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Concise Old
Testament Survey
by
J. Hampton Keathley III
hamptonk3@bible.org
Biblical Studies Press
www.bible.org
1998
J. Hampton Keathley III, Th.M. is a 1966 graduate of Dallas
Theological Seminary and a former pastor of 28 years. Hampton currently writes for the Biblical Studies Foundation
and on occasion teaches New Testament Greek at Moody Northwest (an extension of
Moody Bible Institute) in Spokane, Washington.
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Contents
Introduction.........................................................................................................................................
Comparing the Old and New Testaments..................................................................................................
The Law: The First Five Books..............................................................................................................
GENESIS (The Book of Beginnings)....................................................................................................
EXODUS (The Book of Redemption)...................................................................................................
LEVITICUS (The Book of Holiness)....................................................................................................
NUMBERS (Wilderness Wanderings)...................................................................................................
DEUTERONOMY (Reiteration and
Reviewing)....................................................................................
The Historical Books...........................................................................................................................
Introduction....................................................................................................................................
JOSHUA (Possession and Conquest)...................................................................................................
JUDGES (Seven Cycles of Apostasy,
Judgment, and Deliverance)............................................................
RUTH (An Addendum to Judges).......................................................................................................
FIRST SAMUEL (Transition From Judges
to Kingship)........................................................................
SECOND SAMUEL (Davidıs Reign;
Expansion of the Nation)...............................................................
FIRST KINGS (Davidıs Death;
Disruption of the Kingdom)...................................................................
SECOND KINGS (DispersionWillful Sin
Has a Woeful End)...............................................................
FIRST CHRONICLES (Preparation of the
Temple)...............................................................................
SECOND CHRONICLES (Destruction of
the Temple)...........................................................................
EZRA (Reconstruction of the Temple
and Restoration of the People)........................................................
NEHEMIAH (Reconstruction of the
City)............................................................................................
ESTHER (Protection of Godıs People)................................................................................................
The Poetical Books.............................................................................................................................
Introduction....................................................................................................................................
JOB (Blessing Through Suffering)......................................................................................................
PSALMS (Praise Through Prayer)......................................................................................................
PROVERBS (Wisdom Through Precept).............................................................................................
ECCLESIASTES (A Search For Purpose)............................................................................................
SONG OF SOLOMON (A Royal Wedding).........................................................................................
The Major Prophets.............................................................................................................................
The Prophets of Israel Viewed as a Whole............................................................................................
ISAIAH (The Salvation of Yahweh)....................................................................................................
JEREMIAH (Warnings Against Sin and Judgment)................................................................................
LAMENTATIONS (A River of Tears).................................................................................................
EZEKIEL (They Shall Know That I Am Yahweh)..................................................................................
DANIEL (Israelıs Ultimate Destiny)....................................................................................................
The Minor Prophets.............................................................................................................................
Introduction....................................................................................................................................
HOSEA (Persevering Love)...............................................................................................................
JOEL (The Coming of the Day of Yahweh)..........................................................................................
AMOS (Judgment for Abused Privilege)..............................................................................................
OBADIAH (Poetic Justice)................................................................................................................
JONAH (Fleeing From Godıs Will)....................................................................................................
MICAH (Who Is Like God?)..............................................................................................................
NAHUM (The Doom of Nineveh).......................................................................................................
HABAKKUK (Solution to Perplexity).................................................................................................
ZEPHANIAH (Blessing Through Judgment).........................................................................................
HAGGAI (Encouragement)................................................................................................................
ZECHARIAH (the Jealousy of Yahweh)...............................................................................................
MALACHI (Repent and Return).........................................................................................................
There are, of course, a number
of ways one may approach the study of the Bible: Synthetican overview of the Bible as a whole to provide a grasp of
the overall message, Analyticalthe
process of viewing the Bible verse by verse to get an in depth understanding, Topical
or Doctrinala study of the Bible according
to its many topics and doctrines, and Typicala study of the many pictures or types found in the Bible,
particularly in the Old Testament, that portray the truth of the New Testament.
The synthetic or overview approach is extremely helpful for the beginning student or
for those who have never undertaken such a study. Through the synthetic approach, we are not only able to grasp the big picture or
see the whole forest, but such an overview will help in understanding the
details later on in oneıs study of the Bible.
