BIBLE SURVEY PART I

GROUND OF TRUTH BIBLE INSTITUTE

BIBLE SURVEY PART I

BIBLE SURVEY will afford us an opportunity to have a general view of the Old Testament part of the Bible. We shall concentrate only on those facts and incidences that are of relevance to our course of study. This course will not give us a total account of all the facts in the Bible, but it will make a very good study of the entire books of the Old Testament. This course will centre our focus on the plans of God for various times of the human history.

GOD’S PLAN FOR CREATION

God is not a God of anyhow, He is a God of purpose. He is not a God of chance; He is God of choice and intention, and good intention for that matter. A Professor asked his students this fundamental question: “Who made this world anyhow” Before the students could respond to the question of the Professor, there was thunder and the whole class shook to its foundation. There was dead silence everywhere. The Professor said “Anything I would say now would be anti-climatic (Less meaningful than the thunder) the class is dismissed” The whole students laughed and the tension was broken.

After the departure of the students, one of them stayed behind and engaged the Professor in a soul inspiring discussion. The student said “That thunder reminded me of a verse in the Bible here in Psalm 29:3 it says “The God of glory thunders….” The professor responded with another verse from the Bible, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork”

GOD HAD A PLAN: It became clear from the Bible’s account and in the thunder of the sky that God made this earth. There cannot be any design without a designer. Behind this beautiful designed earth, there must be a great Designer. The Bible records that “…God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen. 1:1. God did not just wake up one morning to start to create the world, He had a plan; His plan is what the Bible called “Eternal Purpose” or “Secret Plan” Eph. 3:11.

Ever before the heavens and the Earth were created, the Godhead: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit planned and charted out the course of this world. “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, HE FORMED IT TO BE INHABITED: I am the LORD; and there is none else” Is. 45:18.

CREATION: Heb. 1:1, 2; 11:3, Gen. 1:2; The power of God’s creation was and is His WORD. When the time came for Him to bring His plan into reality, He spoke and all His plans came into reality. He created the light on the first day, divided the water from the water on the second day and brought the firmament into being the second day. On the third day He made the water below to the gathered together in one place and called it the Seas. He made the dry land to appear and spoke to the dry land to bring forth vegetables, trees and all manners of plants. On the forth day God spoke sun, Moon and all the stars into existence and made them to dwell in the galaxies from where they will rule both the day and the night. He commanded them to be for time and season. On the fifth day God spoke to the water to bring forth the sea creatures and the birds. For the first time God opened His mouth to bless a set of creatures. On the six day He made animals and went ahead to use the dust of the ground to make man, His crowning achievement, in His very image. He breathed into the nostrils of man and man became a living soul, completely different from other things He had made. God blessed man and deliberately gave man dominion over all the works of His hand. Gen. 1:1-31 and 2:1-4.

THE ATOMIC NATURE OF THINGS:   The account of the passages above showed that God made this earth and all that it contains. The Bible confirms that God used His WORD to create what we are seeing today. (John 1:1-3, Heb. 11:3)

The Scientists have just discovered that truth that has ever been present in the Bible in recent time. They have now discovered that every thing in the world is made up of atoms, electrons, protons and neutrons none of which could be seen with the naked eyes.

THE DINOSAURS: Dinosaurs are large extinct reptiles. The discovery of the Dinosaurs (their origin and destruction) have posed a problem for people when they think about creation. Where did these creatures come from? Why should the Bible be silent about them?

We all know that the Bible cannot mention everything. For instance, the Bible never mentioned Cats, yet we believed that God created the Cats. The fact that the Bible did not mention the issue of Dinosaurs does not affect the integrity of the Bible. Though the Bible never spoke about Dinosaurs, yet there are truths in the Bible that made them fit into the Bible story of the heaven and the earth created by God in Gen 1:1. God then destroyed that first earth which included Dinosaurs and the earth became dark and lifeless. Then God recreated the earth as it were now.

There was geological evidence to support the theory that there was a sudden destruction which may include the Dinosaurs in the ancient past. This destruction could be reasonably placed at a time before the recreation of the earth as we know it today.

