Bridging the Gap: A Bible Study

By Roy Beutel

Bridging The Gap is an attempt to clarify the Biblical Story of the prophecy concerning the promised Messiah fulfilled in the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The lineage promised to Abraham was through his seed, and this is clearly recorded in genealogy of Jesus by St. Matthew 1:1-17.
Jacob foretold that the descendants of Judah would be the Tribe through whom Kingship will pass (Genesis 49:8-12), and the Gospels show this to be fulfilled (Matt. 1:2-3; Luke 3:33). The Messiah promised would be God in the Flesh (Isaiah 9:6-7)these all important names given to the Messiah reveal His deity. St. John tells us that the Messiah is God among us in the flesh (John 1:1-14).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514492949

Roy Beutel

Roy Beutel is a retired Lutheran Pastor who was raised in Western New York on a small farm. His early faith training came in a Parochial School setting where bible study and faith formation were part of daily teaching. He graduated from Niagara Falls High School and did his undergraduate work at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1957. After attending the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary (now Trinity Lutheran Seminary), he graduated in 1961. He served for 39 years in Parish Ministry, all in the East Coast Region, serving parishes in St. Petersburg and Gulf Breeze, FL, Baltimore, MD, and Arlington, VA from 1961 to 2000. He retired from Faith Lutheran Church in Arlington, VA, January 2000 after a 23 year ministry. He resides in Fredericksburg, VA and continues to be active in congregational life where he holds membership. His interest in Bible study and teaching led him to prepare two Bible studies published by Sola Publishing of New Brighton, MN, Who Is Jesus, and Portraits of Jesus. His most recent work: Praying Luther’s Small Catechism was published June 2014 by Xlibris. He continues to work on other projects of providing teaching aids for the Church.

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© 2016 by Roy Beutel.

ISBN:                  Softcover              978-1-5144-9295-6

                           eBook                   978-1-5144-9294-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Rev. date: 05/09/2016

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Contents

PROLOGUE

SESSION I THE EDEN STORY

SESSION II THE CALL OF ABRAM

SESSION III THE GERMINATION OF A NATION

SESSION IV THE EXODUS

SESSION V THE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE

SESSION VI THE JOURNEY TO THE PROMISED LAND

SESSION VII ISRAEL BECOMES ORGANIZED

SESSION VIII MESSIANIC PROPHECIES PART I

SESSION IX MESSIANNIC PROPHECIES PART II

SESSION X ISRAEL BECOMES A NATION

SESSION XI ISRAEL’S LAST CENTURY

SESSION XII THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH

EPILOGUE

SESSION GUIDELINES

Dedication

I dedicate this Bible Study: Bridging the Gap to my wife Thea for her dedication and attention in preparing the text for publishing. She wanted to see how the dots connected as the Old Testament prophesies came into focus with the arrival of the promised Messiah. Her support and encouragement helped me greatly in completing the text for this study. It is a good feeling to know and understand that your helpmate enjoys the time you spent preparing a manuscript for publication.

PROLOGUE

M any Bible-believing Christians see no need for reading the Old Testament, as they do not see how it relates to the Gospel story. They do not see how the promise made to Abram (Gen. 12:1, 3) is connected to Jesus’ birth in Bethl ehem.

Both the Old and New Testaments need each other to tell the story of redemption and salvation in all its fullness. The Old Testament without the New Testament is like an unfinished symphony because there is no story of the Messiah coming into the world. The New Testament without the Old Testament would have no foundation to explain the What? and Why? of the Messiah’s arrival, nor would it show the plan of how God would bring redemption to mankind through the nation Israel!

There are twelve sessions in this Bible study with the guidelines for each session in the last segment of this book.

SESSION I

THE EDEN STORY

T he Garden of Eden story is essential for us to understand how God would restore the fallen world because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience and to save human kind from sin, death, and the power of the Devil. Read Genesis 2:10 to 3:24 and see the full impact of what happened as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. The story of the fall is necessary for our understanding as it presents God’s judgment against the disobedience of Adam and Eve. The challenge God gave them was a choice between good and evil, to obey or to disobey. The Devil attempted to refute the limits God put before them by telling Eve, You will not die, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3 :4–5).

The temptation and fall are described as a sense of curiosity. "When the woman saw that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband . . . and he ate" (Gen. 3:6). They ate the fruit expecting marvelous results, and all that happened was a sense of shame. Their guilt was so overwhelming that they covered themselves with fig leaves and hid from God (Gen. 3:7–8). God came seeking them in their hiding place with a simple question: "Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9).

In answering God’s pursuit, we can see their burden of guilt and shame as they tried to hide from God. They admit their shame by telling God: because I was naked; and I hid myself (Gen. 3: 10b). God questioned their guilt with a second question: "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from The Tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" (Gen. 3:11). Their conviction of guilt is evident in pointing guilt away from self as Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent (Gen. 3:12–13). The serpent is represented as speaking for himself, but later Scriptures indicate that it was Satan speaking through the serpent. (See II Cor. 11:3; 14–15 and Rev. 12:9; 20:2).

God’s judgment unfolded as he addressed the Devil, the woman, and the man. Life would become burdensome, and there would be suffering and death. "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Gen. 3:19). The