Lesson 10 -The Old Testament-- Recommended Study

Lesson 10 - The Old Testament- Recommended Study Sequence

The following are our recommendations for your study in order that you may arrive at an understanding of the role of the Old Testament in God's plan of Salvation.

The Law of Moses

To begin your study of the Bible, we would recommend that you begin by reading the first 4 books and the 1st chapter of Deuteronomy. The books should be read sequentially and the first step is to try to get the main thread or theme. Study by units, e.g. Genesis 1 - 5 would be a unit and would cover the beginning: the story of the creation and Adam and Eve, the origin of sin, their fall and their descendants. Another unit would be Genesis 6 - 11 the account of the wickedness of man, Noah, his family, the building of the Ark, and the account of the flood. Genesis 12 - 36 covers the Period of the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The account of Joseph and his role in God's plan are contained in Chapters 37 - 50. Make yourself an outline if necessary or utilize one that is often included at the beginning of each book in most of the better Bibles. If you will read in this manner you will bring a sense of organization and understanding to your standing

Following your study of Genesis you need to read Exodus, the account of the flight from Egypt and the giving of the Ten Commandments. In particular become familiar with the 12 sons of Jacob ( see Chart 1) because they play a dominant role in later events of the development of the nation. Originally 70 people had come to Egypt (Gen. 46:10). They were Jacobs's family. They were in Egypt 430 years (Exodus 12:40). When the people finally left Egypt, we are told that there were 600,000 that took part in the Exodus. (Exodus 12:37) It was this growth in population that alarmed Pharaoh and caused him to begin his oppression of the people. He was afraid that they might unite with one of Egypt's enemies against him. Hoping to stop this growth, Pharaoh ordered the slaughter of all male infants

The next book that you should read is the book of Leviticus. It is a record of the Laws which were mandated by God and the role of the Levites, the priestly tribe, who were designated by God to serve in the Tabernacle. An understanding of this book is of particular importance in understanding some events in the New Testament, particularly the book of Hebrews. Of particular note is God's punishment of Aaron's two sons, Abihu and Nadab. Because they had "offered strange fire" before God. They were put to death for their disobedience. We read in Leviticus 10:2, "And there went out fire from the Lord and devoured them, and they were put to death."

The fourth book in your reading is Numbers. It is an account of the people's wandering in the wilderness, the priesthood and various laws. The book gets its name from the fact that the people were numbered, i.e. counted. I guess we would call that the first census. God had commanded Moses to count the fighting men prior to invading Canaan. The book recorded that there were 605,550 fighting men. This number did not included priests and other non-combatants.

Your final reading will be Deuteronomy. It means, "second law." However, it is not a second law but a restatement of the first law given to Moses at Mt. Sinai. The book begins with Moses recounting God's promise to Israel and reviewing for the people Israel's history following the Exodus. Beginning in Chapter 4, the book continues with Israel being urged to obey God's Laws (4-11); the promise of a prophet like Moses (18:15-22); the giving of more Laws (19-26); the covenant at Moab (29,30). The book ends with the death of Moses at the age of 120(34:5 - 7) and the appointment of Joshua by God as the new leader.(34:9) This completes your study of the Books of the Law.

The Book of Joshua

The next unit of study should be the book of Joshua. It is an account of the conquest of the Promised Land and the subsequent growth of the nation under Joshua's rule. The book ends with Joshua's farewell address, warning the people: "Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. …And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Josh. 24:14, 15) The book ends with the death of Joshua at the age of 110. (Josh. 24:29)

The Judges of Israel (See Table 1)

Following Joshua, you should read the book of Judges and the first 7 chapters of the book of 1 Samuel. These contain the accounts of the Judges of Israel following the death of Joshua. There were a total of 15 Judges. However, Judges only covers through the reign of Samson, the 13^th Judge. The account of the last two Judges, Eli and Samuel, are contained in 1 Samuel. The first 7 chapters of 1 Samuel, is an account of Samuel, the 15^th and last Judge of Israel. It tells of the events during Samuel's rule as the Judge of Israel. The book of Judges is basically an account of the struggles that Israel had in securing and consolidating their land, the battles they fought, their lapse in becoming unfaithful to God, and the war against the Benjamites. The period of Judges lasted 300 years. Toward the end of the book ,we are told of the apostasy and moral degeneration of the nation. The book summarizes the chaos that prevailed in the land saying, "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

The Kings 0f Israel and Judah (See Table 2)

