Understand the Old Testament: The Story Jesus Completes. The Promise Jesus Fulfills.

By David Holsted

A full 75 percent of the Bible is the Old Testament. If one of your kids, or your coworkers, or your friends were to ask you about the Old Testament, could you talk knowledgably about it? When you pastor says that your church believes in the Old Testament because the whole Bible is about Jesus, can you even imagine what he's talking about? In my experience, Christians often know stories from the Old Testament, or maybe have memorized verses from it, but very few would say that they understand it. That's where I stood not long ago, so I set out to do something about it. Frankly, without help, the Old Testament can be difficult to read, let alone understand. But with a little guidance, you can not only understand it, you can appreciate how it harmonizes with the New Testament and you can see how it is so foundational to your faith. I put together this book as I earnestly studied my way through the Old Testament. My hope is that I have taken hundreds of hours of reading and work, and summarized it into a book that can be used by Christians who just don't have hundreds of hours to invest. This book combines the best of what I've read and studied about the Old Testament. • It is part book-read it through, or select areas of interest from the summaries. • It is part Bible study guide-use the summaries to study or lead a Bible study group. • It is part commentary-use it to complement your Old Testament reading. The Old Testament is the story that Jesus completes, and the promise that Jesus fulfills. Are you willing to invest about an hour per week for a year in order to see how this is true? • Learn the name, nature, attributes, and character of God. • Learn biblical principles, patterns, and promises. • Learn about Hebrew culture, language, and history in the context of world history. • Learn of the prophecies of hope through the Messiah. • Learn how the Old Testament testifies to Jesus throughout! Share this adventure with me! Take the first step! Start down the path! You will find it one of the most fulfilling things you've ever done!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781640797673

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Understand the Old Testament

David Holsted

Copyright © 2018 David Holsted

All rights reserved

First Edition

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc

New York, NY

First originally published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc 2018

ISBN 978-1-64079-766-6 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64079-767-3 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Preface

It’s difficult to read; it’s hard to understand; I just don’t get it, and it shouldn’t be that way.

Those are the words I said to myself in 2014 as I completed a reading of the Old Testament. So I set out to study the Old Testament and learn what it has to say to Christians. I have no letters to put after my name—I’m simply a Christian with a desire to know God. What I found is that although the Old Testament can begin as hard to understand, with a little effort, it can be understood as the foundation on which the New Testament is built. The Old Testament first identifies God and reveals the human condition (Creation, Free Will, the Fall, our Sinful Nature, the Flood). It then tells the history of the Hebrew people, who were chosen by God to begin His Plan of Redemption—God’s Plan to restore a proper relationship between God and mankind, a Plan to be completed by Jesus, as the Messiah, as revealed in the New Testament. Along the way, the Old Testament reveals God’s name, nature, character, attributes, and purpose; reveals God’s spiritual principles and instruction to mankind; and provides peeks into the spiritual realm.

In my search for help in my studies, I discovered a 509-session, verse-by-verse walk through the Old Testament done by Tom Bradford at Torah Class. Tom does an outstanding job of familiarizing you with the Hebrew culture, the Hebrew language, and our Hebrew roots. If you are willing to dedicate that kind of time to your studies, I highly recommend Torah Class—it is available online and by podcast. I also set out to read books that could deepen my understanding of the Old Testament. Among others, I found books like Christopher Wright’s series of books, Knowing Jesus, Knowing God the Father, and Knowing the Holy Spirit Through the Old Testament; Philip Yancey’s The Bible Jesus Read; Alfred Edersheim’s Bible History and The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah; Michael Rydelnik’s The Messianic Hope; Walter Kaiser’s The Messiah in the Old Testament; Charles Swindoll’s Great Lives series; and John MacArthur’s Twelve Extraordinary Women and Twelve Unlikely Heroes. I looked to Bible commentaries and other online resources like Tom Constable’s Sonic Light. I found the Moody’s Bible Commentary and the Jewish New Testament Commentary particularly helpful. I also utilized several Bible translations (NIV, KJV, NASB, AMP, ESV, CJB, and the Message) and several Study Bibles.

As I studied, I also began to lead a couple’s Bible study group through the Old Testament. I decided to write my study out so that I could read through it again, and so that I could share it with others who shared my frustration with the Old Testament. The Bible study group became my test group for each session. Although I had no ambitions about ever publishing it, the end result is the book you hold in your hands. It is designed so that an individual can read through it like a book, or can use it to lead other Bible study groups.

As a result of this effort, I believe I now understand what the Old Testament has to say to Christians—and it is amazing! There are numerous connections to the New Testament—after all, the New Testament is not scripture for a new religion called Christianity, it is the completion of the story and the promise of the Old Testament. Additionally, I found that the catch-phrases we hear Christians say about the Old Testament—that it’s a different dispensation of God, that it is the God of judgment while the New Testament is the God of grace—are far from accurate. God has not changed. God’s nature, character, and purpose have not changed. Jesus came to fulfill Old Testament hope and promise, and in this book, I tried to emphasize all the ways Jesus is revealed in the Old Testament.

I hope you enjoy your walk through the Old Testament as much as I have enjoyed mine.

p.s. I have not studied the Hebrew language. In my studies, though, I’ve learned to appreciate the significance of the original Hebrew language to the thoughts being communicated. Listening to the Torah Class podcasts introduced me to how the words sound, but I kid with my Bible study groups that they are getting an Okie-Hebrew dialect. I pointed out the Hebrew in many instances in this book. When I did, I made an effort to find the definition or use of the word in multiple sources. Nuances in the Hebrew, like masculine and feminine forms of words, are currently beyond my level of understanding—there are times I treat them as the same word, like the multiple forms of righteousness, tzedek, and of salvation, yeshua. I hope I’ve presented the concepts well enough to communicate them clearly, without getting caught in the difficult nuances of biblical Hebrew. Additionally, there appears to be no standardized English spelling for Hebrew words. For instance, in three different books I read, the word meaning wind, breath or spirit is spelled differently—ruach, ruakh, and ruwach. But again, if you don’t let the technicalities get in the way, you can still learn a lot by paying attention to the underlying Hebrew. I hope you find it as interesting as I do.

