Old Testament History Syllabus

Old Testament History

Syllabus

Creation

Moses under the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote Genesis, the first book in the Bible and the book of beginnings. The beginning of the world, the beginning of man, and the beginning of the Hebrew people.

According to Genesis 1, God created the world in 6 days:

The First Day. Light.

Gen 1:3-5

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

The Second Day. The Firmament

Gen 1:6-8

Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

The “firmament” here refers to the atmospheric heaven where the clouds are as well as the celestial heaven where the stars are.

The Third Day. Land and Vegetation

Gen 1:9-13

Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.So the evening and the morning were the third day.

The Fourth Day. The Sun, Moon, and Stars

Gen 1:14-19

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; “and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

The Fifth Day. Sea Animals, and Birds

Gen 1:20-23

Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

The Sixth Day. Land Animals, and Man

Gen 1:24-31

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. “Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

On the seventh day, He ceased from His labor and established the Sabbath. Scholars disagree as to how long these “days” might have been. The Bible seems to indicate a literal 24 hour day. Scholars also differ on the date of creation. It would be impossible to know exactly the number of years back to the creation since the Bible’s lists of generations sometimes skips names, and any other historical records are limited. According to the Bible and archaeology man has been here for about 6,000 - 10,000 years approximately. No one can be certain.

The purpose of the Bible is not to scientifically sketch every detail of creation but to reveal to man that God is prior to and distinct from His creation, that He is directly responsible for its having come into being, through His Word, that its continued existence is dependant upon Him, and that man has been given the highest position of honor and responsibility in that creation.

Ps 8:3-4

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

Isa 40:12

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

Isa 40:26

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; he calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing.

Adam and Eve

Adam & Eve

After God created Adam, He gave to him dominion over all His creation and the garden of Eden as a home to tend it and keep it. But He gave one restriction:

Gen 2:16-17

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Adam would know what it meant to participate in evil, and the result would be banishment and death. Death is separation from God.

Then God created the woman:

Gen 2:18-24

And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field.

But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Adam loved Eve, who was later seduced by the serpent, who was actually Satan, the one who leads the evil spirits in their rebellion against God and His purposes and she ate of the forbidden fruit (the Bible doesn’t say what kind of fruit it was). Then Adam, who was with her, chose to eat of the fruit also and they sinned. When they sinned, spiritual and physical death came into the world and fellowship with God was broken. Like a rose being plucked off the vine, they were immediately disconnected from their source of life. You can almost see the shame and guilt and fear of their new nature taking over:

Gen 3:7-10

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

But all was not lost. As God was revealing the consequences of their actions He also gave a glorious promise. God promised Adam and Eve that He would send a Redeemer (Messiah), who would destroy Satan and restore them to a right relationship with Him (Gen 3). In the meantime they could only approach God with a blood sacrifice. This animal acted as a substitute for the penalty of sin until “the lamb of God” who is Jesus Christ would come and pay the full debt.

The Bible mentions alot between the time of Adam and the Flood. For example there was the first murder. Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters but there is only two mentioned because they are important to the history of redemption. Eve thought that her firstborn, Cain, was the one who would destroy Satan and deliver them from the curse of sin and death. But Cain jealously killed his brother Abel. Cain was upset at God because He would not accept his sacrifice (the best of his good works) as he accepted Abel’s blood offering (God’s prescribed way) so he rose up and slew his brother. God punished him by driving him out of the midst of the people who served God. Then God gave Adam and Eve another son, Seth, who replaced Abel. The redeemer of the world would come from Seth’s family.

But what about Cain’s family? The Bible reveals that Cain’s son, Lamech, inherited Cain’s evil ways (Gen 4:19-24). Sin added unto sin and Lamech boasted that he didn’t need God’s protection because he had his sword. He rejected God’s holy standards for marriage and took many wives. He also killed a man for striking him showing his contempt for God and his disregard for human life. Evil spread very rapidly to all mankind through the ungodly line of Cain.

The Flood

Gen 6:5

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Gen 6:11-15

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. “And this is how you shall make it . . .”

The earth had become completely corrupt so God sent a great flood to punish sinful mankind but He would not break His promise to redeem man so He preserved the lives of Noah and His family as well as two of every kind of living creature in an ark (a large wooden ship).

Gen 7:13-16

On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark - they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.

The Ark was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had three decks and was divided into compartments. Calculations have been made estimating that there was room in the Ark for 7000 species of animals.

Gen 7:11-12

. . . on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

The flood covered the entire world. After a period of 150 days the Ark rested on Mt. Ararat (17,000 ft.) 200 miles North of the ancient city of Ninevah.

Before the flood there was kind of a vapor canopy that enveloped the whole earth which preserved it in probably a tropical atmosphere so that people were recorded as living up to ages of 900 - 950 years, but when the upper waters were released upon the earth, lifespans were decreased and the physical characteristics of the world changed dramatically. After the flood, God put the fear of man on the animals, and gave man permission to eat animals for food. God commanded the death penalty for murder and ordered that men establish a form of justice.