We are calling this a short
survey because this study is more of a
nutshell approach to the books of the Old and New Testaments. The goal is to
give the reader key terms, verses, themes or purposes of each of the books
along with a brief description of the content.[1]
The Bible may be divided into
eight basic sections: four for the Old Testament and four for the New, but it
should be noted that in each of these, Christ is the hope and underlying theme
of all the books of the Bible. On several occasions, Christ claimed that He is
the theme of all of Scripture:
1. In Matthew 5:17 He said, ³I have come not to abolish them (the Scriptures) but to fulfill them.²
2. When walking with the disciples on the Emmaus road, Luke tells us that, ³ beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.²
3. Later that evening, the Lord spoke to ten of the disciples and regarding that, Luke tells us in Luke 24:44-47, ³These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.² 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, ³Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.²
4. In John 5:39 and 40, when in dialogue with the Jews, Jesus said, ³You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.²
In addition, in Revelation 19:10
we are told that ³the testimony of Jesus (about Jesus) is the spirit of prophecy.²
In other words, the very nature and purpose of prophecy, and all of Scripture
for that matter, is to reveal Jesus Christ. Obviously, due to the fall and need
of man, Christ is the theme of both the Old and New Testaments for it is only
through Him that we can have both eternal life and life abundantly (John
10:10).
|
Old Testament |
||
|
Lawthe Foundation for Christ HistoryPreparation for Christ PoetryAspiration for Christ ProphecyExpectation of Christ |
Preparation |
The Old Testament in its
four-fold division lays the foundation for the coming of the Messiah Savior
anticipating Him as Prophet, Priest, and King and as the suffering Savior who
must die for manıs sin before He reigns. |
|
New Testament |
||
|
Gospels |
Manifestation |
Tells the story of the coming of
the long-anticipated Savior and His person and work. |
|
Acts |
Propagation |
Through the work of the Holy
Spirit, Acts proclaims the message of the Savior who has come. |
|
Epistles |
Explanation & Application |
Develops the full significance
of the person and work of Christ and how this should impact the walk of the
Christian as Christıs ambassador in the world. |
|
Revelation |
Consummation |
Anticipates the end time events
and the return of the Lord, His end time reign, and the eternal state. |
The first five books of the
Bible are sometimes called the Pentateuch which means ³five books.² They are
also known as the books of the law because they contain the laws and
instruction given by the Lord through Moses to the people of Israel. These
books were written by Moses, except for the last portion of Deuteronomy because
it tells about the death of Moses. These five books lay the foundation for the
coming of Christ in that here God chooses and brings into being the nation of
Israel. As Godıs chosen people, Israel became the custodians of the Old Testament,
the recipients of the covenants of promise, and the channel of Messiah (Rom.
3:2; 9:1-5).
Moses
1450-1410 B.C.
The name Genesis is taken from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation
of the Old Testament.
Even a casual reading of the
Book of Genesis reveals the prominence of the theme of blessing and cursing.
For obedience and faith, there is blessing as in the Garden of Eden, but for
disobedience, there is cursing. The entire book turns on this theme and its
antithetical opposite, cursing. But perhaps the main theme is the choice of a
nation through Abraham and the Abrahamic covenant. Through Abraham God promised
to bless the nations (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:1-21).
³Generations² or ³account.²
A key word or phrase is ³these
are the generations of² or ³this is the
account of.² It is used some eleven
times to introduce the reader to the next section which gives the narrative
about what happened in connection with the key events and persons of the book
from the creation of the heavens and the earth to all the patriarchs of Israel.
Beginnings: Genesis not only means beginningı, but it is the
book of beginnings. The book of Genesis gives us our historical point of
reference, from which all subsequent revelation proceeds. In the book of
Genesis all the major themes of the Bible have their origin. It is a book of
many beginnings: in it we see the beginning of the universe, of man and woman,
of human sin and the fall of the race, the beginning of Godıs promises of
salvation, and the beginning of the nation Israel as the chosen people of God
because of Godıs special purpose for them as the channel for Messiah and
Savior. In Genesis we learn about Adam and Eve, about Satan the tempter, about
Noah, the flood, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph and his brothers. But here
we also have the beginning of marriage, family, work, sin, murder, capitol punishment,
sacrifice, races, languages, civilization, Sabbath, the first attempt at a
united nations, and Babylonianism. The Bible is, through and through, a
historical revelation. It is the account of Godıs activity in history.
Since the call of Abraham and
the promises of blessing to the nations through his seed is the prominent message
of Genesis, the key chapters are those relating to the Abrahamic covenant and
its reiteration, 12:1-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-9.
Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah,
Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, Jacob, Rachel, Joseph.