Introduction to the Bible

Today’s Protestant Bible contains sixty-six books, thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament. The Protestant Old Testament content is the same as that of the Hebrew Bible, only the books are placed in a different order. The Catholic Bible includes seven books of the Apocrypha and includes additions to Daniel and Esther. Some Eastern Orthodox Bibles include some or all of fifteen books and other additions to books known collectively as the Apocrypha. The writings of the Apocrypha were considered important by the Hebrews, but were not elevated to the level of Scripture in their final canon of about 100 AD.

The Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) is comprised of three sections—the Torah, the Prophets (Nevi’im), and the Writings (Ketuvim). Hebrews call this the Tenakh (an acronym for Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvim). The three sections, along with twelve Apocryphal books, were assembled some time before the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible around 250 BC, known as the Septuagint (LXX). With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls between 1946 and 1956 came further evidence that a canon existed prior to the Scrolls being copied, which is believed to have been between 200 BC and 100 AD. In the Dead Sea Scrolls were found portions of every book of the Old Testament except Esther, other writings that were not considered Scripture, and significant writings on Hebrew doctrine, customs, and tradition. Historian Josephus, who lived in the first century AD, also confirms a canon prior to the time of Jesus. The Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint, its Greek translation, are quoted throughout the New Testament. These served as Scripture for the early Christian church.

It is believed that the books and letters that form the New Testament were written between 50 and 70 AD. There is evidence that the four gospels and many of Paul’s writings were being copied and circulated among the early churches as early as the first century AD. For this reason, church tradition was essentially establishing these writings as either doctrine or Scripture before any formal debate on a New Testament canon. It was around 200 AD that the gospels and epistles began being elevated to status as Scripture, and not until 367 AD was it recognized as official by the western church. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, translated 382-405 AD, was based on this twenty-seven-book canon, but it also included six books of the Apocrypha as noncanonical. Martin Luther, as part of the protestant revolution in the 1500s, argued against inclusion of the books of the Apocrypha as scripture, but acknowledged some of them as good and useful to read.

The Christian Church has evolved, as has the New Testament. Beginning during the Roman Empire, two power centers emerged: Rome and Byzantium (Byzantium later became known as Constantinople and today is called Istanbul, Turkey). The power centers of the church also gravitated there because with the proper political connections the leader of the church in each of those political capitals gained power, visibility and validation. Thus we have the births of the Western Church and (separately) the Eastern Church. The Western Church, the portion of the Church with its leadership based in Rome, eventually grew into the Roman Catholic Church. The Eastern Church based in Byzantium went on to become the various Christian Orthodox denominations that we know today as the Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Slavic, Coptic, and others. Protestantism eventually grew out of the Western Church and most of us identify with one branch or another of either the Catholic or Protestant sub-branches.

The Eastern Church is another matter altogether. It does not have its birth or current power structure connected to either the Catholic or Protestant churches, it is entirely separate. When we consider the New Testament Canon there is no such thing as one Church-wide universally agreed upon New Testament even today (although the differences are not major); and there is not one Church-wide universally agreed upon Bible (the main differences being the order of the books, where or if the Apocrypha is included, and if so, how many of the original fifteen Apocryphal books are included).

The original writings were known as Autographs. There are clear distinctions between these Autographs and the Manuscripts and Translations derived from them. Autographs are the original texts written either by the author’s own hand or by a scribe under his personal supervision. The original language of the writings that became the Old Testament was mostly Hebrew, however, some of the texts were also written in Aramaic (most of these appear in Daniel, which was written in Babylon—Aramaic was the language of Babylon, where Hebrews from Judah were exiled around 600 BC). The original language of the writings that became the New Testament was Greek. None of the Autographs of the Old or the New Testaments are known to have survived. What have survived are hundreds, even thousands of Manuscripts.

Manuscripts are copies or copies of copies of the original Autographs. There are only a few Manuscripts of the Old Testament still in existence today, and over five thousand Manuscripts of the New Testament. None of the Manuscripts agree exactly, word for word with each other, and as there are thousands of Manuscripts, there are also multiple thousands of variations. However, all of these variations are very minor in nature (like spelling, punctuation, and updating formal names of places or people that had changed) and do not affect any core biblical doctrines (although some phrases that are different can be interesting).

The most important Manuscripts of the Old Testament and the New Testament still in existence today are the following:

The Dead Sea Scrolls (200 BC-70 AD) contain the entire book of Isaiah and portions of every other Old Testament book except Esther. This discovery validated the Codex in use, having preceded them by one thousand years.

Aleppo Codex (circa 950 AD) contains the complete Old Testament. Unfortunately, over one quarter of this Codex was destroyed in anti-Jewish riots in 1947. This was the oldest support for the Old Testament prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Codex Leningradensis (1008 AD) contains the complete Old Testament in Hebrew. The Jewish Bible, the Tanakh, is based on the Codex Leningradensis. It is the basis for the Masoretic Text, and the source for many versions of the Christian Bible Old Testament.

Bodmer II Papyri (about 200 AD) contains all of the first 14 and a large portion of the last seven chapters of the Gospel of John.

Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri (155-200 AD) consists of portions of eleven papyrus codices, three of which contain most of the New Testament writings.

Codex Sinaiticus (350 AD) contains the entire New Testament in Greek. A German scholar Tisendorf discovered it in 1856 at an Orthodox monastery on Mt. Sinai.

Codex Vaticanus (350 AD) is an almost complete New Testament in Greek and it is catalogued as being in the Vatican Library since 1475.

Textus Receptus (1514 AD) is the first printed copy of the Greek New Testament, by Erasmus.