Gen 9:6

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God he made man.

God also put a rainbow in the sky to be a constant reminder that He would never destroy the world again by water. Yet right after the flood, Noah’s son, Ham, sinned against God by showing disrespect to his father, Noah (Gen 9) and Noah cursed Ham’s son, Canaan, why we are not told. Then God spoke through Noah again and prophesied about his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth and also that the Messiah would come through Shem’s family, and Japheth’s family would share in that salvation.

The Tower at Babel

According to the Bible, the families of the sons of Noah represent all of the racial groups upon the earth. Chapter 10 of Genesis lists a total of 70 individual founders of nations or racial groups, and divides them into three primary classifications: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. It is interesting to note that Ethnologists generally agree that mankind divides into three basic groups. Here is how the Bible divides them geographically:

Shem’s Descendants. Central Nations

Shemites included Jews, Assyrians, Syrians, Elamites, in north Euphrates Valley and its borders.

Ham’s Descendants. South Nations

Hamites went Southward. The names given seem to be South and Central Arabia, Egypt (Heb. Mitzraim or Lands of Ham), East Mediterranean, and East Africa. There was at one point a great migration to Egypt, but Canaan (son of Ham) settled in the land later called Israel.

Japheth’s Descendants. North Nations

Japhethites went Northward, and settled in the areas around the Black and Caspian Seas. They became the great Caucasion races of Europe and Asia.

An interesting event happened in Genesis 11. Proud and rebellious men desired to build a city and make a name for themselves under the leadership of Nimrod, so they built a tower, in the land of Shinar (Babel), that would reach to heaven. This was the first organized system of idolatry recorded after the flood. They also disobeyed God’s command to be fruitful and fill the earth. God condemned their arrogant ways by coming down and confusing their languages (probably racial distinctions also) which forced them to scatter throughout the whole earth. Before this they all spoke one language.

So what does all this tell us? There are many things but two facts should be mentioned. First, man is given over to sin and rebellion, as Jeremiah’ the prophet said:

Jer 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

Secondly, it tells us that God loves man unconditionally and, though He will not tolerate disobedience, He will fulfill His promises to redeem humanity and go to whatever measure to keep anyone from thwarting His purposes.

Abraham

Now move on to another very important subject. That is the subject of Abraham, who became the first Hebrew, and whose family God chose to weave His scarlet thread through the linen of humanity. It was through Abraham’s descendants that the Jewish nation would arise, a people who would receive the covenant of the Lord, and that One of those descendants would be the Savior, not only for the Jews but for the whole world. Abraham lived in the city of Ur (capital of the ancient kingdom of Sumer). Sometime around 2,000 BC. God called Abraham to leave his home and go to a new land that God would show Him. The Bible traces Abraham’s steps from Ur to Haran (north of Canaan), through the land of Canaan, into Egypt, and back into Canaan (which later became Israel).

God promised to give Abraham a son through his wife Sarah who was barren (unable to bear children). Through this son, a mighty nation would arise and also an uncountable amount of descendants, and One of those descendants would be a blessing to all the nations in the world.

his promise seemed impossible because they were so old but Abraham believed what God said, though later he doubted and tried to force God’s hand by having a son through Sarah’s servant girl, Hagar. In ancient times this was accepted, but not in God’s sight. It violated His law for marriage (Gen 2), and Abraham suffered greatly for his sin. His son from Hagar, Ishmael, turned against Isaac, Abraham’s son of the promise, who was born 13 years after Ishmael, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90. So Ishmael had to leave Abraham’s household.

Abraham was called the first “Hebrew” which probably means “to cross over” because he was supposedly so foolish for thinking that there was just one God and if he crosses over the Euphrates river that he would find this new land that God had promised. But it was with Abraham that God established His covenant. This was God’s promise:

Gen 12:1-3

Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Abraham believed the Lord as it says:

Gen 15:6

And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Circumcision was the seal and reminder of the covenant, and so all of Abraham’s male descendants would be circumcised to remind them that God would someday fulfill all the promises that He made to Abraham. Notice that Abraham believed before he was circumcised. Faith came before works. This is an important point that Paul makes in the book of Romans that salvation is by grace through faith alone (Rom 4).

There was a very beautiful yet wicked place in Canaan called Sodom and Gomorrah and the Lord told Abraham that He was going to destroy it but Abraham pleaded with God to spare the sinful cities for that is where his nephew Lot lived. God sent an angel to rescue Lot and his family but destroyed the cities because of their homosexualities and other abominations.

Now there were many important events that took place in Abraham’s life but there is one that is important to mention. As Abraham grew stronger in faith, God told him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering to prove his faith (Gen 22), Abraham obeyed and brought Isaac to Mount Moriah, laid him on the altar and at the last minute the Lord told him not to kill Isaac and gave him a ram for the sacrifice. Here we see Abraham’s faith (Heb 11:17-19) and a beautiful picture of Christ. The Bible calls Abraham a friend of God:

Isa 41:8

“But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend.

