Isaiah
Aug 31, 2010 Old Testament Book Summaries
As we hit different Old Testament books in the Text Project, I post little summaries here on my blog. If you are too lazy to read, here’s a video version for ya:
Isaiah
Author
Isaiah, a prophet
Date
Somewhere around 700 BC
Theme
God always has his people, even if everyone else is walking away. In Isaiah, we see the prophet calling God’s people (particularly those of the nation / tribe of Judah) to repentance. He is reminding them that God will be faithful to judge them because of their rebellion and that he will be equally faithful to fulfill his unconditional covenant with Abraham. That means he will eventually give them back the land God had promised Israel forever.
Isaiah shifts into future mode in the end of the book, describing in prophetic form Jesus’ atoning work on the cross and the coming Kingdom (which we still wait for today).
What this book teaches me about Jesus
This book is a great picture that God judges and saves. You can see Jesus all over this book if you just look for him.
Random Thoughts
Isaiah 53 is perhaps one of the most famous prophecies about Jesus, but you’ll find lots of other familiar verses as you read through this book.
Tags: bible, old testament
Job
Aug 11, 2010 Old Testament Book Summaries
Over a year ago, I was blogging my way through the Old Testament and I stopped. I figure I will periodically pick it up again as we encounter various books in the Text Project. Since we are reading through Job right now, I figured I’d start here.
Job
Author
Nobody, this side of heaven, can identify the author of this book.
Date
Experts are all over on this one, just like with the Authorship. Some place Job way back to 2000BC, some in the 6th century BC, and some in the 3rd century BC. The only thing for certain is that you can’t be dogmatic on your view.
Theme
You think you know suffering? You know nothing of suffering. Job was just about as close to perfect as a man can get. He was a moral, upstanding, godly individual and his life fell apart. In the matter of minutes, he loses a huge fortune and a large loving family.
His response is to ask God “why?” This is a good thing. Then he eventually turns to demanding an answer from God. This is not a good thing. God sets him straight.
There’s also a great set of dialogue between Job and his wife, as well as Job and his friends. Pretty much everyone blames Job or God, but he won’t go there.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
Like Jesus himself said, “God sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous alike.” Suffering happens to all of us, no matter of “good” we think we are. But Jesus came and suffered the most, even though he deserved it the least.
Random Thoughts
Job is a masterpiece of literature. The author is a literary genius, he is well versed in science and human nature as well. If you can pull it off, sit down and read it straight through in one sitting.
Tags: bible, job, old testament, suffering
1st and 2nd Chronicles
Apr 10, 2009 Old Testament Book Summaries
Today, I’m going to continue my series going through the books of the Old Testament by hitting two: 1st and 2nd Chronicles. Again, this makes sense because they were originally one book.
1st Chronicles
Author
We can’t know for certain, though much Jewish tradition attributes it to Ezra. It is very likely there were several authors with our editor compiling them together.
Date
Somewhere between 598 and 425 BC. Obviously that’s a wide span of time, but we can’t know for certain.
Theme
This book starts out with a broad historical sketch from Adam to Saul, but largely focuses on the reign of David as king. The goal of the book is clearly to remind the children of Israel that they are God’s chosen people.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
Again, we see King David as foreshadowing Jesus as king.
Random Thoughts
It’s notable how much of the Old Testament is spent on reminding Israel that God loves them and he is faithful. We need to constantly remind ourselves of these things, as well.
2nd Chronicles
Author
We can’t know for certain, though much Jewish tradition attributes it to Ezra. It is very likely there were several authors with our editor compiling them together.
Date
Somewhere between 598 and 425 BC. Obviously that’s a wide span of time, but we can’t know for certain.
Theme
Occuring at the same time as the Samuels and Kings, this book details the building of the temple (under Solomon) and the fall of Jerusalem that followed.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
Again, we see King David as foreshadowing Jesus as king. In fact, this book is very big on this since it focuses on his spiritual side more than the preceding books. The Temple is always a cool picture of Jesus, as well.
Random Thoughts
Even as we see David’s earthly kingdom collapse, we are reminded that his family line remains intact leading to Jesus and his heavenly kingdom.
