1. Lesson 3 Old Testament Survey. Old Testament Books

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1 To Know God and Make Him Known THE WORD OF GOD 1. Lesson 3 Old Testament Survey Lecturer: Hank Overeem Student Notes Old Testament Books (Hebrew Scriptures) Perhaps a better title would be the First Testament. The word Old tends to give the idea of outdated or not-relevant. That could not be further from the truth! The Old Testament has 39 books total, which can be separated in four major divisions: Pentateuch (Torah-Law) - 5 books Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy Historical Books - 12 books Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther Poetic books - 5 books Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon Prophetic books -17 books - Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel - Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi 1

2 Short Old Testament Overview Some basic facts we should know: The Old Testament was written from approximately 1400 B.C. to approximately 400 B.C. The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew, with a few small sections written in Aramaic (essentially a variation of Hebrew) The Old Testament deals primarily with the relationship between God and the nation of Israel The Pentateuch deals with the creation of Israel and God establishing a covenant relationship with Israel The historical books record Israel's history, its victories and successes along with its defeats and failures The poetic books give us a more intimate look at God's relationship with Israel and His passion for Israel to worship and obey him The prophetic books are God's call to Israel to repent from its idolatry and unfaithfulness and to return to a relationship of obedience and spiritual fidelity 2

3 1. Pentateuch - 5 books Short Book by Book Survey (1) Genesis Creation, the Fall, the Flood, spread of the nations Abraham, Isaac, Jacob Joseph Abraham and family join Joseph in Egypt (2) Exodus Enslavement, Moses, 10 plagues, Passover Leave Egypt, Red Sea Crossing Mt. Sinai and the 10 Commandments (3) Leviticus Instructions on sacrificial system and the priesthood Instructions on moral purity (4) Numbers Mt. Sinai, people make false idol, punishment 40 years wandering begins (5) Deuteronomy Moses discourses on God s Acts for Israel The Decalogue (10 Commandments) The ceremonial, civil, and social Laws, and covenant ratification Historical Books - 12 books (1) Joshua First half of Joshua describes the 7-year conquest of the Land of Promise The last half deals with partitioning the lands to the people (2) Judges The time of Judges was a bad time period for Israel The Israelites did not drive out all the inhabitants of Canaan Began to take part in their idolatry Seven cycles of foreign oppression, repentance, and deliverance In the end, the people failed to learn their lesson (3) Ruth Kinsman redeemer in Boaz, redeeming Ruth, a Moabitess Speaks of righteousness, love, and faithfulness to the Lord 3

4 The next 6 books trace the time from Samuel to the Captivity (4) 1 Samuel Samuel carries Israel from judges to King Saul Saul s disobedience and death David anointed king (5) 2 Samuel David as King of Judah and all Israel adultery, and murder Solomon born Absalom s conspiracy (6) 1 Kings Death of David Solomon, Israel is powerful Solomon dies The division of tribes: 10 northern tribes form Kingdom of Israel and 2 southern tribes form Kingdom of Judah (7) 2 Kings The Divided Kingdom All 19 kings of Israel were bad; therefore, captivity in Assyria (722 B.C.) In Judah, 8 of 20 rulers were good but went into exile too (8) 1 Chronicles A recounting of the history of Israel to the time of Solomon (9) 2 Chronicles Continued recounting of the life of Solomon, building of temple, to the captivity History of Judah only The Next 3 books deal with Israel's Restoration (10) Ezra Cyrus allows most of the Jews to return to the Land of Israel Zerubbabel led the people (539 B.C.) back to the Land of Israel Ezra returned later with more Jews (458 B.C.) Temple built despite opposition and dedicated 4

5 (11) Nehemiah Nehemiah got permission from the king of Persia to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (444 B.C.) Work is ridiculed but walls are completed Ezra reads the Law Revival in the land (12) Esther Took place during chapters 6 and 7 of Ezra Ester becomes queen Haman plots to kill the Jewish people Mordecai (Ester s uncle) saves his fellow Jews Poetical- 5 books (1) Job A righteous man tested by God Deals with God's sovereignty (2) Psalms Consists of 5 divisions Many Psalms attributed to King David Worship in song Large variety of subjects including prophetic messianic (3) Proverbs Practical wisdom in everyday affairs Many attributed to King Solomon (4) Ecclesiastes Believed to have been written by King Solomon All is vanity - the wisdom of man is futility There is a season for everything Conclusion: Fear God and keep his commandments (5) Song of Solomon A song between Solomon and his Shulammite bride Six poems displaying the love between a man and a woman 5