Translations are when the Bible is translated into a different language from the original. There are also many Translations of Translations. The most important early Translations are:

The Septuagint (300-200 BC), also known as LXX, is the name given to the Greek translation of the Jewish Hebrew and Aramaic Scriptures. This translation was made by seventy rabbis in Alexandria, Egypt for the large Hellenistic Jewish community that spoke Greek, not Hebrew (part of the post-exile diaspora). This version is often quoted in the New Testament.

The Masoretic Text (100-200 AD, 800-900 AD) is a consolidation of the Old Testament completed in the early first and second century AD. In its original form, it was more a manuscript than a translation—its original form was traditional written Hebrew, which contains no vowels or accents. In the ninth and tenth centuries AD, it became a translation, as pointings and accents were added to indicate vowels and accents in the words. Since many different Hebrew words share the same consonants, adding vowels required that the specific word be chosen. This word selection happened during a period of strong rabbinic Judaism, and the writings of the rabbis influenced the translation (the selection of specific Hebrew words from the consonants).

The Latin Vulgate (382-405 AD) was translated by Jerome from Greek to Latin, was the primary Bible translation for over a thousand years, and was the only translation made available to the Christian world by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the Middle Ages (from the fifth century to the sixteenth century). It became the Bible of the Western Church until the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s.

The King James Version (1611 AD). In 1604, King James I of England authorized the translation of the Bible into English (from the Latin). This translation long served as the standard version of the Bible for English-speaking Protestants.

The New International Version (1973, 1978, 1984, 2011). For modern protestant Christians, this version serves as one of the most widely studied and read. It was translated from the original languages, using the Hebrew Masoretic Text for the Old Testament (supplemented and updated for Dead Sea Scroll discoveries), and eclectic sources of Greek text (based on the latest editions of the Nestle-Aland/United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament) for the New Testament.

The New American Bible (Revised Edition 2011) The New American Bible is a Catholic Bible translation first published in 1970, and was translated from the Hebrew and Greek Texts. The first English Catholic version of the Bible, the Douay-Rheims (1582-1609/10), and its revision by Bishop Challoner (1750) were based on the Latin Vulgate.

There are many versions of the Bible today, and they vary in their translation purposes and styles. Broad categories might be word-for-word (or literal), thought-for-thought (to convey the original meaning using modern language), and various balances between word-for-word and thought-for-thought. The original Hebrew and Greek wording includes the use of idioms and cultural references that can make literal translation difficult to understand, thus the birth of translations to convey meaning and intent. Some of today’s popular translations include:

Amplified Bible (literal), English Standard Version (literal), New American Standard Bible (literal), New King James Version (literal), The Message (thought-for-thought), God’s Word (balance), New Living Translation (balance), New Revised Standard Version (balance), Today’s New International Version (balance), and the Complete Jewish Bible.

Translations between languages can be difficult, and this is true from Hebrew to Greek or English. This is compounded when one translation is used as the source for another translation—like Hebrew to Greek, then Greek to Latin, then Latin to English. Sometimes equivalent words do not exist in the language being translated to. Bible translators seek to achieve a balance that conveys the meaning of the original word, but maintains readability, grammar and flow for English readers.

Here are some examples of Hebrew and Greek words, how they are translated, and what they mean:

Hebrew shalom, typically translated peace, describes a sense of spiritual wellbeing, peace, good, godliness, prosperity, harmony and contentment that comes from the hand of God, a divine and spiritual source.

Hebrew chesed, typically translated love, kindness, mercy, or grace, chesed is another word that has a spiritual aspect to it. It describes an act of unfailing love, of lovingkindness, an act that demonstrates loyalty, devotion, and favor. Typically based on a covenant relationship, human chesed is an act of mercy and grace that mimics the lovingkindness of God.

Hebrew shema, translated hear, is an instruction to take action—it means to hear and obey, to listen to God’s instruction and do it.

Hebrew shem, translated name, means character, essence and reputation.

Hebrew mishpat, typically translated justice and judgment, means God’s overall system of justice and instruction. When God instructed Moses on how to reestablish proper worship and morality, God said here is my mishpat (Exodus 21).

Greek pisteuo, translated believe, means adhere to, cling to, trust in, have faith in, rely on, and give oneself up to. Pisteuo implies that actions based on that trust may follow.

These examples demonstrate how translation can impact how Scripture reads. Hebrew was primarily a verbal language, and it was largely based on cultural understanding—its structure and layering of meaning are concepts not used in English or Greek.

Another important consideration is that words often take on new meaning over time even within a language—like heart in biblical times meant mind, intellect, or will; and judgment evolved in English from in my judgment to a harsh word meaning penalty.

Translation, by its very nature, is editing—language issues as well as doctrine can influence translators. This is why we find numerous translations available today. Try to keep this in mind as you read the Bible. Don’t be afraid to seek other translations or to use concordances to help you find the meaning of a verse. As we go through our study together, I will try to demonstrate how meaning can be clarified by digging deeper into the translation process, but here is an example:

Isaiah 7:14-16 in the NIV reads, Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

This verse is often cited as a prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus as the Messiah. But in English it appears to say that the two kings that Ahaz dreads (Ephraim-Israel and Aram/Syria) will be laid waste before the boy becomes of age (and it sounds like the boy is the same boy as the one born to a virgin)—and that doesn’t make sense in light of Jesus’s ministry. But in the Hebrew, the reader can see that the boy in verse 16 is actually a different boy than the one in verse 15—and we’ll find out in Isaiah that the second boy is Isaiah’s son, who God instructed Isaiah to take with him for this prophecy to Ahaz. So with the help of the Hebrew, we can learn that there is first a prophecy to Judah that the House of David was secure—in the form of a future Messiah to be born of a virgin; followed by a prophecy to Ahaz that Yahweh would destroy the two enemies Ahaz fears, Ephraim-Israel and Aram/Syria—which happened three years later.