1st and 2nd Kings
Apr 7, 2009 Old Testament Book Summaries
Today, I’m going to continue my series going through the books of the Old Testament by hitting two: 1st and 2nd Kings. Again, this makes sense because they were originally one book.
1st Kings
Author
We can’t know for certain, though much Jewish tradition attributes it to Jeremiah.
Date
Around 550 BC
Theme
This book picks up the historical account of Israel after the death of David. His son Solomon (author of 3 books of the Bible we’ll hit later) became king. The years under Solomon’s leadership were the high point for Israel. Things were going awesome, because Solomon was a super wise and powerful leader. Unfortunately, as often happens with such leaders, his heart drifted from God. His big sin was the ladies. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines, in direct violation of God’s command to him not to do so. After his reign, the kingdom split apart and started it’s decline. This whole situation is a clear picture of the consequences of disobedience.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
Solomon foreshadows Jesus by portraying Jesus’ future reign when he establishes his kingdom on Earth and through his great wisdom.
Random Thoughts
Solomon, just like David, shows how God uses imperfect people for his glory and to foreshadow his ultimate work.
2nd Kings
Author
We can’t know for certain, though much Jewish tradition attributes it to Jeremiah.
Date
Around 550 BC
Theme
Now that the kingdom of Israel has been divided, this book shows the history of each of them. It also details the history of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. It ultimately carries the same theme as 1st Kings: a clear picture of the consequences of disobedience. God’s patience wears thin and he punishes his people.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
Elijah foreshadows John the Baptist as the forerunner of Jesus. Elisha foreshadows Jesus in the miracles he performs and his acts of kindness.
Random Thoughts
1st Kings starts with the picture of blessing that comes with obedience. 2nd Kings ends with the picture of the consequences of disobedience.
1st and 2nd Samuel
Apr 2, 2009 Old Testament Book Summaries
OK, I’ve been a tad slow in my Old Testament updates, because I decided I didn’t want them to rule my blogging. I’ll get to them as I can throughout the next month, but they most likely won’t happen on a daily basis.
Today, I hit two books (to make up for lost time). It also fits because the earliest Hebrew manuscripts had these two books combined into one.
1st Samuel
Author
We can’t know for certain, but it’s likely Samuel either wrote this book or at least contributed some of the source material. There’s no way to know for sure without a Way Back Machine.
Date
Most likely 930 BC or later
Theme
This book begins with the last of the great judges Samuel. He was also a prophet, priest, and awesome dude. Unfortunately, during this time the jews were clamoring to have a king. Basically, they were trying to keep up with the Joneses and the Joneses had a king. God then directs Samuel to anoint Saul as the king. That didn’t last long, though, because God then rejected Saul because he was disobedient to God and arrogant as a leader. The rest of this book shows Saul as the king, battling with God’s new choice for king: a shepherd named David.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
Samuel foreshadows Jesus in that he was a prophet and priest inaugurating a new age. It also begins to set up David as king so that Jesus will eventually be born from this kingly line.
Random Thoughts
This book covers the same material that the NBC series Kings is covering right now.
2nd Samuel
Author
We can’t know for certain, but it’s likely Samuel either wrote this book or at least contributed some of the source material.
Date
Most likely 930 BC or later
Theme
This book picks up neatly where 1st Samuel lets off. It details the 40 year reign of David as king. It shows him as a man after God’s own heart, as well as a massive failure as a murderer and adulterer.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
David foreshadows Jesus as king of Israel. God establishes the Davidic covenant which shows that the Messiah Jesus will come from his family line.
Random Thoughts
If God can use a screwball like David, he can use me. I take comfort in that.
Old Testament Timeline
Mar 30, 2009 Old Testament Book Summaries
This past weekend at Riv, I promised that I would post the timeline of the Old Testament I shared with everyone. For some reason, I had a real hard time finding one of these online so I figured this may be a good resource for you.
Click here to download a printable PDF version.
Tags: old testament
Ruth
Mar 28, 2009 Old Testament Book Summaries
This weekend at Riv, I am going to be teaching on the book of Ruth. Those of you who read my blog on Saturdays will get a sneak peek of the message by reading this summary.
