BIBLE KNOWLEDGE FOR TANZANIA SECONDARY SCHOOLS

INTRODUCING THE BIBLE
 

§  Bible knowledge is a study of the Bible and its understanding, it is a subject which deals with the Bible and its Understanding

§  Bible Knowledge is the study of the sacred collected books in relations to Christian faith and social interactions among people of different religion for development.

§  It’s a part of theology which deals with the Bible studies

§  Theology is a combination of two Greek words Theo & logos.

Theo – means God

Logos – means Knowledge or study of.

§  The word Bible originated from the Greek word Biblos  ‘biblos' which means the book of the books there for the bible is also known as a Library but this is not a normal Library It is a library of God.

§  The Bible was written by people who were inspired by the Spirit of God to write it

§  Inspiration means the breath of God or Spirit of God it is ability, power of God behind the process of writing.

§  The Bible Consist two parties which called the Old Testament and the New Testament

§  The Old Testament deals with many things about the Law of Moses and prophets, History, poems, wisdom etc.

§  New Testaments deals with the  Life and Teachings of the master Jesus Christ and the teachings of the apostles as well as the History and Epistles  

§  The Old Testament has 39 books

§  The New Testament has 27 books

§  The Bible is the most important and unique book in the whole world because it is the word of God

§  The Bible is  Gods message to the world which he gave through the Jewish people

§  The Bible is an accurate Historical record

§  Has the answers for the most important questions of life

§  Is Gods personal message to each of us It is the most important message we will ever be given.

Divisions of the Old Testament

§  The old testament has been divided into five “5” parties which are

1.       Pentateuch

2.       Historical Books

3.       Poetical Books or Poems

4.       Major Prophets

5.       Minor Prophets

Divisions of the New Testament

§  The New testament has been divided into five “5” parties which are

1.       Gospel

2.       Historical Book

3.       Pauline Epistles

4.       General Epistles

5.       Prophetical Book or apocalyptic

The Books of the Old testaments and their Divisions

1.       Pentateuch

o   Genesis

o   Exodus

o   Leviticus

o   Numbers

o   Deuteronomy

2.       Historical Books

o   Joshua

o   Judges

o   Ruth

o   1Samuel

o   2Samuel

o   1 Kings

o   2 Kings

o   1Chronicles

o   2Chronicles

o   Ezra

o   Nehemiah

o   Esther

3.       Poetical Books or Poems/wisdom books

o   Job

o   Psalm

o   Proverbs

o   Ecclesiastes

o   Song of Song or Song of Solomon

4.       Major Prophets

o   Isaiah

o   Jeremiah

o   Lamentation

o   Ezekiel

o   Daniel

5.       Minor Prophets

o   Hosea

o   Joel

o   Amos

o   Obadiah

o   Jonah

o   Micah

o   Nahum

o   Habakkuk

o   Zephaniah

o   Haggai

o   Zechariah

o   Malachi

The Books of the New Testaments and its divisions

1.       Gospel

o   Matthew

o   Mark

o   Luke*

o   John

2.       Historical Book

o   Acts*

3.       Pauline Epistles

o   Roman

o   1Corithians

o   2Corithians

o   Galatians

o   Ephesians

o   Philippians

o   Colossians

o   1Thesalonians

o   2Thesalonians

o   1Timothy

o   2Timothy

o   Titus

o   Philemon

4.       General Epistles

o   Hebrew

o   James

o   1Peter

o   2Peter

o   1John

o   2John

o   3John

o   Jude

5.      Prophetical Book or apocalyptic

o   Revelation

*Shows that these Books are the books which we shall learn about apart from other books.

§  Preparation of the New Testament

Ø  Jews were totally departed from Idolatry worship to monotheism

Ø  Synagogue were built 250-150

Ø  Hebrew Bible Interpreted/translated to Greek  this Bible is Called Septuagint

Ø  The existence  of rabbis and scribes

Ø  Judaism sects come two existence

Sadducees – Righteous one 

Pharisees – Separated ones

§  Introduction to New Testament

Ø  The New Testament is Emphasizing on the Person life and Teachings of Jesus

Ø  Old Testament was a types New Testament was a reality

Ø  Old testament was a Picture New Testament  is a live

Ø  Old Testament Jesus is Coming New Testament Jesus has Come.

Key	Mathew	Mark	Luke	John
Readers	Jews	Romans	Greeks	Church
Gospel	Kingdom	Actions	Servant	Revelation
Theme.	King	Servant	Man	Son of God
Symbol.	Lion	Ox	Man	Eagle

NEW TESTAMENTS BOOK DATES AND THE WRITERS.

Na	Book	Year	Author
1	Matthew	55 AD	Matthew
2	Mark	50 AD	John/Mark
3	Luke	60 AD	Dr. Luke
4	John	85 AD	John
5	Acts	62 AD	Dr. Luke
6	Romans	65 AD	Paul
7	1Corinthians	55 AD	“
8	2Corinthians	56 AD	“
9	Galatians	50 AD	“
10	Ephesians	61 AD	“
11	Philippians	61 AD	“
12	Colossians	61 AD	“
13	1Thessalonians	51 AD	“
14	2Thessalonians	51 AD	“
15	1Timothy	64 AD	“
16	2Timothy	66 AD	“
17	Titus	65 AD	“
18	Philemon	61 AD	“
19	Hebrews	65 AD	Unknown
20	James	45 AD	James
21	1Peter	65 AD	Peter
22	2Peter	66 AD	“
23	1John	90 AD	John
24	2John	90 AD	“
25	3John	90 AD	“
26	Jude	67 AD	Jude
27	Revelation	95 AD	John

THE IMPORTANT OF STUDYING BIBLE KNOWLEDGE.

Studying Bible knowledge is not quite different from studying Other Knowledge or subjects, the following are the important of studying Bible Knowledge.

i.                     Joshua 1;8, Psalms 19; 119, Isaiah 40;8, 55;6-11. Luke 24; 27, 32, 44, John 1;1-2,17.
ii.                   To strength our faith and building tolerance to other Faith
iii.                  Learn how to establish social interaction that brings relation of faith in all human aspects
iv.                 Now ourselves our Origin and our nature as human beings in relation tour creator God.
v.                   To love others and engage together in social – economic development
vi.                 To learn how to find peace and reconciliation with all people in the community
vii.              To spread peace message this targets into abolishing slave trade, corruptions, prostitution, discriminations, racism and other evil in the society and beyond our borders.
viii.              To discover our destination after death through the life of faith our ancestors lived
ix.                 To know the value of working hard and to avoid laziness
x.                   To know our patriarchs and matriarchs the way they used to worship God.

GOD IS THE FOCUS OF OUR STUDY

We are going to study who God is and what He does.

-          God really wants us to get know Him, that’s why He gave us the Bible

-          God is the central character of the Bible

-          As we study you will learn what is really like

·         Who He is

·         What He does

·         What He is like – His Personality

-          In genesis 1; 1. The word of God wrote for us “In the beginnings” God gave us these word so that we would Know there was a beginnings of all things

-          Everything that we can see and everything that we know about but can’t see had beginning, except God Himself

-          Before the beginning there was

·         No universe

·         No Earth

·         No angles

·         No devil

·         No plants

·         No animals

·         No people

-          All these had specific Beginnings

-          God alone had no beginning; God will not end God is Eternal; there was never a time when God did not exist. Psalm 90;2.

-          God is Spirit John 4;24, He does not have flesh and bones like human, animals or birds

-          He is everywhere all the time (Omnipresent)

-          He is Supreme and sovereign He alone is greater than all

-          He is the most High.

-          He is the creator

-          Is all powerful (Omnipotent) no one is Stronger than God

-          Is all knowing (Omniscience)

-          He is Holy.

-          Is Love

-          Never Change

-          The voices of many generations unite in the affirmation that the only true God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob revealed in the Bible and this is what we do believe!

THE BOOK OF GENESIS

The word Genesis means “Beginning” covers the times from the creation as the beginning of History to the Israelites sojourn in Egypt.

Title and Place in the Bible

§  Genesis was originally written in Hebrew and called Bereshith, which means “in the beginning.”

§  This title followed the Jewish custom of calling a book by its opening word(s).

§  In the third century before Christ, scholars translated the Old Testament into Greek. This version, called the Septuagint or The Seventy (from the tradition that seventy-two translators finished it in seventy days), uses the Greek title Genesis.

§  This word means “origin, source, or generation.” The title is good because Genesis is a book of beginnings. It is a book of the origin of the earth, and of all that is in it, and of human relationships.

Author and Time of Writing

Who wrote Genesis?

§  The Bible clearly refers to Moses as the writer of the Pentateuch, of which Genesis is a part, although in Genesis there is no statement of authorship.

Evidences of Mosaic Authorship

Conservative evangelicals believe that Moses wrote the Pentateuch. There are four specific reasons for believing this:

§  Biblical references. These references do not state that Moses wrote it all, but they do refer to him as author of certain parts of the Pentateuch. The possibility of other authors is never implied. The Pentateuch itself claims that Moses wrote certain passages (Exodus 17:14; 24:4; 34:28; Numbers 33:2; Deuteronomy 31:9, 22, 24). Old Testament writers attribute the Pentateuch to Moses (Joshua 1:7-8; 23:6; 2 Kings 14:6; 21:8; Ezra 3:2; 6:18; Nehemiah 8:1; Daniel 9:11-13).

§  Perhaps the most convincing evidence of Mosaic authorship is that Jesus Christ and the New Testament writers refer to passages in the Pentateuch as the writings of Moses (Matthew 8:4; 19:7-8; Luke 5:14; 16:29; John 7:19; Acts 3:22; 15:1; Romans 10:5, 19). These passages speak of reading the Pentateuch as reading Moses (2 Corinthians 3:15; Acts 15:21). And Jesus said, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me” (John 5:46).

§  2. The narrative style. The person who wrote the Pentateuch described accurately the geographical features of the Sinai Peninsula. The eyewitness style and accuracy are in harmony with Moses’ experience there during the many years he spent after leaving Egypt.

§  3. The discoveries of archaeology. Many discoveries show that some customs described in Genesis reflect Hurrian and Babylonian practices in the second millennium before Christ. Typical Egyptian names and technical terms give added archaeological evidence that the writer of the Pentateuch had lived in Egypt.

