These first five books of the Bible, commonly referred to as the Pentateuch, were written by Moses during the time of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt and their 40 year sojourn in the desert to prepare them for life in the promised land under the Mosaic (old) Covenant.
These five books tell us that we got here by the direct creative act of God, were commissioned by Him to “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the foul of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Then He commanded man, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
It was not long, however, before Eve, seeing “that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise . . . took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” They died spiritually immediately and physically eventually. God’s response to their disobedience, however, was not one of anger but of grace. At that time He promised Satan, at whose encouragement Eve had eaten, that “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” As the Bible story unfolds, we see that this statement constituted a promise to redeem man from sin’s penalty thereby providing eternal life for all who would believe.
From this point to the end of this group of books we have three covenants God made with man explaining how He would work to fulfill that promise. We also see that while God was faithful, man failed to measure up to God’s requirement of righteousness, both as individuals and as a nation. The promise remained in effect and there was, however, always a faithful remnant of believers.
In these opening books of the Bible we are taught about the kind of relationship God desires to have with men, what He expects of us within this relationship, and the consequences of both obedience and disobedience. At the close of the fifth book, Israel is poised on the east bank of the Jordan river awaiting God’s instructions for entering the land which He had promised Abraham that He would give them.
It is well established here that it is the grace of God, not the greatness of man, that provides the unifying thread of human history. Every episode of man’s sinful disobedience is met by the grace of God.
Genesis
The book of Genesis acts as the anchor for the rest of the Bible. In order to understand the book of Romans, for example, it must be understood in light of the book of Genesis. The Bible is a story and as with any other story, each part plays its own role in the development of the story
The first two chapters of Genesis explain how we got here and the context within which we got here. God created a universe in which man would live and glorify Him. He then instructed him to multiply and populate the earth and to subdue it having dominion over every living thing. He was prohibited, however, from eating the fruit of one particular tree with the warning that, “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
This is the foundation of the story. Everything else is built on this. God created, God commissioned, God commanded. The foundation having been laid, the story starts to build in chapter three. Here a new character, Satan, enters the scene and man is enticed by him to do the one thing God commanded him not to do. It is God’s response to man’s disobedience that sets the pace for the rest of the story.
God has set something in motion, man’s disobedience has interrupted it, and God must deal with it. How He deals with it is the theme of the rest of the story until the capstone is put on it in the last two chapters of the Bible. The Bible consists of 1189 chapters the first two of which make up the foundation while the last two make up the capstone. Everything between explains how God dealt with man’s sin in order to accomplish His objective in creation which is described in the last two chapters.
In chapters three through eleven man repeats his disobedience to God and God consistently repeats His gracious response to man’s sin. Cain murdered his brother Abel and God responded with grace (Gen 4:15). Mankind continued his downward spiral until, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 6:5) “But Noah found grace in the eyues of the Lord.” (Gen 6:8) In judging this sin God graciously spared mankind from extinction through Noah. In his evil imagination man said, “let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” Although this was contrary to God’s purpose for man, His response was not to destroy them but to graciously “confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech” and He “scattered them abroad thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.” (Gen 11:4-8)
Thus by the end of the eleventh chapter it has been established that God will respond graciously to man’s sinful disobedience. With this established, He then, in chapter twelve, sets in motion His work to fulfill His redemptive promise of Genesis 3:15.
In chapters twelve through twenty-two God calls Abraham to the land of the Canaanites and promises, “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great . . . and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen 12:1-3) In the next ten chapters we see Abraham growing in His faith in God until it is tested in chapter twenty-two when God says, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering.” Abraham did as he was instructed until God interrupted him saying, “lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God . . . and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Gen 22:1-18)
Back in chapter fifteen God had spoken with Abraham reaffirming His promise of many descendants and we are told that, “he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen 15:6) We see in chapters 23 through the end of Genesis that this righteousness was based in God’s grace rather than Abraham’s faithfulness. Even though neither Abraham nor his descendants were sinless, God reaffirmed His covenant to Abraham with his son Isaac and grandson Jacob.
The book closes with God having moved Abraham’a descendants, through his grandson Jacob, to Egypt where they would, “be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.” (Gen 15:13) During this time they would grow from a family of seventy to a nation of around two million.
Exodus
When making His covenant with Araham, God had said, “in the fourth generation they shall come hither again.” (Gen 15:16) The book of Exodus opens at the time of that fourth generation. The family of seventy that had gone down to Egypt to escape famine in Canaan was long since dead and in its place there were now an estimated couple of million people who were ready to leave Egypt but not yet prepared for life in their new land.
In preparing them to leave Egypt, God revealed His authority over all elements of creation. (1:1-12:36)
Humanity (1:1-7:13)
Animal life (8:1-10:29)
Life itself (11:1-12:36)
In leading them from Egypt, God showed them how His supreme authority would work for their benefit. (12:37-18:27)
Delivering them from Egyptian bondage. (12:37-13:16)
Guiding them by cloud and fire (13:17-22)
Protecting them through the Red Sea (14:1-15:21)
Providing food, water, rest and peace (15:22-18:27)
Having delivered them from Egypt , God instructed them in their relationships with Him, with each other and with their new neighbors. (19:1-40:38)
The covenant made (19:1-20:26)
Social regulations given (21:1-22:15)
Moral regulations given (22:16-23:9)
Religious regulations given (23:10-19)
The covenant ratified (24:1-11)
The covenant put into writing (24:12-18)
Instructions given regarding the Tabernacle (25:1-34:35)
Israel takes an offering and builds the Tabernacle (35:1-40:33)
God fills the Tabernacle (40:34-38)
More to come . . . Last edited 09/07/2019
Walkin the Walk 