Genesis to Judges

GENESIS - The story of the people of God began with God’s choice of Abram. God called Abram to leave Ur and to go to the land He would show him. God promised that Abram would become a great nation possessing a great land and that through Abram He would bless all nations.

From Abraham to Isaac to Jacob (aka Israel) to Joseph, God’s promise to make Abraham a great nation began to be realized but the promise of possessing the land seemed to be sabotaged when Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt. But that was God’s plan to save them because there would be a seven-year famine in the land. Subsequently, Jacob and his family of 70 left the land and settled in Goshen in Egypt where they were amply provided.

EXODUS - God kept His promise to make Abraham into a great nation ... the family of 70 individuals that arrived in Egypt grew to about 600,000. But this increase in the Jewish population made the Egyptians nervous that they would rise against them in the event of a war so they made the Israelites become slaves.

After 400 years, God called Moses to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey; the promise of a homeland was now to be fulfilled.

Two months after they left Egypt, the Israelites arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai where God made a covenant with the people ... that if they would obey Him then He would be their God and they His treasured possession ... the Jewish people agreed and became the people of God.

At Mount Sinai, Moses received the laws (moral, civil and ceremonial) for the people and the design plan for the tabernacle. For one whole year, the people were constructing the tabernacle. The Book of Exodus ends with the erecting of the tabernacle and the transcendent God coming to dwell or “tabernacle” with His people.

LEVITICUS - In the Book of Exodus, the people of Israel were redeemed from slavery, established as a people of God by a covenant and by the presence of God in their midst. The Book of Leviticus now reveals how the people of God are to live with God in their midst. As the LORD said, “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”

Leviticus is a manual of worship of the holy God. It describes the method of approach through sacrifices and rituals. It is a book of regulations for both the people and the priests. It is also a book for holy living - with values, principles and behaviour that are different (separate) from their pagan neighbours.

NUMBERS - The Book takes its name from two numberings of the people – the first at Mount Sinai (Num. 1:1-54) and the second on the plains of Moab (Num. 26:1-51).

It chronicles the tragic transition from the old to the new generation. The people of God failed to trust God when tested at Kadesh-Barnea (Num. 13). The LORD disciplined them with 40 years of wandering in the wilderness till the entire adult population (20 years and upward) had died off with the exception of Joshua and Caleb (Num. 14:28-31).

DEUTERONOMY - This Book is Moses' farewell addresses to the people on the plains of Moab. Here Moses reviews the history of Israel for the new generation. He reiterated the commandments of God and emphasizes the importance of obedience to God. In a nutshell, Moses said that with obedience comes blessings and with disobedience comes curses/discipline (Deut. 27-28). The Book of Deuteronomy ends with the death of Moses.

JOSHUA- The Book of Joshua emphasizes God’s faithfulness to His promise of a land for Abraham’s descendants. The obedience of Joshua and the new generation of Israelites led to the crossing of the Jordan River and the conquest and division of the Promised Land. It demonstrates the working out of the principle in Deuteronomy that obedience brings blessings.

JUDGES - On the flip side, the Book of Judges shows that disobedience brings curses/discipline. The generation after Joshua rebelled against God and did what was right in their own eyes. But the Book also shows the patience and gracious love of God – He forgave when they repented and raised up judges to deliver the people from their enemies. Yet they did not listen to their judges and continued to worship other gods (Judg. 2:17), leading to cycles of “sin-suffer-sorry-saved”.

From Genesis to Judges