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2013For republication please contact
For more booklets in this series go to
guineafield.blogspot.com or graceofforesthills.com
All quotations are taken from the New American
Standard Version unless otherwise indicated.
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Table of Contents
Lesson 1 1-12
Overview of the Content of Scripture
by Section
2-5
Overview of the Content of Scripture
by Chronology
5-11
Old Testament Overview 5-8
New Testament Overview 8-11
Lesson 1 Q & A 12
Lesson 2 13-21Scene 1 Creation and Fall 13-18
Scene 2 Flood 18-20
Lesson 2 Q & A 21
Lesson 3 22-31
Scene 3 The Creation of the Jewish
Nation
23-27
Scene 4 The Law 27-30
Lesson 3 Q & A 31
Lesson 4 32-40
Scene 5 Kingdom Gained 32-34
Scene 6 Kingdom Lost 35-39
Scene 7 Land Regained 39
Lesson 4 Q & A 40
Lesson 5 41-49
Scene 8 Good News 43-46Scene 9 Church
Expansion/Organization
46-48
Lesson 5 Q & A 49
Lesson 6 50-59
Scene 10 Culmination-Back to the
Garden
Bible Summary in a Sentence 53
The Example of Abraham 54-56
Lesson 6 Q & A 58-59
HELPS 60-63
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INTRODUCTION
The goal of this booklet is to give you an overarching view of
the Bibleto give the big picture. You have heard the saying
"you can't see the forest for the trees." That can happen to
all of us in our Bible reading. We need to dig and study out
the deep truths of God's Words, but that is best done when
we have the big picture of the
Bible in mind. We need a map
of the whole of Scripture (the
forest) to orient ourselves on
where we are so that we knowwhich tools to bring to
different harvest places of
Scripture. In the next six lessons we will try our best to gain
that survey together. So what is the big picture of the Bible?
In our study, we will first develop the content of the Bible.
Well try to treat it as if we were opening its pages for the
first time. After surveying the content, well try to develop
the major messageof the entire Bible from Genesis (the first
book) to Revelation (the last book). In our first lesson
together we will survey the content of the entire book. Hang
on; it will be a fast ride! Don't be overwhelmed. We will
come back and cover the major details of Scripture with a bit
more detail as we survey the Bibles message in ten major
scenes.
Charles Dickens was a great writer. He knew how to develop
characters and tell a story, winding a plot line through many
What does the
Bible say?
LESSON 1
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different lives. He earned his living through writing, but he
also had a higher purposea greater message. He wanted to
expose the dangers and ills of London's work conditions,
especially among children. His stories are fun to read. But
their purpose and effect on society were far reaching in his
day. In other words, the story was different from the
message he wanted to convey. Thats true in many well-
written books. The author tells a story, but he or she also
has a significant point that extends beyond the story itself.
The Bible does this as well. In this booklet, we will survey the
content of Scripture, but it is just as important to get thewhole message. What did God want to tell you by writing the
Bible? Lessons 2-6 cover that aspect of the Bible.
Overview of the Content of Scripture
As we overview the content of Scripture, we will develop it in
two ways. First of all we will look at the different sections ofthe Bible. Then we will look at the chronology of these
sections, placing them on a timeline for you.
Content Overview by Section
It is essential to view the Bible as one book written to you by
God. It is "breathed out" by God to you as a special message.But remember that He used many different people over many
different years to write this message. In fact, He used about
40 different writers over a span of 1,500 years to develop
this message for you. Most of the authors were Jewish, but
their backgrounds were very diverse. Solomon was the
wealthiest king of Israel. Micah was a poor farmer. Paul was
a highly educated rabbi, who wrote complex logical
progressions. Luke was a gentile (non-Jewish) Doctor who
did meticulous research and often organized his accounts
chronologically. Mark was a young man who wrote in a
simple rough style. Each author had a different style but
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each one was used by God to write His Words. Think of them
as instruments in an orchestraeven with all of their
differences, the message they are playing is the same
because it is the same overarching Conductor. This is where
the comparison breaks down because these instruments are
not only being conducted by one Person, but are also all
being played by one PersonGod. The Bible is His
masterpiece written through the ages of time. This is a
helpful illustration because just like an orchestra has
sections, so does your Bible. We will discover those now.
Perhaps you have heard of the two major sections of the
Bible. In most Christian Bibles they are designated as the Old
Testament and the New Testament. This does not mean that
one is obsolete and displaced (Old), but it is tipping you off
to something very importantsomething well develop more
in a later section. But for now, it is helpful to realize that
they are both equally the Word of God and they both tell one
beautiful story. Think of these two Testaments as two small
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sets of shelves. Just like most other libraries, the two shelves
are divided into sections by content or genre. For instance, if
you went to a bookstore tomorrow, looking for a biography
of the president, you should go to the biography section.
Knowing where the sections of the bookstore are helps you
navigate the books to find your particular book. These
sections of Scripture help us navigate the 66 books of the
Bible. Let's survey each of the sections.
The Old Testament bookcase has three different shelves
composed of 39 different books. The three shelves are theLaw (Torah), the Writings (Poetry, History, and Wisdom
Literature), and the Prophets.1 The New Testament bookcase
has four different shelves composed of 27 books. The
shelves are the Gospels, History, Epistles (Letters), and
Prophecy.
So its important when you open the Bible for the first time to
know which shelf you are browsing. Wouldnt you treat a
book of poetry different from a book on history or a letter
written from a friend on his death bed? Of course you would.
In the same way, these are all different types of biblical
literature. The same common sense that you bring to the
other books also applies when you read Scripture.
Let's back up now and briefly summarize these sections.Well do this chronologically as much as we can. Well try to
lay these books out over the timeline of History to keep
ourselves oriented. Youll find a chart listing the books of
the Bible in a historical timeline in the back of the booklet
(pgs. 61-62). There may be too much information for you to
1In Jewish contexts, the Old Testament is often referred to as theTanach based on these sections. This word is an acrostic and each
consonant stands for a different section of the Tanach: T - Torah
(First five books of Law); N - Neviim - (Prophets); K - Kethubim (The
Writings).
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absorb at one glance, so if the Bible is new to you, don't
worry about digesting (or even viewing) the chart. This is
more for your future reference as you dig into the Bible on
your own.
Content Overview Chronologically
Old Testament Overview
The first section of the Old Testament is the Law. This
section is composed of five books and covers the greatest
span of time. The books are all written by someone youve
probably heard ofMoses. Maybe your mind goes to
Charlton Heston from the movie "The Ten Commandments."
Moses is a major character in the Bible story and wrote more
than any other author. Even though he comes on the scene
well after the beginning, he starts with the beginning of
everything. Moses gives us the details of creation in Genesis,and from there he recounts how God chose Abraham to
create a special nation. By the end of the first book of the
Bible we have already found out how this chosen man has
multiplied into quite a large group of people (the fourth
generation), and how they were clustered away in Egypt. The
next several books share how God multiplied these people
into a great nation, gave them a national constitution
(Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers) and then brought them right up
to a promised land (Deuteronomy).
This first section actually covers a few thousand years
depending on where you place the seven days of God's
creation. Moses finished writing at around 1500 BC and you
can date creation 2,000-4,000 years before that.2 Genesis
2In our dating we are going to be very general - don't think of most
of these dates as down to the year but as giving you a general place
in time ... within a hundred years or so =)
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Just because these are
children's stories,
does not mean you
should treat them as
children's stories.
covers the majority of that time. So if you want to get a great
History of the beginning of civilization, start with Genesis!
