Understanding Scripture – The Old Testament

Genesis 12:3: “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Oct 05, 2024

The Creation of Adam, Michelangelo - 1512

The Kingdom and the Ambassadors

The unifying theme of the Bible is the establishment of the "Kingdom of God".

I posited that position in a previous Substack article. In fact, while Genesis begins with the creation of the Garden of Eden—the original earthly kingdom—it culminates in Revelation with the creation of New Heavens and New Earth as the perpetual manifestation of this kingdom. Of course, there are other critical characters and themes such as Christ Himself, salvation, faith, grace, etc. However, the objective of all these elements is neatly encapsulated in establishing this kingdom, a goal that will ultimately, and possibly very soon, be accomplished.

All of the scripture underscores that God is the supreme authority and creator of the universe. Everything that happens throughout history is part of His divine plan and purpose. The entire Bible points to Christ, and while the Old Testament anticipates His coming, the New Testament explains His impact on humanity and the Church. The core doctrine of the Bible is that salvation is by grace through faith alone and that human effort cannot earn salvation since it is a gift from God made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Of course, this is declared in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Throughout history, those saved are chosen by God before the foundation of the world as proclaimed in Ephesians 1:4-5, “…He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love he predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will.”

However, it is essential to understand that the God of the Old Testament specifically chose Israel, as a nation, to be His people. Deuteronomy 7:6 confirms this when it states, “…the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” The Old Testament deals with this choice. Unfortunately, John 1:11 explains how, ultimately, the Jews reject Christ, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” Consequently, through the new Covenant, the Church is established and, for a time, becomes the earthly ambassadors of God’s offer of salvation. Paul, in Romans 11:25-26, speaks about a partial hardening of Israel and its eventual restoration: “[do not] be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles [the Church] has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.’”

To put this into perspective, God uses both Israel in the Old Testament and the Church in the New Testament as ambassadors for His offer of salvation and the ultimate fulfillment of His Kingdom. The Tribulation will mark the beginning of Israel’s restoration when 144,000 Jewish evangelists will again share God’s offer of salvation (Revelation 7:4-8). At this time, as predicted by Zechariah 13:8-9, 1/3 of [true] Israel will be saved: “In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

Structure of the Old Testament

The Old Testament, which was written from about 1200 BC to about 445 BC, includes 39 of the 66 books of the Bible and can be divided into the following five sections:

The Law (also called the Pentateuch or Torah) consists of the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Primarily attributed to Moses, they contain God’s narrative of how man and his environment were created, details of the law and instructions for the Israelites, including their early history and the covenant relationship between God and His chosen people initially through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses.

The Historical Books includes the 12 books from Joshua to Esther, covering Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. These books record the history of the Israelites, from their conquest of Canaan to their return from exile in Babylon.

The Wisdom Literature (Poetical Books) includes the five books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. These writings address questions of life, suffering, love, and the pursuit of godly wisdom, often using poetry and other literary styles.

The Major Prophets consist of five longer prophetic books: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. They contain the messages and visions of the prophets, who were called by God to speak to Israel and Judah about judgment, restoration, and the coming Messiah.

Finally, the Minor Prophets consist of 12 shorter prophetic books, including Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Despite being called “minor,” these books are significant for their prophetic insights into the spiritual and social issues of Israel and Judah. Judaism grouped the minor prophets in one combined book known as “The Book of the Twelve” or simply “The Twelve.”

How God Deals with His People

The Old Testament tells the same true story over and over—God saves, His people reject, God chastises, His people repent, and God restores His People. God deals with His people through “covenants,” which are formal agreements or treaties between two parties with specific obligations and regulations. They can be either unconditional and eternal or conditional and temporary.

The unconditional covenants include the following:

Noahic Covenant – God agrees never to destroy the earth by water and to provide stability. Genesis 8:22, God’s answer to climate change lies, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 9:16 continues, “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

Abrahamic Covenant – shows how God plans to save people and restore all things. Genesis 12:1-3 “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Priestly Covenant – In Numbers 25:10-13, God promises a perpetual priesthood in the line of Phinehas that would continue all the way through the Lord’s earthly millennial temple.

Davidic Covenant – In 2 Samuel 7:12-16, God promised the perpetuity of David’s descendants on the throne in Israel. Ultimately, this is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is considered the ultimate descendant of David and whose reign is eternal.

The one conditional and temporary Covenant:

Mosaic Covenant – This is the “law” (Exodus 20) God gave to Israel through Moses to govern the life and conduct of Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan (Exodus 19:5-6). It will be replaced by the New Covenant predicted in Ezekiel 36:26-27 which states, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

Conclusion

With all that is currently happening in Israel, it is easy to speculate that God is close to fulfilling His promise of restoring His people and consummating His Kingdom.

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