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Jet Tour of the Bible, Part 1
1. Genesis: Trace the development of the Abrahamic covenant in the book of Genesis. The Abrahamic covenant began with God's desire to fulfill his purposes by blessing Abraham (first called Abram) and through him all the families of the earth (12:1-3). God initiated the covenant when he called upon Abraham to leave his native land and family and go to a land that would be later shown to him. Abraham had to trust God and obey without any prior knowledge of the details of the land. Abraham went to the land of Canaan and, while there, God told him that he would give the land of Canaan to his descendants (12:7). After Abraham's sojourn in Egypt, he returned to the land of Canaan. God told Abraham to walk the entire stretch of the land because God would give it him and his descendants forever. God further told Abraham that he would give him innumerable descendants; as many as the dust of the earth if it could be counted (13:14-17). Later, God formally ratified the covenant with Abraham (15:1-21). God came to Abraham in a vision to reassure Abraham. Abraham questioned God as to who would be his heir since as yet had no child of his own. God promised Abraham to give him as many descendants as there are stars in the heavens. Abraham believed God's promise and God counted his faith as righteousness. God again promised Abraham the land of Canaan to which Abraham asked for assurance. So God instructed Abraham to bring certain animals, cut them in two down the middle, and place each piece opposite each other. In ancient near eastern practice, the parties involved would walk between the carcasses to symbolize that the same should happen to them if they failed to keep their part of the covenant. However, in this case God made a formal unilateral covenant with Abraham by passing alone through the animal pieces. God also foretold to Abraham that his descendants would spend 400 years in bondage to a foreign nation after which God would deliver them and bring judgement on that nation. Abraham's descendants would then enter the promised land at the time due for judgement of the iniquity of the Amorites (representative of the inhabitants of Canaan). Then God gave Abraham the parameters of the land that would be theirs. When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God renewed the covenant by commanding him to walk blamelessly, by changing his name from Abram to Abraham, and by giving the sign of circumcision (17:1-27). God reiterated the promise of descendants including many nations and kings coming from his line. God also reiterated the promise of the land to be given to Abraham's descendants and that he would be their God. Later, God allowed Abraham to know of his plans to judge Sodom and Gomorrah because of his special role in the plan of God (18:17-19). Abraham's relationship with God afforded him a place of privilege to hear and be heard in God's heavenly council. Here, Abraham is an example of the privileged position of God's covenant people throughout the ages: God has revealed his purposes to his people and allows them a voice (in intercession) in his heavenly court. After God tested Abraham by commanding him to offer Isaac, the son of promise, God responded to his obedience by reiterating the promises of the covenant (22:15-18). Later, after Abraham had died, God affirmed the covenant with Isaac promising to give his descendants the same three things: the land, many descendants, and to bless the people of the world through his line (26:3-5). God, in encouraging a fearful Isaac, reaffirmed the covenant to him a second time (26:24). Later, with Isaac's son Jacob, God affirmed the covenant with Jacob as he left the promised land in search of a wife from his own relatives in Haran (28:13-15). God comforted Jacob by promising to be with him wherever he went and that he would bring Jacob back to the promised land. Then as Jacob reentered the land, God reaffirmed his covenant with him promising that nations and kings would come from his line and the land would belong to his descendants (35:11-12). Then, in the last chapter of Genesis, Jacob's son Joseph tells his brothers that God would bring them out of the land of Egypt to the land he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (50:24). Although the Abrahamic covenant is unilateral, there are references to human responsibility in the covenant. God recognized Abraham's faith and counted it as righteousness (15:6). God said that Abraham was to command his children and those after him to live in obedience and righteousness as a condition of the promise to Abraham (18:19). God told Abraham that all the nations would be blessed in his seed because he obeyed him (22:18). God commanded Isaac to remain in the land and he would be with him and bless him (26:3). God further told Isaac that the promises given to Abraham would be kept because Abraham obeyed him and kept all his commandments (26:5). 