Tag: Old Testament Survey

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Deuteronomy

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Author

Moses was most likely the author of Chapters 1-33. Another writer, possibly Joshua, must have added chapter 34, which records Moses’ death.

Date

Unknown. Moses must have written the book shortly after giving this final address to the people.

Audience and Purpose

As the time in the wilderness (and Moses’ life) came to an end, and the people prepared themselves to go into the Promised Land, Moses stood before the whole congregation of Israel, again, to declare the law of God to them, and to charge them to remain faithful to everything God has commanded.

Major Themes

  • Testimony. Remembering what God has done in the past, gives us hope of what He will do in the future.
  • Blessings through Obedience. God has promised so much good to His people, but over and over again Moses tells the people that a failure to obey and remain faithful to Him will nullify those blessings.
  • Multi-Generational Covenant. This generation of God’s people are one link in the chain to both the history and future of God’s promise to the world.

Key Scriptures

  • Deuteronomy 6:4-9 — “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
  • Deuteronomy 30:19 — “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life…”

Gospel Outline

  • Deuteronomy 1:1-5 — Introduction
  • Deuteronomy 1:6-4:43 — Moses’ First Speech Recapping History
  • Deuteronomy 4:44-26:19 — Moses’ Second Speech
    • Deuteronomy 4:44-11:32 — General Requirements of the Covenant
    • Deuteronomy 12:1-26:19 — Specific Requirements of the Covenant
  • Deuteronomy 27:1-30:20 — Moses’ Third Speech
    • Deuteronomy 27:1-28:68 — Blessings and Curses
    • Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20 — Moses’ Final Charge
  • Deuteronomy 31:1-34:12 — Joshua Commissioned to Replace Moses

Gospel Summary

As Moses’ ministry comes to a close, it is fitting that he takes time to remember all that God has done in the past and through his own leadership, to instruct the people on their way into the future with the next generation of leaders. God’s promise of a Savior and complete restoration of all things back to the Garden of Eden cannot be fulfilled in one man or in one generation. Moses, therefore, as he finished his life, commissions the next generation to take their place as faithful followers of God in their own lives, and to pass that faithfulness on to the next generation. He also prophesies that God will, one day, raise up another like Him, to lead Israel (Leviticus 18:15-22).

We understand that all of the promises of God find their fulfillment in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20), yet even in our own generation, the global realization of God’s promise is incomplete. We too must look to the past, and remember the testimonies of all God has done in history and in our lives. We must continue, daily, to remain faithful to Him, and be diligent to pass our faith and hope on to the next generation. Moses’ charge at the end of Deuteronomy, should also remind us of our charge in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), to remain faithful and help others become faithful as well.

© Anthony Scott Ingram 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Please note that I do get a small kickback from Amazon for any purchases made using the links on this post. Should you choose to purchase from them, I just want to say thank you for further supporting my work in ministry!

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Numbers

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Author

Moses. (See Luke 24:27 and John 5:46.)

Date

Unknown. It is believed Moses wrote the book of Numbers when he was at Moab, towards the end of his life.

Audience and Purpose

Number is the continuation of the book of Exodus, and records the history of the time God’s people spent wandering in the wilderness. It picks up the story of the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai, after the law (Leviticus) had been given, and the tabernacle had been built. It follows the people of Israel through the rest of their wilderness journey, all the way to the banks of the Jordan River.

Major Themes

  • Faith and Perseverance. The people of God must look beyond their present circumstances, and continue to persevere in the hope of God’s promise to come.
  • God’s Provision. The people of Israel, who had been living full lives in Egypt, must come to fully trust in God’s provision of their needs: manna from heaven, water from a rock, protection from enemies, and more. The life of faith depends on His provision in everything. 
  • Human Rebellion. From murmurings agains Moses, to the 10 spies unwillingness to take the land by faith, we see the deep heart of humanity that lacks trust in God. God’s response to this rebellion is severe.

Key Scriptures

  • Numbers 6:22-27 — “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’ So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
  • Numbers 14:18 — “‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Outline

  • Numbers 1:1-10:10 — Preparing to Leave Sinai and Take the Land
  • Numbers 10:11-12:16 — From Sinai to Kadesh
  • Numbers 13:1-19:22 — Remaining at Kadesh (almost 40 years)
  • Numbers 20:1-21:35 — From Kadesh to Moab
  • Numbers 22:1-36:13 — Remaining at Moab

Gospel Summary

The time God’s people spent in the wilderness was not a test of God’s faithfulness to them. Rather it proved His faithfulness in the face of the people’s continual rebellion and unrest. God proves Himself to them over and over again with His power, signs and miracles. Had it not been for God’s grace, continually at work to bring the people through the wilderness, none of them would have entered the promised land.

Once again, this story parallels the life of the Christian, that though we have been brought out of bondage to sin, death, and the devil, we have not yet fully “entered God’s rest.” Day by day, we are learning not to trust out own experience and abilities, and learning to trust Him as our Guide, Provider, Protector, Healer, and more.

Christ is revealed symbolically, many times in Numbers. He is the Rock that gives water (see 1 Corinthians 10:4). He is seen in Moses raising the serpent to give life to all who gazed upon it (see John 3:14-15). He is prophesied as the star rising out of Jacob and a scepter out of Israel.

© Anthony Scott Ingram 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Please note that I do get a small kickback from Amazon for any purchases made using the links on this post. Should you choose to purchase from them, I just want to say thank you for further supporting my work in ministry!

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Leviticus

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Author

Moses. (See Luke 24:27 and John 5:46.)