The four books which follow Genesis (Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers and Deuteronomy) focus almost entirely on the
time when Abraham's descendants have grown into a large
company and are ready to receive their Charter or
Constitution and their Land.
After the law,the second sectionis classified as the Writings.
These are much more diverse, written by many differentauthors, and covering a time period of 800-1,000 years.
Perhaps it would be best to divide these into History books,
Wisdom books, and Poetry books. That will help you
navigate them.
The largest section of the writings is the History books
(Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, Ruth, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2
Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther). I'll try to
summarize the content in just a few sentences. We have
observed that the Law section of the Old Testament left us
with a chosen man (Abraham) whom God made into a chosen
nation (Israel) with a special constitution. (The type of
government God provided is called a theocracydirect rule
from God.) These books recount how God's chosen nation
(the Jewish people) entered the Promised Land (Joshua),proved unfaithful to God's
constitution (Judges) and
demanded a monarchy. The
remaining books show how
God sent invading armies as
a wake up call to bring
them back to Him. 1 & 2
Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2
Chronicles each tell this story. At the end of that time, God
expels His chosen people from their land.
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Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of how some people began
to receive God's message encouraging repentance and
returned to the Promised Land.
In the writings you will find many of the great stories that
have been told in Sunday School for agesJoshua and the
Walls of Jericho, David vs. Goliath and Elijah vs. Jezebel. But
just because these are taught to children, don't block them
out as children's stories. As we will see, each one helps push
along the story-line of the Bible. Each story happened just
like it is recorded and the secular history that we havediscovered supports these Biblical accounts. These stories
are not made up or embellished. They are recorded by God
for you to learn about Him.
Another handful of books on the second shelf give a personal
account of how God talks with His people and how they talk
back. We will classify them as Wisdom Literature and Poetry
(or a mixture of both). The poetry in these books is a
beautiful record of God's people talking or singing to Him
(Psalms) or one another (Psalms, Song of Solomon,
Lamentations). Wisdom literature is extremely practical
(Proverbs) and even deeply philosophical (Proverbs, Job,
Ecclesiastes).
The third sectionof the Old Testament is the Prophets. Thebooks on this shelf are written by sixteen different prophets
and compose sixteen different books. You could think of
these as collections of public warnings that the prophet gave
to one group or another.3 Most often the messages were
3We often think of a prophecy as foretelling something that willhappen in the future and that element is often present in these
books. In fact, many prophesies are so specific that the correct
fulfillment could never be circumstantial. This is part of the proof
that the Bible is God's Word. But not all prophecy foretells future
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directed at the nation of Israel, but some prophets have
sections or entire prophecies against other nations (nations
other than Israel are called Gentile nations). These books are
diverse in their style and genre. Some of the prophets use
poetry while some use narrative (telling the story from
history). The prophetic books cover a fairly large block of
time as well. Their life and ministry appears throughout the
time that Israel is living in their own land, so most of the
prophets warned Israel that they must follow God or He
would send punishment. We will see that the prophets fit
perfectly into the overall message of the Bible, and foretellfuture events with miraculous precision.
Just like the second section of the Old Testament, this third
section is packed with stories that may be familiar to you:
Jonah and the whale (or great fish), Daniel and the lion's den,
or Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Following the Old Testament there is a brief time of silence
about 400 years. This was important because it prepared
God's people for His rescue plan in full force. Before we get
to the New Testament, take a look at the chart in the back of
the booklet that places the books of the Old Testament in
their (approximate) chronological place.
New Testament Overview
Whereas the Old Testament covers several thousand years
and has 39 different books, the New Testament covers less
than a hundred years and contains 27 books. Our summary
will be concise and clear, but definitely not comprehensive.
Speaking of only the life of Jesus, the Apostle John said:
events. Many times prophecy forthtells God's message about the
present instead of foretelling a message about the future.
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"And there are also many other things which Jesus did,
which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even
the world itself would not contain the books that would
be written" (John 21:25).
Frederick Lehman expressed it beautifully:
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
though stretched from sky to sky.
Let's get started, surveying the shelves of the New
Testament.
The first section is called the Gospels and is composed of
four different books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Its a bit
misleading to call this shelf the Gospels, because they tell
one Gospel. Although there are four different Gospel writers
they are telling the same storythe life of Jesus. The word
gospel simply means good news. After four hundredyears of silence, people were waiting for some good news
and these books proclaim just that.
Although the writers are each different in their background
and focus, each one contains generally the same content.
They share how Jesus came (Matthew and Luke tell the story
of Jesus' birth), how He lived, died, and how He rose again
from the dead. They recount His miraculous healings, His
revolutionary teachings, and His sacrificial death. They dont
differ in the facts, but in the choice of the material they
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include and the people to whom they are writing. This
dynamic is extremely helpful because it gives us a four-
dimensional view of Jesus' life. Just think how unfortunate it
would be if we only had one biography of Abraham Lincoln or
George Washington! We could never get a full view of their
lives. The same is true of Jesus. His life and ministry are so
important that in God's message to you He includes four
separate books (about half of the New Testament) telling the
story of Jesus.
The second section contains only one book. The book iscalled Acts (the idea is "the actions of...").4 In summary, this
book is a history of the first people who followed Jesus and
how they spread the good news about Him across the ancient
Roman Empire. If the first four books of the New Testament
announce the good news of Jesus, Acts records the
proclamation of the good news of Jesus.
The third sectionincludes the largest number of booksthe
Epistles. The word epistle means a letter. The first thirteen
letters are written by the Apostle Paul. You probably have
heard of him or maybe you know him by his pre-salvation
nameSaul of Tarsus. The story of this man's life and how
he came to know Jesus is fascinating and takes up the
second half of the book of Acts (our previous section). God
used him more than any one else in Jesus' early followers toshare the good news with the world.
The other eight letters were written by Jesus original group
of disciples or people connected with them. These were
4People debate who does these acts. Some say that the book
contains the acts of the apostlesin fact thats the traditional title ofthe book. Others say these are the acts of the ascended Christ
through His apostles. Others suggest that these are the acts of the
Holy Spirit through the apostles. As you read the book youll
discover that in many ways, all three are true!
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letters written to groups of believers (churches) or individual
believers. Each has its own purpose and surrounding
circumstances, so it is helpful to know these background
factors when reading them. Many study Bibles will share
those circumstances with you. Although a summary of each
letter is too much for our current study, you should think of
the Epistles as explaining the good news of Jesus. Acts
recounts the proclamation of the Gospel message and the
Epistles give the explanation of the Gospel message. Further
elaboration was necessary and God gave us that clarification
in these Epistles.
The finalsection could also be considered an epistle because
it actually contains several letters. But in another sense it is
completely on its own because it records a visiona
revelation that the Apostle John had of Jesus. The letters
contained in this book are from Jesus to churches in Turkey.
The remaining portion is filled with spectacular imagery
about future accounts. It even takes us into the throne room
of heaven where we learn that God is the center of all things.
He is the consummation of all time and history. So we could
summarize the book of Revelation as the consummation of
the gospel of Jesus.
That was a whirlwind tour of the content of Scripture. Don't
be discouraged if you missed some details. As we unpackthe message of Scripture in the lessons to follow, this first
lesson will be the structure on which you can hang your
understanding of the message of the Bible
Are you ready to view the completion of world historythe
reason for human existence? That is where the content of
the Bible ends. As we turn now to the message of the Bible,
you will see that this is also where the message of the Bible
begins.