2. Exodus: State what the book of Exodus revealed concerning Israel's deliverance and Yahweh's purpose for the sons of Israel. Exodus revealed that God was the deliverer of Israel. Early on, Moses made a vain attempt to be the deliverer of his people by killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew (2:11-12). The next day he attempted to resolve a conflict between two Hebrews and was surprised to learn that they knew that he had killed the Egyptian (2:13-14). So, since the matter had become known and Pharaoh sought to kill him, Moses fled from Egypt and lived in Midian (12:15). This story makes it clear that Israel's deliverance would not come by Moses in his own power. After Pharaoh died, the Israelites' groaning and crying on account of their bondage was heard by God. He remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and took note of the Israelites' situation (2:23-25). At this time, God called Moses and told him that he would deliver the Israelites and bring them to the promised land and that he was sending him to represent God to the Pharaoh (3:7-12). So Moses went as he was commanded, however with great reluctance and trepidation (4:13). Later, God reminded Moses that he revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty but was not known to them as Yahweh (6:2-3). Apparently, God was now revealing more of himself to his covenant people. God told Moses that he remembered his covenant and would rescue and redeem the Israelites from their bondage to Egypt and take them as his own people and he would be their God. He told Moses that he would bring them into the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and give it to them (6:5-8). God told Moses that he would harden Pharaoh's heart so that he would not listen to Moses. God said that he would bring Israel out of the land of Egypt with great judgments to make himself known to the Egyptians (7:3-5). Egypt would not be able to deny that Israel's God had delivered them. The tenth and final plague on Egypt was the death of the firstborn in every house that did place the blood of a lamb on the doorposts (12:1-13). God also gave the people further instructions for this event which they told to repeat annually as the Passover celebration to remember their deliverance by God from Egypt (12:14-20, 42-50). So after the night of the Passover, God delivered Israel out of Egypt (12:17, 42, 51). From that point on God became known as the one who had delivered Israel (13:3, 9, 14, 16; 16:6, 32; 18:1; 19:4; 20:2; 29:46; 32:1, 11; 33:1). Even when the Israelites sinned in worshiping the golden calf and attributing their deliverance to this idol, it was clear that it was a lie (32:4, 8). God's anger against them was justified since it was he who had delivered them (32:9-10). God was their deliverer and he would not allow anyone or anything else to get the credit for it. God even introduced the ten commandments with a reminder that he is the one who delivered them from the bondage in Egypt (20:2). God's purpose for Israel was that if they obeyed him and kept his covenant, then they would be his special people, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation (19:5-6). The people responded by saying that they would do all that God had said (19:8). They repeated their willingness to obey God and keep his covenant twice after the giving of the law on Mount Sinai (24:3, 7). As God gave Abraham circumcision as a sign of his covenant, God gave the nation of Israel a sign. The sign of the covenant made at Sinai with Israel was that Israel should keep the Sabbath (31:16-17). After the golden calf incident was resolved, God renewed his covenant with Israel and reiterated his commandments for them to obey (34:10-28). The sincerity of the peoples' repentance was seen in their zeal to give to the building of the tabernacle even more than was needed (36:2-7). After completion of the tabernacle, God showed his approval by the cloud which covered the tabernacle and the glory which filled it. God then led the Israelites with the cloud by day and the fire by night through all their journeys (40:34-38). 3. Leviticus: According to the book of Leviticus, how did the Old Testament saint maintain his relationship with Yahweh? The book of Leviticus was given to instruct the Israelites in how to maintain fellowship with a holy God. The instructions given in Leviticus told the people how to live in ritual and moral purity. When they maintained their purity, God could live among them and they could approach him in worship. Leviticus begins with instructions concerning sacrifice. The Old Testament saint was to offer burnt offerings to atone for sin (1:3-17; 6:8-13). This was to be followed by grain offerings which signified thanksgiving to God (2:1-16; 6:14-18; 7:12-13). The peace offering expressed fellowship between the worshiper and God (3:1-17; 7:11-21, 28-34). Among the peace offering there were three types: (1) Thank offering: expressed gratitude for an unexpected blessing. (2) Votive offering: expressed gratitude for a blessing granted when a vow had been made while asking for the blessing. (3) Freewill offering: expressed gratitude to God without regard to any specific blessing. The sin offering was for atonement of sins committed unknowingly, especially where no restitution was possible (4:1-5:13; 6:24-30). The trespass offering atoned for sins committed unknowingly, especially where restitution was possible (5:14-6:7; 7:1-7). God gave the instructions concerning things there were unclean and would disrupt their holiness before him (11:1-16:34). These included animals that were forbidden as food, purification after