The Old Testament: A Ten Minute Overview

Many overviews of the Old Testament are lengthy and detailed. Here however is a short synopsis (lacking many details) of the narrative of the Old Testament. Much is missing, but for the sake of brevity I have attempted to paint the broad strokes so that you might be able to take in the grandness of the Old Testament in under ten minutes for the average reader. Why not take ten minutes now and refresh your love for God as we overview the incredible story of the Old Testament.

The Creation of a People

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So 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).

In the beginning of the Old Testament God creates. His creation is incomplete until both man and woman have their being as a people created to glorify God. However Adam and Eve quickly lost sight of their created purpose and sought instead to attain God-likeness in eating from the forbidden tree at the cunning deceit of the serpent. Adam and Eve collided with sin and the creation has been subject to the aftermath ever since. They were kicked out of the garden, out from an in person communion with God. But God did not annihilate them; instead we see from the beginning chapters of Genesis a God who will pursue his people to the utmost, to the point of death on a cross.

Through the lineage of Adam and Eve comes the great family of Abraham, one whom God makes a covenant with and one who exemplifies faith. God declares he will make him a great nation through his offspring and bless him by giving him the gift of land, the Promised Land (Genesis 12). But how can God do this with a man whose wife is beyond childbearing age? The answer is profoundly simple: God is God, He has unlimited creating and redeeming power. And so Isaac is born in their old age. Through Isaac will eventually come Jacob. These are the patriarchs of our faith. Through Jacob will come Joseph who is sold into slavery in Egypt where he eventually rises to prominence and where the family of Abraham grows by leaps and bounds, making the people of God a vast nation. The creator God has created a people for Himself, a people fallen in deep need of reconciliation to their God.

The Exodus

A few hundred years pass as Israel flourishes in Egypt. A new Pharaoh arises and is afraid that Israel has become “too many and too mighty” (Exodus 1:9b) and enslaves them to his service. They have yet to inhabit freedom in the land promised by God to Abraham. In fulfillment of God’s promise, he raises up Moses to set His people free and declare the word of God to the oppressive Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s hardened heart prevents his release of the Israelites which God uses as a means to display his power and glory through ten different plagues. Pharaoh finally capitulates to the mighty hand of God over his people Israel, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said” (Exodus 12:31).

The rebellion of Pharaoh and subsequent plagues on the people, culminating in the obliteration of Pharaoh and his army, show the end behind God’s actions—his own glory: “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord” (Exodus 14:4). In their exodus, the Israelites led by God, part the Red Sea and cross into the wilderness. As the Egyptians pursue, God unleashes the walls of water that have allowed the Israelites to cross on dry land and drowns them. The Israelites are now free but have yet to inhabit the land promised.

The Law, the Wilderness, and the Promised Land

In the wilderness we see two mighty traits emphasized, the holiness of God and the sinful rebellion of mankind. God leads the Israelites by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to Mt. Sinai. It is here that God reveals to Moses the Law—the revelation of God’s holiness and the Israelites subsequent call to live in accord with the honor that is due for God’s people.

However while Moses is receiving the incredible revelation from God on Mt. Sinai, the people rebel. They create for themselves a golden calf under the leadership of Aaron, Moses’ brother. They turn their worship from one who has so miraculously freed them to a golden image, a god of their own creation. The fall echoes everywhere in the lives of mankind.

The Israelites set out from Mt. Sinai towards Canaan, the promised land. As they move they seek to be faithful in their worship of God. They institute the priesthood and the tabernacle of the Lord from camp to camp. The tabernacle exists as a command from God as a dwelling place for the Lord and a place of sacrifice for the sins of the people by the priests.

As the Israelites move towards Canaan, they become discontent and exhibit a rebellious spirit towards God. The providence of God, the physical sustenance of manna and his continual leading, was not good enough. God instead leads them through the wilderness for 40 years, until the generation that left Egypt had passed away and a new generation had been born. With a new generation being called back to faithfulness, Moses retells the law and desires of God for His people (Deuteronomy). At this point Israel crosses into the Promised Land, Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled as the Israelites conquer the nations in Canaan and grow to be a mighty people of God.