§  We find a few additions and retouching of the original text in the Pentateuch. For example, Genesis 14:14 speaks of the city of Dan, called Leshem or Laish before the Danites took it in the time of the Judges (Joshua 19:47; Judges 18:29). Genesis 36:31 implies there was a king in Israel when it was written. Thus, the date of this verse would be during or after the time of Saul. The change of an ancient name for a current one is easily accounted for. Such explanatory notes would be the work of a scribe or prophet like Samuel in order to make the original text more easily understood. Such minor retouching does not affect the integrity of the text, its authorship, or the doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures.

§  Moses’ qualifications. Who would be better fitted to write the Pentateuch?

§  Moses had the genius and preparation. He was “educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action” (Acts 7:22). As a Hebrew he had access to the genealogies and the oral and written records of his people, some of which the Holy Spirit would guide him to include. Moses had intimate communion with God. He tells how God gave him the Law for Israel. Also, he may have received by revelation many details of God’s dealing with man in the period covered by Genesis. He was an eyewitness of most of the events described in the other books of the Pentateuch and had plenty of time to record them during his forty years with the Israelites in the wilderness. We believe that the Holy Spirit inspired and guided him as he wrote this important part of God’s Word for mankind.

The Purpose

§  It preserves the only trustworthy record about the beginnings of the

§  Gives the origin of all things

o   Universe

o   Humankind

o   Marriage

o   Sin

o   Cities

o   Language nations Israel and redemptive history

Divisions

§  The book naturally divided on two main sections as Follows

o   Chapter 1-11 Deals with Ancient and the Original History

o   Chapter 12-50 Treats the History of the Fathers of Israel (Patriarchs)

o   Chapter 12-25 stories of Abraham, Isaac and stories of His twin Sons Esau and Jacob

o   Chapter 26-36 Stories of Jacobs Family

o   Chapter 37-50 Stories of a chief member Joseph

LESSON I: CREATION

Genesis Chapter 1-2.

§  The word Creation means The Original act of God in Bringing the world or universe into existence

§  The act of creation can’t be done apart from God only the Hebrew word used for this act is “Bara” which means activity that only God can do.

§  There are many theories exist about what happened in the beginning, there are many theories about how the earth was started

Creation and Evolution

§  Evolution is a naturalistic effort for the origin and development of the universe

§  The teachings of evolution is not truly scientific and cannot be proved or based on any evidence

§  God created the heavens and earth as a manifestation of his Glory, majesty and power Psalms 19;1 Psalms 8;1

§  God created the heavens and earth in order to receive  back the glory and honor  All elements of nature shout praises to the God Psalm 98;7-8. 148;1-10 Isaiah 55;12

§  God created the earth in order to provide a place where his purpose and goals for humankind might be fulfilled.

Creation

§  In the beginning God created the Heavens and Earth

§  That means God was always there as the Uncaused causes of all things, He created all those things which are everywhere

§  Heavens stands for all things which are high or beyond the earth

§  Earth represents the things which are below the heavens i.e. whatever is attached to the ground.

§  Genesis 1;2 The earth was formless and empty. Was covered by Darkness and was covered with water this means God did formed it, there was no dry land water covered the entire world there was no life anywhere on earth.

The First Day: creation of light Genesis 1; 3-5

§  Light indicated as the Sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night

§  Was created to separate the day from the night

§  To give light upon the earth

§  To indicate seasons, days and years

§  God is all powerful and all knowing Only God could create light by simply speaking! Let there be ...........This implied that God created things from non- existing materials He used just a creative command words.

§  God divided the light from the darkness

§  He called the light Day

§  He called the darkness Night

§  This was the first day in the beginning of the world.

The second Day: Firmament created Genesis 1: 6-8

§  On the second day God created the air and the sky

§  Above this firmament or thin stretched – out space that we call the atmosphere God placed some of water from the world He had created

The third Day: Dry land, ocean and all floras created Genesis 1:9-13

§  God gathered the waters into seas and made the dry ground appear

§  God alone who made the waters of the earth can control them Psalms 95;5

§  God is love

§  Makes flowers, trees and plants Did God need them?

§  No God is independent of all things he does not need any thing

§  He made them for a man whom He was Going to create next

§  God made the plants to meet our physical needs

The fourth Day: Light – bearers were created Genesis 1: 14-19

§  Sun, moon, and stars created (Genesis 1:14-19)

The fifth Day: All sea life and birds created Genesis 1: 20-23

§  Just as He had done in His creation of plant life, God made numerous Kinds of water creatures and birds with countless colorful designs and shapes.

The sixth Day: The creation of the animals and Man Genesis 1: 24 – 31.

§  V. 26 Let us make man in our image..”

§  God the father, God the son and God the Holy spirit were talking together

§  Man was created in God’s image  does not meant physical resemblance to God

§  It involved created in a state of innocence i.e. without sin

§  Man was made in the image of God means the part of man which cannot be seen

§  God does not have body of flesh and bones like we do

§  Man body was created to be the house of this unseen part which is the soul and spirit

§  The unseen part of a man includes Mind, emotions, and will, created in the image of God.

§  The seen part of man Body was created from the dust of the ground, this dust without the breath of God that formed Soul and spirit man cannot be counted as a living being.

Creation of man explained Genesis 2:1-23.

§  Genesis 2;1 God finished all he planned

§  Have you stared something and not finished it?

§  Why didn’t you finish what you started?

·         You changed your mind

·         You lost interest

·         It turned to bee too hard to do it

·         It becomes bigger job than you had thought

·         Interrupted

·         You run out of time

·         You ran out of money Etc.

§  God is not like us, He never gives up on what He plans to do, when begins a work he always finishes it

§  God never changes his mind about something he planned, No human or Satan can hinder or stop God He always does whatever he plans to do there for we can believe in his Promises.

Rest. Genesis 2; 2-3.

§  God finished his work of creation in six days he planned to do so, so on the seventh day He rested from His work of creating

§  He did not become tired  but all his work which he planned  to do was finished

Creation of Adam and Eve Genesis 2: 4-25.

§  Man was created from already ex8isting material i.e. Dust

§  The Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostril the breathe of life and man became a living being

§  This means that – dust formed the human body and breathe of God  formed the soul without which man cannot be counted as a living being

How was the woman Eve Created.

§  God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man

§  While he slept God took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh and the rib which god had taken from the man he made into the woman

§  The name of the woman is Eve which means the mother of all living; she was called a woman because she was taken out of man.

Significance

§  The significance of the creation of the woman out of the rib of man  is to shows

·         The close  relationship between man and the woman

·         The  two man and woman have got the same dignity without discrimination

·         Both man and woman are given power over all creation for both were blessed

·         Both were commanded to be fruitful to multiply and to fill the earth as well as to subdue Control it and to have dominion over all other creatures

·         Both Man and woman to dust they shall return death)

LESSON II.  THE FALL OF MAN & ITS CONCEQUENCES

Genesis chapter 3.

§  The woman was being convinced by serpent/snake thus she took fruits of the forbidden tree and ate and  she gave some to her husband and he ate as well

§  Theme; Satan fights against God and His will. He is a liar and deceiver, He hates man

§  Genesis 3;1.

This was not just a snake talking to Eve

·         Satan Himself entered into a snake

·         He disguised himself as a snake  so he could deceive Eve

·         The serpent was cleverer than any other animal which god had made.

A.      Satan is a deceiver.

§  He did not allow Eve to know that he was the one talking through the snake

§  The more you learn from Gods word the more you realize how deceitful and wicked Satan is

§  He is the liar John 8;44 says that Satan is a liar and murderer , His name means Deceiver or  accuser

§  That’s exactly what he tries to do, He tried to make what is evil appear good

§  He tries to infer to make God is lying but he knows only too well that God says is absolutely true

§  II Corinthians 11; 14.

B.      Satan still deceives people.

§  Satan motives and his tactics haven’t changed He still trying to deceive and destroy people

§  He doesn’t use a serpent like He did with Eve but uses whatever means  and tactics people will accept 

§  Satan deceives people by speaking lies into their minds when he does this he doesn’t let them know that is the one who is speaking to them.

§  He may put question into your mind such as why should I believe the Bible?

§  He may reach us through another area of our own pride

§  He uses deal about Satanic worship, games or music or other entertainment and immorality

C.      The Consequences of Man Fault.

§  Adam and Eve sin separated them from God

§  They did not drop dead immediately when they ate the fruit, they were still walking around

§  But they were separated from God immediately when they ate the fruit this is spiritually death

§  It is tragic event for a man to be separated from God Genesis 4; 13-14.

§  Punishment to the woman Eve

-          Great multiplication of her pain in child bearing

-          To have a desire for (Authority) her husband and to be ruled by her Husband

-          Enemity between her and the Serpent

§  Punishment  to the man Adam

-          The ground was cursed so that man to eat by toiling  of his life

-          Man will eat bread or food in sweat

-          All man and woman were to return to the Ground that is physical death.

§  God curses the serpent

-          Genesis 3; 14 God cursed the serpent because it had used by Satan

-          We are not told what the serpent was like before Satan used it, but we know it did not slide on its belly when God first created it 

-          But now God said it must slide on its belly and eat dust.

§  God is loving, Merciful and gracious.

§  Love is to have strong feelings of affection that is beyond normal to a person, friend or family or nation, the love of God ia Agape this love is absolute amazing

§  Mercy means not giving the punishment we deserve

§  Grace means giving good things to someone who is not deserve to have, Its Gods kindness poured out to the undeserved people.

-          Once Adam and Eve disobeyed God and followed the advice of Satan they were separated from God (Spiritual death) and controlled by Satan

-          They were no longer children of God, they were Satan’s children

-          Satan become god of this world, this is was what Satan wanted, to have complete control of the world

-          By God love, mercy and grace He promised Deliverer who would be the child of a woman “the woman  seed” the man is not even mentioned  here this should be the child of virgin woman Genesis 3;15

-          This child will destroy the head (Authority, or leadership or great power)of Satan

-          God killed animal, this was a sign that the blood shade will cover the human shame and wanted to teach them that they couldn’t do anything to make themselves accepted to God

D.      Cain and Abel Genesis 4.

§  Cain and Abel were born outside of the garden, away from the tree of life

§  Cain and Abel were born sinners  because their father Adam was a sinner

§  The meaning of Cain  I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord

§  Cain and Abel had a different occupations as follows

-          Cain was a tiller of the ground

-          Abel was a keeper of sheep

-          Both went to offer sacrifice to God

-          Abel’s offering was accepted by God

-          Cain become angry and decided to kill his brother Abel

-          Cain bore Enoch

-          Lamech had two wife’s  Adah and Zillah

-          Son of Zillah – tubal Cain and his sister Naamah.

