As I briefly pointed out in part 1, there is a number of reasons why it is absolutely essential for believers to develop a love for and at least a working understanding of the Old Testament. In part 2 of this study, I want to introduce a system for studying the Old Testament that not only has been illuminating to myself but has proven to be enormously beneficial in helping many of my Bible students to discover truths from God’s word that has taken their studies, understanding, preaching and teaching to a whole new level. Now, obviously I won’t be able to do a complete Old Testament Survey teaching in this post, however what I will do here, is outline some basic principles for study and a general overview of the Old Testament itself.
The puzzle – When I was growing up in the State of Ohio, we didn’t have the entertainment devices that today’s youth take for granted such as video games, smart phones, the internet and twenty-four-seven cable TV. Particularly in the wintertime, we had to find other creative ways to entertain ourselves. And one of my favorite pass times was putting together puzzles. I would open the box and dump all of the pieces in a pile, and began the long, painstaking task of trying to put all of those hundreds of pieces together. But there was one thing that I learned early on, and that is that there is one component that that I had to have that was absolutely essential if I was going to be successful in accurately putting the puzzle together the way that THE DESIGNER OF THE PUZZLE intended. And that one essential component was THE PICTURE ON THE FRONT OF THE BOX. Or what I like to call “THE BIG PICTURE”.
As I alluded to in part one, many believers simply view the Old Testament as nothing more than a collection of inspirational and motivational stories. Just like a box of puzzle pieces, they will reach into the box and pull out Daniel in the lions den, or Noah and The Ark, or Jonah and the whale, or David and the giant Goliath or any one of hundreds of other colorful pieces. Unfortunately however, what all to many believers don’t recognize is that all of these inspirational puzzle pieces are all single pieces of a much larger picture. And in order to fully be able to place all of these isolated pieces into their proper place, the Bible student must be able to see “THE BIG PICTURE” of the Old Testament. And once you see the big picture then it will be easy to discern how all of the many inspirational stories and characters fit into THE DESIGNERS overall plan, which in turn give you a much more of a comprehensive perspective of not only the Old Testament, but the entire Bible.
The Big Picture – When considering the Old Testament, everyone has their favorite characters, stories and even Old Testament books like Proverbs or Psalms. However, in order to see the big picture, it’s important to recognize that there’s an overall or big picture storyline in the Old Testament that’s more important than any of the individual parts. All the narratives, the characters, the prophecies, the promises and wisdom of Scripture come together in an incredible vision of God’s eternal purpose in Christ that runs through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. By the phrase “Big picture”, I simply mean that like a puzzle, there is a PATTERN, a PROGRESSION, a CONNECTIVITY and a UNITY to The Old Testament that when seen with all of the individual pieces correctly put together, form an amazingly beautiful picture of God’s love, His character, His will, His judgement, His redemptive plan that culminated in Christ, His plan for man and His coming Kingdom.
Laying the Foundation – Most believers learned in Sunday School that there are thirty nine books in the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. But how often have you noticed or payed attention to the fact that the arrangement of those thirty nine books are not in chronological order? Most teachers of Old Testament Survey take the teaching approach of teaching the Old Testament book by book according to the sequence that the Old Testament books are arranged. In other words, they begin with Genesis, then Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, etc. However, for the purpose of this study, I would like to introduce a different system for teaching and studying the Old Testament that I have discovered has revolutionized how many students understand the Old Testament.
Although the thirty nine books are not arranged in chronological order, there are however eleven Old Testament books that are in chronological order. These eleven books are called, “foundational books”. These eleven foundational books are: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, 1st Samuel, 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings, 2ndKings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. These eleven books are the “Building blocks” of the Old Testament, and help us to see the “Big Picture” of the Old Testament. In other words, the eleven foundational books reveal to us the chronological and historical storyline of the Old Testament and gives us the chronological and historical basis for the Old Testament narrative. They are called foundational books, because they lay out the chronological and historical foundation and framework for all of the other twenty-eight books. The following chart lists the eleven chronological and historical order of the eleven foundational books, as well as, just how each of the remaining twenty-eight books supplement or complement the eleven foundational books:
By carefully examining this chart, we can clearly see exactly how the remaining twenty-eight Old Testament books complement or supplement the eleven foundational books. In other words, the events that occurred or the prophecies that are recorded in the remaining twenty-eight books, either occurred or was recorded during the “chronological and historical time frame” of one of the eleven foundational books.