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1. List the three sections of the Old Testament and the four
sections of the New Testament below:
2. What is the difference between the "message" of a book
and the content of a book?
3. How does a symphony illustrate God's message to you in
the Bible?
QUESTION AND ANSWER
Old Testament New Testament
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INTRODUCTION
The first lesson was a whirlwind tour of the content of the
Bible. Lets keep pressing on! We will now give attention to
some of the major themes that tell the story of the Bible. In
the following lessons we will develop the major storyline of
the Bible through ten different scenes that tell the Bible story.
To help you remember each scene we will include a picture, a
word, and the major character in that scene. Although well
be brief, we will try to survey these familiar stories as if you
had never heard them beforetry to approach them that
way.
Scene 1Creation and
the Fall
Out of all the biblical scenes, this
one contains some of the mostimportant content for understanding
God and humanity. So much
happened in the first events of
world history.
Creation
God made everything in six 24-hour days. This is where the
Bible beginsIn the beginning God created the heavens and
GARDEN
ADAM
What does the
Bible say?
LESSON 2
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the earth (Genesis 1:1). As you continue to read, you
discover that this includes the planets, stars, and solar
systems, as well as the smallest particles. Two facets of
creation are very important for our study. First, God created
man on the sixth day in His image. Second, God made all
things good.
In God's Image
Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish
of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the
cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creeps on the earth. God created man in His
own image, in the image of God He created him; male and
female He created them (Genesis 1:26-27).
This is an important point. We are not just one more livingthing, like a tree or an animal. God made humanity special.
After all else was made, He made man in His image. This
means that man mirrors God in a way that the rest of the
creation does not. We also have a unique role to play over
the rest of creation. God has stamped His own nature in our
very existence as humans.
As human beings made in God's image, we have a unique
relationship with our Creator. God's perfect creation
included God and man talkingcommuning as a friend with
a friend in perfect harmony. This glorious relationship was
very good.
Life is Good
God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very
good (Genesis 1:31).
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Another important point to note is that God's original order
was very good. There was perfect harmony between God and
man and between man and the ecosystems of the earth. It
was paradise! Remember this fact when you see the
destruction, violence, and mayhem so prevalent in our world
today. Those things were not a part of God's original
creation. Man was not selfish. Man always did what pleased
God and there was perfect, unhindered communion between
them. Unfortunately, things did not stay this way. We fell
from this beautiful position of perfect communion.
Fall
God gave only one prohibition in the garden. He stated it
clearly and the result of disobedience was clearly stated as
well.
From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but fromthe tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not
eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die
(Genesis 2:16-17).
So there was only one test of mans obedience. If they ate of
the tree, then the perfect situation would be ruined and
death would enter the picture. God set up His order and in
that order it was also possible to rebel.
Right after the prohibition we find a temptation. In Genesis 3
a tempter comes in the form of a snake and deceives Eve.
Later on we find out who he really was. He is a created angel
who rebelled against God and wants all of creation to do the
sameof course he will start with those of creation that had
the rule and were made in the image of God. This fallenangel appeared to Eve in the Garden of Eden and tempted
her. He did so by challenging Gods Word. He promised Eve
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Satan uses the same technique today. He wants people to
doubt God's word, the Bible. The major religions of the
world differ in the text or texts which they claim are the
words of God. Consider the sourcethis makes a major
difference in what you believe about God. These texts aregiven to make people doubt the true Word of God.
Not only does the Bible clearly state that it is the Word of
God repeatedly, but it also gives several convincing proofs
of its reliability as Gods Word. One of our other studies
(Critical Questions for Christians) details these. Here is
a summary:
Internal Evidence:
o ProphesiesHundreds of specific facts that
were prophesied many years before they came to
pass.
o UnityThough the Scripture is written by many
different men through many different ages and
cultures, the main ethic and message remains the
same. External EvidenceSecular historians and
archeologists confirm that Scriptures records arefactually accurate.
that she would not die if she ate the fruit but rather that
many good things would happen. He was calling God a liar.
Eve believed the snake and ate. She brought the forbidden
fruit to Adam and Adam chose to follow his wife instead of
following God. The perfect situation was ruined. Adam and
Eve sinned and all of creation fell.
SIDE LIGHT: Consider the Source
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In one sense you fell that day too. Think of it this waywhen
the founding fathers of the United States declared
independence from England there were several
repercussions. Of course, the biggest at the time was war.
But now that the struggle for independence is done, all those
who are born in the United States also gain that
independence. Even though I did not fight in one battle or
even lift a finger in the struggle, I gain the same
independence that they gained. The same is true here. God
gave the human race a high and noble position as His image
bearer. As His image bearer we enjoyed free and beautifulcommunion with Him. But in place of this perfect situation,
we rebelled against the King of all creation and declared our
independence. The result was not freedom as Satan
promised. The result was bondage.
You are born in the same state of affairs as Adam's child. In
fact, every human being is born in this same state of
estrangement. The perfect situation of joy and eternal
communion with God is broken. We are now born enemies
to God. What if the Revolutionary War had never been won
by the United States? This would be a 250+ year war and I
would still be at war with England because I was born to
people who were at war with England. Here is an extremely
important point to realize. You were born at war with God. If
you don't know you are at war with God then you will notknow that you need to gain peace with Him.
A Solution Promised
God kept His promise. Adam died; Eve died. All who are born
from Adam and Eve died. God did not have to provide an
alternative ending. He set up the rules and we broke therules. However, God is merciful and He provided a wonderful
rescue plan. In this rescue plan He brings us back to that
perfect state of communion with Him. Even in the same day
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of the sin, almost in the same breath He promised that this
plan would unfold!
This glorious promise comes during a time where He
confronts Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. In fact, the promise is
given while God is cursing the serpent for leading the
deception. "And I will put enmity between you and the
woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise
you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel"
(Genesis 3:15).
God promises a future clash between a descendant (seed) of
Eve and the serpent (Satan). The serpent would give the
descendant of Eve a wound on his heel, but the serpent
would receive a fatal blowa head wound. It not by mistake
that the heel and head are used. The picture portrays a
person stepping on a snake. One day, when Jesusthe
descendent of Eve dies on the cross (heel wound). Jesus
destroys the work of the serpent through His sacrificial
death, and provides eternal communion with God to all who
will believe. In fact, right after God provided this promise He
slaughtered a lamb to clothe the rebels. This pictures a
future slaughter that will provide eternal covering from sin.
And that is the rest of the story of the Bible. In the lessons to
follow we will develop how God provides this eternalredemption plan to get humanity back to the conditions we
enjoyed in the Gardeneternal unbroken communion with
Godperfection.
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FLOOD
NOAH
Scene 2Flood
If you continue the Bible's story,
man's condition does not get better;
it gets worse. The first man born to
Adam and Eve eventually murders
his brother. And the story goes even
further down from there. The book
of Genesis traces the family tree of
each of the lines of Adam and Eve's children. Although there
were some significant exceptions (see below), the majority of
people followed in their own ways. They turned from the
morality burned in their conscience and pursued their own
lusts at any cost. By the tenth generation almost everyone
had turned against God's ways. Listen to the description
given in Genesis 6:5.
"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was
great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).
