Struggling through reading the lesser-known Old Testament passages and long prophetic oracles may seem to have little relevance to everyday 21st-century life. But there are important things we can learn from the Old Testament. First, the New Testament is based on the Old Testament. Second, the Old Testament reveals the character of God. Third, the Old Testament has transformational power. Its message transcends time, geography, and culture. It speaks to everyone, everywhere, in every situation.
No question about it. King David remains among the brightest lights of the Bible. So significant was David that God set aside an entire book of the Old Testament to cover David’s 40 year reign…from his highest pinnacle of achievement to his lowest valley of misery and defeat.
Transition times can be disconcerting. Those who have gone through the remodeling of a home can testify to that! Likewise, changes in leadership at one’s place of employment or moves across the country or new policies and procedures set in motion bring the need to adapt. Being creatures of habit, we are disturbed by these changes.
We often discover priceless gems in the strangest places—deep in the rugged, dark corners of the earth. This is so with the book of Ruth. Like an exquisite rose blooming in a foul garbage dump, the story of Ruth adds elegance, grace, and charm to an otherwise depressing scene.
It’s rough for a nation to pull itself out of the swamp of political scandal and public distrust…but to do so several times in a row is unheard of. Or is it?
In the book of Joshua the Hebrews invade, conquer, distribute, and settle down in the land of Canaan. The events recorded in Joshua took place over approximately 25 years. All the way through, one person stands out as God’s appointed leader and model—the man from whom the book gets its name.
A new generation was on the scene. Canaan—the Promised Land—was just beyond the border. The Hebrews were eager to invade and claim the territory. For almost 500 years, they had lived away from home, like fugitives. They longed to settle down and deepen their roots. But a very strategic matter had to be settled beforehand.
At a crucial juncture, the people doubted God’s promise and retreated into unbelief. The result? Monotonous wandering in circles for almost 40 years as all individuals 20 years and older died off, leaving a new generation to enter Canaan, the land of promise.
Leviticus is frequently passed off as an unimportant document of out-of-date details. Because the book is directly related to Israelites under the Mosaic Law, many Christians today choose to ignore its contents. But God has preserved Leviticus for a particular purpose.
Exodus is an account of how God miraculously delivered His people and then began to train them to walk in faith through His provision of a set of written instructions (the Mosaic Law) and a place of meeting for worship (the tabernacle). Exodus begins with a groan and ends in glory.
In this overview, we want to get a grasp on what the book of Genesis is saying, how it fits together, and where it leads us in the next scriptural scene.
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