Historical I

 

66 books means I can’t deep dive into each one individually – this series would be over a year long! And I can’t really look at the Historical books in one post, because there are 17 of them!! Therefore my plan is 6 posts, and I will strive to be as concise as possible.

The Torah

The Torah is the five books of Moses, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; the Word of God given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Genesis

This book explains the beginning of everything: Creation, man, sin, death, salvation, the nations, with the emphasis on Israel - the origin of the world, people, sin, death, and the nations is covered in chapters 1-11; the rest of the book, chapters 12-50, is about Israel!

In 1-11 we read about creation, the garden of Eden, Adam & Eve, the Fall, the promise of a redeemer, Noah and the flood, the tower of Babel, the nations.

In 12-50 we read of Abraham Sarah, the promise to Abraham (the theme of the rest of the Bible), Isaac & Rebekah, Jacob & his wives, Jacob’s 12 sons and daughter Dinah. We also learn how this small family, 70 souls at the time, wound up in Egypt.

Exodus

Exodus means departure. This book explains how Israel became enslaved in Egypt, and how God raised up Moses to rescue them. We read of Moses and Pharaoh, the ten plagues, the Passover, the exodus (the greatest event in the Old Testament), the crossing of the Red Sea, the 10 Commandments, God entering into covenant with Israel so they would be his people and he would be their God, water from the rock, and the tabernacle (built under the guidance of Bezaleel, then filled with the Shekinah glory of God). The tabernacle must be important – 37½ % of the book is devoted to it!

Leviticus

This is their worship book. It is called Leviticus because it is for the Levites, the priestly tribe. It describes in detail their worship, the sacrifices, and the concept of clean and unclean. Israel was a sanctified people, and the statues show them how they are to be a separate people: through the worship of one only God, their priests and sacrificial system, the sabbath, their diet, their dress, how they built their houses and more. In ch 23 we see their feasts, which guided their year and was God’s prophetic calendar.

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Numbers

This is their travelogue. It covers their 40 year wandering in the wilderness. First, why did they wander in the wilderness for 40 years? Did God deliver them from Egypt only to abandon them in the wilderness? Nope. He saved them from Egypt, brought them to Sinai, entered into covenant with them, then brought them straight to Kadesh-barnea, from whence they sent out the 12 spies. When the people believed the report of the 10 instead of Joshua and Caleb, God said, You will not see the promised land, but your children will. So it was 40 years in the wilderness, where he protected and provided for them (manna). We also read the amazing prophecies of Balaam and water from the rock, part 2.

Deuteronomy

After 40 years of wilderness, Israel is on the other side of the Jordan River, poised to cross over and enter the land. These are Moses’ final words to Israel. He reminds them of the covenant, renews the 10 commandments, and encourages them in their faith and confidence in God. At the end of the book Moses dies, being 120 years old. Wait, Moses, the one used of God to rescue Israel from Egypt, the one God spoke to face to face, the one God gave the Law to, the first books of the Bible, the one who guided these obstinate, hard-headed, stubborn people, who were prone to unbelief, this Moses didn’t enter the promised land? Why? This is explained in Numbers 20:1-13, Deut 1:37-38 and 31:2. But in his mercy, God allowed Moses to see the promised land from the top of Mount Pisgah.

And God said to Moses, I Am The One Who Is, and this is what you will say to the sons of Israel, The One Who Is has sent me to you. (Exodus 3:14 LXX)

NEXT: Historical II

A Bird’s-Eye View of the Old Testament - Introduction

 

In November of 2024, I did a four-part series I called A Bird’s-Eye View of the Old Testament (you can read it here. I call this series A Bird’s-Eye View of the Old Testament.

I love the Old Testament! I know many people see only tedious lists of rules and judgment and innumerable sacrifices, but I see something entirely different. I see redemption. I see God. I see Jesus!

New Testament. Old Testament. What is a testament? Covenant is probably a better word. “A covenant is a relationship between two partners who make binding promises to each other and work together to reach a common goal. They’re often accompanied by oaths, signs, and ceremonies. Covenants define obligations and commitments, but they are different from a contract because they are relational and personal.

Covenant relationships are found all throughout the Bible. There are personal covenants between two individuals (David and Jonathan), political covenants between two kings or nations (King Solomon and King Hiram), legal covenants with a nation (such as the laws about freeing Hebrew slaves), and so forth. Entering into covenants was a major part of what it meant to live in the ancient Near East.” ¹

There are six major covenants mentioned in the Bible:

Noahic (Gen 8:20-9:17)
Abrahamic (Gen 12, 15, 17)
Mosaic (Exo 19)
Davidic (2 Sam 7)
New (Jer 31:31-34)
Peace (Eze 37, esp v 26-28)

What we call the Old Covenant (Old Testament) is really the Mosaic Covenant, the giving of the Law and the forming of the children of Israel as God’s covenant people.

Did you notice that all the covenants were revealed in the Old Testament? The Old Testament is the revelation and unfolding of God’s promise of redemption, first revealed to Eve in Genesis 3. I’m telling you, the Old Testament is exciting!!

This series will be fun because the Old Testament is longer than the New. The Bible is made up of 66 books – the Old Testament has 39 of them! (27 in the New.) There are 929 chapters in the Old, compared to 260 in the New; which means on average each Old Testament book has 23.8 chapters, while New Testament books have 9.6. All this means it will take a little longer to cover the Old Testament!

We divide the Old Testament into three sections: Historical (Genesis-Esther), Poetic (Job-Song of Solomon), Prophetic (Isaiah-Malachi). The traditional Jewish division is similar but called Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim, also known as the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. The arrangement of books in the Hebrew Bible is a little different than ours, and their Bible contains 24 books because they combine books that we divide (1 & 2 Kings for example). This dividing happened when the Jews translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek (Septuagint or LXX). ²

What is the Old Testament about? Simply put, It is the story of Israel. But, with 66 books, surely there is more to it than that. Yes, indeed. The river that runs through the Old Testament is the promise and hope of The Coming One, the Messiah, the Promised Savior. Another current is King David, because Messiah will be of the house of David.

The logical end of the Old Testament is the New, but the New is not the end of the Old as much as the fulfillment of it. It is the flower of the Old; the fruit. If the Bible were compared to a skyscraper, the New would be the Penthouse, built upon the foundation of the Old. We can never understand the New apart from the Old, nor the Old apart from the New, and none of it makes sense without the Son of God, Jesus Christ

NEXT: A Bird’s-eye View of the Old Testament – Historical I

¹ The Five Key Covenants God Makes With Humans in the Bible by Whitney Woollard 

https://bibleproject.com/articles/covenants-the-backbone-bible/#

He says 5 covenants, I say 6. What gives? He combined the New Covenant and the Covenant of Peace. I don’t know why.

² https://torah.org/learning/basics-primer-torah-bible/