THE “GAP THEORY”

This diagram explained what is called The Gap Theory because of the suggested gap in the time of the first creation and the second creation.

This theory cannot be proved, so it is not a fact. However, the fact always remains that God planned this earth, created it and made it habitable for plants, animals and man.

GOD’S PLAN FOR THE FIRST MAN AND WOMAN

There have been so many devil inspired theories to counter the infallible truth of God’s WORD. Prominent among such theories is the theory of Evolution. This theory believes that the earth came into being by so called “natural causes” But the Bible remained infallible ever! It proved to us that God does not act anyhow, He planned His things. Man never evolved. God made His plan plain. “Come LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE…” Gen. 1:26, 27-31, 2:7-25.

God planned that the first man should be like Him. He planned to make the first man AFTER His likeness. And true to His plan, He made man to look like Him. God is three in one, He also made man to have spirit soul and body. God has feelings, He gave man feelings. God can think, He made man a think thank also. God could speak, man was also made to express himself in words of mouth. God is a ruler, He also made man to rule over all things He has created. God gives life, He also made man to bring forth life into the world by child bearing.

THE TEST God also had a plan to test the first man and woman. Satan had challenged God in the past. He led some one-third of the angels in heaven in rebellion against JEHOVAH but he failed. Since then his place has no more been found in heaven. God decided to use an “inferior” creature to possess what the devil wanted; this is just to further humiliate the devil before his final damnation.

1.                  He never created man an immortal being;

2.                  He made man of unfired clay to allow easy dissolution in water (baptism), for remoulding.

God knew that man will fall and his fall will bring temporary set back into the lives of the first man and woman but He also planned that one day He will send His son into this world to redeem man. (Gen. 3:1-15)

GOD’S PLAN MARRED AND RENEWED

THE POTTER Jeremiah was asked to go into a potter’s place to see how potter was making a pot; and all of a sudden the pot was marred in the hands of the potter. Jeremiah saw that the potter never abandons his former plan on the pot. The potter took the marred pot carefully and threw it on the smooth stone slab and beat clay (the future experience in water baptism), until the defect was worked out completely. He brought the clay back to the wheel and carefully refashioned it into the earlier desired shape. The potter later backed the pot in a hot oven (the future experience of the Holy Ghost fire baptism), to make it retain the shape. When it was cold he removed it, behold the marred spot was gone!

GOD’S PLAN:  God was like the potter. God never abandon man in his marred state when the devil made man to sin against God. God knew that the fall will bring a temporary set back to man so He planned that man will have the lost likeness back in a better way, this time around He will send His son into the world to die for man’s sin to recreate the lost image and likeness in man and fired him up with the Holy Spirit in order for man to retain the new image.

WHAT WAS LOST:            Adam and Eve lost a great deal of value as a result of their sin in the garden of Eden. They lost confidence to relate with God. They lost their physical lives in the process, for they began to die. Their bodies began to age. Sickness set in, fear ruled to sweat before they could eat. God drove them out of the garden and sent them into the wilderness. All these and many more were those things lost by man.

However, God planned that these losses will not be eternal. He made a plan to bring back man into his former glorious state, and even to have more.

THE WAY BACK There are three ways by which God planned to bring man back to Himself.

1.                  He promised them children and the Seed of the Woman. One day He will send the Son of God into the world to share in man’s humanity and break the power of Satan and sin over their lives by His death and resurrection.

2.                  God took away the shame of Adam and Eve by clothing them with an animal skin. This implied that God had to kill an animal to get out its skin. This clothing gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to approach God but from a distance. The death of this animal clearly typifies the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus.

3.                  God planned that one day He would finally restore man to Himself after their death and the death of the future child – The seed. They would then be given new bodies and be brought back to Him finally.

GOD’S PLAN ACCEPTED AND REJECTED

THE GREAT CHOICE:  God made man a free moral agent, and the relationship between man and God since the fall of Adam and Eve has been on choice. Man at sundry times had to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to God’s plan of salvation. This choice ultimately determines where each man who has ever lived on this planet earth will spend his/her eternity.