Ruth
Author
Traditionally, Samuel has been listed as the author of Ruth although I think that is unlikely since Samuel wouldn’t have referenced King David in the end of the book since David became king after Samuel died. Because of that, we can’t be sure who wrote it.
Date
1000 BC
Theme
This book is a beautiful piece of foreshadowing about Jesus. It tells the story of Ruth, who was a Gentile woman married to a Jewish man. Her husband died and instead of going back to her people and her gods, she stayed with her mother-in-law and committed herself to her and her God.
She ends up meeting and marrying Boaz who served as a “family (or kinsmen) redeemer” for Ruth.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
The qualifications of a family redeemer are:
1) He must be a family member
2) He must not be a slave
3) He must be wealthy enough to redeem (buy back the family land)
4) He must be willing to redeem
We find each of these in Jesus, our Family Redeemer.
Random Thoughts
It’s so cool that Ruth (a gentile woman) has a book of the Bible named after her. Jesus is also descended from her family line. How cool that even in the Old Testament we see a picture of God saving not just his people the Jews, but Gentiles too.
Judges
Mar 24, 2009 Old Testament Book Summaries
Judges
Author
Traditionally, Samuel has been listed as the author of Judges although we can’t know for sure and that’s just an educated guess
Date
1050-1000 BC
Theme
This book is the opposite of Joshua. Where Joshua shows everything going well for the Jews, Judges shows everything unraveling. Not just once, either. It shows their world unravelling seven times. Then when things are really sucking, they call out to God to save them and He does. It’s called judges because each time God raised up judges to restore the people.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
Again and again, we see the same theme pop up in the Old Testament: God redeems. In Judges, he delivered the people through a series of human judges, ultimately Jesus came to deliver us once and for all.
Random Thoughts
A “judge” in the Old Testament sense of the word wasn’t what we think of today. It was more like a combination of the Executive and Judicial branches of the our governmental system. They were the military, civil, and judicial leadership all rolled into one person.
Joshua
Mar 23, 2009 Old Testament Book Summaries
Joshua
Author
Joshua
Date
1400-1370 BC
Theme
This book chronicles the jews leaving the desert and conquering the land God promised them. We see the mantle of leadership pass from Moses to Joshua.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
“Joshua” means “God Saves.” The Greek version of this name is “Jesus.” There are a few little bits of foreshadowing to Jesus throughout the book, including Joshua’s actions in brining the people to the promised land. Some think Rahab’s scarlet cord she hung out her window to save her and her family foreshadows Jesus’ blood.
It’s also likely that Jesus himself appears to Joshua in 5:13-15. C’mon, you know you want to look it up now…
Random Thoughts
Joshua was a brilliant military mastermind and you can see God’s sovereignty all over this. Moses led the people out of Egypt and into the desert. He was uniquely qualified for this because of his Jewish heritage and Egyptian upbringing as well as his days as a shepherd. Joshua (as a military strategist) was perfect to lead the people in conquering the promised land. At the same time, both of these men did their jobs by God’s power and not their own. I love how this shows that God accomplishes his purposes through his power and through people he chooses to use.
Deuteronomy
Mar 20, 2009 Old Testament Book Summaries
Deuteronomy
Author
Moses, with someone else (probably Joshua) adding the last chapter.
Date
1410 BC
Theme
This book is a “best of Moses” sermon series. It basically manuscripts his teachings over a 40 day period at the tail end of his life. This is a really cool book because Moses is passing the message of God onto a new generation. They had not been enslaved in Egypt, they didn’t get to see the Red Sea part, or see Moses come down from the mountain with the 10 Commandments like Charlton Heston. Instead, they had all been born in the desert. These were Moses’ parting words to them before they entered the Promised Land.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
Moses essentially summarizes the big themes of the Bible so far: God is faithful, God’s standard is Holiness and there are consequences for not meeting that standard, God will bless and deliver. Each of these has it’s end result in the life and work of Jesus.
Random Thoughts
Deuteronomy is one of my favorite books even though I have a hard time spelling it. Moses’ vision from God and passion for God are an inspiration to me.