The Rise and Fall of the Monarchy

One would think that the Israelites in knowing their God, one who has displayed Himself as utterly loving and caring, would faithfully serve and worship Him alone. The history of Israel however is quite the opposite unfortunately. In the Promised Land the Israelites rebel against God, “They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth” (Judges 2:13). The Lord institutes judges to lead the people towards holiness but even then they did not “listen to the judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them” (Judges 2:17). Sin is an infection of the heart which turns all humanity away from God.

The judges were not good enough for the Israelites. They wanted to be like the other nations. They wanted a king, an evil thing in the sight of the Lord because He was their King. God institutes a monarchy for the purpose of turning them back to Himself, which fails to happen initially, but from whose lineage will come one who will redeem and reconcile God’s people to Himself, the Messiah.

Saul is anointed and installed as the first human king of Israel. The people rejoice and return to the Lord. However Saul soon turns in rebellion and hardness of heart. God raises up a young man David whose celebrity becomes renowned thereby enraging the king’s jealousy. Saul intends to put David to death and pursues him eventually coming to ruin by the hands of the Philistines.

David becomes the second king of Israel. He leads the Israelites as an exemplary king to worship their God. While he may be the greatest king of Israel, he still shows the depths of sin in the human heart through things such as his adultery with Bathsheba and cover-up murder of her husband. Nonetheless God enters into an incredible covenant with David: “Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house…I will raise up your offspring after you…I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son” (2 Samuel 7:11-14). In spite of all of Israel’s rebellion, God is eternally a God in relationship with them. He will not shake them off like dust from his feet. They are His people and He is their God. Here is a promise greater than any promise of heritage and land, here is the promise of a coming King, one who rules with holiness and grace, one who can blot out transgression and impute righteousness. But this King is far off.

The history of the remaining kings of Israel is a dismal chapter in history. Things begin well with Solomon who builds the temple of the Lord in all its splendor but quickly spirals out of control in sin and rebellion. From one king to another they turn more and more wicked in their worship of other gods, returning here and there to a king who tries to lead in faithfulness. The kingdom splits over desire for power, the north becoming the kingdom of Israel and the south becoming the kingdom of Judah. This period of Israel’s history is covenant disloyalty at its worst.

Exile and Return

As a consequence of this faithlessness, God hands over his people to foreign nations and foreign lands. Their freedom and Promised Land is lost. The northern kingdom Israel is exiled in 722 B.C. after their capture by the Assyrians. In 587 B.C. the southern kingdom Judah is taken captive and led away by the Babylonians who destroy God’s temple. At this point things seem like God is done with His people, maybe He has had enough with their wanton rebellion and contempt for His mercy towards them. But even in the midst of sin God does not give up on His people. We cannot read the Old Testament and see a God of wrath only; He is a God of grace and mercy that pursues His people relentlessly.

In 538 B.C. the southern kingdom of Judah that was exiled to Babylon began to return to the Promised Land. The Persians, under the leadership of Cyrus, conquer Babylon. Cyrus permits with a public edict the return of God’s people and the rebuilding of His temple. The northern kingdom Israel remains in exile. The return of God’s people to Jerusalem culminates in the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of the city. It is here in postexilic Jerusalem that the Psalms take a prominent role as the hymnbook of God’s people.

Conclusion

The Old Testament is a continual witness to the mercy of God in creating and sustaining a people for Himself. The events that transpire are a continual declaration of who God is and who He calls His people to be, a faithful people restored in relationship. But yet there is much left wanting. There is an unfinished covenant made with king David, there is a promise of a coming Messiah through the prophet Isaiah that God’s people long for. God’s holiness and mankind’s sin are ever on display in these 39 books. The reader cannot help but see their own heart’s rebellion and need for forgiveness. The Old Testament points towards a need for restoration, it points towards the total sinfulness and rebellion of mankind, it points to a God who will not let us wallow in sin, it points to Jesus.

