Overview of the Bible

Introduction to the Bible Week 3

Old Testament: The Law and the Prophets

Student Notes

Look back on last week’s reading

Romans 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. (NIV)

Luke 24:25-27

The Law

God gave Moses over 600 laws, including the 10 commandments, for the Jewish people to obey.

Timeline:

Bible books:

The Law is a contract between God and Israel:

“The Mosaic Covenant”

God’s responsibility:

Israel’s responsibility:

The message of the Law:

For the nation of Israel

Protection & blessing: "If you fully obey the LORD your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God…” – Deuteronomy 28:1,2

Loss of protection and blessing: “You must carefully obey all my laws and regulations; otherwise the land to which I am bringing you will vomit you out.” – Leviticus 20:22

“But if you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and do not obey all the commands and laws I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you…” – Deuteronomy 28:15

For individuals

1. The Law is an expression of God’s desire to _________________________ to each person. (Psalm 1:1-4; Deuteronomy 10:12, 13)

2. Law reveals the human condition before God

God is ____________ (Lev. 19:2, Exod 33:20)

Humans are ___________________ (Genesis 3; Isaiah 59:1; Jer. 17:9)

3. The Law reveals God’s solution: atonement

The Old Testament Sacrificial System

Atonement:

The Law provided a way for individuals to atone for sin in their own lives:

“…bring a bull with no physical defects to the entrance of the Tabernacle so it will be accepted by the LORD. Lay your hand on its head so the LORD will accept it as your substitute, thus making atonement for you.” – Leviticus 1:3,4

A closer look at the Tabernacle:

See Hebrews 9:1-7

Jesus and the Tabernacle:

Heb. 9:6 When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. 7 But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed…

9:11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven... 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

IMPORTANT: Both in the Old Testament Law and in our lives today, salvation is offered as a gift through the means that God prescribes. Obedience to God’s commands has never been a means of personal salvation. People have always been saved by putting their faith in God and his provision for forgiveness.

The sacrificial system that the Law prescribed reminded them of their need for a sacrifice.

“The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship… But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” – Hebrews 10:1-4

Jesus as the Lamb of God

Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them.” – Matthew 5:17

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
– John 1:29

Heb. 10:19-23

For an excellent treatment of the sacrificial system see:

http://www.xenos.org/teachings/nt/hebrews/gary/index.htm

Old Testament: Poetry and Wisdom

Bible books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon

Timeline: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon were mainly written during the life of David and Solomon. Some Psalms were written as late as the 5th century BC (after the Babylonian exile). The story of Job takes place during the time of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob).

Old Testament: Prophets

Bible books:

Major (longer) prophets:

Minor (shorter – not less important!) prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Timeline:

Centuries earlier, God’s people were warned:

Deuteronomy 8:10-14

Important events in the time of the Prophets:

The decline and eventual destruction of the Northern Kingdom (Israel)
The decline and eventual exile to Babylon of the Southern Kingdom (Judah)
The return of Judah to the land
God’s judgment against the nations opposing Israel.

What is a prophet? _________________________________

As a ___________________, a prophet speaks forth a message for the present time.

“There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’ we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” [Amos 5:24] – Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream

Examples of those who challenged power: Elijah (Ahab) and Nathan (David)

As a TRUTH TELLER, a prophet is a __________________________________. That is, a prophet calls God’s people to obey the Mosaic Covenant

REMEMBER: The Law promised ___________________for obedience and _______________ for disobedience.

Again and again the LORD had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: “Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and laws, which are contained in the whole law that I commanded your ancestors and which I gave you through my servants the prophets.” But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors and refused to believe in the LORD their God. They rejected his laws and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings.
– 2 Kings 17:13-15a

The Problem of Idolatry

Hosea 6:4-6

Ezekiel 16:15-22

The Problem of Materialism and Social Injustice (Isaiah 2:7-9; 1:17)

Jeremiah 5:27, 28 Like a cage full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich. They are fat, they are sleek, they also excel in deeds of wickedness. They do not plead the cause, the cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; and they do not defend the rights of the poor.

As a _____________________, a prophet speaks a message about what God will do in the future.

Isaiah 46:9,10 “And do not forget the things I have done throughout history. For I am God—I alone! I am God, and there is no one else like me. Only I can tell you what is going to happen even before it happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.”

Jeremiah 25:1-12 “This message for all the people of Judah came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign over Judah… You made me furious by worshiping your idols, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer. And now the LORD Almighty says: Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the other nations near you.”

The prophets also reaffirmed God’s promises to ______________and __________.

Daniel 7:14 And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.

The Prophets looked ahead to the “_________ Covenant”

Jeremiah 31:31-33 31 “The day will come,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

What was it like to be a prophet?

Prophets often suffered because they ________________________________.
Prophets did not usually see the _________________________ in their lifetime.

Sample prophecies from the book of Isaiah (740 – 680 B.C.)

The book of Isaiah has two major sections:

The Book of JUDGMENT (chapter 1-39)

The Book of COMFORT (chapters 40-66)

Isaiah 5:1-13

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Assignment:

Bible Reading Assignment #3 and “Why Believe the Bible?” due next week