Old Testament Survey
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Introduction
Introduction
“Oh, how I love your law! On it I meditate day and night” (Psalm 119:97) - though it isn’t less worthy, this author isn’t talking about the New Testament
Christians are apt to forget that the “Bible” of Jesus time was the Old Testament. Christ saw his work as the fulfillment of the Law, an attitude followed by his disciples. The New Testament writers assumed the great truths of the Old Testament. Clearly then, the careful, reverent study of the Old Testament is essential for Christians.
NOT verse by verse like we do sermons, but we are going to do a study through the Old Testament, at some points we will go chapter by chapter (Genesis 1), at some points we will take much larger sections to look at together.
Pen and notebook or write in Bible - “think with ink” - - “What do I think about that?”
Let’s get the Logistics out of the way
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
The Hebrew Bible was divided into three main sections:
1. First in importance, and fundamental to the whole, was the Law, or Torah, which is synonymous with our word Pentateuch - derives from two Greek words, and signifies a “five-volumed book.” This title witnesses to the distinct nature of each of the five components and also to their unity (cf. the Jewish reference to it as “the five-fifths of the Law.”)
2. The Prophets, the second section, was divided into two. In the Former Prophets were included what we would regard as the historical books, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. There were four books also in the Latter Prophets, ie Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets - formerly written on a single scroll, includes
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
3. All other Old Testament books were included in the Writings, or Hagiographa (“Holy Books”), regarded as the least important section.
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles
Though it is titled Law, the books of the Pentateuch are primarily historical theological narrative.
Where the groundwork and foundation is first laid for things like
The Nature of God
God’s Requirements
The Effect of Sin on the Individual, Family, Community
The Need for and Place of Sacrifice
The Concept of Covenant
Author - God — Moses - its important to remember that we don’t believe in “Automatic Writing” - New Age - God used individuals and even the nation of Israel in a greater sense to write Truth. It is likely, for instance, that later priests probably made additions to make certain references up to date or to make sense of things, (NUM 12:3) but the basic author was certainly Moses.
GENESIS
GENESIS
Origin or Beginning
2 Major Sections - 1-11, 12-50
It moves from talking about everything and everyone in chapters 1-11 to narrowing focus down to one man in chapter 12 - Abraham - the Father of the nation God would use to bring Christ.
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Alright, here we go - Rene said he is going to spend a lot of time here and that is obviously in order to give his view on the age of the Earth. No I’m not, mainly because I don’t care . . . also because that wasn’t the goal of Genesis 1.
Arguing is in our heritage, in our blood, I grew up hearing most sermons about why we are right and they are wrong, I couldn’t have given you a rudimentary explanation of the Gospel and grace was placed alonside the other 4 letter dirty words, but I was ready with my proof texts for instruments.
When Genesis 1 was written, the goal of you knowing how old the earth is wasn’t in mind, and goodness it is so far down the list of what makes this chapter important and awesome. I don’t even think it is on that list. Who cares?
Genesis 1:1-8
Why is Genesis 1 in the Bible?
Above all else, Genesis 1 is Theology. Is it history? to some extent yes.
Of course, this was first written long ago directly to a people and culture very different than our own, their contemporaries believed in many gods, ours are more likely to be atheists.
For both groups, the lesson here is that every facet of the universe was created, majestically and purposefully, by the ONE GOD!
There have always been people that looked to the stars and sun and moon for guidance and wisdom, but they are simply functional, they provide light and give rhythm to the universe, they too were nothing before God spoke them.
There is ONE source of power in the whole universe.
God didn’t have to create, he didn’t need anything, and yet he did.
The greatest of all philosophical/metaphysical questions, asked by some of the most brilliant minds ever like Gottfried Leibniz and Martin Heidegger, but written on at least as far back as 500 BC - “Why is there something rather than nothing.”
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle argued that everything in the universe must have a cause, culminating in an ultimate uncaused cause. - WALK THIS OUT - - infinite regress, who caused that God? . . .
Bertrand Russell took a "brute fact" position when he said, "I should say that the universe is just there, and that's all."
Philosopher Brian Leftow has argued that the question cannot have a causal explanation (as any cause must itself have a cause) or a contingent explanation (a plant growing is contingent upon proper soil, enough sunlight and enough water - - as the factors giving the contingency must pre-exist), and that if there is an answer it must be something that exists necessarily (i.e., something that just exists, rather than is caused)
There must be an Uncaused Cause, a Brute Fact, something that exists necessarily
Thomas Aquinas makes it personal calling it an Unmoved Mover
This question is more poignant today, than it has ever been, as we know there once was nothing. - - beginning, big bang - - no time/space/matter. So, given that there was once nothing, why and how is there now something?
