January The Beginning Genesis The New Testament and Church tradition agree that Moses provided the essential substance of Genesis. Later Hebrew editors, working under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit as Moses, supplemented the book in order to more effectively teach the Israelites the beauty of God s orderly design of the world and His election of them as a nation. Though sin corrupted the world God had created, redemption would come through His chosen people, the Israelites. Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis 0 Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis 0 Genesis Genesis 0 Genesis Genesis 0 Genesis The Bible s history is not like the objective history that we are used to today. That means that the Bible has no problem reporting history in a way that emphasizes certain theological truths so as to advance the story of God s amazing grace and love for his people. The Bible s narrative, therefore, has some unique characteristics. It is selective, emphatic, applicable, biographical, theocentric, and consistently contextual as it is written to tell the story of God s people living in this world in relationship with their God.
February Family Ties Genesis As you read the last half of Genesis, you will notice that the plot follows four central figures: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. This emphasis on one particular family is meant to give us insight into the nature of God s covenant with His people and their hope for the future. It was also to demonstrate the proper way that God s people were to relate to one another and those in the world around them. According to Galatians :, Israel s hope is our hope by faith in Christ. Genesis is our story. Genesis Genesis 0 Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis 0 Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis 0 Genesis The theme of Genesis is creation, sin, and re-creation. It tells how God created the world as very good, but that it was destroyed in the flood as a result of man s disobedience. The new world after the flood was also spoiled by human sin. The call of Abraham, through whom all the nations would be blessed, gives us hope that God s purpose will eventually be realized through his descendants. ESV Study Bible, Genesis
March A Great Redemption Exodus Like most Christians, you know Exodus as a book about God s great act of redemption in which He delivered the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt through the 0 plagues and by parting the Red Sea. This miraculous redemption is the great redeeming act of God s covenant of grace in the Old Testament. It points us forward to the great redemption that comes to the world in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just as God miraculously delivered the Israelites, He miraculously and finally delivered them and us in Christ. Genesis Genesis 0 Genesis Genesis Exodus Genesis Exodus Exodus Exodus 0 Exodus 0 Exodus Genesis 0 Genesis Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Genesis Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus The theme of Exodus is the fulfillment of God s promises to the patriarchs that he would make their descendants a great nation. This is carried out despite the opposition of Egypt, and despite the unbelief and disobedience of the people themselves. [T]he success of the exodus must be ascribed to the power and character of God, who remembers his promises, punishes sin, and forgives the penitent. ESV Study Bible
April Covenant and Law Exodus Beginning in chapter, Exodus focuses on the establishment of the Mosaic covenant between God and the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. God initiated the covenant with Israel and mediated it through Moses, but he didn t give them the covenant as a way to earn His pleasure. That is impossible because of sin. Their only hope was grace, and they had already received it. The Law was the expectations that God had for His people who were already His people by grace through faith in Him. Exodus Exodus 0 Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus 0 Exodus 0 Exodus Exodus Exodus Exodus What we see in the narrative sections of the Bible is the way in which God takes up ordinary people into his purposes and uses them in ways inexplicable in terms of the ordinary. In these passages and books God shows us how he sovereignly works out his perfect will. -- Sinclair Ferguson, The God of Promise
May Purified Ceremony Leviticus Leviticus is one of the most difficult books in the Bible to read and understand. It was written in a different time and for a different people. The Israelites interacted with God in a different way than we do, and that was by God s beautiful design. They had to work through priests, sacrifices, and ceremonies to get to God because they didn t have direct access to Him in His holiness. So, Leviticus is God s instruction manual to His people for this process. Thankfully, we don t have to follow these instructions to know God. Jesus fulfilled them for us. Exodus Exodus Leviticus Leviticus Leviticus Exodus Leviticus Leviticus 0 Leviticus Leviticus Exodus 0 Leviticus Leviticus 0 Leviticus 0 Exodus Leviticus Leviticus Leviticus Leviticus Leviticus Leviticus Leviticus Leviticus The book of Leviticus is a further and deeper unfolding of the divine-human relationship codified on Mount Sinai. On the one hand, it assumes that Israel is sinful and impure. On the other hand, it describes how to deal with sin and impurity so that the holy Lord can dwell in the people s midst. ESV Study Bible
June God s Faithfulness Numbers There are two primary attributes of God revealed through the pages of Numbers. The first is God s faithfulness. God was faithful to fulfill the promises He made to His people. This is significant because His faithfulness is tied to His character. God keeps promises because He is a promise keeper. When He says that He is going to do something, He does it. Numbers is the story of how God keeps His promise to His people to bring them into the Promise Land even though they had been unfaithful to Him. Leviticus Leviticus Leviticus Numbers Numbers Leviticus Leviticus 0 Numbers Numbers 0 Leviticus Numbers Numbers Numbers 0 Leviticus 0 Leviticus Numbers Numbers Numbers Leviticus Numbers Numbers Numbers [T]he repeated focus of the book on the responsibility of God s people to be faithful reminds Christians not only of the salvation that comes through Christ s perfect obedience but also of his call for those who follow Him to seek holiness. The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible (TSRSB)
