In short
The people of God mess up over and over and over again, even (especially?) the leaders. Believers wait for the messiah to come.
Why it is important
It shows why and how we need Jesus – and he isn’t even in these stories (not by name, anyway).
The overwhelming takeaway in most of the stories in the Old Testament is how incredibly bad people are at obeying God. God does amazing miracles and saves his people over and over; he puts up with their relentless infidelity; he sets them up for success over and over. Yet the people find every way to ruin it.
Main characters
- God
- Abraham
- Moses
- David
- Elijah
- The Jews, aka the Israelites, aka the people of God
What is in the Old Testament books?
For a modern reader, it is
- 17 books of stories
- 5 books of poetry
- 17 books of prophesy
(In April, we will discuss a different arrangement, but it’s the same Scriptures.)
But the big thing to understand is that it is one continuous story. In short:
| Event | Israel does this | Books of the Bible where this happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Becomes a nation | Genesis |
| 2 | Plugs along for awhile | Exodus through 2 Samuel |
| 3 | Splits in two | 1 Kings |
| 4 | Is nearly obliterated | 2 Kings |
| 5 | Slowly comes crawling back – to its land and to God | Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther |
Notes:
- The prophets (Israel to Malachi) are prophesying in the time of events 3-5. They are mostly preaching judgment on Israel and enemy nations, begging them to repent and telling them what will happen if they don’t.
- 1 and 2 Chronicles overlap events in 2-4
- And poetry is that. It has purpose, but is not necessarily part of a storyline.
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