E.       Significant of their names

§  Jabal – was the father of those who dwelled in tents and have cattle

§  Jubal - was the Father of those who were the players of lyre and pipe

§  Tubal Cain - was the forger of all instruments of bronze and Iron

§  Seth -  was also a son of Adam and Eve God gave them another child instead of Abel for Cain slew him

LESSON III: THE GREAT FLOOD

Genesis chapter.  6 -10.

A.      Introduction

§  We have seen the terrible result of sin passed down from one generation to another, we also saw Gods gracious provision of a way for men to come to Him by Faith

§  The Bible is an amazing Historical record

B.      From Adam to Noah

§  From Adam to Noah  there were ten generations of men who believed God and continued to look for the coming Deliverer Promised in Genesis 3: 15 in the Garden of Eden

§  The name of the Generations of Believer is from  Adam to Noah is

§  Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan,  Mahalaleel , Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah

§  The Story of the great flood tells about Gods grace to Noah and His three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth and their families.

§  This story takes place 1500 years or more after the creation of Adam.

C.      Increased population Genesis 6:1-3

Nephilim Genesis 6:4-8

§  Some say the "Sons of God" who had sexual intercourse with the "daughters of men" in Genesis 6 were angels, or demons.

§  But loyal angels would never have sex with women, and fallen angels would never be called sons of God.

§  Besides, angels are spirits, and they only obtain bodies for specific tasks, such as wrestling with Jacob.

§  Modern scholarship has "the sons of God" as an earlier survival Israelite/Canaanites concept of El as head of the heavenly host and Yahweh (and possibly also his wife, Asherah) as children of El, with a level of lower godlings below them. See, for example, Mark Smith's Early History of God.

D.      Noah's Ark

§  Adam had a lot of kids. Most of them lived for between 800 and 1000 years. An insane amount of incest must then have occurred.

§  Noah came ten generations later, and because every human being on earth except for Noah and his family were wicked, God told him to build an Ark.

§  At the ripe young age of 600, with the help of his sons, he built the Ark. He then put a male and a female (and sometimes several of each) of every single species on the earth, and set off on the voyage with his sons.

E.       God made a covenant with Noah.

§   After 300 days, give or take, the Ark came to rest on the slopes of Mount Ararat, and then God tells Noah that every time you see a rainbow it’s his way of saying that God's never going to try to drown the Earth again.

§  After this, Noah planted some grapes and got drunk. Ham (one of his sons) came along and found him drunk, naked, and sleeping. For some reason, Noah then put a curse on Ham's son Canaan, making him and all his descendants’ slaves of Ham's brother Shem and Japheth.

§  Some fundamentalists believe this that means Ham was the father of all black people (see Curse of Ham), and use this as justification for the slavery of black people.

F.       The Tower of Babel Genesis 11-1-32.

§  Four generations after the flood, Noah's descendants tried to build a tower that could reach Heaven. God responded by confusing the languages of all of the workers, and destroying the tower.

LESSON III THE CALL OF ABRAHAM GENESIS 12.

A.      The call of Abraham. Genesis 12:1-9.

§  The story then shifts to a Babylonian named Abram, who traveled to the land of Canaan with some family.

§  Abraham obeyed the Lords command and he went, Abraham was 75 years old by the time of his call, He was the first man to have relationship with true God After many years of Human sins

§  Abraham Call was accompanied by a number of promises

·         Prosperity – God will make him a great nation and his name great

·         Blessing – God will bless him and descendants and they who bless him will be blessed and he will curse those who curse him this is protection.

·         Land – God will give him the land of Canaan the Promised land.

§  Abraham took Sarai his wife; Lot his Brothers son and their possessions which they had gotten in Haran.

§  God talked to Abram, and gave him some land, and told him that his descendants were pretty much screwed (confinement in Egypt for 400 years).

§   God then made a covenant with him, and changed his name to "Abraham". This is also the part where God said all boys need to get their foreskin chopped off on the eighth day of their life.

B.      Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 13.

§  Next comes the "hottest" part of Genesis, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by a rain of fire and brimstone.

§  God didn't exactly specify what was going on there but many interpretations hold he did so because everybody in the cities were gay.

§  Unfortunately God revealed these plans to Abraham who realized that he had a nephew living in Sodom named Lot.

§  Also, the city dwellers had sort of wanted to rape Lot's guests, who were actually angels... BUT, the angels were dudes, making homosexuality the obvious sin in this situation.

§  Lot took the good people in the city (him, his family, and the two guests) out of the city before God destroyed it.

§  Lot's wife made the mistake of looking back at the destruction, and was turned into a pillar of salt (which was probably worth a fortune in those days!).

§  Then, Lot's daughters seemed to think that the world had ended and attempt to repopulate the world by seducing their dad while he's drunk.

C.      Abraham complaining to God. Genesis 15.

§  Abraham complaints to God Genesis 15:1-7.

§  God gave a word of assurance of protection to Him “fear not Abraham I’m your God your great reward shall be very great” Genesis 15:1-2.

§  “O sovereign Lord what can you give me since I remain childless….” Abraham complained God promised him a son. And promised him to give Him a land of Canaan, these land boundaries according to God is from the rivers of Egypt, the great river Euphrates, the land of Kenites, Rephaim of the Ammonites the Canaanites the Gigashites and Jebusites all these are location of the Holy Promised land.

D.      Hagar bears Abraham A son. Genesis 16:1-16.

§  Sara wishing to fulfill her plan, she said to her husband go into my maid it may be that I shall obtain children to her.

§  Hagar conceived of Abraham according to Sarah’s will. The name of son of Hagar is Ishmael meaning “god hears the reasons of giving a name” God ahead to Hagar’s affliction.

§  The son would be a wild as of a man’s head against him and would he dwell over against him and she would dwell over against him and she would dwell over all his Kinsmen. Abraham was eighty six (86) years old when Ishmael was born.

E.       The Birth of Isaac 21:1-7.

§  Abraham was married to a woman named Sarah who was infertile.

§  So, he instead had a son with Sarah's slave named Hagar and in those days the kid was considered legitimate.

§  However, Sarah hated this kid named Ishmael and kicked Hagar and her son out of their camp and Arab people claim their lineage from him.

§  The promised Son was born and circumcised on the 8^th day after his Birth; Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.

§  Eventually Sarah had a baby boy named Isaac. Isaac means the Laughs (Laughter) this means everyone who would hear about her maternity would laugh over Sarah Sara was 90 years when Isaac was born

§  God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac at the top of the mountain for no reason. Genesis 23;1-19.

§  Abraham obeyed and brought Isaac to the mountain, and as he was plunging the knife toward his son an angel swooped down and grabbed his hand.

§  This angel then told Abraham that God was just "testing" him. A ram then conveniently appears out of nowhere, and Isaac sacrifices the ram instead.

F.       The death of Abraham. Genesis 25:5-11

§  Abraham died at the age of 175 years and buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael at the cave of Machpelah.

§  Sara was also barred in the same cave

§  Isaac become the Heir and lived near but Ishmael returned to the jungle

LESSON IV: ESAU AND JACOB (ISRAEL) GENESIS 25: 19-34.

A.      Esau and Jacob

§  At the age of 40 years Isaac married the daughter of Bethuel after 20 years His Rebecca gave birth of twins.

§  Isaac had two sons - Esau and Jacob. Esau was big and strong, hairy, and the first born, Jacob was cunning and weak and the second born,

§  Hence Esau was supposed to inherit his father's estate and blessings. Too bad for Esau, the old man was blind and Rebecca, their mom, liked Jacob better, so Jacob cooked up some soup and gave it to his older brother in exchange for the birthright.

§  Then, Jacob strapped some wool on his arms and fooled his dad into blessing him as the first born. God seemed to tacitly approve of this, and armed with his brother's birthright Jacob set off to find a wife.

B.      Jacob winning Blessing Genesis 27; 1-45.

§  Jacob eventually met a nice girl named Rachel and wanted to marry her, but it turned out he was dirt poor and her dad, Laban, made him work as a slave for 7 years to get her hand.

§  Karma must have caught up with Jacob because on his wedding night he got hitched to Rachel's older sister Leah. So, Jacob went back to work for another 7 years and finally got married to the right girl.

§  Leah was Rachel's older sister. Jacob thought Rachel was more beautiful, and just wanted her, but he was tricked into marrying Leah in order to get Rachel too. Jacob always loved Rachel more.

§  Yahweh compensated by closing Rachel's womb for many years and making Leah as fertile as a bunny. Rachel and Leah were not only Jacob's wives; they shared grandparents with him, making them first cousins. This wasn't a problem, because Jacob's mother and father shared a grandparent and great-grandparent, making them first cousins once removed. Jacob's family tree forked, but only with one another.

§  He also picked up his wives' handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah as concubines.  As a result, they have a happy family of 13 kids’ sons.

§   Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin, and daughter Dinah.

§  The sons eventually become the patriarchs of the 12 Tribes of Israel, or their touring name, the Israelites. The happy patriarch then gets into a wrestling match with an angel and God changes Jacob's name to Israel (he who fights with God).

C.      Tamar

§  The story of Tamar is one of those overlooked corners of Genesis...because it is a story about a very strong woman. Essentially, Tamar was a proto-Ruth, but more edgy. She was a Canaanite woman who nonetheless became an ancestor of Jesus Christ and the mother of an heir of the Blessing. She was married to Er, the firstborn son of Judah. But Er pissed off the Lord somehow, and God had him whacked.

§  Then by Hebrew law, the second son Onan was required to marry her, which he did. But he wasn't pleased with the thought of just being a stud for Tamar, so at the height of his passion he withdrew from her and let his seed spill on the ground (somehow this part of the story has been mangled to the point where "Onanism" is a word meaning masturbation, but it was coitus interuptus instead). The Lord didn't like that either, so he in turn whacked Onan.