This second major scene that we dip into illustrates the
results of the fall. Man no longer enjoyed continual
communion with God. Circle the words in the verses abovethat show the extent of man's sin. Man is bent on doing his
own works, pursuing his own desires. God does not allow
humankind to continue on a path away from Him. Rebellion
must be punished. God's image bearers must be brought
back into sweet communion with Him. God did just that.
He chose the last family on earth who sought Him to save the
whole human race. Noah was the tenth generation following
Adam's line through Seth. He found grace in the eyes of God.
I like the testimony given about Noah. "Noah walked with
God." There was one man who still yearned for the days of
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the Gardenthe days before sin when man was satisfied with
sweet communion with God.
In their talks, God told Noah that He would destroy the world
with a global flood. He assigned him the task of warning the
world with this messagerepent. God justice is preceded by
His patient mercy. In fact, Noah most likely preached this
message for one hundred years! During this time, God
assigned him the task of preparing a boat for all who
believed his message in order that they would be saved. No
one believed Noah's warning except his own family. God wastrue to His Word. God sent a flood and everyone except
Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives were saved.
Following the flood God made a covenant promise to Noah
and to all of us (we all descend from this one couple). The
promise is that He will not destroy the earth again in this
way. A pattern begins to develop: Humankind fails God in
disobeying Him. God communicates a message of salvation.
Those who believe what God says are saved and enjoy further
communion with God (a taste of the Garden). Those who
continue in their own way die in their sins. In this scenario,
Noah trusted in God, took Him at His Word, and was declared
to be right with God.
We will walk with Noah one day in heaven because heresponded in faith to the promised message of a rescue plan
that had developed to this point in human history. It was still
very early in the unveiling of the redemption plan but it is
clear. Mankind goes His own way, like a little sheep, and
needs God to rescue Him. Noah believed God and was saved.
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1. List below the created order (leadership structure) as God
intended and the order used by creation at the fall.
God's Intention Fall's Distortion
2. What does it mean to be made in God's image?
3. God made the world in ages of days (True/False).
4. What is the significance of the Flood in the story of the
whole Bible?
5. DISCUSSION QUESTION: How does being made in God's
image relate to racial equality, abortion and euthanasia?
QUESTION AND ANSWER
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INTRODUCTION
In our survey of the biblical story we have considered two
scenes so far. The first scene included the creation and the
fall. The word to remember from this scene is Garden and
the person to remember is Adam. From this scene we
learned that God's creation was perfect before sin entered.
In his nature man was made to enjoy perfect communion
with God. But Adam and Eve sinned, plunging humanity and
the entire creation into separation from God. The beautiful
thing is that even in that dark hour God made some
promises. He promised to send a Rescuer who would endSatan's plan of rebellion against God. He also promised to
bring humankind back to the garden state of perfect
communion.
The next scene we developed was the Flood where the main
character is Noah. In that scene we saw the extent to which
sin has affected man and his relationship to God. There was
only one man who continued to believe in God and respond
to God's revelation with faith. In fact all the imaginations of
all men were evil all the time! So God started over again
through Noah. Again, God gives some promises and through
these promises He illustrates His future rescue plan. God
promised to provide escapethose who believe in His rescue
plan (getting into the ark) will be saved from God's righteous
wrath.
In this lesson we are going to try to survey the next two
scenes. We begin ten generations after Noah as the line of
What does the
Bible say?
LESSON 3
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his son, Shem moves us forward in history nearly 500 years.5
At this point, the world's population has exploded. And yet
the number of those seeking fellowship with God has
diminished significantly. This time God chose one man, but
instead of making the one man into the only family on earth,
he chose to make him a distinct family and eventually, a
distinct nation among all the others on earth. That man was
Abraham.
Scene 3
The Creation of
the Jewish Nation
The picture in this scene is the
Star of David because it represents
the Jewish people. The key word
is Israel and the main character is
Abraham. Books are written on
the development of the Jewish
people, but we have time to
consider only the covenant
between God and Abraham (the
Abrahamic Covenant) and one event in Abrahams life.
Three Important Promises
On several occasions in Genesis, God reiterates His promises
to Abraham. When God first spoke to him, Abraham was part
of an idol-worshiping family. He had to decide whether to
obey God's promises (in faith) or continue in rebellion.
5It is important to remember that we do not have exact dates. TheHebrew language uses the same word for father and grandfather, so
the genealogical lists may include some grandfathers with their
grandsons. Obviously, this would extend the length of time
recorded.
Israel
Abraham
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Abraham responded in faith, and God entered closer
communion with Him, giving greater promises. Abraham
believed these as well. The Bible tells us the result of
Abraham's faith: he was reckoned (considered to be)
righteous before God. He did not become righteous, nor was
he made righteous, but he was declared righteous in the
courtroom of God.
Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him
as righteousness (Genesis 15:6).
God first gave these promises to Abraham in Genesis chapter
12:
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; 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; 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 (Genesis 12:1-3).
If we combine this passage with the other promises recorded
in Genesis, we can summarized them this way:
1. God promised to bless Abraham with a land of
inheritance.
2. God promised to bless Abraham with a nation of
descendants.
3. God promised to bless Abraham by making him a
blessing to all nations through one descendant.
We will see that these covenant promises are fulfilled in the
subsequent scenes of the Old Testament. God will keep
these promises to Abraham forever. It is interesting, though
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to realize that the final promise was not fulfilled clearly until
long after the Old Testament was finished.
The last promise to Abraham said that God's rescue plan
would involve one of Abraham's descendants, and that this
one descendant would be the agent of blessing to every
other nation on earth. So the promised descendant of Adam
will not only defeat Satan's plans but He will also effect a
plan of blessing to all nations of the earthnot just the
Jewish people.
In the remainder of the lesson we will see how the first two
promises are fulfilled through the following four scenes. But
before we do, we have to look at one story from the pages of
Abraham's life that is extremely important to Gods rescue
message, woven throughout the pages of Scripture.
One Important Picture
God made these promises to Abraham over a span of twenty-
five years. These events happened from the time Abraham
was seventy-five to about the time he was one-hundred
years old. Abraham responded in faith (with some
doubting), but he still waited for the first son! How could he
be a father of many nations if he had no children? This was a
great test. But the Lord proved faithful. Abraham had a son
in his one-hundredth year. And yet Abrahams greatest test
of faith was yet to come. It came in the form of a command:
He said, Take now your son, your only son, whom you
love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him
there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of
which I will tell you (Genesis 22:2).
Now that is a dramatic twist in the plot! Promises, faith,
blessed child, faith... Everything was going according to
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plan, and then God tells him to kill the promised son. What
will Abraham do? The next morning he got up early and
traveled three days to where God had told him to go. Why
there? As we will see; the place is important.
After the three-day journey, the small company came to the
appointed spot on a mountain. Abraham said my only
begotten son and I will proceed alone from here... We will
return to you shortly. I think its interesting that although
Abraham was ready to kill his son he knew that God would
find a way out; he knew they both would return ("We willreturn"). The New Testament tells us that Abraham believed
God would raise Isaac from the dead. But it never even came
to that. As Abraham raised his knife to take the life of his
promised son, God stopped him.
Abrahams only begotten son was saved because the angel
of the Lord stopped the knife. The significance becomes
clearer once you compare Scriptures and realize that the
references to the angel of the Lord are often references to
Jesus. And when you look at a few other passages, you
discover that this very place became Jerusalem and it was the
same mount where one day Jesus, God's only begotten Son,
would give His life. The messenger of the Lord who stopped
the knife that day would eventually give His own life as a
sacrifice, providing a blessing to all the nations of the earth.