As to subject matter, the Bible contains the following:

Genesis tells of the Creation, Free Will, the Fall, the destructive power of our sinful nature, the Flood, and the selection of Abraham to form the Hebrew nation as the beginning of God’s Plan of Redemption. Genesis ends with that nation’s journey to Egypt, and the deaths of Jacob (Israel) and Joseph.

Exodus through Deuteronomy tell of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. God provides instruction to reestablish proper worship and morality. Deuteronomy ends with the death of Moses. These books reveal God’s name and character, and speak about God’s covenant relationship with Israel.

Joshua through Esther tell of the Israelites’ history, beginning with conquest of the Promised Land. It covers the historical periods of the judges, the united kingdom, the divided kingdom, the exile of the northern kingdom of Ephraim-Israel to Assyria, the exile of the southern kingdom of Judah to Babylonia, and finally, the return of the Jews from exile in Babylonia.

Job through Song of Songs are called the books of poetry. They are authored by a wide variety of people. Psalms can be viewed as personal letters to God. Job is a cosmic contest, and a story of free will and faith. Ecclesiastes is existential despair—searching for meaning. Song of Songs is a love story. Proverbs are brief sayings of wisdom.

Isaiah through Malachi are called the writing prophets. While some prophetic messages included visions and dreams of the future, the primary task of the prophets was to call Israel back to faithfulness, and to obedience to the terms of their covenants with God.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are four gospels about the life and teachings of Jesus. Matthew and John were apostles of Jesus. Mark was written by John Mark, also called Mark, who was a close associate of the apostle Peter, travelling with Peter and hearing his teachings. Luke often travelled with Paul, and is thought to have been a historian who researched for his writing of Luke and Acts.

Acts, also authored by Luke, documents the early activities of the church and apostles.

Romans through Philemon are the apostle Paul’s letters to churches and church leaders. They instruct, encourage, comfort and support the early church—Jewish and Gentile believers.

The book of Hebrews through Jude are letters written by apostles Peter and John, and by James, Jude, and the unidentified writer to the Hebrews. James and Jude are believed to be brothers of Jesus. These books also instruct, encourage, comfort and support early believers.

Revelation is a letter written by the apostle John that reveals that Jesus will fulfill the remainder of God’s Plan of Redemption and Old Testament prophecy.

The purpose of the Bible is to reveal God to us; to reveal who we are; and to reveal how we are to live in relationship with Him and with each other. Let’s take a few minutes to get a high-level overview of the story of the Bible.

The Story of the Bible

The Bible is one continuous story of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind. The Old Testament begins the story that Jesus completes.

The Bible begins with the Creation, and with mankind in complete harmony with God—made in His image, possessing His holiness—His nature, character, and purpose. God created man to live in His love, under His authority. In order for love to be authentic, God gave man a Free Will—the freedom to choose or refuse the ways of God. The rebellion of man against God’s love and authority resulted in man’s sinful nature (the Fall), separation from God’s holiness, a curse upon the earth, and the introduction of death to mankind. But God loved man so much that He set in motion a Plan of Redemption—a plan to redeem man to his original position of holiness—restoring in man the nature, character and purpose of God.

The Bible then demonstrates the destructive power of a sinful nature. From Adam to Noah’s generation, just a few generations, humanity had already refused to honour God such that only Noah was righteous in God’s sight. God sent a flood that destroyed every creature living on land, but in His grace, God preserved a remnant, keeping Noah and his family alive for Noah’s walking faithfully with God. From Noah to Abraham’s generation, again only a few generations, once again humanity had refused to honour God. Idolatry was practiced throughout the world—even by Abraham’s father. At Babel, we find the effects of sin have reached a ‘global’ scale, with humanity scattered in division and confusion across the face of the earth, and earth still under the curse of God. (Christopher Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament).

God again preserved a remnant, separating Abraham and his family from his pagan surroundings, giving him a new name and a new promise.

The Bible then begins telling the redemption story—God’s Plan of Redemption. God restarted his creative work of making a people for himself. God called Abraham (then Abram) to set himself apart from other people and other nations. Because Abraham trusted and obeyed God, leaving behind his father’s house and all that entitled him to, God credited it to him as righteousness and made a covenant promise to Abraham for His redemptive purpose. In God’s covenants, He reveals a portion of His Plan of Redemption. God promised Abraham a son (Isaac); and through that son, He promised a nation which, in contrast to the other nations, would be blessed by God; and through Abraham, He promised blessing to all peoples on earth.

God told Abraham that for four hundred years, his descendants would first be strangers, and then be enslaved and mistreated in a country not their own. Abraham’s son, Isaac, had a son, Jacob—who God renamed Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, which became the twelve tribes of Israel. One of those sons was Joseph (who received the birth right—a double portion of inheritance and a prophecy of fruitfulness), and another was Judah (who received the blessing—denoting family leadership, Judah became the lineage of Jesus). Through Joseph, Jacob’s entire family moved to Egypt as guests to escape famine (about 1900 BC), and became a great nation. Over the next four hundred years, Egyptian rule returned to ethnic Egyptians who despised Israel and felt threatened by the sheer size of the Hebrew nation living in their land (estimated to be two to three million people by the time of the Exodus—the Bible says six hundred thousand men, besides women and children), and the descendants of Abraham ended up as slaves—an oppressed ethnic minority in a hostile land—who were exposed to Egypt’s many gods and idolatry. Egyptian rulers even ordered the murder of all Hebrew male infants as a means to control the Hebrew population.

After four hundred years in Egypt (about 1,450 BC), God called Moses to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage. The exodus became the primary model of what redemption means in the Bible. After great displays of power and supernatural acts, Israel was allowed to leave Egypt—passing through the parted Red Sea, which then destroyed the Egyptian pursuers. Moses led Israel to Mt. Sinai, on the edge of the lands promised to Abraham, where God entered into a covenant with Moses and the Israelites, again revealing part of His Plan of Redemption. Through God’s grace, redemption and salvation were given to Israel before the covenant was offered. Based on God’s grace, he then offered, and the Hebrew people accepted, the covenant. God’s covenant was based on His instruction to Israel to re-establish proper worship and morality—lost since the time of Noah.