Cause must be timeless, spaceless, immaterial
“Astronomers now find they have painted themselves into a corner because they have proven, by their own methods, that the world began abruptly in an act of creation to which you can trace the seeds of every star, every planet, every living thing in this cosmos and on the earth. . . That there are what I or anyone would call supernatural forces at work is now, I think, a scientifically proven fact.”
Agnostic Astronomer Robert Jastrow
“Certainly there was something that set it all off. Certainly, if you are religious, I cant think of a better theory of the origin of the universe to match with Genesis.”
Robert Wilson
“There is no doubt that a parallel exists between the big bang as an event and the Christian notion of creation from nothing.”
George Smoot – Genius Physicist in charge of NASA mission
“The discovery of a definite cosmic beginning is an exceedingly strange development, unexpected by all but the theologians. They have always accepted the word of the Bible, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. It is unexpected because science has had such extraordinary success in trying the chain of cause and effect backward in time. For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”
Robert Jastrow
DON’T YOU SEE - In the past, a certain number of days ago, there was nothing. And then, a moment later, a moment after there were no moments, God spoke, and everything. chills
The universe is not eternal, the universe is not the result of blind chemical luck, the universe is the result of the voice of God, the mind of the Creator. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
This is Genesis 1. And that is just verses 1-2.
And that isn’t all, he had purpose in it, he was creating with intention - namely US.
Even after the de-novo creation, the earth would have remained without form and desolate, God systematically ordered it in preparation for man’s coming.
Teleological argument /fine tuning - the universe has been made with us in mind - like there are a million locks all tuned to exactly the right tick, and if any one was one tick off, we couldn’t exist.
Oxygen level is 21% of the atmosphere, if it was 25% fires would consume the earth, if it was 15%, we would suffocate
If the atmosphere were any more transparent, we would burn up; if it were less trasnparent, we would freeze.
If the gravity pull between the earth and the moon were any greater, the tidal effects of the oceans would be too severe for life, if they were any les, the climate would be unlivable.
If the universal gravitational force was changed by 1 in to to the 38th, (one with 38 zeros) behind it, nothing would exist.
If the centrifugal force of planetary movements did not precisely balance the gravitational forces nothing could be held in orbit.
If the universe had expanded at a rate one millionth more slowly than it did, expansion would have stopped and the universe would have collapsed back on itself. If it would have expanded any faster, then galaxies wouldn’t have formed.
If the speed of light (299,792, 458 meters per second) was even slightly changed, it would alter the other constants and we couldn’t live.
If water vapor levels in the atmosphere were greater than they are now, temperatures would rise too high for human life, if they were less, temperatures would be too cold.
If Jupiter was not in its current orbit that it has always been in, earth would be bombarded with space material. Jupiter acts as a vacuum cleaner to pull comets and asteroids away from earth.
If the thickness of the earth’s crust were greater, too much oxygen would be transferred to the core; if it were thinner, volcanic and earthquake activity would make life impossible.
If the rotation of the earth took longer than 24 hours, temperature differences would be too great between night and day. If it were shorter, atmospheric wind would be too great.
The 23 degree axis tilt of the earth is just right. If the tilt were altered slightly, surface temperatures on earth would be too extreme.
Fred Hoyle is famous for a lot of reasons, one is that he coined the term “Big Bang” - pejoratively . . . hated it for its theological implications. The fine tuning of the universe convinced him of Theism.
"The chance that higher life forms might have emerged in this way is comparable to the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junkyard might assemble a Boeing 747 (ready to fly) from the materials therein." Fred Hoyle
“A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics.” - Fred Hoyle”
Neutrons are just a tad heavier than protons. If it were the other way around, atoms couldn't exist, because all the protons in the universe would have decayed into neutrons shortly after the big bang. No protons, then no atomic nucleuses and no atoms. No atoms, no chemistry, no life. Like Baby Bear's porridge in the story of Goldilocks, the universe seems to be just right for life.” ― Physicist Paul Davies
Dennis Prager points out that the evidence for fine tuning is so strong and unable to be explained by chance or time, that the only response now is to say that we are in one of an infinite number of universes.
Isaiah 45:18 (ESV)
For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it;
he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
He did make the universe for us, so that we could exist here and thrive here.
Genesis 1:26-31.
Creation/the universe isn’t itself the climax as other religions think, isn’t above us, creation isn’t divine, creation comes to its climax with mankind, and is itself placed under man’s dominion.
The most famous ancient “Creation Epic” (outside of the biblical one at least), Mesopotamian, depicts man in very low terms and categories, as sort of an afterthought, to do menial tasks so the gods could relax.
Genesis 1 is a stark contrast to these epics that would have been known by the Israelites. Man is the climax of creation. Woman, who was so looked down upon for all of history, was placed side by side with man in dominion. Not slaves, but rulers.
God brought order into chaos for our sake, and if he stopped acting still today, chaos would come again tomorrow.
Genesis 1 is theology, it is a call to faith and to seeing.