This is not conjecture. This is exactly what happened
according to the record of God's holy Bible. Listen to what
Abraham called this place: In the mount of the Lord it will
be provided." What will be provided? Eternal salvation! The
sacrifice for all. The rescue plan is getting more precise.
Though they probably did not understand all that happened
there, God is telling those who pay attention that His rescue
plan involved restoring mans relationship with God after
destroying Satans plans of rebellion. God chose to send a
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descendant of Abraham who would enact a blessing for all
nations. The point wasnt necessarily clear to those in
Abrahams day, but it definitely is to us as we look back in
hind-sight. God was demonstrating that He would provide a
sacrifice. This story foreshadowed that the sacrifice would
occur in Jerusalem and that it would be a sacrifice of Gods
only begotten Son.
Scene 4
The Law
Five hundred years passed. Much
happened in these years as well.
Abrahams son, Isaac, had two
sonsJacob and Esau. Jacob had
twelve sons and they become the
promised nation. They are the
twelve tribes of Israel. (When Godrepeated Abrahams promises to
Jacob, He also changed Jacobs
name to Israel).
In each of these characters we learn that those who believe
God's promises and follow (obey) the commands included in
the promises receive Gods blessing. They are blessed to
have a right relationship with God and a taste of the Garden,
a taste of restored communion which God intended us to
enjoy in the first place.
One of Jacobs sons was mistreated by his brothers. That
sounds lightyou might even think back to times when you
were mistreated by a brother or sister. But this was over the
top! Ten of the brothers sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt(Joseph's other brother was too young to join in the
conspiracy.) God turned this tragedy around and made
Joseph the leader of Egypt (the superpower of the day), just
"Law"
Moses
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under Pharaoh himself! Through Joseph, Jacob and the other
sons were saved from seven years of devastating famine.
Jacob, the other eleven sons and their wives moved to Egypt.
This began a four hundred and thirty year stay in Egypt and
during that time, the family grew from about 70 to a nation
of people. God's promise to Abraham of a nation of
descendants was already being fulfilled.
But for the nation to have a separate entity, they needed a
constitution and a land. That is where the next four books of
the Bible continue the story. God used Moses to take thechildren of Israel (Jewish people) from Egypt to the Land of
Israel.
The largest portion of these books records the Laws God
gave the children of Israel for living properly in this special
land. It is the constitutional document between God and the
nation. The Law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai and
repeated through him after the people wandered in the
desert for forty years (Deuteronomy actually means "second
law").
Lets look at two specific aspects of this section. We need to
highlight the sacrificial system and then also the
development of how God dealt with people at this time. We
will examine these two topics by answering two specificquestions.
What were the sacrifices about?
In the scenes weve already considered, the idea of sacrifice
kept coming up. When God clothed Adam and Eve, He killed
a ram to provide clothes for them. Two other sacrificesoccur in Genesis that we did not highlight. One sacrifice
caused the first murder. God required an animal sacrifice
from Cain and Abel (the first two boys born on earth). Cain
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Blood continued to flow
through the centuries as
Gods people portrayed
the fact that God
demands sacrifice for sin.
brought a sacrifice from his own efforts and Abel brought
what God required (the shedding of blood). Abel's blood
sacrifice was accepted by God and Cain's was not. The other
sacrifice in Genesis occurred in connection with Noahs ark.
Immediately after exiting the ark, the first thing Noah did
was to make a sacrifice to God.
We have just considered the most dramatic sacrifice, when
God told Abraham to kill his only begotten son. In this
case, God stepped in to provide a sacrificial lamb. This spot
was the very spot Jesus would one day die. As AbrahamsaidIn the Mount of the Lord it will be provided.
When the nation left
Egypt to go to the New
Land, God instituted a
special substitutionary
sacrificethe Passover
Lamb. Every household
who partook of this
sacrificial substitute
was saved from having the death angel kill their firstborn
child. God used this as a final blow to bring the children of
Israel out of Egypt. Because the Egyptians did not believe
God's Word, they didnt follow Gods prescribed protection
and every household awoke the next morning to tragedy.
The theme of sacrifice continues in the new land with the
promised people. This time, though, the idea of a sacrifice
appears front and center. In fact, the entire economy and
law surrounded the sacrificial system. Gods holiness
required sacrifice once a year for the sins of the leaders and
the people. He demanded a continual sacrifice for sins
whenever people transgressed. There were burnt offerings,
grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt
offerings. The blood continued to flow through the centuries
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as Gods people portrayed the fact that God demands
sacrifice for sin. But all of these sacrifices pointed to a
greater, perfect sacrifice of God's Son. This is another key to
Gods rescue plan in history.
How were people saved at this time?
How were peoples sins forgiven? The same way as now!
Peoples sins were covered as people believed the revelation
that God had given them to that point. The sacrifice did not
save them. Their salvation came by faith in Gods promise of
deliverance. By that time, the word of God that they had
been given was specific and written. It gave a specific
location to how and when people should approach God.
People were required to come to God as He demanded.
And in a real sense, their sins were not yet taken away. As
we will see, Jesus paid the penalty for these sins hundreds ofyears later on the cross. Jesus sacrifice is the only one that
can effectively take away sins. But God saw the faith of these
people in His word as He had revealed up to that point. As
they trusted God, God declared that they were righteous,
based on the sacrifice that Jesus would give one day in the
future (Romans 3:25-26).
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1. List below the main word and main character for the first
four scenes.
Main Word Main Character
2. Which promise was given to Abraham that did not have
immediate fulfillment in the Old Testament?
3. How long did Abraham wait in faith until God answered
his prayer for a son?
4. What does the phrase, in the Mountain of the Lord it will
be provided mean?
5. (True/False): Under the Law people were saved by their
works.
QUESTION AND ANSWER
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INTRODUCTION
In this lesson we will consider scenes five through seven:
kingdom gained, kingdom lost, and land regained. These
three scenes will complete our survey of the Old Testament.
Scene 5Kingdom Gained
Moving ahead another five
hundred years brings us to 1000
B.C. We will have to pick up the
pace now. Well consider scenes
five through seven in three shorter
summaries. Well discover that the
rest of the Old Testament tells
how Israel received a king, lost the
monarchy and the Promised Land,
and then how they retook the
land.
We begin scene five with the chosen people of Israel, the
Jewish people, demanding a King. There was certainly need
for a king. The nation became extremely wicked from the
time of Moses to the time of David (our key figure for this
period). In fact, the period of the Judges could be
considered the worst time in Israels history as a nation.
Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. If you want to
pattern your life after certain actions, don't follow the book
Kingdom
David
What does the
Bible say?
LESSON 4
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of Judges!6 Eventually, a king was anointed and many other
kings followed. In fact, the largest section on the Old
Testament shelf is the history shelf because it tells the story
of the kings who reigned in Israel for the next five hundred
years (1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles). These
books are filled with the good and the bad reigns of Israels
kingsmostly bad.
The first three kings ruled over an undivided Israel where all
12 tribes followed one King. (The Land promised to Abraham
was divided into portions and given to the different familiesof Jacob's 12 sons.) Each of these kings had great times of
service to God and great times of military and spiritual
victory. King Saul came first. He did a great job of leading
God's people until his pride wrecked him. King David was
the next King and then his son, Solomon followed him.