childbirth, unclean diseases and the rituals for cleansing those who were healed, and cleansing from unclean bodily discharges. God also instructed the Israelites on the ceremony for the Day of Atonement which would purify them from moral uncleanness. God also gave the Old Testament saints many guidelines for practical holiness (17:1-27:34). God told the Israelites that there were only allowed to make animal sacrifices at the tabernacle and that they were never to eat the blood of an animal but had to completely drain it first (17:1-16). God had appointed blood to have the power to atone for sin because it contains the life of the animal (17:11) and thus it was to be regarded with respect. God gave the people of Israel laws concerning sexual conduct (18:1-30). It was for the very acts that were forbidden that the nations of the land of Canaan were being cast out. God had deemed these acts abominable and defiling. Therefore, to maintain a relationship with God, one had to abstain from sexual impurity of all forms. God gave the Israelites laws concerning the social order (19:1-37). These ranged from keeping the Sabbath to abstaining from bodily marks or tattoos to abstaining from medium and spiritists. God gave his people penalties for those who violated his commandments (2:1-27). There were penalties for worshiping Molech, for consulting medium and spiritists, for cursing parents, for committing sexual sins, and for those who are mediums and spiritists. God also reminded them of the purpose for these laws by saying that it was for these sins that he was casting out the nations before them and that they were to be holy to God because they belonged to him (20:22-26). God gave special commands for holiness to the priests which did not relate to the average Old Testament saint (21-22). God also gave commands concerning religious festivals (23). These included the Sabbath, the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. During these events, the people ceased from all manual labor and devoted themselves totally to these celebrations. These feasts commemorated significant events in Israel's history as God's covenant people. God gave commands regarding the sanctification of the land with the law of the Sabbath year to provide a rest for the land and the law of the year of Jubilee which provided liberty to those in debt (24). Along with these commands, God gave laws concerning the redemption of property, lending to the poor, and slavery. God included a promise of blessing for obedience and retribution for disobedience to all that he had commanded them (26). Leviticus ends with commands on the redeeming of persons and property dedicated to God (27). All of these commands were given to the people of Israel to allow them to maintain their fellowship with God and each other in holiness as God's own special people. To violate these commands would incur God's anger and promise of retribution. 4. Numbers: What did the book of Numbers teach concerning Israel's obedience and disobedience to Yahweh and Yahweh's response to Israel? The first part of the book of Numbers describes a people who are for the most part obedient to God (1:1-10:36). In these early chapters, God prepared his people for conquest of the promised land. The people conduct a census in obedience to God's command to mobilize their army (1). Then they organized the camp, in obedience to God's command, around the tabernacle (2). Then the priests were organized according to the command of God (3-4). The next six chapters record God's commands regarding purity in the Israelite camp (5:1-10:10). During this period of obedience, God was with the people of Israel and he led them with the cloud. So Israel followed God and left Mount Sinai (10:11-36). The obedience did not last and only three days into the journey, the people began to complain and immediately incurred God's anger with a fire that consumed some until Moses prayed (11:1-3). Then the "mixed multitude" who were among the Israelites began to crave the foods of Egypt and complain (11:4-6). At this point, Moses complained about the people that he was not able to bear the burden alone for them (11:10-15). So God provided seventy other men to help Moses and quail to satisfy the peoples' craving for meat (11:16-32). However, God's provision of quail was accompanied with plagues which killed those who had yielded to the craving (11:33-35). The next act of disobedience was the jealousy Miriam and Aaron that God spoke through Moses (12:1-3). God's judgement was a personal reprimand of Miriam and Aaron and leprosy on Miriam for seven days (12:4-10). Moses interceded and prayed for Miriam's healing to which God answered but required seven days outside of the camp (12:11-16). The climax of the disobedience of the people came with the unbelief concerning the conquest of the land and the concert of complaints that night against God and Moses (13:1-14:10). God desired to kill them all and make a nation out of Moses, but Moses interceded for the people on behalf of God's testimony to the nations (14:11-19). God heard Moses prayer and pardoned the people from his threat to annihilate them but still brought punishment upon them. The judgement against Israel for their unbelief and rebellion at the edge of the promised land was wandering for forty years until the generation