The first children of Adam and Eve had to make their choice like all of us. Cain, the first born, rejected God’s way and followed his own way. And he was also rejected by God. But Abel accepted God’s way and God accepted him and his offering (Gen. 4:1-6). God rejected Cain because he disobeyed the revealed will of God while Abel his younger brother accepted it. “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice…” Heb. 11:4. Obviously, the only source of Abel’s faith must have been by hearing from this parent. (Rom. 10:17)

THE WAY OF CAIN:  Simply because God accepted the offering of Abel and rejected Cain’s, Cain became jealous of his brother which led him to kill his brother thus committing the first murder in the world.

Many are like Cain today who will not follow the way of God but their own way. And when God rejects them they become jealous of the righteous ones and hunt after their lives. Some will go as far as committing character assassination against another person in order for them to live.

THE WORLD THAT GET WORSE AND WORSE: After the case of Cain and Abel, millions of people had to follow their way. Some accepted God’s plan, others rejected it. The degeneration of morals began to increase as more people rejected God’s way and took after their own way which of course was inspired by the devil. As a result of this terrible condition, sin increased at alarming rate in the world and violence took over the land. God looked through the world and found only Noah walking before Him. So God decided to wipe off the world with flood, only Noah and his family found favour in the sight of God, just eight people out of the world. (Gen. 6:5-7).

THE FLOOD:  The evil of the people in the world greatly grieved the heart of God. And God decided to wipe off the entire humanity with the exception of the eight people. God revealed this secret to Noah and instructed him to build an ark into which all that would be saved will enter. Noah obeyed the voice of God and built the ark.

The flood came as God promised and the only safe place in the world was inside the ark. After the flood Noah offered a sweet smelling sacrifice unto the LORD and God was pleased in heaven smelling the grateful heart of  Noah and being reminded how beautiful it will be if many will believe like Noah and found safety in His plan of salvation. (Gen. 7:10, 12, 13, 15, 23; 8:1, 2, 19, 20-22).

God is still revealing His will unto His people till today. It was very unfortunate that none of those employed by Noah to build the ark got saved. They are many gospellers today who are only building the ark. They are only working for money and not to get saved. Even though God employed us as workers, yet we all need to enter into the ark.

GOD’S PLAN RETOLD TO FAITHFUL FAMILIES

THE GREAT TOWER:  After so many years the faithful Noah had died, the people of the world degenerated again and went into rebellion against God. They mobilized one another against the revealed will of God. They decided to build a city, a tower and make a name.

They decided to build a city so that they could start to live independent of God. They got fed up with being governed. They wanted independence. They also decided to build a tower which will reach to heaven possibly to keep watch on God lest He should interfere in their affairs. Or possibly they may want the tower to serve as a place of safety for them. They finally wanted to carve out their own name. Why should they be attached to God’s name when they too can build their own? They asked.

God never changed His mind concerning His word. He had once spoken that they should scatter; and since everybody decided not to scatter, one would have thought that God will accommodate them, but no. god stood His ground, He came and confused their language, and they abandoned the building project. The world from thence was occupied with people of many tribes and nation just separated by language.

GOD CHOSE ABRAHAM: God narrowed His dealing down to a man and his family unto whom He will retell His plan. So God chose Abram or Abraham. God called him out of Ur and asked him to go to a land He will show him. God attached great promises to this call. God promised to turn him into a great nation, make his name great, bless him, make him a channel of blessing and bless every family in the world through him. (Gen. 12:1-4)

THE SECOND TEST:  The second test which God gave Abraham seemed a bit harder than the first. God had given him the son and had confirmed again and again that He will fulfill His counsel through Isaac. Now God spoke to Abraham to go and offer Isaac as a burnt offering unto Him. How can God fulfilled His promise of blessing all the families of the earth through Isaac if he dies? But Abraham believed that even if he offered Isaac as burnt offering unto the LORD, the LORD is still capable of raising him from the dead. Obviously, God was not interested in the death of Isaac, He only wanted to test the loyalty of Abraham. (Gen. 22:1, 2, 10, 12, 13, Rom. 8:31, 32, Heb. 11).