One quick example of this idea is recorded in the book of Ruth. In Ruth 1:1 we read, “during the time when the the Judges ruled”. In other words, the events that follow in the book of Ruth, all occurred during the historical time period of the Book of Judges, thereby, making Judges a foundational book. The period of the Judges lasted about 332 years. So sometime during that 332 year time frame, the events recorded in the book of Ruth occurred. Other examples include the reign of King Solomon. Solomon’s reign is recorded in 1st Kings 1-11. However, during his reign we know that Solomon wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
Also, we know that the reign of King David, who wrote many of the Psalms, is recorded in the book of 2nd Samuel. In addition, with just a few exceptions, all of the Prophets ministered and wrote their books during the Divided Kingdom period which runs from 1st Kings 12 through 2nd Kings. So therefore, by mastering the foundational books, you will be able to appreciate how all of the other books fit together and “Supplements” the overall flow and storyline of the Old Testament which is recorded in the foundational books. If the Bible student can master the eleven foundational books, it will greatly enrich and enhance his or her overall grasp and comprehension of the Old Testament as a whole.
Also, and maybe most importantly, by mastering the eleven foundational books, and then placing the other 28 books into their proper historical and chronological framework or context, it brings clarity, proper context, illumination and rightly divided interpretation of those 28 supplemental books. For instance, by mastering the Single Kingdom period which is recorded from 2nd Kings 17:18 through 25:30, it then brings tremendous clarity and illumination to the writings of Jeremiah who ministered to Judah during this period, or Habakkuk and Lamentations which were written during the Babylonian invasion that ultimately took the Southern Kingdom of Judah into seventy years of Babylonian captivity. So with that background, I will briefly outline this system for understanding the Old Testament from a historical and chronological perspective.
GENESIS:
Genesis is the book of beginnings. It was written first, to tell us clearly and definitively that God created all things directly. The entire organized universe was brought into existence by the powerful, all knowing creator God. Second, Genesis was written to record the beginning of many other elements that exist in our world today.
Genesis means, “The origin or the beginning, or the coming into being of something.” The Book of Genesis therefore, is referred to as the “Book of beginnings.” From the pages of Genesis, we read about such beginnings as the beginning of creation, the beginning of man, the beginning of sin, the beginning of prophecy, the beginning of human civilizations, the beginnings of human languages, the beginning of the Nation of Israel, and most importantly of all, the beginning of redemption.
Another purpose for the book of Genesis is to relate how Israel, through Abraham, was selected from among the peoples of the world to become God’s chosen nation.
Genesis is divided into two distinct parts each covering several thousand years of Earth’s history:
God’s dealing with man (Gen. 1-11).
God’s dealing with the Nation of Israel. (Gen 12-50) (Another simple way of looking at it is from the standpoint of: (Generation) to (DE-generation) to (RE-generation).
God’s dealing with man (Gen. 1-11).
Part one covers Genesis chapters 1-11 which is a record of God’s dealings with mankind in general. During those years there was no special group such as the church or The Nation of Israel. God’s dealings were exclusively with individuals. During this time period (Genesis 1-11), the Word of God identifies to us four major events. These four events actually account for the way the world is today as we know it. Those four events are:
Creation
The Fall
The Flood
The Tower of Babel
God’s Dealings with the Nation of Israel (Gen. 12-50, or to be more historically specific, we can say that this period runs from Gen. 12 through Malachi).
Genesis 12 – God’s dealings with the Nation of Israel.
The second distinct part of the Old Testament covers about 2000 years. This part begins with Genesis chapter 12 and runs throughout the remainder of the Old Testament. Genesis chapter 12 represents the “Cornerstone Chapter” of the Bible. In fact, it is here in Gen. 12 is where the true story of the Old Testament begins. Up until now, God seems to deal with man on an individual basis. In other words, in the first several thousand years of human history, there is no collective body’s that God is dealing with as a whole. There doesn’t seem to be any special dealings with any particular family (Unless you count Noah and his family), or group, or country, etc. There is for example, no Nation of Israel and of course there is now Church. All of God’s dealings seem to have been on an individual basis (Adam, Eve, Noah, Enoch, Job, etc.)
The Abrahamic Covenant
But beginning at Genesis Chapter 12 that is all about to change. God is about to form a Nation. And that nation will become Gods primary focus, and the forming of that Nation began with the call of a man by the name of Abraham. In essence, beginning at Gen. Chapter 12, is really the beginning of the Old Testament narrative. It is where the primary storyline of the Old Testament really begins.
After the fall of man in Genesis 3, God’s creation that had been created “Good” and “Very good” was now corrupted by sin. And in Genesis 3:15, God gives the very first “Messianic Prophecy” where He promises Satan that “The seed of the women” shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel. And it is here in Genesis 12, where God begins to set the wheels in motion, to bring Genesis 3:15 into fulfillment.
It is here that God enters into a unconditional covenantal agreement with a man by the name of Abraham. And it is here with the call of Abraham and the giving of the Abrahamic Covenant, that God begins to set in motion and orchestrate His plan of redemption that would ultimately lead to the virgin birth, sacrificial death, resurrection, ascension and second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Son whom God would eventually send, through Abraham’s decedents, to become the “Lamb of God that would take away the sins of the world”. (See: John 1:29).