Date

The message of Leviticus was preached during the first month of the second year after the exodus, when the people camped at Mount Sinai. It is unknown when Moses wrote the message down.

Audience and Purpose

After God dictated all the law to Moses on the mountaintop and in the tabernacle, Moses was commanded to delivered the law to the people of Israel (Leviticus 1:1-2). The book of Leviticus is the written record of the teaching Moses gave to the people at Mount Sinai in the wilderness.

Major Themes

  • Priesthood. The name of the book comes from the term “Levites,” one of the tribes of the nation of Israel who would be set apart as the priesthood for the Jewish people. A priest was an earthly mediator who offered sacrifices in order to bring sinful people back to their Holy God. In the New Testament, Jesus is the considered the “great High Priest” who makes an eternal sacrifice to reconcile God and man. Afterward, He would say the church is now a holy priesthood bringing the grace of God to those who have not yet received salvation.
  • Holiness.
  • Atonement.

Key Scriptures

  • Leviticus 19:1-2 — “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.’”
  • Leviticus 17:11 — “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”

Outline

  • Leviticus 1:1-6:7 — The Five Offerings
  • Leviticus 6:8-7:38 — How the Offerings Should Be Handled
  • Leviticus 8:1-10:20 — The Priesthood
  • Leviticus 11:1-15:33 — Laws Regarding What is Clean and Unclean
  • Leviticus 16:1-34 — The Day of Atonement
  • Leviticus 17:1-16 — The Blood of the Lamb
  • Leviticus 18:1-22:33 — The Call to Holiness
  • Leviticus 23:1-25:55 — Feasts and Fasts
  • Leviticus 26:1-46 — Blessings and Curses
  • Leviticus 27:1-34 — The Nation Vows to Follow the Law

Gospel Summary

The core message of the book of Leviticus is that God is perfectly holy, while man, due to his sin, is not holy at all. Mankind has been separated from God. In order to be restored to God, mankind must return to holiness, which requires perfectly keeping the laws of God or making the appropriate blood sacrifice, according to the law, in order to (temporarily) be made clean. The blood sacrifices of spotless animals made atonement for the sins of man, once per year, and reset each individual’s standing with God, but remaining sinless for the rest of the year was a major challenge in fulfilling the law.

In Jesus, our great High Priest, we see all of the legal demands set forth in Leviticus perfectly kept. Leviticus if full of types and symbols which Jesus would fulfill. Specifically, when Jesus died on the cross, He took the place of the spotless lamb and became the sinless sacrifice to cover the unrighteousness of mankind.

Since Jesus was God in the flesh, the atonement of His blood is permanent, never needing to be repeated, and all those who put their faith in Him have been made holy and blameless before God.

© Anthony Scott Ingram 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Please note that I do get a small kickback from Amazon for any purchases made using certain links on this post. Should you choose to purchase from them, I just want to say thank you for further supporting my work in ministry!

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Exodus

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Author

Moses. (See Luke 24:27 and John 5:46.)

Date

The date of writing is unknown, although the most common view is that the Exodus event took place around 1446B.C. and that the Tabernacle was completed in 1444B.C.

Audience and Purpose

The book was written for future generations of God’s people, recalling the history of God’s people from their time in Egypt until the tabernacle was completed at Mount Sinai. The purpose was to reveal God as the Great Redeemer who will never abandon His people.

Major Themes

  • Salvation, Deliverance and Redemption. The word “exodus” comes from a Greek word meaning “coming out” or “the way out.” The book describes how God delivered His people, Israel, from a life of slavery in Egypt. It becomes the model for how God would one day redeem humanity from our greater slavery to sin.
  • Covenant. Exodus opens with God remembering His covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), and His promise to return His people from captivity to the Promised Land (Genesis 15:13-14).
  • Judgement and Grace. The plagues show God’s judgment on those who refuse to obey Him (Exodus 7:8-10:29). The Passover reveals God’s grace on those who may not be perfect, but who are humble enough to obey (Exodus 11:1-13:16).

Key Scriptures

  • Exodus 3:4-6 — “When the Lord saw that (Moses) turned aside to see [the burning bush], God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ And he said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”
  • Exodus 3:13-14 — “Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
  • Exodus 20:1-3 — “And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.’”

Outline

  • Exodus 1:1-2:25 — God remembers His covenant.
  • Exodus 3:1-4:17 — God Comes Down, Appoints a Deliverer.
  • Exodus 4:18-15:21 — God Redeems His People
    • Exodus 4:18-7:7 —Redemption through Promise
    • Exodus 7:8-10:29 — Redemption through Plagues
    • Exodus 11:1-13:16 — Redemption through Passover
    • Exodus 13:17-15:21 — Redemption through Power
  • Exodus 15:22-18:27 — God Leads
  • Exodus 19:1-40:38 — God Instructs
    • Exodus 19:1-20:17 — Legal Instructions
    • Exodus 20:18-24:11 — Covenant Instructions
    • Exodus 24:12-40:38 — Tabernacle Instructions

Gospel Summary

Before Jesus died on the cross in the Gospels, the story of Exodus was the greatest story of God’s redemption and deliverance to mankind. It paints a picture of hope for a greater exodus, when God would deliver/save His people from bondage to sin, death and the devil. The Exodus stories frame our own story of salvation in Christ. In Jesus, God remembers His covenant and comes down. Jesus becomes our Deliverer. The Holy Spirit is our pillar of cloud and fire, and we are the tabernacle of God’s presence.

© Anthony Scott Ingram 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

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