David and Solomon are the most well known kings in Israels
history. We will spend time looking at David at the end of
this lesson.
Solomon was known for his wisdom. In fact, God gave
Solomon the privilege of asking for anything he wanted and
he chose wisdom. God also graciously gave him riches and
fame, more than any other king in his day. Solomon wrote
the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. If you have never read
the practical proverbs of Solomon you should take a look.Many Christians make a habit out of reading one chapter in
Proverbs every day.
6That is not to say that we do not learn from the book. We can learn
from both positive and negative examples. We learn that even thosewho have ruined their lives in selfishness can be used of God later in
life if they turn their hearts to God and their talents to His disposal.
Perhaps some of these stories are familiar to youSampson, Gideon,
Jepthah. But there are some very dark scenes in Judges as well.
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After King Solomon, the kingdom was divided and never
gained unity again. The saddest part of the story, however,
is that the kings turned the peoples hearts over to idolatry.
They no longer sought
God and believed His
promises. In the chart
that lists the kings you
can see that only eight
kings after King David
served God (indicated
by an asterisk). Theothers followed after
idols and led the people
to do the same.
In fact, even the first
three great kings
followed God
imperfectly. Both Saul
and Solomon were led
away from God by their
wives who were idol
worshipers. The point
is that a mere human
monarch could never be
the solution to a heartproblem in Israel's
people. People
continually disobey
God's commands, but
those who respond in
faith to God's message about dealing with sin receive a
relationship with Him. That relationship opens up greater
communiona small taste of the eternal, satisfying
communion which we were made to enjoy, and which we can
all experience in heaven if we follow God's rescue plan.
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Scene 6
Kingdom Lost
God will not allow His people tocontinue in their rebellion. He
always sends a wake up call to bring
them back to communion with Him.
God did that very thing in Israel's
history. He sent the Assyrians in
721 B.C. to conquer Israels
Northern Kingdom (Remember that
there had been a split following King
Solomons reign into the North and
South.) God also sent the kingdom
of Babylon to take the Southern
Kingdom in 586 BC.7
When it came to seeking after, God, the whole period of the
kings was full of ups and downs. No one sought Godentirely. Even David, the man after God's own heart
committed adultery and murder! During these times God
continued to send prophets who encouraged His people to
follow Him. When these prophets were heeded, God sent
blessing. When they were ignored, God sent judgment.
This is the same process we have found in previous sessions.
When people respond to the Word of God in faith, God
blesses them with a closer relationship and gives them
greater revelation of Himself. When people spurn and reject
the Word of God, they are lost.
7Notice that the kingdom that had some godly leadership lasted
nearly 150 years more than the wicked Northern kingdom.
Kingdom
Lost
Isaiah
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Greater Promises
In the books that develop scenes five through seven, thereare significant promises given to God's people. We will look
at one primary theme that was given repeatedly to King
David and to the prophets.
A Triumphant King
Many of the Old Testament prophecies include wonderful
promises of future spiritual blessing that will come through a
King with an eternal rule. This promise was first given to
David (called the Davidic Covenant). Although David sinned
greatly, he loved God and believed Him. Gods promises to
David advance our understanding of His rescue plan.
God told David that he would send a Ruler from David's own
descendants Who would reign forever.
But I will settle Him in My house and in My kingdom
forever, and His throne shall be established forever (2
Samuel 23:5).
This foreshadows an eternal being living on earth. It
prophecies an eternal King who would reign over Israelforever. Perhaps David did not understand all that was being
promised, because a significant part of the promise was also
fulfilled in his son Solomon, but the only way these promises
could be completely fulfilled is for an eternal Person to be
born a man. The prophet Isaiah expands on this thought:
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His
name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
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Hindsight is 20/20. When we read of an eternal Person
ruling over Israel, or when Isaiah prophesies of a child being
born Who would be called the Mighty God and the Eternal
Father, perhaps we would expect the Son of God to be the
rescue plan. But, as we shall see, very few people expected
Him.
A Suffering Servant
Right along with the verses that prophesy a reign of peace,
there are verses
prophesying One
Who will suffer
agony for the sins
of others. And so
the theme of
sacrifice returns
with great clarity.Now the sacrifice
is not just a lamb,
but the Servant of God. This is clearest in Isaiah 53.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He
carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our
transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the
chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His
scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone
astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the
LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him"
(Isaiah 53:4-6).
The rescue plan is complete even before we get to it. Godwill send HimselfHis Son. He will be the sacrifice for our
sins to bring us back to continual communion with Him. The
details of this covenant will be spelled out later.
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A New Heart
The prophets proclaimed that people must respond ingenuine faith to Gods Word rather than showing a
superficial, thoughtless obedience. Even in times of
obedience, the children of Israel could be going through the
motions of obedience to Gods Laws without following Him
with all their heart.
The prophets spoke of the need for internal and not merely
external obedience. They prophesied of a time when God
would make a new covenant that would be internal. God
would enable them to keep this new covenant.
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your
flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit
within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and youwill be careful to observe My ordinances" (Ezekiel 36:26-
27).
"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with
the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made
with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to
bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which
they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares
the LORD. "But this is the covenant which I will make with
the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I
will put My law within them and on their heart I will write
it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people
(Jeremiah 31:31-33). (Jeremiah also compares this
transformation to circumcision of the heart.8)
8Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 9:6 "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD
And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and
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As the story unfolds, we will find that Jesus referred to these
passages and many truths in them. For instance, He
mentioned that His Covenant is the New Covenant. He also
taught that He would give the Holy Spirit Who would indwell
His followers and enable them to live a godly life.
Scene 7
Land Regained
God's chosen people did not stay in
exile too long (about 70 years).
After deportation, God's message
through the prophets changed.
Instead of repent from sin and
idolatry, the message now focused
on rebuilding the land of promise.
God used two individuals inparticular to organize a return
expedition. The first is Ezra and the
second is Nehemiah. They were
leading the people to try to re-build what the Assyrians and
the Babylonians had destroyed. Ezra focused on rebuilding
the temple and Nehemiah focused on rebuilding the walls of
Jerusalem. Both accounts are very motivational, because they
chronicle two men grasping hold of the promises of God by
faith and acting on those promises in a valiant manner. Both
examples can stir up others to trust God and follow His
commands.
inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire Andburn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds."
Circumcision was a ritual that signified a covenant commitment to
God. But someone was not to go through the outward symbol
without having a heart that followed.
Land
Regained
Nehemiah
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1. List below the first 7 key words and key characters.
Main Word Main Character
2. (True/False): If you want to find people or principles to
pattern your life after, go to the book of Judges.
3. Match the following:
a. Solomon The creation of the Jewish nation _____
b. Scene 7 The man who prophesied of the new
covenant
_____
c. Jeremiah The man who prophesied of the
Suffering Servant
_____
d. Scene 3 The king known for his wisdom _____
e. Isaiah The king who was a type of a perfect
King to come
_____
f. David Land regained _____
4.
DISCUSSION QUESTION: Why does man need a newheart? How has world history to this point shown the
need for a new heart?
QUESTION AND ANSWER
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INTRODUCTION
We have finished an overview of seven different scenes in the
Bible that develop the overall message, the big picture. Its
clear that although mankind continues to fail, God continues
to graciously reveal Himself. Many people respond to God's
self-revelation in faith and obedience. As they do, God
delights in opening the doors of closer communion with Him.