6 Prophetic - 17 books Major Prophets - 5 books (1) Isaiah 66 chapters can be divided into major two sections: chapters 1-39 and chapters Twofold division stresses themes of judgement and salvation Denounces Judah for idolatry, immorality, and social injustices Isaiah proclaims God s coming judgment King Hezekiah s righteous reign Coming restoration and blessing Many messianic prophecies including Suffering Servant (2) Jeremiah Jeremiah called by God to proclaim the news of judgment to Judah, many prophesies fulfilled during his lifetime Restoration promised God will establish a new covenant Several messianic prophesies - Righteous branch of David (3) Lamentations Written by Jeremiah 5 lament poems Description of defeat and fall of Jerusalem Ends with note on repentance and hope for restoration (4) Ezekiel Ezekiel s vision of God s glory and throne Divine commissioning for prophetic ministry Warned Judah about judgement and up and coming captivity He ministered to the Jews in captivity in Babylon Prophesied about future restoration Description of the end of times (5) Daniel Written in both Hebrew and Aramaic Apocalyptic prophetic literature Many visions of the future for the Gentiles and the Jews Model for intercession for restoration Story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 6

7 Minor Prophets - 12 books (1) Hosea Story of Hosea and his unfaithful wife, Gomer Represents God's love and faithfulness and Israel's spiritual adultery Israel will be judged and restored (2) Joel Proclaims a terrifying future using the imagery of locusts Judgment will come but blessing will follow Prophesied about outpouring of Holy Spirit on all flesh (3) Amos He warned Israel of its coming judgment Israel rejects God's warning (4) Obadiah A proclamation against Edom, a neighbouring nation of Israel that gloated over Jerusalem's judgments Prophecy of its utter destruction (5) Jonah Jonah proclaims a coming judgment upon Nineveh s people But they repented and judgment was spared Revelation about God s mercy (6) Micah Description of the complete moral decay in all levels of Israel God will judge but will forgive and restore (7) Nahum Nineveh has gone into apostasy (approx. 125 years after Jonah) and will be destroyed (8) Habakkuk Near the end of the kingdom of Judah, Habakkuk asks God why he is not dealing with Judah's sins God says He will use the Babylonians Habakkuk asks how God can use a nation that is even worse than Judah (9) Zephaniah The theme is developed of the Day of the Lord and his judgment with a coming blessing Judah will not repent, except for a remnant, which will be restored 7

8 (10) Haggai The people failed to put God first, by building their houses before they finished God s temple Therefore, they had no prosperity (11) Zechariah Zechariah encourages the Jews to complete the temple Many messianic prophecies (12) Malachi God s people are lax in their duty to God Growing distant from God. Moral compromise Proclamation of coming judgment 8

9 Chronological Order of the Old Testament

10 Genesis 1-22 Job Genesis Exodus Psalm 90 Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Psalm 91 Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 1-16:13 Psalm 23 1 Samuel 16:14-19:11 Psalm 59 1 Samuel 19:12-21:15 Psalms 34, 56 1 Samuel 22:1, 2 Psalms 57, Samuel 22:3-23 Psalm 52 1 Samuel 23 Psalms 54, 63 1 Samuel Samuel 1-7 Psalm 30 2 Samuel 8:1-14 Psalm 60 2 Samuel 8:15-12:14 Psalms 51, 32 2 Samuel 12:15-15:37 Psalms 3, 69 2 Samuel Psalms 64, 70 2 Samuel 21, 22 Psalm 18 2 Samuel 23, 24 Psalms 4-9, 11-17, 19-22, 24-29, 31, 35-41, 53, 55, 58, 61, 62 Psalms 65, 68, 72, 86, 101, 103, , , Kings 1-4 Proverbs Song of Solomon 1 Kings 5-11 Ecclesiastes 1 Kings Kings 1-14:25 Jonah 2 Kings 14:26-29 Amos 2 Kings Psalms 1, 2, 10, 33, 43, 66, 67, 71, 89, Psalms 102, , , , Chronicles 1-16 Psalms 42, 44-50, 73-85, 87, 88 1 Chronicles Chronicles 1-21 Obadiah 2 Chronicles 22 Joel 2 Chronicles 23-26:8 Isaiah Chronicles 26:9-23 Isaiah 6 2 Chronicles Isaiah 7-66 Hosea Micah Nahum 2 Chronicles 33, 34 Zephaniah 2 Chronicles 35 Habakkuk Jeremiah 1-6, 11, 12, 26, 7-10, 14-20, 35, 36, 45, 25, 46-49, Jeremiah 13, 22-24, 27-29, 50, 51, 30-33, 21, 34, 37-39, 52, Lamentations 2 Chronicles 36:1-8 Daniel 2 Chronicles 36:9-21 Psalm 137 Ezekiel 2 Chronicles 36:22, 23 Ezra 1-5:1 Haggai Zechariah Psalms 107, 126 Ezra 5:2-6:22 Esther Ezra 7-10 Nehemiah Malachi 10