Moses summed up the covenant as "Hear [obey!] O Israel: The LORD [Yahweh] our God is one. Love the LORD [Yahweh] your God with all your heart [mind] and with all your soul [being, life, essence, self] and with all your strength … If we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD [Yahweh] our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."

God’s covenant was based on sovereignty and blessing on one side, and loyalty and obedience on the other. God set apart Israel as an example for other nations, through which He would be known throughout the nations as the one true God, and through which all nations would be blessed. God promised Israel success and prosperity in exchange for reverence and obedience as an expression of Israel’s love back to Him. God provided laws to Israel based on His character—laws that protect the weak and less fortunate—laws that are based on honesty and respect for others—laws that are in many ways contradictory to the ways (and pagan worship) of all other nations.

Again demonstrating the destructive power of our sinful nature, the Bible shows that from the start, the people of Israel had difficulty ridding themselves of idolatry and unrighteousness—they believed in God, but did not place their trust in Him. Even after witnessing the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, manna from heaven, and water from a rock, the people turned their trust away from God and made and worshipped an idol—a golden calf. Forgiven for these rebellions, they then refused to trust God to deliver them into the Promised Land. For this lack of trust, they were required to wander in the desert until that generation had died (forty years).

After this period, led by Joshua (the Greek form of this name is Jesus), Israel entered the Promised Land (through waters parted again by God—the Jordan River) and began to have success and prosper. Almost immediately, though, they began to disobey God’s commands, such as one to completely drive out certain of the current inhabitants of the land—inhabitants that practiced idolatry, temple prostitution and child sacrifice, and lived contrary to God’s ways. Disunity and internal strife developed among the tribes, along with chronic disloyalty to the faith of Yahweh. In Deuteronomy 7, Moses made clear that God chose Israel, not out of anything they possessed or did, but only out of love for them and faithfulness to His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—keeping His covenant of love, and His Plan of Redemption.

For about 350 years, Israel entered a period of judges, deliverers raised up by God. According to Gideon and Samuel, Yahweh was Israel’s true ruler. In Canaan (the Promised Land), though, Israel slowly faded away from God’s covenant, becoming content and self-sufficient instead of continuing in reliance on God; in essence forgetting the acts of God that had established them in the land. They lost sight of their unique identity as God’s people. They allowed themselves to be compromised by Canaan’s people, along with their morals, gods, and religious beliefs and practices. During this period, Israel was more a group of tribes than an identifiable nation—and those tribes formed alliances of sort, with divisions between the northern tribes (together called Ephraim-Israel), southern tribes (together called Judah), and the trans-Jordan tribes (east of the Jordan River). During the period of judges, Israel experienced a recurring cycle of disobedience, foreign oppression, cries of distress, and deliverance.

In about 1050 BC, the people of Israel demanded a king for the nation, interpreted by Samuel as a rejection of God’s own rule over His people—especially being motivated by a desire to be like other nations rather than to be set apart according to God’s design. God elevated this sinful desire of the people into a vehicle for his own purpose—He anointed a king for Israel—the kind of king they wanted, Saul. During Saul’s forty-year reign, Israel began to unite as a nation, but still maintained the tribal alliances of Ephraim-Israel (northern) and Judah (southern). Israel continued as an identifiable, united nation under Kings David and Solomon (a period of only about eighty years). But note that God defined the role of king differently—He required acknowledgment of His sovereignty, obedience to His laws, justice, compassion, and an attitude of service. "The major features of the message [to the kings] of those early prophets, sent by God’s Spirit, were the fundamental requirements of God’s law: to do justice, to show mercy and compassion, and to reject the exploitation of the needy." (Wright, Knowing the Holy Spirit Through the Old Testament)

Under David, Israel flourished. David became known as the king after God’s own heart. (In biblical Hebrew times, to say heart would be the equivalent of saying mind today—signifying David was a king who sought to follow God’s will, who would think and do as God chose, who would carry out God’s plans.) With David, the covenant with Abraham came to a measure of fulfilment—Abraham’s offspring had become a great nation; they had taken possession of the land promised to Abraham; they were living in a special relationship of blessing and protection under Yahweh. (Wright)

God established a new covenant with David, promising an eternal throne to David and his descendants—again revealing a portion of His redemptive Plan.

Under Solomon, Israel initially continued to thrive. Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem. Later under Solomon, though, Israel began to adopt foreign culture and influence, forced labor, taxation, confiscation—things contrary and forbidden by God’s covenant equality and freedom. Later in his reign, Solomon also permitted idolatry from foreign cultures. Upon Solomon’s death, an uprising of the people eventually resulted in a divided kingdom—the kingdom of Ephraim-Israel broke off from the Kingdom of Judah.

Again showing the destructive power of our sinful nature, the Bible shows the pattern of disobedience of Israel during the period of kings. Of the forty kings of Judah and Ephraim-Israel after Solomon, only 8 are described as having done what was right in the eyes of God, and only 3 of those 8 also got rid of the high places of improper sacrifice and idolatry. Of the 8 kings that did right, none were over Ephraim-Israel—all 8 were kings of Judah. Taken together, the period of judges and the period of kings, resulted in a repeating pattern of disobedience, foreign invasion and conquest, a period of repentance, compassion from God to re-establish Israel, then periods of contentment leading to complacency about God, forgetting God, leading back to disobedience. That they may know that I am LORD is repeated over and over as God’s motivation to allow foreign domination, and again to reestablish Israel. Eventually, God gave Israel over to the Assyrian and Babylonian empires (the northern kingdom fell first and was exiled by Assyria, followed by the exile of the southern kingdom to Babylon over one hundred years later). These exiles fulfilled God’s promises (and curses—consequences for disobedience) given in the covenant at Sinai. With the exile of Judah in about 600 BC, the monarchy had ended.