died out (14:20-35). The spies who brought the evil report were killed immediately for their testimony brought about the rebellion (14:36-37). However, Joshua and Caleb lived because they believed God and encouraged the people to trust in him (14:38). The next instance of disobedience was the rebellion of Korah who influenced 250 other leaders of the people and opposed Moses' leadership (16:1-3). God responded by judging them with the swallowing up of the earth and the consuming fire (16:20-40). The very next day more people complained against Moses and Aaron's leadership and God responded by killing the people with a plague (14:41-50). Unusually, Moses, along with Aaron, was the next guilty party of unbelief when he struck the rock to bring forth water rather than speak to eat (20:7-11). God's judgement upon them was that they would not lead the people into the promised land (20:12-13). An instance of obedience came for Israel when they made a vow to destroy all the Canaanites in the south who had fought against them if God would deliver them into their hands. God granted them victory and the Israelites kept their vow and destroyed them and their cities (21:1-3). Soon after this, however, Israel complained again against God and Moses and God judged them with fiery serpents (21:4-6). The Israelites had one more instance of rebellion in the book of Numbers when they committed immorality and idolatry with the women of Moab at Shittim (25:1-2). God demanded capital punishment by hanging for all the offenders in order to turn away his wrath from the people (25:3-5). After this, God commanded another census to be taken which revealed that all of the older generation had died except Caleb and Joshua (26). Moses was then set aside and Joshua was appointed the next leader of Israel (27). So Israel entered a new era of obedience and prepared to enter the promised land (28-36). 5. Deuteronomy: What did the book of Deuteronomy reveal about Yahweh and what did Yahweh require of Israel? In Deuteronomy, Moses gave three farewell discourses addressed to the new generation who would enter the promised land. The covenant at Mount Sinai was given to the old generation. The book of Deuteronomy is a renewal of the covenant for the new generation. A key word in Deuteronomy is "remember." When Israel arrives in the land, they must not forget the God who delivered them from the hand of Pharaoh, and who fed and protected them in the wilderness. Remembering God's faithfulness in the past is a key motivation for faith and obedience for the second generation. Deuteronomy revealed many attributes of God to the people of Israel. God revealed to them that he was unique and jealous (4, 5, 6, 13, 29, 33). Moses told the people that there was no other nation that had a god like their God and that they were blessed to have a God who answered prayer and gave them statutes and righteous judgments. Moses told the people that God would not tolerate them serving other gods. God knew that the people would turn to other gods after they arrived in the promised land and reminded them that they would suffer because of it. Moses told them people that God was faithful (1, 2, 3, 7, 31, 32). Moses told the people that God was faithful to bless the people if they kept his covenant. God was faithful to destroy Israel's enemies before them and would continue to do if they were obedient and trust in him. Moses reminded the Israelites that God was loving (1, 4, 7, 13, 23, 30, 33). Moses told the people that it was God's love for them that caused him to bless them so. God would shelter and protect his beloved people. Another attribute of God that Moses communicated to the people is that God is gracious (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 28, 29). God did not give the people what they deserved. He was patient and gracious to bear with them and lead them into his everlasting covenant. Finally, Deuteronomy revealed God as a judging God (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 29, 31, 32). If Israel persisted in disobedience, consequences were sure to follow. God was gracious, but he demanded obedience, without which the people would be judged severely. Deuteronomy also revealed God's requirements on Israel. God required his people to fear him (4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14, 17, 28, 31). The people were to have a proper reverence for God as the only true, holy, and powerful God. They were to love God (5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 19, 30). Love was to be the way they could truly honor and relate to God. The essence of their faith was captured in the command to love God with their heart, soul, and strength (6:5). The people were required to keep God's commands (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 26, 27, 28, 29, 39). Their relationship with God rested on their response to his commands. If they failed to obey him, God promised to bring judgement upon them. Closely related to keeping his commands were the requirements to walk in God's ways (5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 26, 28, 30), serve him (10, 11, 13, 28), and hear/obey him (4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 27, 28, 30, 31). Jet Tour of the Bible, Part 2.
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