This Sunday at church the pastor talked about how important the Old Testament is. I had only heard literally one other sermon about that. Mike Erre at Rock Harbor once talked about the fact that we needed to be reading the Old Testament too in order to truly understand the New Testament.
For those who love fiction it seems the Old Testament would appeal more. I am generally just a reader of non-fiction, but I grew up hearing the stories of the Old Testament so of course I like them. :)
I thought I would write out the cliff-notes of the Old Testament for any interested. :)
-In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth :)
-Adam and Eve fell and ate the forbidden fruit, so they were kicked out of the garden
-Cain killed his brother Abel and was cursed to wander the land
-Then Adam and Eve had many other children who then had many children
-Noah built the ark to save he and his family from the flood God sent on the world because it had become so evil
-Abraham was given a promise from God that his decedents would outnumber the stars, even though he had no kids yet :)
-Abraham has his son Isaac, but God tells him to offer him on the alter to test his faith but provides a ram to be offered instead. A foreshadowing of God sending his only son Jesus to die for us. Perhaps why Jesus asked if the "cup could pass from him" because God provided a way out for Abraham and his son. :(
-Isaac has a son named Jacob
-Jacob has 12 sons, the youngest being Joseph, who is sold into slavery by his older brothers. :( Joseph is an Old Testament example of Jesus. Jesus was also betrayed and sold by one closest to him. Also Jacob had 12 sons like Jesus had 12 disciples. Interesting. :)
-There is a famine in Egypt and Joseph helps everyone to stay fed, after he is put second in command over Egypt. This could be an allegory for Jesus now giving us living water so that we will never thirst etc.
-The Israelites then become enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. Possibly punishment for Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery. A generational curse perhaps, since the 12 tribes of Israel came from those 12 brothers. Interesting. :)
-God sends Moses to deliver the Israelites
-Moses sends the plagues on Egypt and Pharaoh sets God's people free :) He could be seen as an Old Testament depiction of Satan. Jesus sets us free from Satan now. Also Moses was a foreshadowing of Christ who would set his people free once and for all internally from the slavery to sin. :)
-The Israelites wander in the wilderness for 40 years, this is when Moses gets the books of the law on Mount Sinai from God; Leviticus, Numbers and Deut.
-Joshua is raised up as the leader to replace Moses because he is courageous. He leads the Israelites into the promise land. He leads the famous battle at Jericho where the walls fell down when they marched around it and blew their trumpets. :)
-Judges is a book that tells more of the Israelites history
-1 and 2 Samuel tells about Samuel who was given by his mom to the temple and all about the life of David; his childhood, him killing Goliath and his rule as king over Israel. It also tells about what happens with David's children and how they were under a generational curse because of David committing adultery with Bathsheba.
-1 and 2 Kings tell about the various kings that ruled over Israel. The pattern seems to be that one king did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and burned all the idols etc and the next king brings the idols and foreign gods back and does evil in the sight of the Lord
-1 and 2 Chronicles talks about the reign of King David and then King Solomon
-Then there are the prophets of Ezra and Nehemiah. They tell the people how to honor God.
-Esther saves her people from being executed and appeals to the king, her husband
-Job is said to be the oldest book in the Bible. It tells the story of Job who suffered more than anyone ever has pretty much but he still honored God throughout and in the end.
-the Psalms were mostly written by David throughout his life, as he is running and hiding from King Saul, who wanted to kill him out of jealousy, and during his reign as the second king over Israel :)
-the Proverbs were written by King Solomon primarily to his son. Ecclesiastes was wisdom from Solomon to the world. And Song of Solomon was Solomon's wisdom on what sex in marriage should look like. It has also been said to be a picture of how much God loves the church.
-Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel are prophets warning Israel that if they do not stop worshipping idols God will punish them. The people of Israel do not listen to them but beat them and abuse them etc.
-Lamentations is a book of lament over how far Israel has fallen and let God down. :(
-Daniel has the great stories of the three men who are thrown into the fire for not bowing down to the idol made of gold that King Neb made. King Neb is said to be a foreshadowing of the anti-Christ who will be prideful and demand that all worship him as an idol. Daniel takes place when the Israelites are in captivity in Babylon. Daniel in the lion's den is in this book. The second half of Daniel is end times prophecy that is very hard to understand :)
-Hosea tells the story of a man who God commands to marry a prostitute. She keeps running away from him but God commands Hosea to always take her back and love her. This is meant to be a foreshadowing of Christ and the church or depicts Israel's relationship with God. The Israelites time and time again ran away from God but he always took them back. The church does the same today. :(
-Then you have the minor prophets of Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Jonah has the story of him being swallowed by a big fish because he was racist lol. :) The prophets speak of how God will punish Israel if they choose to not obey him and how he will bless them if they do.
And that is the Old Testament. :)
Also here's a great New Testament timeline :)
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