July Sovereign Power Numbers The second attribute revealed in Numbers is God s sovereign power. This power is inextricably connected to His faithfulness because it enables Him to be faithful God keeps His promises is because He can. Nothing is going to prevent Him from keeping His promises because He rules and has power over everything. Numbers is the story of how God uses anything from Balaam s donkey and water from a rock to keep His promises to His people in the midst of their disobedience. Numbers 0 Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers 0 Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers 0 Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers [T]he centrality of the Tabernacle [in Numbers] foreshadows Christ. Jesus came to dwell among humanity in his first coming, and by his death and resurrection he opened up the way for all who believe to enter the very presence of God. The Apostle Paul taught that the church is the temple of God and that individual Christians are also temples of God. At the second coming, the dwelling of God will be with humanity in fullness, and believers will no longer need a temple for the Lord God TSRSB
August Renewal Deuteronomy Moses wrote Deuteronomy to the second generation of Israelites of the exodus. Their parents had died in the wilderness as a result of their unfaithfulness and disobedience to God. But, God saved their children in order to preserve His people. As this next generation prepared to enter the Promised Land, Moses restated God s law to them in order to guide them in covenant renewal and faithfulness under Joshua s leadership. For Moses would not lead them across the Jordan River. Numbers Deut. 0 Deut. Deut. Deut. 0 Deut. Deut. Deut. Deut. 0 Deut. Deut. Deut. 0 Deut. Deut. Deut. Numbers Deut. Deut. Deut. Deut. Deut. Deut. Deut. Deuteronomy is largely a sermon, or set of sermons, preached by Moses to all of Israel shortly before his death and not long before the conquest of the land under the leadership of Joshua. It is a motivational sermon, urging Israel s faithful obedience to the covenant laws of Sinai given 0 years previously. ESV Study Bible
September Loyalty Deuteronomy Loyalty is a significant theme in Deuteronomy. The Israelites were to learn the importance of loyalty from the failures of the previous generation they all died in the wilderness because they had been disloyal to their loyal God. The new generation was to learn from the mistakes of their fathers and mothers. It is also true that loyalty to God and His covenant will be rewarded with blessing. The reminder of this blessing/curse arrangement was meant to encourage the Israelites to renew their commitment to be loyal to God. Deut. Deut. 0 Deut. Deut. Deut. Job Deut. Job Job Deut. 0 Job Deut. Deut. Deut. Job Deut. Deut. Deut. Job Job Job In Deuteronomy, Moses reflects on the nations past mistakes and urges the people not to repeat those mistakes when entering the Promised Land. In so doing, he reminds the people that their entry into the land fulfills the promises made to the patriarchs, but if they fall into idolatry or fail to keep the law, they will indeed be exiled. ESV Study Bible
October A Sovereign God Job Automatically, we think that Job is a book about suffering because it begins with the story of how Job lost everything at the hands of Satan, and God allowed Satan to attack Job. But, Job isn t about suffering per se. It s about the struggle of trusting a sovereign in times of suffering. Can God be trusted? Is He good and just and sovereign in His rule of the world? It s an incredible valuable book for us as we often read it in light of our own personal sufferings. Job Job 0 Job Job Job 0 Job Job Job Job Job Job Job Job Job Job Job Job 0 Job 0 Job Job Job Job God has purposes behind all suffering, but these are largely hidden from us. Righteous sufferers must humbly join their laments to affirmations of God s goodness and justice. Human grasp of wisdom is limited and always begins with the fear of God and obedience to His commands. The Sprit of the Reformation Study Bible
November q God Speaks Job For the first chapters of Job, God is silent while Job laments his condition, questions God, and endures bad advice from his friends. Finally, God speaks in chapter, and when He does, He doesn t mention Job s torment and doesn t answer any questions as the reason for his suffering. Job had to learn that he had to leave his case and his burning desire for answers in the hands of a sovereign and good God whose ways cannot be fathomed but who must be trusted nonetheless. Job Job Proverbs Proverbs 0 Proverbs Proverbs Job Proverbs Job Job Job Proverbs Proverbs Job 0 Job Job Job 0 Proverbs Job Job Proverbs Proverbs 0 Job illustrates that a full understanding of God s reasons for events is not a prerequisite for faithfulness amid terrible suffering Job s deep perplexity and questioning are not a provocation to God. ESV Study Bible
December Wisdom for Living Proverbs Solomon wrote Proverbs to provide a resource for teaching wisdom to young people, first for his sons and then for all other families in Israel. His main concern is to show them how to be wise, which is only possible through the proper context of reverence for God who is the source of all wisdom. God has revealed His wisdom to His people in His Word, which is to be interpreted properly through the light of the Holy Spirit. We will be wise when we follow His Word. Proverbs Proverbs 0 Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs 0 Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs 0 Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs Proverbs states its theme right at the book s beginning: its goal is to describe and instill wisdom in God s people, a wisdom that is founded in the fear of the Lord and that works out covenant life in the practical details of everyday situations and relationships. ESV Study Bible