§  Judah told Tamar to hang out for a few years until his third son, Shelah, was old enough to give it a go. But when the time came, Judah balked, and refused to marry them off, probably because he thought Tamar was jinxed. Well, Tamar was not to be denied. She dressed like a whore and seduced Judah himself after his wife died. He didn't recognize her when they did the nasty. Nine months later she had twin boys, Peretz and Zerah. At first Judah wanted to burn Tamar to death for being a whore and getting prego, but Tamar retaliated by showing a few tokens he left behind on the bedroom dresser when he visited her. With his face as red as a beet, Judah finally acknowledged her sons as his own, and Peretz was numbered in the line of Messiah.

LESSON V. JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS GENESIS 37:1-36.

A.      The outcome of Josephs dreams.

§  Joseph, the second youngest was his dad's favorite, and, as documented in the musical, got a special rainbow-colored coat.

§  He used to tell his father of His Brothers news, and he was sincere to Him

§  He had dreams which were telling his feature greatness between him and his brothers.

§  His older brothers didn't like this, so they did what most other envious siblings would do.

§  They sold him into slavery in Egypt and faked his death. While in Egypt his mistress, tried to seduce him, but when he turned her down she claimed that he raped her and as a result he wound up in jail awaiting execution.

§  While in jail he helped interpret the dreams of his inmates (one got his job back in the royal household, the other got executed). Eventually, word of his ability got to the Pharaoh, who let him out of jail so that Joseph could interpret his dream.

B.      Joseph interprets the Kings Dream Genesis 41:1-57.

§  The Pharaoh kept having this dream where there were seven fat cows who come out of the Nile and are eaten by seven thin cows.

§   Pharaoh's priests couldn't figure out what it meant, but God, working through Joseph told the Pharaoh that there would be seven years of surplus grain followed by a seven year famine throughout the Middle East.

§  The Pharaoh realized the opportunity, and ordered all the farmers to give half of their surplus grain to the state to stock up for the famine. Unsurprisingly, Joseph turned out to be correct.

§  The famine eventually hit Joseph's family back home in Canaan who came to Egypt looking for some food.

§  Joseph recognized his family and eventually reconciled with the rest of the Israelites. Eventually Jacob died in Egypt and the Israelites decided that Egypt was not a bad place to live after all. That is, until

C.      Joseph revealed Himself to His Brothers Genesis 45.

§  Joseph revealed to his brothers that he was their brothers Joseph whom they sold in Egypt and that he was the King’s highest officer in charge of the whole country of all Egypt

§  He asked his brothers to hurry up and bring their father children and grand children animals and settle with him in Egypt in the land of Goshen.

§  He ordered for them wagons, food new clothes and garments for their journey 

§  Jacob moves to Egypt Genesis 46:1-7. When Jacobs family arrived in Egypt Joseph took five of his brothers to introduce them to the King

§  The King welcomed them and gave them the land of Goshen Lastly the city of Rameses, they provided with food and everything.

§  Jacob offer sacrifice to God of Beersheba, God appeared to Him in a vision and told him not to be afraid Genesis 47:1-6

§  God promised him many descendants and bring them back to Promised Land of Canaan.

D.      Jacobs Last will , Blessing and Death Genesis 49

§  Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years and when he was 137 years He called his son Joseph and made a solemn view that he will not burry him in Egypt But rather he will bury him in the tomb of his ancestors out of Egypt

§  When Jacob was about to die he called his twelve sons  and promised blessing from Reuben to Joseph and his two sons he got in Egypt Ephraim and Manasseh then He died

§  When Jacob died His body was carried to Canaan an buried in the cave of Machpelah

§  After they returned 10 sons of Jacob felt guilty concern of what they did to Joseph, Joseph Gave assurances that he has forgiven them

§  Joseph died of 110 years and he told his Brothers to bury his body in Canaan rather than Egypt Genesis 50; 12-26.

LESSON VI: ISRAEL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MOSES.

The Book of Exodus

A.      Introduction.

§  "Exodus" is a Latin word derived from Greek Exodos, the name given to the book by those who translated it into Greek. The word means "exit," "departure"

§  Exodus means “going out”

§  It’s a book that records how God took His people the Israelites out of Egypt

§  Exodus is a situation in which a lot of people leave a place or activity at the same time

§  It’s an occasion when everyone leaves a place at the same time. It’s a departure or going out of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land called Canaan

Author and Date of Writing

§  Several statements in Exodus indicate that Moses wrote certain sections of the book (see 17:14; 24:4; 34:27). In addition, Joshua 8:31 refer to the command of Ex 20:25 as having been "written in the Book of the Law of Moses."

B.      Life and condition of the Hebrew in Egypt.

            Brief from Genesis. Exodus 1:1-11.

§  The Bible says that the Joseph and all that that generation died in Egypt About 350 yrs passed since they come down to live in Egypt, They did not return to the land which God had promised to give Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

§  The sons of Israel (Jacob's sons) have died, along with the Pharaoh who knew Joseph.

§  The children of Israel prospered in Egypt and their Number increased rapidly and became rich.

§  A new king of Egypt treats the Israelites harshly; they have to make bricks.

§   Worse, since there are too many of them, the king tells the midwives to kill the male babies as they are born.

§  The midwives don't do it, and say in their defense that the Hebrew women give birth too quickly for them to get there.

§  So the new law is, all male newborns are to be thrown in the Nile.

C.      The man Moses (Moses Birth and His Mothers plan). Exodus 2:1-4.

§  Moses means Pulled him out of the water

§  Moses is born, gets put carefully in an ark near the riverbank, and is found by Pharaoh's daughter, who wants to keep him.

§  The parents of this child trusted God to take care of their baby son

§  Moses' courageous sister (Miriam), watching, offers Moses' mother as a nurse, so the mother gets to raise Moses anyway.

§  When Moses is grown, Pharaoh's daughter gets him.

§  One day Moses sees an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, and Moses intervenes and kills the Egyptian.

§  The next day he sees two Hebrews struggling, and tries to intervene, but he discovers that his murder of yesterday is known.

§  So Moses flees to Midian. In Midian he befriends and then marries a daughter of the priest of Midian; they have Gershom, a son. (2)

D.      Moses saw the Burning Bush Exodus 3:1-3

§  God hears the complaints of Israel and tells Moses to intervene, via the burning bush on Horeb.(Sinai).

§   God tells Moses that God will bring Israel to the area of Canaan out of Egypt; God will do it through Moses.

§  Moses doubts his ability, but God reassures him that He will be with him.

§  God names Himself "I AM." Moses is to gather the elders and tell them of God's plan: they are to get Pharaoh's permission to leave "temporarily" to sacrifice to God, three days away.

§  Moses doubts his ability, but God gives him some miraculous signs to perform: a rod that becomes a snake, a leprous and then cleansed hand, and turning the river to blood.

§  Moses still doubts, so God, angry, appoints his brother Aaron to be the main speaker. Moses finally agrees and returns from Midian. God gives Moses a message for Pharaoh: if Pharaoh does not let Israel, God's firstborn, out of Egypt, then God will kill Pharaoh's firstborn son.

§  On the way, Moses meets Aaron and tells him the plan. In Egypt, they tell their people, who believe after seeing the signs.

§  Moses and Aaron give Pharaoh the message. But Pharaoh doesn't believe them or care about God, and instead thinks the Hebrews are trying to slack off from making bricks. So Pharaoh makes it even harder; the Hebrews have to find their own straw for bricks, but their quotas remain as high as ever.

§  The Israelites get mad at Moses for this, and Moses complains to God. God tells Moses to reassure the Israelites, giving him the words to say, but when Moses says them, the people are too discouraged to believe him. Moses takes this as proof of his bad oratorical skills. Then there is a genealogy leading up to Moses, and a reminder that Moses had complained of his bad oratorical skills from the start.

§  God reassures Moses again, and says that He will let Pharaoh's heart remain obstinate in failing to let the Israelites go. God has Moses and Aaron do the rod/snake sign, which doesn't mean much to Pharaoh, because his magicians can do it as a trick. Ditto the river/blood sign. The river becomes putrid for a week.

E.       The Lord sent Plagues on Egypt. Exodus 7:14-10:29.

§  The plagues, which mostly affect only the Egyptians, and Pharaoh promises to let the people go, giving more ground each time, and then reneges once the plague is over:

§   frogs; gnats; flies; livestock plague; boils; deadly hail; locusts; death of the firstborn son.

§  The Hebrew is to perform a special Passover ritual regarding the final plague. Pharaoh comes to know the power of God, though he seems not to accept the implications. Finally, once Pharaoh's son is killed, he drives Israel away, and lets the whole people go, flocks and all.

§  In the Preparation for Passover  Lord told Moses that the Israelites what they  must do in order to save their firstborn children from death

·         They Must choose a lamb without blemish Exodus 12:1-5

·         They must kill the lamb and catch its blood in basin Exodus 12:6

·         They must place the blood on both of doorposts and above the door Exodus 12 :7

·         They must stay inside the House on which they had placed the blood Exodus 12: 22

·         They must not break any of the lamb bones Exodus 12: 46.

§  God also says that the Hebrew is to perform a special commemoration of the escape, particularly regarding the unleavened bread which they had to take with them hurriedly.

§  All Egyptians first born child died and the firstborn of all the Egyptians livestock died Exodus 12;29-30

F.       Pharaoh allowed the Israelites to go “Exodus”

§  God institutes some practices: Israel must sanctify to God every male firstborn of both man and beast;

§  Israel is to celebrate an annual festival of unfermented cakes, once they get to where they're going, to commemorate the exodus. Israel leaves Egypt, and Moses brings Joseph's bones along, according to the ancient promise. God leads Israel with a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. Exodus 13.

§  God tells Moses to make sure the Israelites seem like they are wandering aimlessly, and that He will let Pharaoh become obstinate against them again.

§  Pharaoh hears of the wandering, and so he and a lot of Egyptians go out to retrieve the Israelites.

§  Israel sees the Egyptians and fears death, but Moses reminds them that God will fight for them. God tells the Israelites (via Moses) to pick up and go through the sea, and that He will bring glory to Himself by means of the bad deeds of Pharaoh and Egypt.

§  Moses lifts his hand and the sea divides; Israel proceeds through and Egypt follows, but God makes Egypt confused and breaks their chariots. Moses lifts his hand again and the sea returns, killing the Egyptians and Pharaoh. Israel puts its faith in God and in Moses. (14)

G.     The Journey through the desert “Wandering”

§  Israel sings a song of exaltation to God. Israel then marches for three days without water. Finally they come to bitter water at Marah, and God directs Moses to make the water sweet and drinkable by throwing a certain tree in the water.

