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INTRODUCTION
,
I. Major themes of the Old Testament Story
A. Exclusivist Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in One God.
The Old Testament assumes the existence of God
God is distinct from His creation.
he is unique; He has no peers.
The Old Testament does not teach atheism, pantheism, or polytheism.
Abraham’s ancestors had been polytheists ().
His grandson, Jacob had polytheism in his family (, ).
Later Israel followed the false god Baal and misused the prophets ().
Nevertheless, the Old Testament teaches monotheism alone!
God is the one and only God!
Only a fool would say there is no God (; ) Atheism is foolish since:
Monotheism stands at eth heart of the law of Moses.
The first of the ten commandments read:
Observant Jews recite the Shema twice every day.
The shema teaches the unity of God- the LORD is one.
He alone Created
He alone has always existed in eternity past; and is perfect in justice and righteousness, and that every knee should bow!
God demands complete worship, he is a jealous God
God commanded Israel to choose whom they would serve
Although God is unique, He is not aloof, as agnostics teach.
He invites the humble heart to enjoy close fellowship with him
B. Covenants
The covenants provide a table of contents for the Old Testament story.
Unconditional covenants were made with Abraham and David.
There will be a new covenant made with Israel that is yet to come.
The Sinaitic and Deuteronomic Covenants, on the other hand, promised conditional blessings and curses.
When the Israelites broke the Sinaitic and Deuteronomic Covenants, the prophets threatened the people with covenant curses.
Still, the prophets promised ultimate blessings, because they knew that God will faithfully honor the three unconditional covenants.
ASK: How would you describe Israel’s level of faithfulness to her covenant commitments?
supplies one example of the way that the covenants gird the old Testament Story.
In the beginning of her story, Israel was like an undesirable woman ()
Nevertheless, God pitied the nation by allowing it to exist and multiply in Egypt ()
Then He entered into a covenant with the nation at Sinai ()
Similar to tghe way that a man marries his wife, God bound Himself to the nation.
God cleaned and clothed and prospered teh nation ()
However, Israel committed religious adultery by committing idolatry ()
Israel broke the conditional covenants of Sinai and Deuteronomy.
God promised to Judge the nation - the army killed, burned and carried out God’s jealous anger and judgment ()
The lord lamented the way that Israel behaved even worse than her religious relatives Sodom and Samaria ()
God promised to deal with Judah the same way that judah had deealth with God - by breaking the coneditional covenant of Sinai/Deuteronomy ()
Yet, God remembered the unconditional Abrahamic xcovenant, which He had made with Israel in teh days of her youth ()
C. Theocracy
The O.T. tells the story of God’s plan to establish His rule among His people.
God’s Rule is known as Theocracy.
The people of Israel rarely practiced it.
God wished to rule His people through His designated leaders, but Israel resisted
God intended to exercise his will through submissive elders, judges, kings, priests, and prophets.
God desired Israel to be a holy nation faithfully following His laws
The O.T. describes God as ‘the King’ as ‘a great King above all gods’ and as ‘the King, the lord of hosts’ (; ).
The lord reigns and judges the people in righteousness (.
The fact that He reigns should bring forth rejoicing and trembling (; )
The book of Deuteronomy functioned as the constitution for the theocracy.
It provided the terms of agreement allowing Israel to live on the Promised Land under God’s sovereign rule.
Legislation for the nations kings ()
Legislation for the prophets ()
Legislation for the priests ()
These human leaders were to follow God’s Word.
During several key periods in Israel;’s history, teh theocracy functioned properly.
Read: Why was Josiah a good Theocratic leader?
hy was Josiah a good Theocratic leader?
At 26, he directed his servants to renovate the temple
When Hilkiah found a copy of the law of Moses, and when Josiah heard the words of the scroll, he tore his clothes in repentance (34:19)
Josiah knew the nation had broken the covenant and deserved God’s judgment (34:21)
Josiah personally vowed his obedience to the covenant and led the people to follow his example (34:30-33)
Josiah led the people to celebrate the Passover Feast (35:1-19)
Josiah shines as an ideal example of an earthly king leading the people into righteousness - careful to obey God’s covenant stipulations.
One more Theocracy is coming:
There will be the ultimate theocracy when Christ comes to rule on the earth.
describes his coming.
D. Redemption
The Old Testament tells the history of God’s work of redemption.
Since Adam and Eve sinned, all their descendents have been under the curse of sin.
God has worked from before the creation of the world to redeem sinful humanity
After Adam and Eve fell into sin, death reigned.
People devoted themselves to do evil.
God judged the world with the Flood, but He rescued Noah and his family.
People again populated the earth.
God chose Abraham from among the nations so that in him and in his descendents ‘all families of the hearth might be blessed” ()
God redeemed the Israelites from Slavery in Egypt and brought them safely through the Red Sea ()
The Law was a priceless gift, for it listed God’s exact expectations and showed the people how far short they fell from God’s holy standard
The Law indicated the need for a Substitute Who would take God’s punishment for sin.
The Old Testament sacrificial system pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice of God’s Son (, ; ; ; ; , , )
Since the law proved the sinfulness of all it also proved that there is nothing good that a person can do to earn favor from God.
Instead, the repentant sinner needs to simply trust in God - to take Him at His Word (; )
Leviticus
ASK: What did the people do when they redeemed land or slaves?
how does this redemptive action compare to our salvation?
The old testament law allowed the Israelites to buy back land that they had sold.
They could pay the price to redeem it.
Slaves could be set free if relatives paid their redemption price.
These laws afford a beautiful picture of redemption.
Someone must pay the price for the penalty.
When it comes to sin, no mere human being can pay the price.
Just as God redeemed his people from their Babylonian captivity () so He can redeem sinful humanity.
God did this by sending His Son so He might die as the sinless man for all humanity.
Christ die to assuage God;’s righteous wrath toward redemption.
The New Testament is the sequel.
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