Now, the remainder of the Old Testament (And you could even say the rest of the Bible from Genesis 12 through Revelation) is the telling of the story of how God brings the Abrahamic Covenant to fruition.
Genesis 12:1-3
"Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
The Abrahamic Covenant is THE THREAD that connects the Old and The New Testament. In other words, the Bible up to and including the Book of Revelation is all about an explanation of, a discussion of, the development of the Abrahamic Covenant, expanded upon, a fulfillment of and a forecast into the future when it is ultimately fulfilled.
Beginning in Genesis Chapter 12, (12:1-3, 13:14-16, 15:1-6, 17:1-23, 22:15-18), God begins to make a series of unconditional promises (Or Covenants) with a man named Abraham. The Abrahamic Covenant is the thread that connects the Old and New Testament, and most of world history. In general, the Abrahamic Covenant contained three basic provisions:
Personal Blessings for Abraham (Gen.12:2, 13:16, 15:5, 17:1-6, 22:15-18).
Blessings to Abraham’s Descendants (Gen. 12:2, 13:14-16, 15:5, 22:15-18).
Universal Blessings (Gen. 12:3, 18:18, 22:17-18, 26:2-5, 28:13-14).
Chief among this covenant was the promise that God would make Abraham a “Great Nation.” Now, in order for God to build a nation, there must be three basic “Building blocks” in place:
People (Gen. 12-50).
Law (Exodus/Leviticus).
Land (Joshua).
Now the remainder of the Old Testament is the story of how God develops, orchestrates, unfolds, expands upon, further reveals, illuminates, and fulfills, Confirms and reaffirm the Abrahamic Covenant. And again, it is in the eleven foundational books that God reveals to us the chronological and historical storyline of the unfolding and the development of the Abrahamic Covenant. This storyline centers on the Nation of Israel. In other words, it is trough Abraham's decedents, (Which became the Nation of Israel) that God wants to use in order to bring the Abrahamic Covenant and His plan of redemption to pass.
The eleven foundational books tell the chronological story of the “Seven periods of Israel’s history.”
The Period of Formation which is communicated in the first four foundational books of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, or from Gen. 12 to Joshua 24, took the first 715 Years of Israel's history from B.C. 2090 through B.C. 1375). During this period, God completes the first “Building block” of forming a nation by “Peopling” the Nation through the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Then giving them their law or constitution through Moses, and finally the conquering and the division of the promise land according to Tribe by Joshua. In Joshua 24:28 we read, “Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance”. It is here that the “Formation period” is completed and Israel is now officially a fully-fledged Nation. (Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua). (Gen. 12 to Joshua 24) (715 Years, from B.C. 2090 through B.C. 1375).
The Theocracy period (Judges-1 Sam. 7:17). (332 Years, from B.C. 1375 through B.C. 1043). This is the time period of The Judges. Theocracy period means “God Ruled”. In other words, God was ruling the Nation through the Judges (See: 1st Samuel 8:7).
The United Kingdom Period (1 Sam. 8:1 – 1 Kings 11:43) (457 years). This is the period where the entire Nation or all twelve tribes were “United” under the leadership of a single King. During this period there were only three “United Kings”: Saul, David and Solomon.
The Divided Kingdom Period (1 Kings 12:1 – 2 Kings 17:41). After the death of Solomon, the Nation became divided into two separate Kingdoms. Ten tribes became the Northern kingdom of Israel while Judah and Benjamin became the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
The Single Kingdom Period (2 Kings 18:1 – 2 Kings 25:30). The ten northern tribes of Israel were taken captive by the Assyrians, which only left Judah remaining.
The Captivity period (2 Kings 25 – Daniel- Ezra & Nehemiah). Judah is taken captive by the Babylonians and spends the next seventy years in captivity.
The Restoration period (Ezra & Nehemiah). B.C. 430). At the conclusion of the seventy years captivity, Judah was permitted to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple and rebuild the walls of the city.
In summary, the Old Testament allows us to learn how to love and serve God, and it reveals more about God’s character. It shows through repeatedly fulfilled prophecy why the Bible is unique among holy books, it alone is able to demonstrate that it is what it claims to be: the inspired Word of God. If you have not yet ventured into the pages of the Old Testament, you are missing much that God has available for you.
Without the Old Testament we would not understand as well, the original problem to which Jesus is the solution, that being our sin and rebellion against God (Genesis 3); we would miss out on reading about God’s mighty acts of rescue through which we see his character on display. We would miss out on the predictions of Jesus death and resurrection which were 1000 years before they occurred exactly in Jesus. Also, without the Old Testament, we would not be able to see the precise and systematic order in which God divinely and providentially orchestrates world history for His purposes.
In short, we would not understand Jesus as well as we do without the Old Testament. As we read and reread the Old Testament, what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf will become clearer and clearer still.
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