§  God tells Israel that it must keep all God's commandments, and if so, Israel will escape the plagues that had beset Egypt. God says He is healing Israel. They come to Elim. Exodus 15.

§  They leave Elim and come to the wilderness of Sin. The people complain of hunger. God rains down manna for the people to eat.

§  They at first don't know they're supposed to eat it, so Moses must tell them to eat it. They each eat their share. They are to pick and eat only a day's worth, except to pick double on the sixth day, so as not to pick on the seventh day. The people don't follow the rule, which angers God. God repeats that they are to observe strict gathering practices, and then the people start to observe the sabbath.

§  Moses and Aaron take one day's worth of manna and put it in a jar as a permanent commemoration. The manna is provided for forty years until Israel gets to Canaan. Exodus. 16

§  The people come to Rephidim, and complain of thirst. God directs Moses to use his magic rod to strike a rock so that water will come forth.

§   The Amalekites come to fight Israel, presumably because Israel had complained and put God to the test. But Moses is able secure victory by keeping his hands raised, on the hill. When he puts his hands down, Israel starts to lose, so Aaron and Hur help him to keep his hands raised all day. The only memory of the Amalekites will be the recording of the battle in the book; God will perpetually war with Amalek. (17)

H.     Jethro Exodus 19.

§  Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, hears that Moses is nearby. He visits Moses and Moses tells the whole story about what has happened since he left Jethro.

§  Jethro learns that God is the greatest. The next day, Moses spends the whole day as a judge for Israel.

§  Jethro teaches him to delegate, and so Moses sets up judges of groups and subgroups.

§  These judges presumably will represent their groups to Moses, and Moses will remain the representative of all Israel before God.

§  Moses will have to judge only the big cases. (18)

§  Israel goes, in the third month, to the wilderness of Sinai. God speaks to Moses out of the mountain there.

§  God tells Moses to tell Israel that it must strictly obey God. Moses tells Israel through the representatives, and all Israel agrees to obey God. God has Moses tell the people to sanctify themselves and not touch the mountain, while God will give more instruction to Moses on the third day.

§  On that day, the people watch as Moses goes up the mountain to speak with God. God says that Moses should repeat to the people not to touch the mountain, and when Moses complains that they already have been told, God tells him to go anyway and again to bring Aaron with him on his ascent. (19)

I.        The Ten Commandments Exodus 20.

       God gives the commandments:

·         Worship God alone do not have or make false gods;

·         do not take up the name of God in vain;

·         remember the Sabbath and keep it holy;

·         honor your parents;

·         do not murder,

·         do not commit adultery,

·         do not steal;

·         do not bear false witness;

·         do not lust someone’s wife

·         And do not lust after anything belonging to your neighbor.

§  The people are afraid of God and glad to have Moses as mediator. God calls for a burnt offering and gives directions about how to build a stone altar.

§    The people agree to follow the laws, and Moses writes them down. Israel makes some sacrifices to give a sign of the agreement. Moses and Aaron and seventy elders get to see God. God calls Moses back up the mountain, and so he takes Joshua his minister with him, and leaves the seventy behind, with Aaron and Hur as judges. On the seventh day on the mountain, God begins to speak to Moses; he remains there forty days. (24)

J.        The Tabernacle.

§  God gives very specific instructions about building the Ark for the law and the table which will hold the commemorative manna. God continues to give very specific instructions regarding other sacred objects, particularly the tabernacle, and also vestments for the priests (beginning with Aaron). Also directions are given for the sanctifying of Aaron and his sons as priests. All this is to be kept up throughout the generations.

§  God says He will continue to present Himself to Israel at the altar of the tabernacle. All Israel will continue to know that God brought them out of Egypt. (25-29)

§  God tells Moses that He will fill Bezalel with the spirit of God in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all kinds of craftsmanship, so that all these things can be built.

§  Ditto Oholiab. God repeats that the sabbaths are to be kept; any profaner of it is to be put to death. God then gives Moses two tablets of the Testimony, written on by God. (31)

K.      The Golden Calf.

§  The people get impatient while Moses is on Mt. Sinai, so they get Aaron to form the golden calf to be a substitute god, as though the calf was the one who brought Israel out of Egypt.

§   God becomes angry, but Moses reminds God that Israel is God's chosen people, so God chooses not to exterminate the nation.

§  But then Moses goes down the mountain and sees and hears for himself, and so Moses gets very angry. He destroys the tablets. He grinds up the calf and makes the people eat it. He then determines that the house of Levi is on God's side still, and enjoins the Levites to go killing about three thousand men of Israel in retribution.

§  (Thus Moses does concur with God's justice.) Moses, now knowing the extent to which justice is deserved, entreats God for mercy. God replies that he will wipe sinners out of His book. (32)

L.       Following the Law Exodus 35-39.

§  Moses repeats the command about the Sabbath, to the people.

§  He also takes up a contribution for the tabernacle and other stuff.

§  Everybody voluntarily gives all kinds of stuff, more than what is needed, and Bezalel and Oholiab get to work.

§  They make all the stuff to the exact specifications which God had commanded Moses.

Exodus 40.

§  God tells Moses to set up and use the tabernacle and stuff on the first day of the new year.

§  When the time comes, Moses does exactly as God had told him. God comes and fills the tabernacle with His glory.

§  The people pay close attention, because they are following the cloud of glory. When the cloud is in the tabernacle, they stay put; when it lifts and moves, they break camp and go on to the next stage of their journey.

LESSON VII: THE CENSUS OF THE ISRAELITES AT SINAI.

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS.

A.      The census of the Israelites at Sinai.

§  Numbers is the Fourth book of the Old Testament, so named because the opening chapters are concerning the census or numbering of the Israelites tribes.

§  Author: Moses was the author of the Book of Numbers.

§  Date of Writing: The Book of Numbers was written between 1440 and 1400 B.C.

§  Purpose of Writing:

·         The message of the Book of Numbers is universal and timeless. It reminds believers of the spiritual warfare in which they are engaged, for Numbers is the book of the service and walk of God's people.

·         The Book of Numbers essentially bridges the gap between the Israelites receiving the Law (Exodus and Leviticus) and preparing them to enter the Promised Land (Deuteronomy and Joshua).

B.      Key Verses:

§  Numbers 6:24-26, "The LORD blesses you and keeps you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."

§  Numbers 12:6-8, "When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions; I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in my entire house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"

§  Numbers 14:30-34, "Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But you — your bodies will fall in this desert. Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. For forty years — one year for each of the forty days you explored the land — you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.'"

C. Brief Summary:

§  Most of the events of the Book of Numbers take place in the wilderness, primarily between the second and fortieth years of the wandering of the Israelites. The first 25 chapters of the book chronicle the experiences of the first generation of Israel in the wilderness, while the rest of the book describes the experiences of the second generation. The theme of obedience and rebellion followed by repentance and blessing runs through the entire book, as well as the entire Old Testament.

§  The theme of the holiness of God is continued from the book of Leviticus into the book of Numbers, which reveals God's instruction and preparation of His people to enter the Promised Land of Canaan. The importance of the Book of Numbers is indicated by its being referred to in the New Testament many times. The Holy Spirit called special attention to Numbers in 1 Corinthians 10:1-12. The words "all these things happened to them for examples" refers to the sin of the Israelites and God’s displeasure with them.

§  In Romans 11:22, Paul speaks about the "goodness and severity of God." That, in a nutshell, is the message of Numbers. The severity of God is seen in the death of the rebellious generation in the wilderness, those who never entered the Promised Land. The goodness of God is realized in the new generation. God protected, preserved, and provided for these people until they possessed the land. This reminds us of the justice and love of God, which are always in sovereign harmony.

D. Foreshadowing’s:

§  God’s demand for holiness in His people is completely and finally satisfied in Jesus Christ, who came to fulfill the law on our behalf (Matthew 5:17). The concept of the promised Messiah pervades the book. The story in chapter 19 of the sacrifice of the red heifer “without defect or blemish” prefigures Christ, the Lamb of God without spot or blemish who was sacrificed for our sins. The image of the bronze snake lifted up on the pole to provide physical healing (chapter 21) also prefigures the lifting up of Christ, either upon the cross, or in the ministry of the Word, that whoever looks to Him by faith may have spiritual healing.

§ 
In chapter 24, Balaam’s fourth oracle speaks of the star and the scepter that is to rise out of Jacob. Here is a prophecy of Christ who is called the "morning star" in Revelation 22:16 for His glory, brightness, and splendor, and for the light that comes by Him. He may also be called a scepter, that is, a scepter bearer, because of his royalty. He not only has the name of a king, but has a kingdom, and rules with a scepter of grace, mercy, and righteousness.

E. Practical Application:

§  A major theological theme developed in the New Testament from Numbers is that sin and unbelief, especially rebellion, reap the judgment of God. First Corinthians specifically says—and Hebrews 3:7-4:13 strongly implies—that these events were written as examples for believers to observe and avoid. We are not to “set our hearts on evil things” (v. 6), or be sexually immoral (v. 8), or put God to the test (v. 9) or gripe and complain (v. 10).

§  Just as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness 40 years because of their rebellion, so too does God sometimes allow us to wander away from Him and suffer loneliness and lack of blessings when we rebel against Him. But God is faithful and just, and just as He restored the Israelites to their rightful place in His heart, He will always restore Christians to the place of blessing and intimate fellowship with Him if we repent and return to Him (1 John 1:9).

LESSON VIII: ISRAEL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF JOSHUA

A.      Introduction

§  After the death of Moses, Joshua took up the mantle of leadership of Israel. Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt. Joshua was to lead them into the Promised Land. The book of Joshua can be broadly divided into three parts.

 Chapters 1-5: Preparation and conquest

§  The first 5 chapters of Joshua detail the preparation for the conquering of the Land.
God’s word to Joshua in Joshua 1: 5- 9 has been a source of strength and encouragement to thousands of Christians over the centuries. These verses lay the foundation for Joshuas success and indeed ours.

Chapter 2

§  Rahab hiding the spies and receiving instructions to mark her house with a scarlet (brilliant red) cord speaks to us about the blood of Jesus and the enormous role it plays in our salvation and protection. The Israelites marked their doorpost with blood when God delivered them from Egypt. Rahab was doing a similar thing.