THE STORY OF JOSEPH:            God continued the unfolding of His plan after the death of Abraham with Isaac. He retold His plan to Isaac and later to Jacob. Jacob’s son was chosen later by God to illustrate His plan. There are many resemblances between Jesus and Joseph. Joseph was hated by his brothers so also was Jesus hated by His brethren. Joseph was sold by his brothers, Jesus was also sold by Judas a very close associate. Joseph suffered for the sin he never committed, Jesus also suffered for the sin He never committed. Joseph was later accepted as their leader, so also will Israel come to accept Jesus as their king. (Gen. 37-50)

As a result of severe famine in Canaan, all the brothers of Joseph including their father migrated to Egypt to sojourn there. 75 people came as family into the land of Egypt. There God multiplied them exceedingly; and eventually out of fear of the unknown they were made slaves and treated cruelly. Their male children were killed. Some were drowned in river Nile just because they were Hebrews. As a result of their suffering, they lifted a cry unto God who raised a man to deliver them from the bondage. From there God began to show His plan not only to a family but to a nation. (Ex. 1:1-7, 13, 14)

GOD’S PLAN FOR A NATION – ITS ORGANISATION

A NATION OF SLAVES:  The Children of Jacob grew from seventy five souls into about a million. Initially they were well treated because Joseph occupied the position that was next to Pharaoh. When their father died and carried they their father out of Egypt to Canaan for burial; they all came back to Egypt after the burial of their father. When Joseph their brother died they never saw it as an indication for them to return to Canaan, they only perfumed the body of Joseph and remained in Egypt. Eventually, Pharaoh the friend to Joseph died and yet they remained in Egypt. They thought everything will be alright for ever until another Pharaoh who knew nothing about Joseph came to the throne and began to treat them cruelly. Therefore they sighed, cried and groaned. (Ex. 2:23-25)

THE PLAGUES:  God heard the cry of these people and remembered his covenant unto Abraham that his descendants will be slaves to a strange nation for four hundred years, after which He will set them free. (Gen. 15:13, 14)

God in his faithfulness chose a man called Moses to deliver Israel out of bondage. The preparation of Moses was an interesting one. He was raised in the palace of Pharaoh and trained to take over the reins of power in Egypt. He came out to see the Hebrews one day and found what he saw unbearable. He killed the faulty Egyptian in the process and buried him. The matter became known unto pharaoh and he had to run to Midian for safety. He was forty years old when he ran to Midian. he began to live in the wilderness with Jethro as a shepherd and spent forty years there before God called him to do the very assignment for which he was born.

God brought Moses back to Egypt as His oracle and told Pharaoh the word of the LORD: Let My people go that they may serve me. Pharaoh refused to let Israel go and God began to show His power over Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. God brought upon them the plagues of blood, maggots, flies, frogs, diseases, hail, locust, darkness and death of their first born. In all these the land of Goshen where Israel lived was spared of these calamities.

On the last one which was the death of the first born God instructed Israel to take a lamb, one year old and killed it per family and smears their door post and lintels with the blood of the lamb. The Angel of destruction will only spare the house where there is blood stain. And God was faithful to His promise, the first born of the Egyptians were killed including the first born of Pharaoh; and as a result Israel was released from slavery. An estimated number of about three million people filed out of Egypt this great day, and they moved toward Canaan. (Ex. 2-12)

THE EXODUS:  As Israel filed out carting away the wealth of Egypt Pharaoh jerked back on his seat and reasoned that Israel will go away with such a great blessing and Egypt will also missed the cheap labour found in the people of Israel? So he decided to pursue them. God led Israel toward the Red Sea obviously to deal a final blow on Pharaoh. God divided the sea before Israel and made them to cross on dry land, Egypt also pursued them into sea and eventually God instructed Moses to stretch his hand over the sea to bring back the water into its place, so the host of Pharaoh was drowned in the sea. (Ex. 14:5-31)