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JT Holderman is Assistant Pastor of Bellevue Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Gap, PA.

A Rebellious Nation

And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.  And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.  The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’  And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.  And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words,though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.  And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”  And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. (Ezekiel 2.1-3.4 ESV)

This is a lengthy portion of Scripture for my post, but it is relevant.  Ezekiel was charged with bringing a message to Israel, however, they were characterized by God as being a “rebellious house”.  If you look closely, God makes it clear to Ezekiel that He understands Israel’s rebellious nature.  After all, He led them through Egypt and the wilderness and they turned against Him anyway.  While He led them through the wilderness and provided for them they still complained and wanted to turn back.  They were an ungrateful people.

Israel’s history included following Molech- an evil demon god whose worship required child sacrifice.  Human sacrifice was common as was sexual perversion as “worship” to the false gods Israel cavorted with.  How could Israel turn on God when He did so much for them?  They had a foundation God built with Moses and Joshua!  They had the Ten Commandments and the Law to keep them on track.  They had the prophets to bring them God’s Word.  What buffoons.

Of course, to be indignant about Israel turning on God is in some ways hypocritical.  As a nation, we have turned our back on God.  He brought together great, not perfect, leaders- just as Moses and Joshua were great and not perfect.  We were given men of wisdom who wrote the Constitution of the United States and brought forth, not a democracy, but a Representative Republic.  They were blessed by God with wisdom.  Preachers were used to bring about revivals and a dependence on God during the history of the United States.  It was a great parallel to how God acted toward Israel (though the differences are real).  

The United States has been blessed by God like none other than Biblical Israel.  

What is the result? The United States has cursed God to His face.  We, as a nation, have spit in the face of God and are begging for judgment.  Israel had kings, we have presidents.  We have chosen our poison.  Our president has flaunted his support of sodomy in our armed forces and in every sector of the nation.  He, as many homosexuals, show no shame in boasting in sin.  ’To the devil with God’s Word’ is an attitude we see in the world.  We sacrifice our children (unborn) to the god of “choice”- Molech would be envious of the blood our nation has shed through unborn lives.  Evil.  We have called evil good and good evil.  Can the United States really expect to survive under these circumstances?  Not without a revived church!  The church, like the prophet Ezekiel, is called to bring forth God’s message whether the rebellious nation listens or not.

Individually, we have been blessed to live in such a nation of freedom, but now the nation needs to receive God’s message.  He has called on us to be witnesses.  He has called on us to live for Him and to proclaim His Gospel to the nation.  Will we be like Ezekiel?  God emphatically demonstrated Israel’s rebelliousness, but when Ezekiel was told to eat what was put before him- a scroll, not a steak, fried chicken or ribs,- he obeyed.  No questions asked.  

The contrast between the rebellious house and Ezekiel are black and white.  Is the contrast between the church and society the same way?  Is the contrast between us, individually, and the society the same?  Pray about it.  Then follow God’s lead (He will only answer one way- He has commissioned us already-Matthew 28.18-20).

Pete Garbacki is a minister with Time for Truth Ministries and Mission.Brasil. Follow him on Twitter @mission_brasil or FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/pete.garbacki.

The Bible, Homosexuality, and Shellfish

By Matthew Everhard 

When President Barack Obama recently endorsed gay marriage this month, an “evolution” of his previous position, the focus of many Americans was again turned to our real national pastime, human sexuality. (No it is not baseball anymore!) More aggressive than in recent months, it seems that many columnists, pundits, and amateur liberal theologians have been discussing--and even mocking--the Bible’s perspective on this controversial matter. 

One of the more common assaults against the conservative “one man, one woman” definition of marriage is to make the Biblical position affirmed in our Scriptures to appear outlandish, strange, and untenable to modern minds. The strategy to make the traditional view of marriage seem obsolete runs as follows (with some slight variations): Yes, the Bible technically forbids the practice of homosexuality in Leviticus 18:22, but it also forbids eating shellfish (Leviticus 11:9-11), and commends the stoning of blasphemers (Leviticus 24:16). Since the latter two are ridiculous, so is the former. This argument would appear credible, if it weren’t such terrible exegesis of the book of Leviticus. 