Chapter 3

§  The crossing of the river Jordan in Chapter 3 is another very significant event. It mirrors Israels deliverance from Egypt when they crossed the Red sea. It is a beautiful picture of salvation. God takes us out of the world to bring us into His promises. It is a timely reminder to all of us not to get stuck in the wilderness.

Chapter 4

§  The memorial stones taken from the river Jordan, as ordered by God, to remind the Israelites of their deliverance is a vital lesson we should all learn in chapter 4. Never forget the goodness of God. The things we forget can get us into trouble. Anytime Israel forgot the goodness of God they always went back into sin and idol worship. Are you keeping stones of remembrance in your life?

Chapter 5

§  Chapter 5 brings us to the height of the Israelites preparation. Here Joshua comes face to face with the Commander of Gods army.

§  Despite everything that Joshua had received he still needed this spiritual warrior to lead him into battle.

§  Let us learn never to place our confidence in our own spirituality. God fights for us. He equips us to follow him. Yet it is He who works through us to bring the victory.

§  We would do ourselves a great benefit to study and learn from Joshua. He was a success right to the end. He never fell. The first five chapters of Joshua tell us the secret of his success. Learn from them, as they will help you through the battles of life.

B.       Chapters 6 - 13: The main battles and conquest of the land

Chapter 6 – 8

§  Jericho was the first city to fall. All the spoil were taken into the house of the Lord. Only Rahab was spared.

§  However greed got the better of Achan and he kept some of the garments, silver and gold for himself. His sin led to the defeat of Israel when they went to attack the city of Ai. This was Israel’s first mistake. Achans sin was exposed and he faced the judgment, suffering a horrible fate. Ai was eventually defeated.

Chapter 9

§  Israel’s second mistake is when they made a treaty with the Gibeonities. The Gibeonities deceived the Israelites into thinking they lived far away and were not part of the land of Cannan. Without consulting God, Israel made a treaty never to attack them. Something they lived to regret.

Chapters 10 – 12

§  The battle for Jerusalem, which also involved the king of Hebron, King of Jarmuth, King of Lachish and the king of Eglon is a fascinating and revealing story. This is where Joshua commanded the sun to stand still in order to aid him in winning the battle. Chapters 9 and 10 contain the details.

C.      Chapter 13- 24: dividing and settling in the land

Chapter 13 – 20

§ 
With the land conquered Joshua goes about dividing the land among the tribes of Israel.

§  Six cities of refuge were also allocated for those who are awaiting judgment after committing a crime. An offender who made his way to that city was given a refuge from the consequences of his or her sin until proper investigation and judgment could be carried out.

§  They were safe in the city as long as the High Priest was alive. Thank God we have a High priest who never dies. See the details in chapter 20.

Chapters 21 – 24

§  A misunderstanding between the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh on one side and the rest of Israel on the other nearly lead to a civil war. Read the full account in chapter 22. How often have misunderstandings led to break ups and civil wars in the church these days.

D.      Conclusion

§  The book of Joshua is an excellent book in bringing us understanding in spiritual warfare and how to prosper in the will of God. To prosper for Joshua did not mean making a lot of money but to accomplish everything God had in store for him. You could easily spend a year studying this book and the lessons you would glean from it would be enormous.

LESSON IX: ISRAEL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF JUDGES

Author:

§  The Book of Judges does not specifically name its author. The tradition is that the Prophet Samuel was the author of Judges.

§  Internal evidence indicates that the author of Judges lived shortly after the period of the Judges. Samuel fits this qualification.

Date of Writing:

§  The Book of Judges was likely written between 1045 and 1000 B.C.

§  The judges were the men Inspired and filled with creative power by God to lead the people of Israel in the battle against their enemy.

Purpose of Writing:

§  The Book of Judges can be divided into two sections: (1) Chapters 1-16 which gives an account of the wars of deliverance beginning with the Israelites' defeat of the Canaanites and ending with the defeat of the Philistines and the death of Samson;

§  (2) Chapters 17-21 which is referred to as an appendix and does not relate to the previous chapters. These chapters are noted as a time “when there was no king in Israel (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).” The Book of Ruth was originally a part of the Book of Judges, but in A.D. 450 it was removed to become a book of its own.

§  Israel were defeated because they disobeyed God of their ancestors who bought them out of Egypt and followed false gods from the surrounding people.

Key Verses:

§  Judges 2:16-19: "Then the LORD rose up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them.

§  Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the LORD's commands.

§  Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.

§   But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways."

§  Judges 10:15: “But the Israelites said to the LORD, 'We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.'”

§  Judges 21:25: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.”

The role of the Judges In Israel

§  To lead all the tribes of Israel to regain strong power in battle against their enemies

§  To strengthen all the tribes  of Israel to regain power under their leadership

§  To increase the religion act as to unite and help the tribes and gave them sense of responsibility each other together by worshiping of One God

§  To create peace of  the people of Israel in the time of conflicts and make sure that all the 12 tribes come together in times of danger and enable them to defeat their enemy

§  To lead Israel to deal with the enemies during the period of war

§  To make people glorify Almighty God and Get away from worshiping False gods and be Obedient to God, keep his covenant and commandments and follow the examples of their ancestors

§  To bring Justice and honor among the people of Israelites

The twelve Judges of Israel.

§  Othniel

·         He judge for 40 years

·         He defeated King of Edom Known as Cusha Rishathaim He made peace for 40 years

·         Was the son of Renas Calebs younger brother

·         Was the first judge in Israel

·         People began doing evil after his death and Israel became enslaved to Eglon King of Moab for 18 years

§  Ehud

·         He judged the united Israel for 80 years Judges 3;15-30

·         He led Israel to fight Eglon the king of Moab

·         He killed the king of Moab and ended a long period in which the Moabites had forced some tribe of Israel to pay tribute to their king

·         He sent away some men to take tribute to king of Moab “I have a secret message for you O king…” Judge 3;19-21.

·         He made for himself  a sword with two edges and killed the king of Moab

·         He led the Israelites to create a peace for 80 year.

§  Shamgar

·         Son of Anath judges 3:31

·         He worked against philistine , he died on his own working as guerrillas, he was quit unable to destroy the power of the Philistines He caused damages inside philistine  territory

§  Deborah and Barack Judges 4.

·         Debora was a prophetess during this time Israel were oppressed by the Canaanites

·          She was a wife of Lappidoth, she was responsible to fight victorious against the Canaanites , she joined with Barack  to overthrow Sisera the leader of the Canaanites, he was the leader of Canaanite the commander of Jabins army King of Canaan

·         Barack was the son of Abinoam from Kadesh in Nahtali, Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite Killed Sisera. Judge 4:11- 23

§  Gideon Judge 6.

·         He was called by the angel of the Lord “God is with you valiant warrior”

·         He asked the Lord how can I deliver Israel Judge 6:15

·         Gideon was able to drive out the raiders of the Palestine and relief the suffering of the involved tribes Judges  6:1-8,36

·         Gideon destroyed all the altars for the baals and cut down all sacred pole and given the name  Jerubaal meaning that baal must plead against him because he had destroyed his altar

·         Gideon defeated the Midianites, Lord reduces the number of Gideon army, that means the victory was not  to be the attributed of the military strength of Israel but God was the Giver of Victory

§  Tola Judges 10:17

·         Was the son of Puah Man from Issachar

·         He judge Israel for 23 years against Philistines, Ammonites and Amalekites

·         Was buried at Shamir.

§  Jephthah

·         Jephthah was a son of harlot his father was a Gilead Judge 11;6-7 He judge Israel from oppression of the Philistines and Ammonites

·         The Gilead’s wife bore him sons they thrust Jephthah out Judges 11:2-3 Jephthah Rejected by his brothers because he was the son of another woman a harlot Judges 11;1-8

·         He was a faithful Judge Judges 11 gives a reality of the statement Judge 11:30-38.

§  Samson

      Was the son of Manoa, the wife of Manoa was barren

      Samson as a judge he judge the Israelites 20 years, He became the hero of Israel in the war of the Philistine, He reserved Israel from the oppression of the philistine.

      The Philistine ask Samson’s wife to help them, they wanted to know where his strength lies and by what means they would overpower him Judge 16;4-6

      The secret of Samson strength was that Samson hair had never been shaved or cut Judge 16:17

      Samson was a Judge in Israel, famous for his strength and Nazirite.

§  Other Judges are :-

Jair

-          He judged Israel for twenty two years

-          He is from Manasseh Numbers 32;41 Deuteronomy 3;14

Ibzan

-          Was of Bethlehem He had 30 sons and thirty daughters

-          Remarkable for his success in marrying outside his clan

-          He judged Israel for seven years

Elon

-          Was from Zebulun, a minor Judge who judge Israel for a period of ten years

-          Elon died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun

Abdon

-          Was the son of Hillel from Pirathon Judge 12:13

-          He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who had rode on seventy donkeys

-          Abdon judges Israel for 80 years

-          He died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim in the hill country of Amalekites

And Abimelech

-          Was a son of Gideon and Canaanite concubine who lived at Shechem

-          He forced to judge Israel and appealed to the citizens of Shechem on the basis of his relationship and persuaded them to rebel against the rule of the sons of Gideon

-          Finaly He killed all of his Brothers The son of Gideon Abimelech himself killed during an attack on Thebez by a millstone flung from the all by a woman Judges 9:50-57.

Brief Summary:

§  The Book of Judges is a tragic account of how Yahweh [God] was taken for granted by His children year after year, century after century.

§  Judges is a sad contrast to the book of Joshua which chronicles the blessings God bestowed on the Israelites for their obedience in conquering the land.

§  In Judges, they were disobedient and idolatrous, leading to their many defeats. Yet God has never failed to open His arms in love to His people whenever they repent from their wicked ways and call upon His name.

§  (Judges 2:18) Through the 15 judges of Israel, God honored His promise to Abraham to protect and bless his offspring (Genesis 12:2-3).

§  After the death of Joshua and his contemporaries, the Israelites returned to serving Baal and Ashtaroth.

§  God allowed the Israelites to suffer the consequences of worshiping false gods. It was then that the people of God would cry out to Yahweh for help. God sent His children judges to lead them in righteous living.

§  But time after time they would turn their backs on God and return to their lives of wickedness. However, keeping His part of the covenant with Abraham, God would save His people from their oppressors throughout the 480-year span of the Book of Judges.