After fifty years in exile, God again demonstrated the extent of His compassion and love, and His commitment to His Plan of Redemption. He provided for the return of a remnant of Israel (a portion of the southern kingdom of Judah), and after seventy years, for the Temple to be rebuilt. No kingdom was re-established, though—the land was ruled by Persia. In the period between the Old and New Testaments, about four hundred years, first the Greek and then the Roman Empires arose. During this time, the Greek language spread throughout the world (including much of Israel).

Within the Hebrew nation, the inter-testament period saw "increasing devotion to the law, the Torah—the supreme mark of the faithful Jew—which eventually developed into a somewhat fanatical cause, supported by a systematic building of a whole structure of theology and exposition and application around the law itself." (Wright) Movements developed such as the Pharisees (a highly legalistic group that stressed segregation from gentiles), the Sadducees (who cooperated with ruling nations—Greek, then Roman—in exchange for recognition), Zealots (who advocated armed revolt), and the Essenes (who withdrew into monkish communities in the caves of the desert). The period also saw an increase in Messianic hope—expectation that God would send a Messiah to re-establish an earthly kingdom of Israel.

Throughout the time of the kings, God spoke to Israel through prophets. Kings were to seek advice and direction about God’s will from the prophets. These prophets also spoke out in prophecy against Israel and its kings when God’s sovereignty was being dishonoured and ignored, and spoke about the ramifications of disobedience. They often revealed periods of foreign rule, famine and plague. They also revealed God’s compassion and love in periods of repentance. Importantly, they also painted a picture of God’s final Redemptive Plan—one that would result in an eternal kingdom and reign. The task at which Israel repeatedly failed—the establishment of a holy people of God, distinct from other nations, but established to bring a blessing to all nations—would be accomplished by a true Servant whose mission of justice, teaching, suffering, death, and vindication will ultimately bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth.

Along the way, the Bible gives glimpses into the spiritual world and spiritual reality—demonstrating, among other things, the importance of Free Will to God—or, said another way, the importance of authentic love, upon which Free Will is required. God’s love for us, and His desire for our love in return, is foundational to our entire existence and to His mission to restore our relationship with Him. So much so that God sacrificed His only Son in order to build the bridge back to Him.

Jesus fulfils and accomplishes God’s Redemptive Plan. The New Testament reveals how the redemption story of the Old Testament is fulfilled. The Old Testament repeatedly reveals patterns and pictures of God’s Redemption Plan—of Jesus. Jesus accomplished the new exodus out of bondage to our sinful nature. Jesus is the promised eternal king in the line of David. Jesus is the eternal high priest, our representative before God. Jesus is our kinsman-redeemer. Jesus fulfils proper worship as demonstrated in the Temple and its furnishings. Jesus is the eternal prophet and mediator between man and God. Jesus is the ultimate sacrificial offering—not just for forgiveness of sin, but to establish a proper relationship with God, to offer allegiance and thanksgiving, to establish overall spiritual well-being, to purify, and to make reparation. In Jesus, God revealed a heavenly kingdom. In Jesus, God mirrored His nature and character and purpose. In Jesus, God revealed His eternal kingdom based on love, forgiveness, compassion and service.

[After Jesus, in response to Jewish rebellions, Rome destroyed the Temple in 70 AD and exiled Jews from Jerusalem in 135 AD. After the fall of Rome, the Promised Land fell under the authority of the Byzantines, then the Arab Caliphate, then the Crusaders, then the Mamluks, then the Ottomans, then the British. Israel was re-established as a country in 1948, but not as a kingdom, and not under a Davidic King. To this day, battles and wars are fought over the Promised Land, as prophecy awaits final fulfilment.]

Genesis—Chapters 1-5 Creation, YHWH, Adam

Genesis is believed to have been written by Moses along with the other books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, Genesis through Deuteronomy). The Bible itself suggests Mosaic authorship of the Torah in several places (Exodus 24:4, 34:27, Joshua 8:31, Numbers 33:2), and in Mark 12:26, Jesus refers to the Book of Moses (synonymous with the Torah). It is possible that it was written or received from God during the time Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the law from God (the first time for forty days and forty nights as the people made a golden calf, and the second time for forty days and forty nights as Moses mediated for Israel); or that it was written during the forty years Israel wandered in the wilderness because of their rebellion in refusing to enter the Promised Land).

READ GENESIS 1

Chapter 1, verse 1 introduces mankind to God as Creator. The Hebrew word used here for God is Elohim. Elohim is plural, and in Hebrew this can denote plural as in more than one, or can denote greatness, a plural of majesty. The Hebrew verb here is singular. In this case, we may have both—an early indication of the multiple persons of God (as indicated by the doctrine of Trinity); and certainly an indication of His majesty. Elohim, though, is used elsewhere in the Bible not only to refer to the one true God, but occasionally to false gods—so the word in Hebrew can indicate God or gods. The context tells us which is meant, and in Genesis 2:4, we see this is YHWH God.

Verse 1 reveals creation of the heavens and the earth. There is no indication of time here—this is not said to have happened on the first day, but instead in the beginning. So if you choose to believe in a literal seven-day creation or an earth that can be millions of years old, neither can be proved by this Scripture. I think science has shown us that the heavens and the earth have existed for a large period of time, and I find no conflict here. I also find no conflict in evolution being part of the creation process. Our universe and our bodies clearly point to our creation by God—based on this alone, it takes more faith to be an atheist than it does to believe in God. Romans 1:19-20 confirms this by saying since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Verse 2 is interesting. It says the earth was formless and empty, that darkness was over the surface of the deep, with the Spirit of God hovering over the waters. I’ll share an interesting analysis I read—just know this is opinion, but interesting:

This verse could describe the spiritual fall of Satan and his angels—meaning the earth was created perfect, then became chaotic, with darkness over the surface upon God’s judgment of Satan who was cast to earth.