It is ironic that those arguing such a progressive position would choose these three elements of Levitical law as examples of their “ridiculous by association,” argument. As you will see, these given examples perfectly illustrate the three distinct strands of laws given by God in the Old Testament. 

A redemptive-historical approach to Biblical interpretation demands that we interpret passages of the Bible with their historical context--as regards God’s saving acts of redemption--in full view. During the giving of the Mosaic Law at the covenant of Sinai, God imposed three types of laws upon Israel: (1) First, God imposed moral laws that are binding and timeless. These relate to holiness, ethical purity, and the natural law written on the hearts of men. Absolute in their application, violations of moral law are always sinful. (2) Second, God imposed ceremonial laws given to distinguish national Israel (the people of the covenant) from their unsanctified neighbors. These dietary and cultural restrictions, along with tabernacle/temple sacrificial regulations, were intended to make clear the distinction between God’s people and the surrounding pagan nations. (3) Third, God mandated civil laws imposed upon Israel as a nation-state, much the same as we have federal law here in the U.S. today. These laws pertained to the application and enforcement of the Sinaitic code, with particular reference to Israel as national government.  As long as national Israel existed by standing in the Sinai covenant with God, all three types of laws (moral, ceremonial, and civil) governed the hearts and lives of the people. 

Nevertheless, the Mosaic/Sinai covenant was a conditional covenant, contingent on national Israel’s fidelity with Jehovah God as Lord (Deut 28). Two events radically changed the standing of Israel forever. First, the nation of Israel abdicated its role as the divine representative to the pagan nations by her overt and incessant covenant infidelity. This persistent covenant infidelity ultimately resulted in the Northern Kingdom being destroyed by the Assyrian in 722BC and the Southern Kingdom being sent into exile in Babylon, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in 586BC. (This is the dire message of Isaiah, Jeremiah and most of the OT the prophets). Israel, as a nation-state, ordained by God as a chosen people, ceased to exist. The civil law was neither possible nor necessary to enforce. 

Click here to read "Fried Chicken and Traditional Marriage?" by Lee Hutchings.

The other major event is of course the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the pinnacle event of all of redemption history. By dying a sacrificial death for the sin of His people, Christ fulfilled the ceremonial laws in a way that National Israel never could. His perfect obedience and complete fidelity to God fulfilled and abrogated the ceremonial law. Because of His atoning death, no sacrifice and tabernacle/temple offerings are any longer required. We no longer need to offer bulls, goats, or sheep. (This is the whole point of the book of Hebrews). Moreover, Christ fulfilled and abrogated all civil and ceremonial laws initiating a new Kingdom that transcends national Israel in every way. 

At this point, I hope interpreting Leviticus on the other side of the cross and empty tomb is becoming easier. Laws prohibiting shellfish (ceremonial law) and mandating the stoning blasphemers (civil law) seem outmoded and ancient because they are. Christ has come. Christ has died. Christ is raised again. We live on the near side of the cross. 

The moral law (summarized by the Ten Commandments), however, is the timeless law of God revealed in the Sinai covenant for which mankind is still responsible. These are the inviolable moral laws written indelibly on the consciences of all mankind (Romans 2:15), and the standards by which human kind will all be judged. Murder, lying, idolatry and theft will always be sinful no matter where or when they are committed. As homosexuality is a gross violation of the creation order in general (Genesis 2:18-24), and the seventh commandment in particular (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18), the fact that this practice transgresses God’s standards of purity is beyond dispute. This is why the New Testament agrees with and reinforces the Old Testament’s prohibitions of this practice (Romans 1:26-27; Colossians 3:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10). 

Simply stated, the “homosexuality and shellfish” argument falls apart entirely when read as the Scriptures are meant to be read—with a redemptive-historical approach in view. 

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida. Follow him on Twitter @matt_everhard