SLOW THROUGH THESE CHAPTERS BECAUSE WE ARE BUILDING THE BOTTOM OF THE CASTLE . . . we won’t be in this series for 6 years, I promise. We will some weeks do large chunks of chapters. But we can’t yet
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
1-3 - Introduced to the important concept of Sabbath
Sabbath is just the English transliteration of the Hebrew word for rest (shabath)
Ex 20:9-11
Hebrews 3-4 Shows the implictions for us as well.
Background is he is quoting and referencing the time in Israel when the spies. . . didn’t believe, so God responded telling them that they would not enter Canaan, “his rest”
The writer builds an argument but comes to the conclusion in Hebrews 4:9-11
This possessive aspect of God is remarkable. As Israel was God’s people, so now are we more fully. A new community, devoted to hearing God’s voice and obeying it, has displaced the old Israel which failed in the time of testing.
This verse gives an explanation of the sabbath rest. It is God’s rest. God’s people share his rest. Past tense, we have it now, not just something we are waiting for. By being united to Christ and God, we share in what he has, rest.
Nevertheless the writer still fears that some of his readers will miss the promised rest altogether, hence the exhortation in verse 11.
‘Rest’ here is not to be thought of as inactivity. Indeed this whole passage suggests that after the act of creation, God began his rest, which presumably still continues. There is no suggestion that God withdrew from any further interest in the created order (as the Deists maintained).
So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
God doesnt just step back and go to sleep
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Job 33:4 (ESV)
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Psalm 36:6 (ESV)
Man and beast you preserve, O Lord.
Matthew 10:29–30 (ESV)
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
Daniel 5:23 (ESV)
And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
Acts 17:25 (ESV)
nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
“You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.
Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
Christ upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Sitting down/Rest in same sense)
Also the concept of Man’s Responsibility (Basic and Moral)
So much of this we simply take for granted, we are responsible, but all of it is grounded in this biblical worldview, it musn’t be the case that we have responsibility, and yet we just assume that we do.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
God’s Taking Care of Mankind
Genesis 2:8 (ESV)
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
GARDEN! Why?
Genesis 2:9 (ESV)
And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.
A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
Genesis 2:23 (ESV)
Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
Marriage
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Satan: The Deceiver
Did God really say?
Satan and Eve - but a prototype of the struggle inside of all of us between sin and righteousness
Self-Worship (Idolatry, Selfish Ambition, Created thing over Creator)
The result of failing that Ch. 2 Responsibility
De-God God
Genesis 3:6 (ESV)
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise
May be categories of all sin
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
Jesus temptation (I struggle)
Fallen Man and World
Adam, just means man or mankind, is the federal head and the prototype of all mankind.
All of Adam’s descendents followed in his footsteps. Nature of Adam.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
Sin Touches All that is Good
Honest work becomes toilsome, the wonder of marriage becomes a matter of competition and shame, the joy of childbearing becomes a source of physical anguish, even the dominion over the animal kingdom becomes a struggle and dangerous (3:15)
Solution Promised
Genesis 3:15 (ESV)
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Foreshadowing of it
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
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Genesis 1-11 is Primarily Theological
The Universe is the Result of the Voice of God, the mind of Creator
He did make the universe for us, so that we could exist here and thrive here
Man is the climax of creation, Woman alongside
Sabbath
Responsibility
God’s Taking Care of Mankind
Marriage
Satan the Deceiver
Self Worship
Fallen Man and World
Solution Promised
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CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 4
Not meant to primarily be history, or an exhaustive study of all that was going on early
4:14 - “Whoever finds me will kill me” Who? Ma and Pa? (Last week) - Options
4:15 - anyone kills Cain
4:17 - When Cain knew who???
4:17 - “When he built a city” . . . hold up, thats the first city mentioned, a bit more please?
Does give some historical details for his primary readers - 4:20, 4:22 - like if Pop Pop was telling me a story about his high school years and describes some place as - thats where the Johnsons is now . . .
Progress and Presence of Sin
MURDER, between brothers, who know the same God
If such sin can happen between these two, what is possible amongst enemies or strangers?
4:7b - A wild animal - struggling to overcome it
“Am I my brothers keeper? - YES
Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
Cain sees God is unhappy, and here has an option of how to respond - option 1 would be repentance, option 2 is to drop his countenance . . . face up / face down
Responsibility
4:3-7
If you do well, will you not be accepted?
If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door, its desire is for you - Sexual language - you and sin together produce evil
Why is it a a door? Because you decide whether to let it in
We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
4:10 - Why? Why was Cain angry at Abel? Why did he hate Abel?
Abel deserves what he got, he did the right thing, he is praised, and he deserves it. He did better than Cain.
Why is that justification for his anger?
