G-I A Crash Course Through The Old Testament, Part 1 (Genesis to Deuteronomy)

THE GNAW INITIATIVE:  OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY (A CRASH COURSE OUTLINE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT)

Welcome to the Something To Gnaw On Podcast, a short podcast for the Christian with a short attention span…  and this is the Gnaw Initiative series… where the goal is to give listeners the tools, a mold, or a mental operating system to be able to understand the Bible more clearly… so that they are equipped to study the Bible for themselves. And if you are a seasoned student of the Bible, well, just look at this as a refresher course.   And I’m your host, Nate Vainio.

This episode begins our crash course through the Old Testament.  But first, a semi-quick story.

I used to drove a big ole Kenworth cross-country and delivered goods on a flat bed trailer.  I really enjoyed the work.   One of the challenges was what is called ‘trip planning’.  Often you will see video’s on social media of Semi’s that are in the craziest places, or make the dumbest mistakes…. Most often because they use a GPS, which doesn’t always have routes that are suitable for semi’s.  Consequently, my company trained us to plan using old-fashioned paper maps,  and research truck routes outside of from GPS.  

One of the craziest loads I had to deliver was some construction materials to Penn Station in Midtown Manhatten, …yes…. New York City.   I was a mess… stressing over all the details.  In a post 9/11 world, could I really go through the Lincoln Tunnel, what was I going to face when I got there, was traffic going to be bad, where would I park…  I even called the New York Port Authority to get the verification that It was in fact ok to drive through the tunnel…. 

I got there about 5:30 in the morning, parked where I was told,  and began to un-tarp my load.  I had done it, I got where I needed to be without any chaos, the pre-trip planning was a resounding success. 

Then I got the call.  I needed to move to the other side of the building.   That sounds simple, but all the streets in Midtown Manhattan are one-way streets.   So, taking two right hand turns wasn’t possible.  I had to go up two streets, and over four because I couldn’t make the turn on one street, I got distracted by something, got turned around, and the next thing I know, I am about a mile away,  8/10ths to be exact… and the next thing I know, I have Times Square about 2 blocks in front of me.  I know a lot of people have a desire to get to New York City, and Times Square, …  I have a desire for neither, let alone doing so in a full-size tractor semi.

Eventually, I made it back to Penn Station, got delivered and proceeded to get turned around again trying to get back to the Lincoln tunnel.   I did all that trip planning to get there, and absolutely no planning to get out.  Huge Mistake!!!

Look at this Crash Course through the Old Testament like reading a map, and doing some pretrip planning.  Do the planning, and you’ll end up where you want to be…. Failure to read the map… well, you will probably wander aimlessly trying to find your way through scripture.

Lets dive into some bible basics..

I mentioned in the previous episode that the Bible is 66 books, divided into two parts… the Old Testament, and the New Testament.  The New Testament begins with the Birth of Jesus Christ.   And as an incredibly broad statement, and to quote the great theologian Jase Robertson of Duck Dynasty, the Old Testament is all about the fact that Jesus is coming!!   And while I would not necessarily disagree, I think it would be good to add that it is a revelation of who God is, how much He loves us, and how he interacts with His people.

So…. For today’s episode I want to accomplish three things,  let me give you a quick outline.   First, I am going to do a quick overview of the layout of the Old Testment.  Secondly, I am going breeze through the first 5 books of the Old Testament, and to cap it off… I plan on highlighting a thread that will hopefully pique your curiosity to get into the Old Testament yourself, and show you how there are elements that are woven through the entirety of scripture….  And how the Old Testament points to Jesus.  

So, the Old Testament is set up more in sections as opposed to chronological order, there is definitely order to it, and the first two sections are laid out in a chronological fashion, but when we hit sections 3, 4, & 5, it abandon’s pure chronology.  And if you are a linear thinker without a history of studying the bible, this could mess with your head.

Remember the following cadence 5, 12, 5, 5, 12.  Those 5 sections would be as follows. The first 5 books of the Old Testament Gen, Ex, Lev, Num, Duet.,some people call it the Law, but it has a lot of history to it,  and these books are  mostly laid out chronological fashion, and I will dig into those later in this episode.   