They gain back a portion of that fellowship that was enjoyed
by humankind on a daily basis in the Garden.
God gives these believers more intimate promises predicting
a great rescue plan. But as the Old Testament ends, we are
left longing for the culmination of that plan. Think back on
the string of promises that began in the Garden and has been
woven through each of the scenes so far (See next page).
After reading the Old Testament, you are left with these
promises unfulfilled. Where is the descendant who will be
the Rescuer? Who will defeat the serpent, be a blessing to allGentiles, lead people to consistent obedience, reign forever,
and be a sacrifice for sin? The sad thing is that there is no
answeronly silence. In fact, the last word in the Old
Testament is the word curse (Malachi 4:6), followed by 400
years of silence.9 Its as if someone played several notes of a
chord and then stopped playing before the final note. The
incomplete sound echoes out and leaves us longing for the
9Malachi would have been the last prophet to write chronologically,
though the Hebrew Scriptures end with 2 Chronicles.
What does the
Bible say?
LESSON 5
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final resolution of the chord. These prophesies rang out for
hundreds of years, waiting for some fulfillment, some
resolution.
Scene Word Promise Sacrifice
Scene 1Garden
Adam
A Son will come from Eves
descendants to crush the
serpent and Satans
destructive plans.
This event
culminates with
a sacrifice.
Scene 2Flood
Noah
Gods rescue plan will not be
thwarted, even in the darkest
hours of human sin. God
promises not to destroy theearth in water.
This event
culminates with
a sacrifice.
Scene 3Israel
Abraham
A Son will come from
Abraham's descendants and
through Him all nations of the
earth will be blessed.
Two major
events in
Abrahams life
climax with a
sacrifice.
Scene 4Law
Moses
A prophet better than Moses
will come one day Who will
enable believers to obey.
A continual
sacrificial
systemcommunicates
the need for an
effectual,
lasting
sacrifice.
Scene 5
Kingdom
Gained
David
A King will come who will
reign eternally and perfectly,
in contrast to the temporal
reigns of kings who lead the
people away from God.
This period
continues a
daily sacrificial
system and the
blessing of
those who
follow.
Scene 6
Kingdom
Lost
Isaiah
A human will come as God
and be the sacrifice for the
sins of men.
A human will
come as God
and be the
sacrifice for the
sins of men.
Scene 7
Kingdom
RegainedNehemiah
God will keep His promises
to those who believe and seekHim.
Sacrifices re-
instituted
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Scene 8
Good News
And then He came! The joyful song iscomplete with the coming of Jesus.
The details of God's rescue plan finally
become fully clear. Look at the first
words of the New Testament
(chronologically):
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1)
This small verse says so much! The Old Testament showed
us a picture of someone who was coming but left us grasping
for the details and waiting for the picture to be fleshed out.
The Old Testament ended with a cursebad news. The New
Testament begins with good news (Gospel), and paints the
rest of the picture. Its the wonderful news about JesusChrist Who is the Son of God.
Weve been talking about Marks account of the Gospel.
There were three other accounts written in Scripture of the
life of Jesus. You will remember from our first lesson that
these do not contradict, but complement one another to give
multiple dimensions in our view of Jesus. The other gospel
writers are Matthew, Luke, and John. Look at the beginning
of Matthew's gospel account.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of
David, the son of Abraham... He will save His people from
their sins (Matthew 1:1, 21).
Look at what God is telling us in this verse. Jesus is the
promised descendant of David (the eternal King) and the
promised descendant of Abraham (the One Who would bless
all nations). The gospel writers knew that the prophesies
Gospel
Jesus
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which were still unfulfilled at the close of the Old Testament
concerned Gods rescue plan and that they were fulfilled in
Jesus.10
Each Gospel writer communicates the same essential details
about Jesus life and we have already noted how Matthew and
Mark begin their Gospel. John, however, gives us an
interesting view of Jesus from the beginning. Look at John's
account.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was withGod, and the Word was God (John 1:1).
This is important for our study because it tells us of Someone
who is enjoying the pleasure Adam had in the garden. In
Johns description, the Son is with God. He is God! Being
with God is what we need as humans. We were with God in
the Gardenthat is how we function best. But sin blocked
that perfect communion and we have already observed
repeatedly that man cannot make his way back to God. We
constantly go our own way. Every period of earth history
every scene developed in these lessonsteaches that man is
not able to make his way back to the Garden.
But God can make His way to be with man and that is the
good news. Jesus is the God-manHe is the Son of God whocomes to bring man back into communion with God. A little
later in the first chapter John shows us how this will happen.
10Mathematicians say that the probability of having just sixteen
predictions correctly fulfilled in one man is 1 in 10 to the 45thpower.
And yet nearly two hundred Old Testament prophetic predictions
were fulfilled through Jesus life. Its also significant that these werepredictions Jesus couldnt changewhere He was born, who His
parents and grandparents were, or even how He died ("Science
Speaks", Peter Stoner, Moody Press, 1957).
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Once again, this ties together so many details from the Old
Testament pictures.
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said,
Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world (John 1:29)!
Jesus is the perfect sacrifice pictured so clearly in every story
throughout every period of God's communication with us.
Our disobedience (sin) blocked our perfect communion with
God (garden/fall), and yet Jesus came to take on Himself thepunishment for all our sin. His sacrifice brings great
possibilities for all who will believe. They are forgiven from
their sin and gain entrance back into God's presenceboth
now and for eternity.
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3).
The major point of each of the Gospels is that Jesus came as
the Son of God to die and rise again
from the grave. Although they
recount His unique teaching, and
miraculous signs of mercy, the
gospels are primarily a story of God
coming down to kill death. That is therescue planHe had to die to end
death for all men. And Jesus
resurrection from the dead was Gods
signal to humankind that the chains of death had been
broken. The curse of death that fell on all men when Adam
sinned is reversed for all who receive Jesus. Even the effects
of that curse are being reversedwe can again be with God.
We can experience eternal life through Jesus victory over
death.
That is the
rescue plan.
He had to die
to end deathfor all men.
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So the story of Jesus death is not really a tragedy. It is tragic
in its pain and suffering, but it is glorious in the outcome to
all who will believe. It is tragic good news.
Scene 9
Church
Expansion/Organization
Expansion
Acts (the fifth book of the NewTestament) continues the story of God
fulfilling the Old Testament prophesies
through the Person of His Son, Jesus
Christ. The message of Jesus death and
resurrection did not stay in Jerusalem. If
you were among those early believers, you might have
wondered how it could spread. The disciples were all Jewish.
The last thing that would be natural to their minds was
spreading this message beyond their own Jewish people. But
Gods promise of blessing encompassed not just Abrahams
descendants, but also the whole world.11 Acts is the story of
how God kept His promise.
The expansion of the early church occurred through Gods
enabling Spirit.12The first day that the Holy Spirit came uponthe early believers there was a great expansion (3,000 new
believers). These new believers composed a new body called
11This is not just mentioned in Genesis 12:1 as a promise to
Abraham; it is a theme throughout the Old Testament. See also 2
Samuel 22:50; 1 Kings 8:43; Psalm 22:27, 46:10, 67:1-7, 72:17;
Isaiah 42:6, 49:6, 55:5, 61:11; Jeremiah 4:2; Malachi 1:11 for a fewother references.
12God the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead. God is One
but the one God exists eternally in three Persons (God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.)