§  Probably the most notable judge was the 12th judge, Samson, who came to lead the Israelites after a 40-year captivity under the rule of the ruthless Philistines. Samson led God’s people to victory over the Philistines where he lost his own life after 20 years as judge of Israel.

Foreshadowing’s:

§  The announcement to Samson’s mother that she would bear a son to lead Israel is a foreshadowing of the announcement to Mary of the birth of the Messiah. God sent His Angel to both women and told them they would “conceive and bear a son” (Judges 13:7; Luke 1:31) who would lead God’s people.

§  God’s compassionate delivery of His people despite their sin and rejection of Him presents a picture of Christ on the cross. Jesus died to deliver His people—all who would ever believe in Him—from their sin. Although most of those who followed Him during His ministry would eventually fall away and reject Him, still He remained faithful to His promise and went to the cross to die for us.

Practical Application:

§  Disobedience always brings judgment. The Israelites present a perfect example of what we are not to do. Instead of learning from experience that God will always punish rebellion against Him, they continued to disobey and suffer God’s displeasure and discipline. If we continue in disobedience, we invite God’s discipline, not because He enjoys our suffering, but “because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son" (Hebrews 12:6).

§  The Book of Judges is a testament to God’s faithfulness. Even “if we are faithless, He will remain faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). Though we may be unfaithful to Him, as the Israelites were, still He is faithful to save us and preserve us (1 Thessalonians 5:24) and to forgive us when we seek forgiveness (1 John 1:9). “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful” (1 Corinthians 1:8-9).

LESSON X:  ISRAEL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF SAMUEL

Samuel

§  When Eli died Samuel succeeded him as Chief Administrator in Israel 1 Samuel 7;15

§  People everywhere acknowledge him as a Prophet from God and the religion leader of the nation.

§  Samuel was  born in to a Levite family who lived at Ramah 1Samuel 3;20;7:3-6, Acts 3;24, 13:20

§  His Father was called Elkanah and  his Mother  Hanna 1Samuel 1;9 – 20;1 Chronicles 6: 33-38 In accordance to promised made before Samuel Birth his mother took him as a young child to the tabernacle at Shiloh where she dedicated him to God for life – long service.

§  When his parents returned home, Samuel remained at Shiloh to be brought up by the priest Eli 1Samuel 1;24 -28;2,11.

§  He grew up to become Eli’s Helper in the duties of the tabernacle 1Samuel 2; 18, by bringing a message of judgment to Eli he showed that God was preparing him to be a prophet 1Samuel 3; 10-18.

Samuel’s Leadership.

§  There was an early indication of Samuels leadership rose after the capture and subsequent return of the ark by the philistines

§  Samuel shows his authority among his people demanding that they get rid of their foreign gods and by leading them in prayer and confession to God 1Samuel 7:3-6

§  The religious life of Israel now centered on Samuel Psalm 78;6-61, Jeremiah 7;14

§  Israel Civil administration also centered on Samuel 1Samuel 7;15-17,

§  He was high respected by the people of Israel 1Samuel 25;1, Jeremiah 15;1

LESSON XI: GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

Author:

§  This gospel is known as the Gospel of Matthew because it was written by the apostle of the same name. 

§  The style of the book is exactly what would be expected of a man who was once a tax collector. 

§  Matthew has a keen interest in accounting (18:23-24; 25:14-15). The book is very orderly and concise.

§  Rather than write in chronological order, Matthew arranges this Gospel through six discussions.

§  As a tax collector, Matthew possessed a skill that makes his writing all the more exciting for Christians. 

§  Tax collectors were expected to be able to write in a form of shorthand, which essentially meant that Matthew could record a person’s words as they spoke, word for word. This ability means that the words of Matthew are not only inspired by the Holy Spirit, but should represent an actual transcript of some of Christ’s sermons. For example, the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in chapters 5-7, is almost certainly a perfect recording of that great message.

Date of Writing:

§  As an apostle, Matthew wrote this book in the early period of the church, probably around A.D. 50. 

§  This was a time when most Christians were Jewish converts, so Matthew’s focus on Jewish perspective in this gospel is understandable.

Purpose of Writing:

§  Matthew intends to prove to the Jews that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah.

§   More than any other gospel, Matthew quotes the Old Testament to show how Jesus fulfilled the words of the Jewish prophets.

§  Matthew describes in detail the lineage of Jesus from David, and uses many forms of speech that Jews would have been comfortable with. 

§  Matthew’s love and concern for his people is apparent through his meticulous approach to telling the gospel story.

Key Verses:

§  Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

§  Matthew 5:43-44: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

§  Matthew 6:9-13: “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

§  Matthew 16:26: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

§  Matthew 22:37-40: "Jesus replied, '"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two.'"

§  Matthew 27:31: “After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.”

§  Matthew 28:5-6: “The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.'”

§  Matthew 28:19-20: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Brief Summary:

§  Matthew discusses the lineage, birth, and early life of Christ in the first two chapters. From there, the book discusses the ministry of Jesus. The descriptions of Christ’s teachings are arranged around “discourses” such as the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5 through 7. Chapter 10 involves the mission and purpose of the disciples; chapter 13 is a collection of parables; chapter 18 discusses the church; chapter 23 begins a discourse about hypocrisy and the future. Chapters 21 through 27 discuss the arrest, torture, and execution of Jesus. The final chapter describes the Resurrection and the Great Commission.

Connections:

§  Because Matthew’s purpose is to present Jesus Christ as the King and Messiah of Israel, he quotes from the Old Testament more than any of the other three gospel writers.

§  Matthew quotes more than 60 times from prophetic passages of the Old Testament, demonstrating how Jesus fulfilled them. He begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, tracing Him back to Abraham, the progenitor of the Jews. From there, Matthew quotes extensively from the prophets, frequently using the phrase “as was spoken through the prophet(s)” (Matthew 1:22-23, 2:5-6, 2:15, 4:13-16, 8:16-17, 13:35, 21:4-5).

§  These verses refer to the Old Testament prophecies of His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14) in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), His return from Egypt after the death of Herod (Hosea 11:1), His ministry to the Gentiles (Isaiah 9:1-2; 60:1-3), His miraculous healings of both body and soul (Isaiah 53:4), His speaking in parables (Psalm 78:2), and His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9).

Practical Application:

§  The Gospel of Matthew is an excellent introduction to the core teachings of Christianity. The logical outline style makes it easy to locate discussions of various topics.

§  Matthew is especially useful for understanding how the life of Christ was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.

§  Matthew’s intended audience was his fellow Jews, many of whom—especially the Pharisees and Sadducees—stubbornly refused to accept Jesus as their Messiah. In spite of centuries of reading and studying the Old Testament, their eyes were blinded to the truth of who Jesus was.

§  Jesus rebuked them for their hard hearts and their refusal to recognize the One they had supposedly been waiting for (John 5:38-40).

§  They wanted a Messiah on their own terms, one who would fulfill their own desires and do what they wanted Him to do. How often do we seek God on our own terms? Don’t we reject Him by ascribing to Him only those attributes we find acceptable, the ones that make us feel good—His love, mercy, grace—while rejecting those we find objectionable—His wrath, justice, and holy anger?

§  We dare not make the mistake of the Pharisees, creating God in our own image and then expecting Him to live up to our standards. Such a god is nothing more than an idol.

§  The Bible gives us more than enough information about the true nature and identity of God and Jesus Christ to warrant our worship and our obedience.

LESSON XI: GOSPEL OF LUKE

Author:

§  The Gospel of Luke does not identify its author. From Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1-3, it is clear that the same author wrote both Luke and Acts, addressing both to “most excellent Theophilus,” possibly a Roman dignitary.

§  The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that Luke, a physician and a close companion of the Apostle Paul, wrote both Luke and Acts (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11). This would make Luke the only Gentile to pen any books of Scripture.

§  There for it’s clearly that Dr. Luke of a gentile origin from Antioch was Physician, Doctor, Historian and a friend of St. Paul wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Acts.

§  Theophilus means friend of God or God fearing People or a person loved by God.

Date of Writing:

§  The Gospel of Luke was likely written between A.D. 58 and 65.

Purpose of Writing:

§  As with the other two synoptic gospels—Matthew and Mark—this book’s purpose is to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ and all He “began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven” (Acts 1:1-2).

§  Luke’s gospel is unique in that is a meticulous history—an “orderly account” (Luke 1:3) consistent with the Luke’s medical mind—often giving details the other accounts omit.

§  Luke’s history of the life of the Great Physician emphasizes His ministry to—and compassion for—Gentiles, Samaritans, women, children, tax collectors, sinners, and others regarded as outcasts in Israel.

§  To show The role of Holy spirit, Forgiveness, mercy of God towards Sinners, Joy and praised brought by Jesus and compassion for the poor and lowly.

§  Christ is the savior of all mankind

Key Verses:

§  Luke 2:4-7: “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.

§  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Luke Chapter 1

The birth of John the Baptist

§  Benedicts song of Zechariah

§  Zechariah praise God for fulfilling his Promise of Redemption Luke 1;68-75

§  He Addresses His Son and foretells His Mission of forerunner (preaching of the redeemer Luke 1: 76-79

      John will be filled with Holy Spirit

      He will be a Nazarene

      Will bring Back people of Israel to their God

      He will have a Spirit (Ministry) of Elijah

      He will reconcile Families’ father and children

      He will prepare the Lord’s way.

§  John is the last and the greatest Prophet; other prophets prophesied the coming of the Messiah from the beginning for John pointed out to Christ as present.

§  Luke 3:16, "John answered them all, 'I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.'"

§  Luke 4:18-19, 21: “‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.’ Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

§  Luke 18:31-32: “Jesus took the twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.’"

§  Luke 23:33-34: "When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’"

§  Luke 24:1-3: "On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus."

The different of Birth Stories Between Jesus and John the Baptist.

	John the Baptist		Jesus
1	His birth was announced to a Priest		His birth was announced to a village girl
2	Announcement took place in the Tample		Announcement took place in a Solemn way trough in Obscure circumstance
3	Zachary doubted the message brought the angel		Marry didn’t doubt the message She only asked how it could take place
4	It was announced to Old parents		It was announced to a young and virgin lady
5	The one to be born was a forerunner of the one who is to come		The one to be born was a Saviour
6	The conception would take place in a natural way between Zachary and Elizabeth		The conception took place unnatural way between Marry and the Holy Spirit.

