Overview of the Old Testament - Part One

The living Sovereign LORD God’s plan of salvation and redemption begins in the Old Testament with events that divinely occurred in the Middle East with Israel-Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. The 39 books of the Old Testament-often called the Hebrew Bible-are important to understanding God’s plan of salvation that would come through His Son, Jesus the Messiah (Christ, Anointed One). The Old Testament is divided into three sections:  the Law of God (the first five books of the Holy Bible, often called the Pentateuch or Torah), the Prophets, and the Psalms. The story of salvation begins in Genesis with the divine creation of the heavens and earth and ends in the New Testament book of Revelation with the coming of the new heavens and earth. Genesis explains the origin of human sin in Genesis 3 with Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, and then God’s redemptive plan to save humanity through faith in the Seed of a woman and the Seed of Abraham-Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Genesis chapters 1 through 11 give the story of the Sovereign LORD God’s creation of the world, Adam and Eve’s rebellion and the Great Fall of humanity leading to a world dominated by violence and corruption resulting in the Great Flood and God’s salvation with Noah and his family then onward (through Noah’s son Shem) to Abraham. Genesis chapters 12 through 50 focus on the calling of Abraham (chapters 12-24), his sons Isaac and Jacob (chapters 25-36), and Jacob’s son Joseph in Egypt with the salvation of many nations (chapters 37-50) foreshadowing the greater blessings through Christ Jesus our Savior. Moses’s birth and death frame the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy. These books describe Jacob’s sons (the Twelve Tribes of Israel) living in Egyptian slavery and then Almighty God’s salvation of Israel by grace from slavery with signs and wonders (Exodus chapters 1-18), then the giving of the Law of God at Mount Sinai (Ten Commandments) (Exodus chapters 19-24) so Israel will be a holy nation in covenant with God, and then the building of Tabernacle (Exodus chapters 25-40). The Passover in Exodus 12 and the lamb of salvation foreshadows the coming Christ Jesus’s Passover in the New Testament as the perfect Passover Lamb of God. The book of Leviticus discusses how Israel can maintain holiness with God with atonement and holy living. Then, Israel’s journey from Mount Sinai to the land of Canaan is recorded in the book of Numbers, which also records Israel’s lack of trust and faith in the Sovereign LORD God and their subsequent punishment. Deuteronomy records Moses giving Israel the Law of God to a new generation of Israel with a covenant renewal as they prepare to enter the Promised Land (Israel-Palestine) under the leadership of Joshua. Joshua brought Israel safely into the Promised Land of God (Joshua chapters 1-24) with the help of the Commander of God’s Army leading the way. After Joshua’s death, the book of Judges describes Israel entering into a period of moral and spiritual darkness as they disobeyed God’s Mount Sinai covenant resulting in Israel’s enemies defeating them until the Sovereign LORD God brought Spirit-filled leaders called judges to lead Israel to defeat their enemies.