The remainder of 1 Samuel (8-31) and 2 Samuel are an account of Saul, the first King of Israel and David who succeeded him. This phase of Israel's History begins when the people demand a King like those of the nations around them. (1 Sam. 8:5-7)) God had been their King up to this time in their History but now they were rejecting God and demanding a king like the other nations around them. God tells Samuel to grant them their wish but warns them of what will happen under the rule of an earthly King (1 Sam. 8:10-22) The continuation of the study of the other kings of Israel and those during the Divided Kingdom are found in the books of 1,2 Kings and 1,2 Chronicles. Like 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings were originally one book. So also were 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles. 1,2 Chronicles are parallel accounts of the events recorded in Samuel and Kings. These books cover a study of the History of the Israelites during the years they were governed by earthly kings, beginning with Solomon and through the last King, Zedekiah. The books are considered historically accurate. Any so-called discrepancies between the parallel accounts are the result of dating methods used, different names used by the same person, and lengths of the reign of different people. All of these can be resolved through the use of a good Bible dictionary or commentary.

The Major Prophets (See Table 3)

Jeremiah and Isaiah were the pre-captivity prophets Daniel and Ezekiel were the Prophets during the Captivity. After the Kingdom divided, (1 Kings 11-15 and 2 Chronicles 11-14), the nation divided into a Northern Kingdom, Israel and a Southern Kingdom, Judah. Each nation became progressively more and more apostate, sinking into idolatry. God sent Prophets to them, warning them that their punishment was inevitable unless they repented. Israel had degenerated so that God sent Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Micah and others to the nation warning them of their destruction unless they repented. Finally, in 722 BC the Assyrians captured and destroyed their capitol, Samaria and carried off the ten tribes of Israel. They were never a nation again. Jeremiah and Zephaniah were God's prophets to Judah and they, like Isaiah and all the other prophets, couldn't turn the nation from their apostasy. So, in 586 BC Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed and the nation of Judah, except for a remnant, was taken into captivity by the Chaldeans (Babylonians). Their captivity lasted for 70 years, just as God had promised. It was at this time that the Prophets Daniel and Ezekiel were carried into captivity. The death of Jeremiah brought to a close the History of the Hebrew nation. From the time of their deliverance from Egypt to their final destruction, had been a span of nearly 900 years. Unlike Jeremiah and Isaiah, Daniel and Ezekiel may be studied individually. Both Prophets were from the Southern Kingdom, Judah, and both were taken into captivity. They were God's Prophets sent to teach Judah during their captivity. The books of Daniel and Ezekiel are filled with figurative language and symbolism. Both are highly prophetic. Consequently, they may require considerable thought to understand. Daniel is apocalyptic, like the book of Revelations, and like Revelations is subject to many different kinds of misinterpretation.

The Minor Prophets: (See Table 3)

The twelve Minor Prophets may be studied individually or in consonance with 1, 2 Kings. Amos, Hosea, Zephaniah and Habakkuk lived during the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah. They portray the moral, spiritual and economic conditions of that time. So it may be of value to study these when studying Isaiah and Jeremiah. The other prophets all were present during the various reigns of the Kings of Israel. Some, such as Joel were priests. Zechariah prophesied in the days of Darius, after the return from Captivity. Malachi is considered to be contemporary with Ezra and Nehemiah.

Miscellaneous

The books of Ruth, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, Psalms and the books of Wisdom all may be studied individually. Ruth is an account of a Moabite woman who, after the death of her husband, marries Boaz, a relative of her widowed mother-in-law, Naomi. Their son, Obed, becomes the grandfather of David, an important link in the genealogy of Jesus. Ezra and Nehemiah tell of the reconstruction of the wall and the temple of Jerusalem, after the return from Captivity. Ezra was a priest and scribe. He supervised the rebuilding of the temple. Nehemiah was the cupbearer for the Persian King, Artaxerxes. He was responsible for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He was also responsible for instituting religious reforms. Esther is an account of a Jewish woman who marries the Persian King,Ahasuerus, and saves her people. Psalms and Books of Wisdom require no explanation. They are a source of inspiration, comfort and insight into godly living. Psalms is arbitrarily divided into 5 sections and may be studied this way. Book 1 (1-41);Book 2 (42-72);Book 3 (73-89);Book 4 (90-106; and Book 5 (107-150). Several of the Psalms contain Messianic prophecies (Psa. 22,34, 35,41,68,69,109) Top

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Page last updated: March 03, 2003