to be holy [set apart for service, which is, bringing forth the Savior of the world])

a. This Covenant Law God set up for Israel made them different from every other nation in 3 main ways (Eerdman’s Handbook of the Bible, p.124):

1. Everything connected to one God (monotheism)

2. They had remarkable concern for the underprivileged: slaves, strangers, women, and orphans

3. Their community spirit. Everyone had a purpose and a way to serve the Lord

b. The Ten Commandments were unique to Israel

1. They are rooted in the reality “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt..” (Exodus 20:22)

2. Every commandment connects back to Yahweh being the One, True, Living God and follows His character

aa. The first four commandments connect to the Deity of God and who He is as God (you shall have no other gods before me, don’t make for yourself an idol, do not take the name of the Lord in vain, and remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy)

bb. Commandments 5-10 shows God’s moral character in relating to people (honor father and mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false testimony, and do not covet)

III. Joshua-Esther: The Historical Books

-They detail God’s fulfilled promises, necessary judgments, and Messianic prophecies through His chosen servants, Israel

A. We see some pivotal changes within the nation as time progressed and became established in the Promised Land

1. The book of Joshua follows the conquest of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, the successor of Moses

a. The people of Israel learned faithfulness by obeying God’s commands under the example of Joshua and they received victory in the land of Canaan

b. Once the land had been conquered they worshiped God and each tribe received the appropriate inheritance

c. Joshua called the people to continued faithfulness (Joshua 24:15 “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.””)

2. The people were faithful for a time, until Joshua and the eldership by his side passed away. Then the people of Israel moved from the most faithful generation to the most faithless

a. The period of the Judges was a diabolical time in Israel. The people broke many of the covenant laws God had given to them and they paid the price

b. This period of nearly 400 years can be summed up this way… (Judges 2:8-11)

c. They had an “S” Cycle: Sin, Slavery, Sorry, Saved. God would raise up thirteen judges throughout these years to realign His lost children

B. This rebellion eventually climaxed to Israel rejecting their purpose for being a holy nation with the desire to be like all other nations (1 Samuel 8:1-7)

1. God would use this to fulfill His purposes. He already predicted this betrayal and put laws for a king in the covenant through Moses

2. Saul was the first king of Israel for 40 years, but rebelled against God. Thus, David became king and he was a man after God’s own heart who would do all the Lord’s will (Acts 13:22)

a. He had a successful and faithful reign, even with some stumbling blocks along the way. So, God promised that David’s house and throne would be established forever

b. Solomon then became king and built the temple of the Lord

1. This was the central place of worship to Yahweh. No image of God was in the place, which was unusual for the age

2. For God cannot be shrunk to an image made by man. Instead, His glory rested in the Holy of holies

C. The reign of Solomon was one of peace and prosperity until his son, Rehoboam, became king. Then the kingdom split into Northern and Southern kingdoms (1 Kings 12:16-17)

1.The kings of Northern Israel were faithless and evil. So, God sent them to captivity to Assyria, never to reunite them as a nation

2. However, Judah had 8 kings out of 20 who were faithful and good. So, God prolonged them until their rebellion outgrew the Lord’s patience

a. He then sent Judah into captivity but He promised to save a remnant for Himself. This was in keeping with His promises to Abraham and David

b. After 70 years of captivity to Babylon turned Medo-Persia God called Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah to lead the Jews back to their homeland where their religious heritage was restored and they were being primed to bring the Messiah into the world

IV. Poetry/Wisdom Literature and Prophets (Job-Malachi)

-These books were primarily written during the period of 1 Samuel-2 Chronicles

A. The books of poetry/wisdom literature are Job-Song of Solomon

1. When we say “poetry” we don’t mean that all the content is made up. Rather, the way things are said or written are in a symmetrical and beautiful form to paint a certain picture in our minds.

a. For example, Job was a real person who endured real hardship. Yet, the speeches between he and his friends were poetic in scope, illustrating their points to one another

b. Poetry came in multiple shapes and sizes: rhymes, sayings, rhythms, repeating structures, symmetrical patterns, and more

2. Psalm was primarily written by David and some other kings/rulers of Israel/Judah. It was used as the song book of the Israelites in temple worship

3. Solomon wrote the bulk of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon

a. These were used as text books to teach young people how to live wisely and the realities of life

b. By the time of Jesus there were Rabbinic schools that taught boys 12 and up in all the ways of God via the Scriptures. A major teaching point was through Solomon’s writings

B. The prophets are where we often get confused. The way they speak, the pictures they use, the message they present, and when and where they are preaching are all but lost to us

1. Most of the prophets are found during the time of the kings and some during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah

a. The majority of the prophets indicate when they spoke at the beginning of their books

1. Isaiah 1:1 “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”

2. Hosea 1:1 “The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.”

b. It might take a little bit of time and effort to properly place each prophet. But when you get a historical context you begin to understand why God commanded the prophets to preach what He did

2. You can sum up their messages as follows (Eerdmans’ Handbook to the Bible, p.372-373):

a. God is the Ruler of History

b. The primary need of being right with God

c. The moral foundation of religion and society

d. A blend of Judgment and Hope

e. The Messiah and His Coming Kingdom

Conclusion

There is still so much to learn about the Old Testament. But now we have a bird’s eye view of the story of the Old Testament. This brings us one step closer to understanding God’s message and will for our lives in Christ. (Begin solving the Rubik’s Cube that has been mixed from the beginning). The picture is starting to be made whole. The more we understand the Scriptures and how they connect together the closer to God we will be.

Again, the whole Old Testament is pointing forward to Jesus. God chose Abraham’s descendants (Israel) to bring about the Promised Messiah to bless the whole world. Next week we will see what happens when He comes on the scene in the New Testament.

Challenge: Starting today Read 1 chapter of Micah every day. You’ll read the whole book by Saturday.