Prophetically: Immediately after the fall, the promise of salvation is
given in the seed of the woman (3:15), but then the Messianic links are made
clear throughout Genesis: the line of Seth (4:25), the offspring of Shem
(9:26), the family of Abraham (12:3), the seed of Isaac (26:3), the sons of
Jacob (46:3), and the tribe of Judah (49:10).
Typologically: There are several key types that portray the Savior in
Genesis.
(1) Adam is a type of Christ (Rom. 5:14). As Adam is the head of
the old creation, so Christ is the head of the new spiritual creation.
(2) Abelıs offering of a blood sacrifice points to Christ who would
die for us. Abelıs murder by Cain may also illustrate Christıs death.
(3) Melchizedek is also a type of Christ (see Heb. 7:3).
(4) Joseph, who was loved dearly by his father, betrayed by his
brothers, and yet became the means of their deliverance typifies Christ.
The book easily falls into two
major sections: Four Events and Four People
I. Four Events (Gen. 1-11).
A. The creation of the world and man (1-2)
B. The corruption of man, the fall (3-5)
C. The destruction of man, the flood (6-9)
D. The dispersion of man, the nations (10-11)
II. Four People: the election of a nation and the
preparation for the redeemer (Gen. 12-50)
A. Abraham (the father of faith and of the nation Israel)
(12-23)
B. Isaac (the beloved son of promise) (24-26)
C. Jacob (scheming and chastening) (27-36)
D. Joseph (suffering and glory) (37-50)
Moses
1450-1410 B.C.
³Exodus² is a Latin word derived
from the Greek exodos, the name given
to the book by those who translated it into the Greek Septuagint (LXX). The
word means ³exit,² ³departure.²
Two themes prevail in Exodus:
(1) Redemption as pictured in the Passover, and (2) deliverance from the bondage
of Egypt as seen in the Exodus out of Egypt and crossing the Red Sea.
³Redeem,² used nine times (6:6;
13:13; 15:13; 21:8; 34:20).
After nearly four hundreds years
of growth in Egypt, Exodus continues the history of Godıs chosen people, the
nation of Israel, and describes their deliverance out of Egypt and their
development as a nation, actually, a theocracy under God. It describes the
birth, history, and call of Moses by God to lead the people out of their
Egyptian bondage and into the promised land, the land of Canaan. Through the
Passover lamb, the sparing of the firstborn, along with the miracles of the ten
plagues, and the crossing of the Red Sea, God showed His people that He was not
only more powerful than any Egyptian Pharaoh, but was the sovereign Lord, Yahweh, the God of redemption and revelation.
Once the people had crossed the
Red Sea and arrived in the wilderness or desert, God gave them His righteous
law and declared that they were a treasured possession to Him and were to be a
kingdom of priests, a holy nation as a testimony to the nations (Ex. 19:4-7).
This holy law, including the Ten Commandments, demonstrated Godıs holiness,
taught them how to love God and one another, but in the process, it also
demonstrated how all fall short of the holiness of God and need a way of access
to God that provides forgiveness. This was provided for in the tabernacle, the
sacrifices, and the levitical priesthood.
Chapters 12-14 record the redemption of Israel from slavery in
fulfillment of Godıs promises; delivered from slavery by blood (the Passover
lamb) and by power (the parting of the Red Sea).
6:6 Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from
under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage.
I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgmentı (see
also 20:2).
19:5-6 Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My
covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all
the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation.ı These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.
Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Pharaoh.
While Exodus contains no direct
prophecy of Christ, there are a number of beautiful types of the Savior.
(1) In many ways, Moses is a type of Christ. Deuteronomy 18:15 shows that Moses,
as a prophet, anticipates Christ. Both are kinsman-redeemers who were
endangered in infancy, renounced their power to serve others, and functioned as
mediators, lawgivers, and deliverers.
(2) The Passover is a very specific type of Christ as the sinless Lamb of
God (John 1:29, 36; 1 Cor. 5:7).
(3) The Seven Feasts, each of which portray some aspect of the Savior.
(4) The Exodus, which Paul connects with baptism, pictures our
identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Cor.
10:1-2; Rom. 6:2-3).
(5) The Manna and Water are both portrayed as pictures of Christ (John 6:31-35,
48-63; 1 Cor. 10:3-4).
(6) The Tabernacle portrays the Savior in its material, colors, furniture,
arrangement, and the offerings sacrificed there (Heb. 9:1-10:18).
(7) The High P