The Hebrew word hayah, interpreted was can also be became.

The Hebrew words tohuw and bohuw are translated formless and empty. Tohuw appears 20 times in the OT, with meanings of chaotic, nothing, confusion, waste, wilderness, emptiness, formless and vain. Bowuh appears 3 times in the OT with the meanings of void, empty and waste.

The Hebrew word for darkness is choshek. Choshek is negative in its nature and carries evil spiritual overtones with it. It carries a sense of blindness, of misery, of falsehood and ignorance. It means something that leads to death and destruction. It is the opposite of owr, the enlightenment separated in verse 3.

The Hebrew word for deep is tehom. Tehom is the same place specified as the source of water God used to flood the earth in the time of Noah (Genesis 8:2), and where Satan is to eventually be cast (Revelation 20:3, translated there the abyss).

Isaiah 45:18 says "For this is what the Lord says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty (tohuw), but formed it to be inhabited—he says: I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Job 38:4-7 says 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 (benei elohim) shouted for joy?

So we have Isaiah telling us the earth was not created tohuw, and Job telling us that the angels rejoiced at its creation; but that the earth hayah (became or was) tohuw (chaotic) and bohuw (void), with choshek (evil) over the surface of the tehom (deep).

This analysis makes sense to me as I ask myself the question: when did God ever create anything that was not good? Is it possible that this describes Satan’s fall? Let’s move on.

Verse 2 is the first to introduce the Spirit of God.

The Hebrew word ruach (or ruakh or ruwach), interpreted here as spirit (224 times in OT), means wind (95 times) or breath (26 times)—things that are unseen but very powerful in their effects. Translators use the context to determine the translation.

The Holy Spirit in Hebrew is Ruach Hakodesh.

The Spirit of God typically denotes His power on earth—in this case His creative power and power to sustain all life on earth.

In verse 3, on the First Day God said, Let there be light, we get Hebrew owr, interpreted light. This is not an object that emits light (like the sun), but is instead illumination or enlightenment—it carries spiritual overtones, and is closely associated with life and joy and good, and is the opposite of choshek from verse 2. It will be later, in verse 14, the fourth day, that we get maorot, (plural) objects that emit light. In verse 3, on the First Day, God brought illumination and enlightenment of which He was the source, and it was divided away from darkness, blindness and falsehood.

In verses 11 to 23, we see creation unfold:

Second Day—sky—separated water above from water below

Third Day—dry ground and vegetation

Fourth Day—lights in the sky to separate day from night and give light on the earth

Fifth Day—creatures of the sea and sky

Then in verses 24 to 27, the Sixth Day, we see the creation of all creatures of the land, including mankind, "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. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them." (Like Elohim is plural, notice the plural pronouns us and our).

What does it mean to be made in the image of God? It means we were given certain attributes that He has. Man is unique among living creatures in that we have the ability to know God. We were created holy, with God’s nature, character and purpose; and given these traits, to rule over all things on earth. This is where we stood before the Fall.

Revelation 2:26 and 3:21 tell us God’s Plan is to restore our holiness so that we may once again rule over all things on earth.

READ GENESIS 2

In chapter 2, verse 4, we are first introduced to the personal name of God—YHWH. YHWH was the name God revealed to Moses from the burning bush. Over the centuries, its pronunciation has been lost, as under Jewish tradition, it became disrespectful to speak the name of your father; and accordingly, the Hebrew people quit speaking the name of YHWH—instead reading it as Adonai (which is Hebrew for lord). Most modern translations continue this tradition by using LORD where the original text says YHWH. The accepted pronunciations of YHWH today are Yahweh and Jehovah. We will talk again later about the use of YHWH and how substituting LORD may result in less clear understanding of some scripture. Just know that of the over 6,000 times God is referred to as Lord in the OT, well over 90 percent of them are YHWH in the Hebrew.

In chapter 2, verse 7, "Then YHWH Elohim formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (chayyim), and the man became a living being." Just as with Elohim, chayyim is plural, and/or denotes greatness or majesty. God is referred to with a plural noun, and mankind is referred to with a plural noun. (My opinion—I think there is something in the Spiritual Laws that makes seed significant, and seed has to do with this use of plural—we’ll see it in referring to the seed of the patriarchs, in the frequent use of genealogy, in spiritual seed—Galatians 3:29, If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise;—and perhaps in our spiritual rebirth and possibly even in YHWH’s only-begotten Son.)

In chapter 2, verse 21, God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, took a rib, and formed woman—in the process establishing the concept of marriage. "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one (echad) flesh. Marriage is used throughout the Bible to describe the relationship between God and man, with the church being the bride of Jesus. In these verses, we can see types" for Jesus. In order for the bride to be formed, Adam was put into a deep sleep. In order for the church to be formed, Jesus was crucified. Just as a man must leave his father and mother to be wed, Jesus left His Father in heaven in order to become man and accomplish His marriage to His church.

So God first created the physical dimensions—length, width, and depth—then added the dimension of time—then breathed into our universe the spiritual dimension—giving all animals a soul (nephesh), and giving man a soul (nephesh) and a spirit (ruach). God is the source of life; in fact, life is one of His attributes. It is our spirit that allows us to communicate with the living God. What separates men from the animals is our ability to commune with God, to know God, and to emulate God. That unique ability comes from the spirit-life, which is somewhat different from the soul-life that gives animation—basic life. The spiritual dimension is also where we get Moral Law, good and evil, the sense of right and wrong.

This Moral Law, along with the wonder of creation, is one of CS Lewis’s primary arguments in philosophically demonstrating the existence of God (also with GK Chesterton, Francis Schaeffer, Ravi Zacharias, and others).