Similarities.

§  For all the announcements were carried out by an Angel

§  The names for the new born babies were given by the angel before birth

§  Both would have quantities of great men

§  The parents were pious people

§  Their mothers were relatives (Cousins).

Mary’s song of praise Luke 1:46.

§  The magnificent is the canticle of Mary on Hymn (Song) known by its Latin beginning as Magnificant Greatness, it contain two main Old testament ideas

I.                    Gods comes for the help of the poor and simple not to the rich and powerful

II.                  Ever since the time of Abraham, Israel has been God’s favorite people.

Simeon’s Song (Canticle). Nunc Dimittis.

§  It is a hymn of praise and thanks giving to God for his faithfulness to the promise according to Simeon

§  Christ is the Salvation for all and not only for Jesus

§  The opposition to Christ will Bring suffering

Teachings

§  The preaching’s of John The Baptist Luke chapter 3

      John the Baptist preached about repentance in preparation of receiving the Messiah

      He called for a changes of heart

      He emphasized on the internal conversion instead of External religious Observance as emphasized by the Pharisees.

      He emphasized two main values known as love and Justice.

§  The ministry and teachings of Jesus.

      Jesus did not need repentance  yet he asked to be baptized by John the Baptist this was because

      He wanted to teaches us that He is the Lamb of God

      He wanted to fulfill all Gods commandments

      He wanted to confirm the ministry of John the Baptist

§  The temptations of Jesus Luke 4

      Jesus full of the Holy Spirit went to the desert for 40 days in order to prepare for his mission.

      In the desert he was tempted three times but he never gave in to devil’s will

      Jesus was a man like He was tempted in every way but he did not sin, we too can defeat all temptations provided we are dwelling on Gods Power.

      From the desert he started his mission in his own home town Nazareth by Preaching the word from the book of Prophet Isaiah, but His people rejected him

      He Quoted for them the favors’ God did to the Gentiles through Prophets Elisha and Elijah

      Jesus went to Capernaum where he taught with authority and cast out demons and healed people suffered.

§  Jesus Called His first Disciples. Luke 5

      Jesus called his first Disciples namely James, John and Simon who later became his apostles, they were fishermen.

      Afterward he cured the suffering from ream skin and Instructed him not to tell anyone

      Finally Jesus was asked why He did not fast with his disciples as the Pharisees and the disciple of John; He gave an example of Old wine and New wine skins, Old coat and new coat.

      These two comparisons stand for Judaism and Christianity, Old Testament “Judaism”  contains elements which far to pass away, New Testament  “Christianity” cannot be confirmed within the formalism outward Observers

§  The Question about Sabbath Luke 6

      After the above question the Pharisees ask why His Disciples didn’t observe the laws of the Sabbath, Jesus Challenged them by telling them the Story of David and His men, they ate bread that was only reserved for priest and they didn’t died, Mercy and healing people is more important than the law

      Jesus choose the Twelve Apostles Luke 6:12-16

      Jesus parables (Sayings)

Ø  A blind cannot lead the Other

Ø  No pupil is greater than his teacher

Ø  Take a log from your own eye first then your brothers agony

Ø  A health tree not bear good fruit

      Jesus heals a Roman officer servant Luke 7

      Next restores the life of a widow’s son of Nain Luke 17;17

      Jesus performs different types of Healing 17 ; 11-17

      The role of women Luke 8

      The Parable of the sower, seed meant word of God, field Peoples heart, sower, God.

      Jesus performed miracles to strengthen and arose faith among people

Ø  To show that God has power over all creation

Ø  To reveals his father’s glory

Ø  To reveals that God will be the Answer of everything.

      Jesus sending of Disciples Luke 9

      Jesus feed five Thousands Luke 9:11-17

      Jesus was a man of Prayer Luke 6:12, 9:28, 11;1, 3;21, 5;16, 9;18,22;31

      Jesus warning about Hypocrisy Luke 12

      Parable of the seat at the wedding, and cost of being a Disciple Luke 14

      The parable of the lost sheep and prodigal son Luke 15

      The parable of a rich man and Lazarus Luke 16;13-31

       

Brief Summary:

§  Called the most beautiful book ever written,

§  Luke begins by telling us about Jesus' parents; the birth of His cousin, John the Baptist; Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born in a manger; and the genealogy of Christ through Mary. Jesus' public ministry reveals His perfect compassion and forgiveness through the stories of the prodigal son, the rich man and Lazarus, and the Good Samaritan.

§  While many believe in this unprejudiced love that surpasses all human limits, many others—especially the religious leaders—challenge and oppose the claims of Jesus.

§  Christ's followers are encouraged to count the cost of discipleship, while His enemies seek His death on the cross. Finally, Jesus is betrayed, tried, sentenced and crucified. But the grave cannot hold Him! His Resurrection assures the continuation of His ministry of seeking and saving the lost.

Connections:

§  Since Luke was a Gentile, his references to the Old Testament are relatively few compared to those in Matthew's gospel, and most of the OT references are in the words spoken by Jesus rather than in Luke’s narration.

§   Jesus used the Old Testament to defend against Satan’s attacks, answering him with “It is written” (Luke 4:1-13); to identify Himself as the promised Messiah (Luke 4:17-21); to remind the Pharisees of their inability to keep the Law and their need of a Savior (Luke 10:25-28, 18:18-27); and to confound their learning when they tried to trap and trick Him (Luke 20).

Practical Application:

§  Luke gives us a beautiful portrait of our compassionate Savior. Jesus was not “turned off” by the poor and the needy; in fact, they were a primary focus of His ministry. Israel at the time of Jesus was a very class-conscious society.

§  The weak and downtrodden were literally powerless to improve their lot in life and were especially open to the message that “the kingdom of God is near you” (Luke 10:9). This is a message we must carry to those around us who desperately need to hear it.

§   Even in comparatively wealthy countries—perhaps especially so—the spiritual need is dire. Christians must follow the example of Jesus and bring the good news of salvation to the spiritually poor and needy. The kingdom of God is near and the time grows shorter every day.

LESSON XII: BOOK OF ACTS

Author:

§  The Book of Acts does not specifically identify its author. From Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1-3, it is clear that the same author wrote both Luke and Acts. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that Luke, a companion of the apostle Paul, wrote both Luke and Acts (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11).

Date of Writing:

§  The Book of Acts was likely written between 61-64 A.D.

Purpose of Writing:

§  The Book of Acts was written to provide a history of the early church. The emphasis of the book is the importance of the day of Pentecost and being empowered to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. Acts records the apostles being Christ's witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the rest of the surrounding world.

§   The book sheds light on the gift of the Holy Spirit, who empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our Counselor. Reading the book of Acts, we are enlightened and encouraged by the many miracles that were being performed during this time by the disciples Peter, John, and Paul.

§  The book of Acts emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s Word and the transformation that occurs as a result of knowing Christ.

§  There are also many references to those that rejected the truth that the disciples preached about the Lord Jesus Christ. The lust for power, greed, and many other vices of the devil are evidenced in the book of Acts.

Key Verses:

§  Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

§  Acts 2:4: "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

§  Acts 4:12: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

§  Acts 4:19-20: “But Peter and John replied, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’"

§  Acts 9:3-6: "As he [Saul] neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’"

§  Acts 16:31: "So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.’"

Brief Summary:

§  The book of Acts gives the history of the Christian church and the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as the mounting opposition to it. Although many faithful servants were used to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, Saul, whose name was changed to Paul, was the most influential.

§  Before he was converted, Paul took great pleasure in persecuting and killing Christians. Paul’s dramatic conversion on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1-31) is a highlight of the book of Acts. After his conversion he went to the opposite extreme of loving God and preaching His Word with power, fervency and the Spirit of the true and living God.

§  The disciples were empowered by the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses in Jerusalem (chapters 1–8:3), Judea and Samaria (chapters 8:4–12:25), and to the ends of the earth (chapters 13:1–28). Included in the last section are Paul’s three missionary journeys (13:1–21:16), his trials in Jerusalem and Caesarea (21:17–26:32) and his final journey to Rome (27:1–18:31).

Connections:

§  The Book of Acts serves as a transition from the Old Covenant of law-keeping to the New Covenant of grace and faith. This transition is seen in several key events in Acts. First, there was a change in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, whose primary function in the Old Testament was the external “anointing” of God’s people, among them Moses (Numbers 11:17), Othniel (Judges 3:8-10), Gideon (Judges 6:34), and Saul (1 Samuel 10:6-10). After the resurrection of Jesus, the Spirit came to live in the very hearts of believers (Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 3:16), guiding and empowering them from within. The indwelling Spirit is the gift of God to those who come to Him in faith.

§  Paul’s conversion was a dramatic example of the transition from the Old Covenant to the New. Paul admitted that, prior to meeting the risen Savior, he was the most zealous of Israelites and was blameless “concerning the righteousness of the law” (Philippians 3:6 NKJV), going so far as to persecute those who taught salvation by grace through faith in Christ. But after his conversion, he realized that all his legalistic efforts were worthless, saying he considered them “rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Philippians 3:8b-9). Now we, too, live by faith, not by the works of the law, so there is no boasting (Ephesians 2:8-9).

§  Peter’s vision of the sheet in Acts 10:9-15 is another sign of the transition from the Old Covenant—in this case the dietary laws particular to the Jews—to the New Covenant’s unity of Jew and Gentile in one universal Church. The “clean” animals symbolizing the Jews and the “unclean” animals symbolizing the Gentiles were both declared “cleansed” by God through the sacrificial death of Christ. No longer under the Old Covenant of law, both are now united in the New Covenant of grace through faith in the shed blood of Christ on the cross.

Practical Application:

God can do amazing things through ordinary people when He empowers them through His Spirit. God essentially took a group of fisherman and used them to turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). God took a Christian-hating murderer and changed him into the greatest Christian evangelist, the author of almost half the books of the New Testament. God used persecution to cause the quickest expansion of a "new faith" in the history of the world. God can and does do the same through us—changing our hearts, empowering us by the Holy Spirit, and giving us a passion to spread the good news of salvation through Christ. If we try to accomplish these things in our own power, we will fail. Like the disciples in Acts 1:8, we are to wait for the empowering of the Spirit, then go in His power to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).