THE LAW GIVEN: Israel, now a free nation must be organized, so God brought them to Mount Sinai where they were organized into a nation and given a law as a sovereign nation. (Ex. 20-23). The law was to guide them on how to behave and conduct themselves. On this same mountain God instructed Moses to build a Tabernacle so that God could dwell in their midst as their King. In this tabernacle all manner of sacrifices would be made and the people will be able to consult with God. (Lev. 4:27-31)

THE LAW BROKEN:  Moses who went to the mountain to collect the law tarried in God’s presence, he was there for forty days. The people got fed up and asked Aaron to make a physical god for them, breaking the first two laws that Moses went to collect. Aaron made them a golden calf and they called it their gods who brought Israel out of Egypt. The people began to worship it. When Moses saw this shameful act of Israel as he was descending the mountain, he slammed the tablets of stone in which the laws were written on the ground and broke it in annoyance. He burnt the calf and threw its ashes on the people’s water and forced them to drink the water. Thousands died as a result of this sin, Moses had to intercede for the people before God could forgive them. Moses also had to go back to the mountain for a fresh tablet of stone, this time he was the one who carved the stones because he broke the first one in anger. (Ex. 34: 1-4)

The law given to Israel made them a unique operating Theocracy as their system of government. God was sure to make them a model, a nation which will have a wonderful history.

GOD’S PLAN FOR A NATION – ON TO CANAAN

PUNISHMENT FOR UNBELIEF:            After the organization of Israel as a nation, Moses sent twelve spies to go and spy out the land of Cannan and bring report back. The people went as they were sent and only two out of the twelve brought good report, the rest ten brought evil report. The report of the ten brought fear into three camp of Israel and made them to murmured against God and Moses. They decided to go back to Egypt. They estimated themselves to be grasshoppers beside the inhabitants of Cannan. Only Joshua and Caleb believed that God had given them the land. For this God made them to wander in the wilderness for forty years until all of them who were above twenty years of age at the time of the rebellion died in the wilderness.

THE NEW LEADER: Moses and Aaron also died in the wilderness and when Israel was about to enter into Cannan God raised another man as their leader, his name was Joshua. Moses reminded Israel and Joshua all the laws and promises of God. He wrote the law in a book and handed it over to Joshua. (Deut. 31: 1-3)

THE WARS BEGIN:  After the death of Moses, Joshua took over the reins of power. He was a militant man. He had spare in his hand. He never coveted the rod of Moses. Moses had died with his rod in his hand. Joshua sent two spies to Jericho to spy out the land. The testimony brought by these spies showed that God had given the land over unto them. God asked them to march round the walls of the city for seven days. On the seventh day, the LORD brought the walls of Jericho down. They attempted to take the smaller city of Ai with few soldiers, but they were confounded as Israel fled before his enemy. Joshua was sad for this and he prayed and God told him that there was sin in the camp. Achan had taken accursed things of Jericho. All the spoils from Jericho were to be dedicated unto God. Achan was fished out and God gave victory to Israel.

THE LAND WON:   There were many other victories God gave to Israel. Thirty one kings were defeated and part of the Promised Land was possessed. Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel. Only the Levites were not given land as others, they were only given cities among the people so that they might influence the people for God. (Josh. 24:1-3). But unfortunately Joshua prepared no man to take over from him, so when he died he handed over to no man in particular.

GOD’S PLAN FOR A NATION – FROM THE JUDGES TO THE KINGS

SIN AGAINST GOD:  When Joshua was alive Israel served God but when Joshua died the people began to do that which is evil in the sight of God. They began to serve idols of other nations and thus incurred the wrath of God. God therefore sold them into the hands of their enemies who oppressed them for as many years they were in apostasy. When the punishment becomes severe, Israel will repent and cried unto God. God will raise a deliverer for them who will deliver them from the hands of their enemies. After the deliverance the deliverer will rule or judge Israel for the rest of his life, for this period Israel will serve God but after the demise of the judge they will go into apostasy again. (Judge. 2:7-19)

THE JUDGES:  Several judges rules Israel during this trouble period. The judges were either priests, soldiers or prophets. They included Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, Eli, and Samuel.