Before we leave the creation, let’s also notice the Seventh Day in Genesis 2:2, the Sabbath, a Hebrew word that is usually translated rest, but more accurately means to cease, to stop, to desist (quit working). Christians typically view the Sabbath as a Jewish tradition, but here we see the seventh day blessed and made holy by God at the Creation—long before there was a Hebrew. Rest is also a concept we’ll see more of throughout the Bible—YHWH gave the Israelites rest after He delivered the Promised Land to them (Joshua 1:13-15); In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus tells us, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." This is a picture of our re-creation upon our salvation, we can rest because everything that needed to be done to become acceptable to God has been done on our behalf.

In verses 8 to 9 of chapter 2, God introduces Free Will. He planted a garden in the east of the land of Eden, and at its center, He planted the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.

In Does God Desire All to be Saved? John Piper defines free will. The definition of free will that I think is most helpful in theological debates is ultimate (or decisive) human self-determination. By ultimate or decisive, I mean that, whatever other influences may lead toward a decision, the influence that settles the choice is the human self. [This] self-determination is a gift of God. As one Open Theist has said: Once God gives the gift of self-determination, he has to, within limits, endure its misuse … The genuineness of the gift of self-determination hinges on its irrevocability."

God doesn’t want followers whose free will has been overpowered. He wants people who see the obvious, seek Him, and allow Him to reveal Himself to them. CS Lewis in Mere Christianity speaks of why we were given a free will like this, He gave them free will because a world of automata could never love and therefore never know infinite happiness.

Philip Yancey, in The Jesus I Never Knew wrote, The more I get to know Jesus, the more impressed I am by what Ivan Karamazov called the miracle of restraint." The miracles Satan suggested [in the temptation in the desert], the signs and wonders the Pharisees demanded, the final proofs I yearn for—these would offer no serious obstacle to an omnipotent God. More amazing is his refusal to perform and to overwhelm. God’s terrible insistence on human freedom is so absolute that he granted us the power to live as though He does not exist, to spit in his face, to crucify him. All this Jesus must have known as he faced down the tempter in the desert, focusing his mighty power on the energy of restraint. I believe God insists on such restraint because no pyrotechnic displays of omnipotence will achieve the response he desires. Although power can force obedience, only love can summon a response of love, which is the one thing God wants from us and the reason He created us …

"In Gethsemane, when Jesus prayed repeatedly that the cup be taken from him, he could have called down legions of angels to fight a holy war on his behalf. In Gethsemane, Jesus relived the temptation in the desert. Either time, He could have solved the problem of evil by force, skipped the personal sacrifice, and traded away the messy future of redemption …

"I have marveled at, and sometimes questioned, the self-restraint God has shown throughout history, allowing the Genghis Khans and the Hitlers and the Stalins to have their way. But nothing—nothing—compares to the self-restraint shown on that dark Friday in Jerusalem. With every lash of the whip, every fibrous crunch of fist against flesh, Jesus must have mentally replayed the Temptation in the wilderness and in Gethsemane. Legions of angels awaited his command. One word, and the ordeal would end …

The cross redefines God as One who was willing to relinquish power for the sake of love.

In order for love to be authentic, it has to be freely given. God gave Adam a choice—one rule to live by—to demonstrate obedience. We can view the tree as a literal tree, or we can view it as an allegory; but in the end, the same story is told.

READ GENESIS 3

In chapter 3, we see the Fall—man sought to elevate himself to the level of God—to gain the knowledge of God—to become his own god. Adam and Eve fell prey to the three main areas of temptation—the lust of the flesh (good for food), the lust of the eyes (pleasing to the eye), and pride (desirable or gaining wisdom). Adam made the same choice Satan made in the spiritual realm (Satan was cast out of heaven), and the result for mankind was what God had promised—death was introduced. By trying to become like God—by putting himself first—by seeking to make himself a sort of god, man destroyed his character of holiness. Instead of a God-consciousness, man now had a sinful nature. Man was no longer in the image of God, and no longer had dominion over the earth. Man took on a sinful nature—apart from the holy nature, character, and purpose of God—and so man lost his privilege to rule over earth. God’s redemptive Plan is a plan to restore that which was lost—the nature, character and purpose of God in us, and the right to reign over the earth with Him (Revelations 3:21 and 2:26). In Romans 8:29 and 1 John 3:2, His image in us is restored.

Romans 5:12-19 explains the significance of the Fall, and contrasts the even greater significance of God’s Plan through Jesus Christ: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law [so there was law before that given to Moses]. 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 given to Moses] as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."

In verses 14 to 19, God spoke curses (the consequences of disobedience) on the serpent, Satan, Eve, Adam and the earth. Amidst these verses, though, is what many believe is the first messianic prophecy—the offspring (literally seed), the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. Jesus will defeat Satan, sin, evil, and death.

Let’s look closer at this prophecy, using an analysis from Michael Rydelnik’s The Messianic Hope:

Genesis 3:14-15, So YHWH God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [seed] and hers; he will crush [strike] your head, and you will strike his heel.

YHWH first addressed the serpent (v. 14), then addressed the dark power animating it (v. 15). Why curse the serpent? To serve as a perpetual reminder of the devastating destruction caused by the role of the serpent in the original sin of Adam and Eve. This explanation is echoed in Isaiah 65:25, where even in the new heaven and the new earth, when the effects of the Fall are reversed (the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox), the serpent will continue to eat dust (dust will be the serpent’s food) as an eternal outward symbol of the spiritual defeat of the dark force behind the Fall.

Enmity or hostility in Hebrew is ‘eba, and as used in the Bible, this word always refers to enmity between moral agents (people, not animals). This indicates a switch from the animal (the serpent) to Satan, the force behind the animal. Although many people are fearful of snakes, this is speaking of Satan, not snakes in general.

Offspring or seed in Hebrew is a word (zera) that can indicate an individual or can