The second group of books are the 12 books of history, and these books are chronological as well, but one quirk I would mention now is that some books have overlap,  This is not abnormal, in fact, it happens in several places in scripture, and the end result is that it gives us a better picture of what’s going on.   And we will dig into that next week.

The Third group of books are the 5 books of poetry.  These are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.  And as far as chronology is concerned, these books, or the individual Psalms,  are written at differing times during the history books of section 1 and 2. And Psalms is grouped by theme’s not in a chronological order. 

And I am going to group the last two sections of the 5 major prophets, and the 12 minor prophets, into one category for this project….. simply called the section of the Prophets.  And like the books of Poetry, these books are imbedded within the history books.   And, let’s not lose sight of the fact that some of these prophets manage to capture a bunch of history as well.  

So why is it good to know this?   Well, ultimately, the better we understand the bible, the better we understand what God is trying to say to us.  

So let’s dive into the first section of the bible.

·         Simply put, the first section is referred to as THE LAW. I don’t like this term.  Certainly, it is foundational, and the law is found in it’s pages, but it includes rich history, and the important history of God’s covenant with Abraham, but it is primarily perceived as the Law and the covenant that God gives Moses.  It begins the revelation of God to mankind.  

·         The Hebrew name for this section is the Torah (or literally ‘the teaching’), and the Greek name that you will hear from time to time is the Pentateuch.,… maybe you recognize the prefix “PENTA” being Greek for 5, like the penta in pentagon, …. Pentateuch is simply “five books” 

·         The first section is 5 books, and it is popularly accepted that Moses wrote all 5 books, and ironically, while they are written in Hebrew, the names Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are the Greek names.  

·         Remember, don’t lose sight of the fact that while these books are considered by many to be “LAW”, there is a ton of history in the pages of the Pentateuch.   So much so, that I would say that it is the story that carries the law through the pages of the book.

·         As I dive into the individual books, think of this as a “Cliff’s Notes” run thru….

o   The first book is Genesis, which is often referred to as the book of beginnings.  And racing through the book, it covers creation, original sin, the flood, Abraham and God’s covenant with him, Abraham’s line – Isaac then Jacob, then Jacob’s sons, who eventually form the 12 tribes of Israel.   Genesis ends with Jacob’s son, Joseph, surviving a terrible ordeal at the hands of his brothers, but rising to the occasion as God uses him to save the family…. Becoming the practical ruler of Egypt…. Not a pharoah, but basically the chief of staff.  And thus ends Genesis, with the whole family being saved from a famine… but living in Egypt.

§  A quick and interesting observation which may or may not have deep meaning, but it shows you that there is a bit of beauty and symmetry to the bible:

·         It is worth noting that the New Testament begins with 5 history books. The 4 Gospels, and the Book of Acts, which is the history of the early church.  The first words in in  the Gospel of John mirror the first words in Genesis…. Those words are “In The Beginning”, The Apostle John making the point in that first chapter that Jesus was there at the creation of the world!!  Pretty cool, eh?   That may be a good place for you to dive in and study this week.

§  When I wrap up shortly, we will come back to Genesis for a quick look at another thread that flows throughout scripture, into the New Testament.

o   The second book is EXODUS which literally means “THE ROAD OUT”  is primarily historical, in my opinion, as it records the Israelites leaving the slavery of Egypt for the promise land, and covers their 40 years of wandering in the desert.  

§  Just a quick observation that you will see in other parts of scripture.  

·         Sometimes one book moves seamlessly into another, or a chapter moves seamlessly into another.  Other times, much time passes between books or chapters.  

·         There are about 400 years between the last book of the Old Testament and The New Testament.   There are also about 400 years between between the end of Genesis and the Beginning of Exodus.

§  Exodus records many miracles, and encounters Moses had with God and the Israeites, 

§  The 10 Commandments are given in chapter 20

§  The Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle are established.

§  Toward the end of the book, many law’s and regulations begin to be written down.

·         If you want to take a minute and dig into something here, go to the Gospels and look at Jesus’ teaching during the Sermon on the Mount.

o   Granted there are only  8 beatitudes, but look what Jesus did, shortly after the beatitudes, he says that he didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it!

