Chapter 1
Old Testament
History: A People of Promise [Genesis – Deuteronomy]
History: A People of Promise [Genesis – Deuteronomy]
As we open the pages of the Old Testament Scriptures, there are many key items to take note of in order to clearly understand God’s communication to mankind. These items pertain to the Jewish program, God’s ultimate purposes for the nation of Israel. These key items include:
+ the names of God, and the significance of those names
+ the covenants of God, made with Noah, Abram, Israel, and David
+ the feasts established for the Israelites to annually practice (rehearse)
+ the contract of blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience
+ the adversarial actions of the evil one and his angels
The Old Testament:
= the story of God and His people, Israel, and the old covenant – within the larger arena of the angelic conflict
Genesis = God creates a new world and man, the evil one contaminates both, God must destroy most of mankind; then God begins to build a nation, covenanting with the patriarchs of Israel {4004-1804 BC} (Genesis = a record from creation to the death of Joseph)
The book of beginnings = Genesis records the beginning of the world, of man, of sin in this world, of Satanic dominion in this world, and the beginning of Israel.
The cast: God, first as Creator, then Judge, then nation builder; Satan, the serpent and adversary; and man, in male and female form, made lower than the angels; and the angels, some disobedient to God and others serving the Most High.
The setting: while this book begins with God creating this world and man, much has already happened in ‘the holy mountain of God’ and ‘in the midst of the stones of fire’. Lucifer, the anointed cherub that covereth, has defiled God’s sanctuaries by a multitude of iniquities, mounting a rebellion against God, attempting to take the place of the Most High. [Is. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:14-19]
The plot: God creates a new world and a new creature to have dominion over that world. God intends to make a new habitation for Himself and commune with man, who is made in His image and after His likeness. Every time Satan looks at man, he sees an image-bearer of God.
If we peek at the end of God’s story, we find out that after the great day of God’s wrath comes the last resurrection and final judgment, then God will dwell with man on earth [see Rev. 21:3]. Many passages indicate that the earth is to be God’s place of habitation [Gen. 1:26-28, 3:8-9, 28:16-19; Ex. 3:1-5, 18:5, 19:2-3, 16-20; Deut. 12:5; and Ps. 48:1-2; 69:16-17, 132:13-14].
+ God strategically makes man a little lower than the angels for He has determined to deal with Lucifer by way of lesser creatures. Not only will the evil one be humiliated in view of man, but One in the form of man will ultimately vanquish the self-exalting, anointed cherub. Using lesser creatures is God’s classic way of dealing with the proud and high-minded. [Ezek. 28:18-19; 1 Cor. 1:26-28; Heb. 2:6-7; James 4:6; Rev. 19:11-21, 20:10]
+ In contrast to the evil one who wanted to be like the Most High, the Son of God will humble Himself and take on “the form of a servant” and come in “the likeness of man” [Phil. 2:7]. And in that form, the Son will defeat the adversary’s challenge.
+ God gives the man free volition in the Garden but the evil one tempts man to sin and thereby corrupts God’s new world and makes the ‘image-bearers of God’ like unto his own disobedient likeness. The evil one successfully infects both realms (heaven and earth) and creatur...