The people asked for a king during the time of Samuel. Samuel felt bad about this because he had served faithfully well. God told him that Israel never rejected Samuel as their leader but they rejected God as their King. God told Samuel to ordain a king for them, and Saul was anointed as king over Israel.

KING SAUL:            Saul started very well but he later backslided. So God rejected him as king over Israel and Samuel told him that the kingdom had been taken away from him and given to his neighbour.

Samuel was sent to go and anoint David in place of Saul. It was such period that Israel fought with the Philistines and God used David to kill the captain of the host of Philistines. This feat brought David to limelight in Israel. Saul promoted David and made him the commander-in-chief of the army of Israel.

Later the feelings of Saul changed towards David. Firstly, the woman of the city had ascribed greater success to David and ascribed lesser one to Saul. This brought jealousy against David and Saul sought to kill him. David who was then living in the palace fled from the presence of Saul. Twice he had opportunity to kill Saul but he never stretch his hand to touch the anointed of God. Eventually Saul went into battle and he fell.

KING DAVID:  David was anointed three times:

1.                  Among his brethren

2.                  Over Judah. (He was king over Judah for seven years and half years.)

3.                  Over the entire nation of Israel.

David did many wise things as a king in Israel. He conquered all the land given to them including Jerusalem. He made Jerusalem the capital city of Israel. He brought the Ark of covenant to Jerusalem. He organized the worship in the tabernacle and introduced music into the worship of JEHOVAH. He wrote many of the Psalms. He decided to build a temple for God, but God refused and told him that his very son will build the temple. God promised David that his dynasty would last for ever.

Though David was a great king yet he had his failures. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah her husband. He admitted his sin before God and God forgave him. His children tried to overthrow him on the throne but God gave him victory. (2 Sam. 11: 1-27, 12: 1-14).

KING SOLOMON:  God was faithful to His Promise to David. He brought Solomon to the throne and made him to be a very wise king. He built the temple and his fame was all over the world. He signed peace pact with the surrounding nations. Many people came to see Solomon and size of his wisdom. Jerusalem became a tourist centre. He had about one thousand women as his wives (I Kings 10: 1-9). Thus the nation of Israel grew from just twelve nation being ruled loosely into a united nation.

GOD’S PLAN FOR A NATION – DECLINE AND FALL

THE DIVIDED KINGDOM:  Towards the end of Solomon’s life, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and God decided to tear his kingdom into two. This came to pass in the days of his child Rehoboam. (I Kings 11: 4-13).

After the death of Solomon Jeroboam a one time officer of Solomon led a revolt against Rehoboam and the nation was divided into two. Ten tribes followed Jeroboam while two were loyal to the house of David-Judah and Levi. The ten tribes in the northern part of the nation were known as Israel while the two tribes in the southern part were known as Judah or later Jews. (I Kings 12: 1-5, 12-14, 19-20).

THE KINGDOM’S FALL: The two divided kingdoms were alike in some ways; they were ruled by several kings and eventually they were defeated by their enemies and taken into captivity. The northern Israel was much more sinful than Judah. Israel lasted for 250 years, and were taken into captivity by the Assyrian king and they became the lost ten tribes of Israel. Judah lasted for 385 years. The Babylonian and Nehemiah were those used by God to lead Israel back to their land.

THE PROPHETS:    The time from the division of the kingdom until the time Israel and Judah were defeated by the Assyrian and Babylonians is known as pre-exilic period. The prophets who prophesied in the northern kingdom were Ahijah, Elijah, Micaiah, Elisah, Jonah, Hosea and Obed. Those who prophesied in the south were Shemiah, Iddo, Azariah, Hanani, Jehu, Eliezer, Jahaziel, Zacharia, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Joel, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Obadiah. Two of the prophets prophesied in captivity – exilic prophets they were Ezekiel and Daniel, Jeremiah stayed back in Judah and prophesied there.

There were prophets who prophesied after the return to their homeland, post-exilic prophets. They were Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. These prophets led the people back to God. (Zech. 9:14).