Old Testament

Old Testament

1. 1) Creation

   • Day 1
     • God formed light & dark, night & day
   • Day 2
     • God formed & separated water & sky
   • Day 3
     • God formed land & vegetation, separating waters
   • Day 4
     • God filled the night with the moon & stars and the day with sun by which it is governed
       • God created the sun & moon on the fourth day to show pagan religions that worshipped the figures that they are not all-important dietities, they aren't creators or gods, they weren't even important enough to be created first.
   • Day 5
     • God created birds & marine life to fill the waters and skies
   • Day 6
     • God created land animals & humankind
   • Day 7
     • God rested
       • God reminds us that it is important to have a day to ourselves to rest, relax, & worship him

2. 2) The Fall

   • First Evil
     • God saw that loneliness was evil
   • Forbidden
     • Adam & Eve (the 1st man & woman) were allowed to eat of anything within the Garden of Eden except for the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil
   • Father of Lies
     • Satan, in the form of a serpent, tells Eve to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil. He appeals to her saying the fruit will taste good, she surely won't die, & she will become just like God
   • First Sin
     • Eve listens to Satan & eats the fruit. Adam soon follows
   • Realization
     • The two realize the sin they have committed in disobeying God's only order & try to hide from Him. They also realize their own nakedness & try to fashion themselves clothing out of leaves
   • Consequences
     • Because of this sin, Adam & Eve may no longer eat from the tree of life, thus death enters the world. The two are sent out of the garden, eastward and farther from God.

3. 3) The Flood

   • Cause
     • God will wipe the earth clean of living things due to mankind's wickedness. He grieves having created them.
   • Noah
     • Noah & his family (8 people total) are the only ones to be spared from this flood due to Noah's righteousness & faithfulness to God
   • Command
     • God commanded Noah to build an ark which would house 2 of every animal & plant species on earth along with his family. Animals: 7 pairs of each clean animal, 1 pair of each unclean animal, 7 pairs of every bird
   • How Long?
     • It takes Noah somewhere from 55-75 years maximum to build the ark. It rains for 40 days & 40 nights. The earth was flooded for 150 days
   • The End & the Beginning
     • Noah first sends out a raven which finds nowhere to land & circles around. He then sends out a dove, which later returns. 7 days later he sends out the dove again & it returns with a freshly picked olive leaf. 7 days later he sends out the dove & it never returns. They eventually exit the ark.
   • The Covenant
     • God promises to never destroy all of the world by flood again & sends a rainbow as a sign of this covenant

4. 4) Blessing of Abraham

   • Promise 1
     • God promises Abraham he will be a great nation
   • Promise 2
     • God promises Abraham that the land he walks will belong to him & his descendants
   • Promise 3
     • From Abraham's descendants all of the world will be blessed
   • Dad
     • When Abraham is 100 his wife, Sarah, who has been barren all of her life, finally bears a son, named Isaac.
   • Test
     • God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac & Abraham is prepared to do so when God stops him. This shows that Abraham is a faithful servant & God is not like other pagan gods.
   • Acknowledgement
     • Abraham is honored by all three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, & Islam

5. 5) Jacob & his Family

   • Who is he?
     • Jacob is the son of Isaac & Rebecca
   • Brother
     • Jacob has an older twin brother, Esau, who's birthright Jacob buys & blessing he steals
   • Wives
     • Jacob runs away from a vengeful Esau to stay with his uncle Laban, & marries Laban's 2 daughters, Rachel (whom he loves) & Leah.
   • Baby Race
     • Rachel is barren while Leah is blessed with many sons because Jacob doesn't love her. Rachel gives Jacob her maidservant to impregnate, which prompts Leah to do the same, & eventually Rachel also has children, thus begins the baby race.
   • Sons
     • Jacobs has 12 sons which become the 12 tribes of Israel
   • Joseph
     • Joseph, Rachel's firstborn, but the 2nd youngest son, is sold into slavery in Egypt due to his brother's jealousy. There he rises to power & saves Egypt, his family, & more from famine & introduces the Israelites into Egypt.
   • Judah
     • Judah's daughter-in-law, Tamar, is in the lineage of Jesus

6. 6) Mt. Sinai

   • Orders
     • At Mt. Horeb, aka Mt. Sinai, Moses receives his orders from God via a burning bush to rescue the Israelites from bondage in Egypt
   • Camp
     • The Israelites set up camp at Mt. Sinai after fleeing from Egypt
   • Covenant
     • God reaffirms his covenant that he made with Abraham
   • Law
     • God gives Moses the 10 commandments & other laws over 40 days on Mt. Sinai
   • Disobedience
     • The Israelites think Moses dies on the mountain & create a golden calf
   • Tabernacle
     • The Israelites build the tabernacle which houses God's presence

7. 7) Judges

   • Judge
     • A military leader of the Israelites appointed by God
   • Ruth
     • Ruth's story takes place during the period of judges & she is a woman in the lineage of Jesus
   • Samuel
     • Samuel was the last judge, a priest, & a prophet. He appointed the 1st & 2nd kings of Israel
   • Purpose
     • A judge's purpose was to defeat a specific military or political threat during this lawless & dangerous time
   • Deborah
     • Deborah was the only female judge
   • Samson
     • Samson is a famous judge who was known for his strength, fell for a woman named Delilah, & gave away his weakness & fell to the Philistines, but brought down many Philistines before that as well as in one final act of strength

8. 8) The Kings

   • Why kings?
     • During the time of Samuel, the Israelites felt they wanted a king because every other significant people at the time had a king.
   • Saul
     • God had Samuel appoint Saul as king because he was tall & attractive, physical attributes of a king.
   • David
     • David was anointed by Samuel to be appointed king while Saul still had the throne. David was a fierce warrior who defeated Goliath & many more, but he was also the man described as "after God's own heart" and who wrote hundreds of psalms (poetry & songs), and knew how to play the harp
   • Solomon
     • Solomon was the son of David & Bathsheba, the wisest king, & the king who built the Lord's temple in Jerusalem
   • Jeroboam
     • The first king of Israel who leads the people away from God so they won't be tempted to return to Jerusalem & was one of Solomon's governors
   • Rehoboam
     • The first king of Judah, Solomon's son. Rehoboam was harsh toward the northern kingdom, which caused them to split