We all do this, you do it too. When you see someone who has been successful, particularly the ones who have been more successful than you, you look for reasons, negative normally - must be crooked, must have had more advantages, bet his parents paid for x, bet he isn’t doing it the right way, bet . . . why do we do that? Because we are so self-centered, so self-righteous, so self-worshipping, that the answer cannot be they’re just better than you.
There’s a good chance they’re just better than you. They worked harder. They are smarter. They are more talented. They are more trustworthy. They are better than you.
We joke about this too because its so deep that we assume it - the kid who is the star athlete, who also has a 4.0, who is also the best looking guy in the school, you wish was a Jerk, but he’s nice too. We joke and say why can’t he just be a jerk?
Why do we joke that way, because if he was a jerk I would have somewhere that I am better, where I don’t have to feel insecure.
You find out someone has been very successful, your knee jerk is “yeah but . . .”
You’re a Christian, I’m a Christian, why do I do that? Why do I care? Why is it so hard for me to say someone is better than me and really mean it? Why is it so hard to look at someone else’s success and not have some sort of negative thoughts or feelings?
Because we are all Cain. Sees Abel, could just do right himself and be pleasing, but he won’t.
God’s Mercy (Adam and Eve today die)
Still punished, no longer can farm, will struggle, but not abandoned
Ultimately - 4:10 vs Heb 11:4. - Heb 12:24.
SACRIFICE —> Religious Ritual (also more broadly the motif itself)
JP - Most profound story he has ever read
Right after the Garden, we don’t get told about a sacrificial system, they sin, kicked out of garden, and the next story begins with sacrifice to God.
Dont think of this just as sacrifice - killing an animal, sacrifice more generally —> Sacrifice is presented as the primary response to sin, and the Right response to our Creator - WHOLE LIFE
Part of humanity from the beginning
Sacrifice (blood? doubtful - God later required both kinds of offerings)
Offerings made to God
Divine Plan Continues
4:25-26 - Luke 3:38.
Eve finds Abel - Seth is the one brings joy back to Eve?
“Call upon the name of the Lord” - other religions, or THE God - first time this phrase used
Suzerain-Vassal Treaty
Side Note - 4:19 - Lamech first polygamist, also apparently a multiple murderer and a man of extreme pride and arrogance - 4:23-24
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 5
A touch of it in 4, but heavy - - Genealogy
Strikes us as boring, but obviously of interest to them. Why?
Weren’t exhaustive, but were meant to underline genuine relationships or legitimacy
Here connects two major figures - Adam to Noah
(Ages unclear if literal or not - Sumerian King List - NT Scholar Craig Olson)
Sin and Death have taken my breath
(Enoch the exception - Heb 11:5)
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.
Promise of Relief from the Curse
5:28-29 - consequences of the fall not irredeemable
Noah and Ark - type of Christ
CHAPTER 6-10
CHAPTER 6-10
God’s Judgment on Evil - Punishment for Sin
Not doing Nephilim, have done it in the past
6:5-7
Regret - emotional complexity, divine accomodation/pictorial language/anthropomorphism
Luke 17:26?ff - used as example of how the last day will come, final judgment on evil
1 Pet 3:19ff - example of God’s waiting for obedience - God waited for obedience but it never came
Even non-Christian scholars will normally grant that there was some sort of large scale flood in the ancient world, story survives in other cultures - Epic of Gilgamesh being most famous.
Grace for the Remnant
6:8
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
7:16 - The Lord shut them in
8:1 - God “remembers” Noah, not literally, but acted in remembrance and CARE
9:3-5 - still responsibility - restated
Chapter 10 - World Repopulated - 70 nations mentioned
Covenant
6:18 - most significant word of the chapter - motif - God’s guarantee
“Noahic covenant”
8:20 - First mention of an Altar - sacrificed animal/blood
9:8-17 - Bow pointed at Himself
Persistence of Sin
9:20ff
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 11
Babel
Not actually about the creation of languages around the earth - 10:5, 20, 31
Earth taken probably to mean Mesopotamia (as it often did)
Babel - Arrogance
11:4 - Direct disregard of God’s command to fill the earth (given in Eden and after flood) - pride, arrogance, selfish ambition - Eden
Love of human praise - make a name for ourselves
Love of security - lest we be dispersed
Ziggaret/Idolatry - Temple to self?
Babylon the city of arrogance - rest of Bible
And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.”
Revelation 18:2 (ESV)
And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who repays you
with what you have done to us!
Canaan
Genealogy again that connects the main characters, as normal ends climatically
Focused on the story - 11:27 - Did Abram’s brothers not have other children besides Lot? Of course they did, why is Lot mentioned?
11:31
2 Biblical Cities - Babel vs Canaan - arrogance vs humility, self-ambition vs following God
SN - Divine Council references throughout, 11:6-7
Babel referenced later - choosing of Israel - Deut 32:7-9 (sons of God angels? Dan 10?) - Choosing of Israel