Old Testament Review

Old Testament Review

1. 1. Creation

   • God created the heavens and the earth
     • the sun and moon were created on the 4th day
       • Why? People were worshipping the sun and moon
         • God wants them to believe in him
   • Earth was created in "7 days"
     • Not literally 7 days. God perceives time differently than we do
   • A rhythm of it is good
     • God said it is good 5 times and VERY good 1 time
   • God said there was something that was not good
     • LONELINESS
   • God made man in his own image
     • God "spoke" creation into being
       • "And it was so"
   • Beginning= beginning of the story?
     • Human Race?

2. 4. Blessing of Abraham

   • God gives Abraham three promises
     • THE NATION PROMISE
       • "I will make you a great nation"
     • THE LAND PROMISE
       • Land for his descendants
     • THE SEED PROMISE
       • Descendants as plentiful as...
   • Blessing comes through his descendants
     • Doesn't have any at the moment
   • When he is older, Abraham has a son: Isaac (child of promise)
     • Extraordinary Faith
       • Willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac
         • God stops him once he realizes Abraham has such faith
   • No promises are filled during his lifetime
     • Passed through generations
   • All three major religions acknowledge Abraham existed
   • Wife: Sarah

3. 6. Mt. Sinai

   • Receive the law, build tabernacle, and receive covenant
     • effect of it on the Jews cannot be underscored
       • they rethink their national identity
   • Go to Canaan to claim land
     • unfaithfulness makes taking the land impossible
       • Live a nomadic life in the wilderness (40 years)
         • Adult generation dies out (including Moses) and their children take their place
           • Joshua leads them into the Promise Land
             • Divides the land into 12 territories according to the tribes

4. 5. Jacob & his Family

   • Judah: son of Jacob
     • Tamar marries Judah's first son, but he was wicked, and therefore killed by God
       • Tamar dresses up like a prostitute and sleeps with Judah
   • Tamar almost stoned to death
     • she calls out to Judah (which saves her)
   • God makes a covenant with Jacob
     • Changes his name to Israel
   • Joseph is hated by his brothers and sold into slavery
     • Becomes prime minister of Egypt
       • Rescues his family from famine

5. 2. The Fall

   • Adam and Eve disobey God
     • They eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil
       • They forfeit eating from the tree of life
   • Death and Sin entered world
   • We become separated from God
   • Loneliness is the only thing that is not good
     • God called saw his creation was good and very good before the fall

6. 3. The Flood

   • World moves farther away from God
   • God destroys the world through a flood
   • Spares Noah and his family
     • He doesn't tell anybody
   • Serves as a recreation of the world
   • The Tower of Babel
     • The people do not disperse
       • God mixes up there languages forcing them to separate
         • Eastward Bound: away from God

7. 8. The Exile

   • Jewish Fatith undergoes many transitions
   • lasted 70 years
     • Embrace monotheism: belief in one god
     • Most writings were created during this time
     • After these years, Babylonia is defeated by Persia
       • Cyrus allowed them to return to their homeland and rebuild their city and temple
         • Some dispersed to other places along the Medditerranean
           • Diaspora
   • Babylonian Exile
     • King Nebuchadnezzar defeated Jerusalem (586 BC)

8. 7. Judges

   • Nobody takes over as leader of the people
     • next several centuries God utilizes Judges
       • defeat specific military and political threats
       • Deborah is the only female Judge
         • Others include: Sampson, Jephthah, Gideon, and Ehud
   • Lawless and Dangerous