§  Where the 10 commandments and the Law largely address behavior, Jesus shifts gears and makes it primarily about what goes on in your heart and mind, as opposed to the behavior of not stealing, showing honor, taking the Lord’s name in vain, not murdering, etc…..   all of a sudden Jesus says thinking hatefully is equal to murder.   He up’s the ante on what honors God!

o   The third book is LEVITICUS which is primarily law related, and little  history is recorded.

§  The majority of the book is devoted to law, and commandments, and instruction to the Levites, being the tribe of Levi, from which Moses is a descendent, by the way.  

o   The fourth book is NUMBERS which is a combination of history and law, it seems to alternate back and forth between the two.  

§  It’s most notable story would have to be the 12 spies being sent into the promise land

§  And it gives us the most detail on Joshua of any of the books, Joshua is the young man who will take Moses’ place, and we will begin next week talking about him.

o   The fifth book is DEUTERONOMY.  This is, in essence, Moses’ swan song, his last will and testament.  Finally, the Israelites are about to cross over to take possession of the promise land, Moses is nearing his death, and won’t make it into the promise land.  And with this as the backdrop…. His last words to the Israelites are to repeat the law to them

§  Not only does Moses repeat the law, he does so three times in this book.  In fact, the word DEUTERONOMY means repetition.

§  When people in the New Testament mention the “book of the law” these 5 books are what they are referring to.

·         When Jesus quotes from the book of the law, he most commonly quotes from Deuteronomy.

§  Certainly there is more to be said of the Pentateuch, but not in such a crash course like this.   This should be enough to make the other parts of the bible BEGIN to make more sense… Like the Gospels, and understanding what first century jewish Christians were wrestling with, like obedience to the words of these books.   

§  And dare I say, an understanding of the Old Testament, and especially the Pentateuch, lay’s the foundation for what Christ did in the Gospels, and why it had to be done.

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§  In the introduction I mentioned that I want to hit one thread that works it’s way through scripture from the Pentateuch to the Gospels.  

·         As we work our way through the Old Testament there are prophecies that become reality in Jesus.  There are what are called types and shadows, that come true in Jesus.  There are allusions, not illusions, but things that allude to the coming savior.  And where the Apostle John makes mention that Jesus was there in creation, see John 1, references, or allusions, or prophecies of him coming to die in our place for our sin’s begin as early as Genesis 3.

o   After Adam and Eve sinned, God pronounces the ‘curse’ upon the snake, on woman, and on man.   In Genesis 3:15 God makes a statement that most theologians refer to as the first messianic prophecy… where God says to the serpent, “… And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.  He will strike your head, and you will bruise his heel.”  Genesis 3:15.

§  “There is no doubt this is a prophecy of Jesus’ ultimate defeat of Satan…  It was as if God could not wait to announce His Plan of salvation, to bring deliverance through the one known as the seed of the woman.” DAVID GUZIK

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o   Shortly after the curse you find one of the most overlooked, and underappreciated verses in this story.   

§  First, Remember a little commentary on the Pentateuch by the writer of Hebrew’s “in fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood, for without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”

o   Adam and Eve have sinned, and most people see the curse as the end of the story….. but may I submit that it was much deeper than that? 

o   Quickly after the curse comes verse 21, “And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.”  

o   Adam and Eve had UNSUCCESSFULLY tried to cover their shame with leaves… it is the curse of sin and shame  to try to cover it up….. people still do it to this day, they just use a lot of different things to do so.

o   But after calling out the sin and addressing it, God shows his love for mankind by CLOTHING Adam and Eve, with animal skins.  Now the text doesn’t explicitly state this, but what animal donate’s its skin without shedding some blood?

o   Along with the first sin, came the first sacrifice, a sacrifice that would continue in various forms throughout the Pentateuch, and the Passover lamb of Exodus, BUT IT CULMINATES in the Sacrificial Death Of Jesus on the Cross… and no longer is a sacrifice needed.

o   It all started in Genesis 3:21, but look at how the apostle Paul wraps this idea up in Galatians 3:27 “And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.” 

o   God clothed Adam and Eve to cover the shame of their sin….. and in like fashion, Jesus has clothed us!

That’s all for this week,  Put on Christ like a brand new suit, and get into the word…. And gnaw on it.

Next week we’ll race through the history books…. And don’t forget to look at this process like a bit of pre-trip planning, looking over the map so you don’t get stuck in Mid-Town Manhatten!

Till Then

God Bless