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The Old Testament

Preamble

Great doctrinal truths are developed in the Old Testament. For example, significant revelations regarding the nature and attributes of God are recorded. It is the Old Testament (O.T.) that gives us our basic understanding of God's majesty, power, holiness and sovereignty. We see His love, goodness and wisdom on display throughout the Old Testament. What literature can rival Isaiah 40 or Psalm 23?

But we don't study the O.T. as we should! It is our lack of understanding of the Old Testament that has brought us a basic deficiency regarding our knowledge of God. And as a result of this deficient knowledge, a deficient walk. After a serious study of the Old Testament the revealed attributes of a Holy God should cause us to walk with more reverence before our majestic God.

This simple website, of course, cannot do justice to such a study. However, it is my hope that the brief outline presented here will encourage you to a deeper study of this incredible Book.

Israel

The Old Testament is the story of the nation of Israel, a nation that is distinct from all nations on earth because God entered into a covenant relationship with them. It is the story of a nation designed to bring glory to God and salvation to mankind. It also is the story of the amazing faithfulness and grace of God. In the Abrahamic Covenant, God promised that from Abraham He would make a great nation.

The Foundation of Israel as a Nation

The Old Testament is divided into two distinct parts each covering several thousand years of history. Genesis 1-11 is the first part and is a record of God dealing with individuals. During those years there is no group such as the church or Israel. We cannot say with certainty how long this period is, perhaps it is several thousand years. It could be significantly more, but not millions or billions of years as our evolutionist friends say. The Bible doesn't really say a whole lot about these early years but four important events are recorded. These are the creation account, the Fall of man, the great Flood of Noah's day, and the scattering of man at the Tower of Babel.  These events are briefly recorded so we can understand where our material universe came from, where sin and evil came from, and why our world is so fragmented. But these early years are glossed over, really, so God can get to the main emphasis of the Old Testament which is the selection of Israel as God's chosen nation.

The second part of the Old Testament we know to be about two thousand years and it includes Genesis 12 all the way to the end of the Old Testament. Genesis 12 is a pivotal chapter. It is here that God selects a man by the name of Abraham and enters into an eternal, unconditional covenant with him and his descendants. These blessings ultimately include all of mankind. From Genesis 12 to the end of Joshua (the first four books) we have the record of the formation of the nation of Israel. In order to have a nation, God had to establish three elements - a people, a land where the people could live, and a set of laws to govern the people. Hence, in Genesis 12 to 50 we have the record of how God began to populate the new nation. This includes the giving of the Mosaic Law (the Ten Commandments) as well as laws governing every aspect of life, called the 'constitution.' This was given at Mount Sinai where the Israelites also built their portable worship center, the Tabernacle.

Unbelief at Kadesh-Barnea

The book of Numbers is so-named because it reflects the two times when a census was taken in Israel. Numbers records a disaster (one of many) in the history of Israel. Israel refused to believe and obey God which kept her from possessing the promised land - and as a result she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Sinai for almost 40 years. The book of Deuteronomy complements the book of Numbers. In Deuteronomy the story of Israel's journey from Sinai to the Plains of Moab is recorded. But the primary focus of the book is on the law, in which Moses instructs this new generation of Israelites.

The Theocracy

At the end of this period Moses died and God appointed Joshua to lead the nation. Joshua led the nation of Israel across the Jordan River and into the land of the wicked Canaanites where he instructed the Israelites to destroy the strongholds of the Canaanites. Joshua divided the land, giving precise portions to each of the individual twelve tribes of Israel. God specifically directed them to not make treaties with the Canaanites, not to intermarry with them, and to not allow any to live among them. Again, the Israelites disobeyed. When Joshua died, God did not replace him with a human leader. It was God's intention that the newly formed nation be a theocracy, with God ruling through the law given at Sinai and through priests as the interpreters and enforcers of the law. But the theocracy turned out to be a failure because Israel would not obey her own laws. Judges had to be raised up during periods of national crisis. The Judges would deliver Israel from her enemies and bring a time of obedience and peace. But those periods would give way once again to sin, unbelief, and - especially - idolatry. The book of Judges records seven cycles of failure. After three centuries of this repeated cycle of crisis and peace, Israel demanded a human king.

The Monarchy

Although it was a repudiation of God's rule, He allowed Saul to become Israel's first king. With Saul as king, Israel entered a third period in her history, the period of the monarchy. The next four books (I and II Samuel, and I and II Kings) record the next 450 years of Israel's history. The two books of Samuel tell of Israel's first King, Saul, and her greatest King, David. It was with King David that God made a marvelous agreement -or covenant - much of which is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. David's son Solomon reigned after the death of David and he was the third and last king to rule over all of Israel's twelve tribes.

A Nation Divided and the Babylonian Captivity

Because of Solomon's sinful ways, God judged the family of David by dividing the nation into two separate kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom, Israel, was made up of ten tribes. The Southern Kingdom was called Judah and was made up of two tribes ruled by the family of David. The two kingdoms coexisted for two centuries, sometimes as friends, and other times as foes. The divided kingdom came to an end because of sin and idolatry when the Northern Kingdom was destroyed by Assyria. The Southern Kingdom lasted a little longer, having been blessed with some godly kings, but eventually fell to idolatry. This time, God used the nation of Babylon as His rod of discipline. Many people from the Southern Kingdom, including Daniel and Ezekiel, were deported from Jerusalem to Babylonia. The nation lived in captivity for about 70 years.

Restoration of Israel

Finally, in fulfillment of His promise, God restored many of the people to their own land. The final period in the Old Testament history of Israel is recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah, the final two books that we may consider as the foundational books of the nation of Israel. This period lasted about 150 years and focuses on the spiritual restoration of Judah and on the great men who were used in the restoration.

The Coming of the Messiah

With the end of the book of Nehemiah, the story of the formation of Israel in the Old Testament comes to a close. Some four hundred years would pass before the Scriptures pick up an account once again. The years of silence would be broken by a messenger from God, the angel Gabriel announcing the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus the Messiah. Although thousands of years had passed, God had not 'forgotten' his promise to Abraham and his descendants.

This is a brief summary of the Old Testament and the forming of the nation of Israel. Other Old Testament books not mentioned here tie in to the foundational books referenced in this brief outline.

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