Church
The Holy
Spirit
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the Church. God the Holy Spirit enabled Jesus followers to
speak in foreign languages that they had never learned. This
symbolized the fact that all nations should hear the message
of the good news of Jesus. And in the first day many did
believe the Good News that was proclaimed (his word in the
quote below).
So then, those who had received his word were baptized;
and that day there were added about three thousand
souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the
apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking ofbread and to prayer (Acts 2:41-42).
God also called a well-respected Rabbi to become the
preacher to the Gentiles. Saul, once a persecutor of the
Church, became a believer in Jesus and proclaimed the faith
he once persecuted. Acts records three different missionary
journeys showing how God used Paul to start local churches
in cities all throughout the ancient world.
The Holy Spirit indwelt these believers and enabled them to
obey Gods desires. This fulfilled the promises of a people
who would finally obey God because of the prophet better
than Moses (Jesus). Gods will is written in the hearts of
believersit is the Law of God, the Spirit.
Organization
We have made it to one of the final shelves on our journey
through the library of the Bible. The next to last shelf is the
epistles, or letters. This shelf has a large number of books
that detail how the local church should be organized. A Bible
driven church will develop its philosophy of ministry basedon these books.
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Most of the letters are written to churches, groups of
churches or to pastors of churches. Although Peter, James,
John, and Jude also authored letters, Paul is the key figure
because he wrote more epistles than anyone else.
These letters teach that in the era in which we now live, each
believer is a priest to God because we can come into God's
presence through Jesus our High Priest. The communion
enjoyed in the Garden of Eden is available to you today.
The Church is Gods presence on earth because God ispresent in every group of believers assembled.
Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple
of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will
bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple. For God's
temple is holy, and you Christians are that temple (1
Corinthians 3:16-17 NLT).
We not only enjoy God's presence in church on a regular
basis, but we enjoy God's presence individually on a daily
basis. Those who respond to Gods promise of forgiveness
of sins through faith in Jesus sacrifice enjoy this restored
relationship with God. He communes with them as a Father
with a child.
But the church is imperfect. Even from the first of days of
Acts, sin was evident and had to be addressed. Gods
presence is real in the church, but it is not exactly like the
garden. So Gods rescue plan is still in progress. The final
pages of His story (history) are just around the corner. And
that is the final chapter of this book of God's message to
usthe book of Revelation.
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1. List below the first 9 key words and key characters.
Main Word Main Character
2. What is the final word of the Old Testament? How does
this contrast with the first phrase written in the New
Testament?
3. (True/False): Immediately after Jesus' resurrection His
followers were ready to spread His news to all nations.
4. Which prophesy is fulfilled by the spread of the gospel to
the nations?
5. Which prophesy is fulfilled by the Holy Spirits enabling
power?
6. DISCUSSION QUESTION: Discuss the tragic good news of
Calvary. How can one event be both?
QUESTION AND ANSWER
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Scene 10Culmination
Back to the Garden
We have come to the final scene
in Gods message. The book of
Revelation returns the record of
human history to the garden
where it beganperfect
communion with God. All thethemes of Scripture meld
together in this book.
Revelation also makes more
allusions to the Old Testament
than any other book in the New Testament. John gives us a
few glimpses of heaventhe future state of believers. The
visions are fascinating!
"After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing
open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like
the soundof a trumpet speaking with me, said, 'Come up
here, and I will show you what must take place after these
things'" (Revelation 4:1).
We will look at two major themes that find their climax in thisbook. The first is praise for Gods Sacrifice. The second is
pleasure in Gods presence.
Heaven
God the Father
What does the
Bible say?
LESSON 6
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Praise for Gods Sacrifice
As we have discovered, in every scene God's sacrificial Lambtakes a primary place in advancing the message of God's
rescue plan. In the Good news scene, we saw that it is the
very rescue plan. This is true in heaven as well. We get a
fascinating view of the Lamb in heaven.
The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell
down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and
golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the
saints. And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are
You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were
slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from
every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have
made them to bea kingdom and priests to our God; and
they will reign upon the earth (Revelation 5:8-10).
John sees Jesus as a Lamb Who is slain. The biblical picture
of sacrifice finally reaches its culmination. For eternity we
will remember and praise God for the sacrifice of His Son for
our sins. Jesus will be praised because He purchased us back
to God. Humanity was lost for eternity until God
implemented His rescue plan, sending Jesus to earth to take
away our sins.
Eternal Pleasure in God s Presence
One paragraph in Revelation describes the scene at the end
of time. The amazing thing is that it is so similar to the
beginning of time (the garden)! Notice below the things that
will not be present in our eternal home.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first
heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no
longer anysea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
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coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a
bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice
from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is
among men, and He will dwell among them, and they
shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and
there will no longer be anydeath; there will no longer be
any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have
passed away. And He who sits on the throne said,
Behold, I am making all things new. And He said, Write,
for these words are faithful and true. Then He said tome, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts
from the spring of the water of life without cost
(Revelation 21:1-6).
Gods presence is again with humanity because our sin has
been dealt with once and for all. All those who have been
washed pure with the blood of the Lamb (with Jesus blood)
enter this place of God's presence. God's tabernacleHis
physical dwellingwill be with us once again. No more
hiding from God behind the tree. We will once again talk and
walk with Him in a sinless state.
You may have notice that several other things will not be in
heaven. Because there is no sin, there is no death nor anytears. Sorrow and all evil is a result of the entrance of sin.
The eternal heaven will get us back to the state we were
made forto enjoy eternal, unbroken communion with the
God of heaven. And that is Gods message to you. God
wants you back. He wants to get you back so much that He
came and died for you.
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Summary in a Sentence
As we conclude our study of the Bible, it is helpful to try tocombine all we have learned so far in a few short statements.
The Bible is Gods message to us. The major characters are
humanity and God. Humanity was made to enjoy perfect
communion with Him. We work best that way. But we broke
that perfect relationship and chose a selfish existence
instead. God did not leave us in this state. No sooner had
we walked away from Him but He was already promising a
rescue plan. We could actually summarize the Bible in this
short phrase: The Bible is God's promise to restore eternal
communion with Him to all who will believe His Word.
But what if we wanted to incorporate the rest of the content
weve discovered? We would need to explain how God's
rescue plan fulfills Gods promises. This sentence gets close:
The Bible is
a message from God proving His greatness by making good
on His promise to bring humanity back to eternal
communion with Him...
through His rescue plan:
choosing a man,
promising a family,
making a nation,
installing a ruler,
and providing a world Savior,
Jesus His Son, the perfect Sacrifice
for all those who trust in His
promise and respond to Hismessage in faith and obedience.
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The Example of Abraham
Notice above that we have to respond in faith to the promisesof God before the relationship will be restored. Faith is
always the bridge through which the grace of God in
salvation flows:
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves, it isthe gift of God; not as a result of
works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Man is saved entirely by grace on the
condition of our faith. We must
believe. Of course, salvation is not
earned by faith. Jesus is the only
Person Who earns salvation. He
earned our salvation by living a
perfect life and dying a sacrificialdeath. But that salvation is not
effectual to an individual heart until
they believe on God's promise. We wont receive the curing
serum of salvation until we believe.
In the beginning stages of Gods promises, the details of
God's rescue plan were not as clearly spelled out. Adam did
not know as much as Abraham, who did not know as much
as Moses, who did not know as much as David, who did not
know as much as Isaiah, who did not know as much as you.
Through each of the scenes that we considered abov