Before we move on keep in mind that the Lord made this peculiar promise to Abraham:

Gen 15:13-14

Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. “And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

Jacob

he Bible follows the messianic line to Abraham’s son, Isaac, and then to Isaac’s son, Jacob who lived around 1900 BC. Jacob was a shrewd and deceitful con man who tricked his brother Esau and lied to his father so he could steal his older brother’s birthright. Afraid, Jacob fled to Haran, in Mesopotamia, where his uncle Laban lived, but on the way he met the Lord and saw a vision of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels on it. Jacob had his first encounter with God and the Lord revealed to him the promises He had made to Abraham and how he would be part of those promises, so Jacob began to trust in God and named that place, Bethel, which means, “house of God”.

Gen 28:10-19

Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.

“Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.”

Then he arrived in Harlan, his uncle was more shrewd than he was, con man meets super con-man. Laban tricked him into working for him for 14 years in exchange for a wife. He wanted Rachel, but he got Leah first and then Rachel. Developing the muscle of trust was a long, slow job for Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons and great possessions when he finally returned to Canaan not because he was more shrewd than Laban but because God was with him. God protected Jacob all the way and also prepared his brother Esau’s heart so that he was no longer angry. God changed Jacob’s name to “Israel.” Jacob was next in the Messianic line. His 12 sons became the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Joseph

Next we move on to another important person in God’s plan whose name was Joseph. The story of Joseph is among those that are most favored in the Bible. As Jacob grew older, ten of his sons got jealous of their younger brother, Joseph, because Jacob adored Joseph. Joseph was receiving revelations and dreams at a very young age and dreamed they would all bow down to him someday. The 10 brothers got so mad that they sold him to a caravan going to Egypt and then told their father that he was dead. Later Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams by the Holy Spirit:

Gen 41:15-16

And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.” So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

Joseph was faithful to God and became a main ruler in Egypt:

Gen 41:39-44

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. “You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand . . .”

Just as the dream had foretold, a famine came throughout the world and in the land of Canaan it was very severe so Joseph’s 10 brothers came to Egypt in search of food. They all bowed down to him, and after testing them, Joseph revealed to them his true identity, and forgave them. God saved the whole family from the famine and they came down to live in Egypt.

The story of Joseph is an amazing story because it reveals how God in His foreknowledge, planned far in advance, knowing that the Hebrews wouldn’t survive in Canaan because of the coming famine and other circumstances, but needed to be brought down into Egypt where they would not only survive but multiply exceedingly. God ordained the situation with Joseph so that He would preserve His people and fulfill His promises to Abraham.

Later Joseph said to his brothers:

Gen 50:20

“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Gen 50:24-26

And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Moses and the Exodus

Now the Bible turns its attention to Moses, who was born about 1500 BC. He was chosen to lead Israel out of slavery and give them God’s laws. When the Book of Exodus begins, the Hebrews were living in Egypt and after time they grew in number and the new Pharaoh didn’t remember Joseph and put them into slavery. The Hebrew slaves had been reproducing so fast that the king felt threatened by a potential revolt against his authority. He gave orders that no more male Hebrew children should be allowed to live. To save the infant Moses, his mother made a little vessel of papyrus waterproofed with asphalt and pitch. She placed Moses in the vessel, floating among the reeds on the bank of the Nile River.

By God’s providence, Moses– the child of a Hebrew slave– was found and adopted by an Egyptian princess, the daughter of the Pharaoh himself. He was reared in the royal court as a prince of the Egyptians: “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). At the same time the Lord determined that Moses should be taught in his earliest years by his own mother. This meant that he was founded in the faith of his fathers, although he was reared as an Egyptian (Ex. 2:1-10).

Moses was educated in a civilization unsurpassed by any people at that time. His training was designed to prepare him for a high office, or even the throne of Egypt. He became familiar with life at Pharaoh’s courts and the pomp and grandeur of Egyptian religious worship. He was schooled in the writing and literary ideas of the time. He witnessed the administration of justice. When he was 40 years old, Moses became angry with an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a Hebrew slave; he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand (Ex. 2:12). When this became known, however, he feared for his own life and fled from Egypt to the desert land of Midian where he married a daughter of Jethro in agreement to tend Jethro’s flocks.

After about 40 more years, God spoke to Moses from a bush that was on fire but didn’t burn. God sent Moses back to Egypt to lead the Hebrews out of slavery, and into the land promised to Abraham. God demonstrated His power to Moses and revealed to Him His holy Name “YHVH” or “Yaweh” (Jehovah became a popular pronunciation in the 16th century through German translators although there is no “J” sound in the Hebrew).

God anointed Aaron to go with Moses to be the spokesman and they persuaded the people of Israel to follow them but Pharaoh would not let them go. Then God sent 10 devastating plagues on the Egyptians, the last plague being the death of the firstborn in every home whose doors were not marked with blood.

First Plague: Blood

Second Plague: Frogs

Third Plague: Lice

Fourth Plague: Flies

Fifth Plague: Disease on Livestock

Sixth Plague: Boils

Seventh Plague: Hail

Eighth Plague: Locusts

Ninth Plague: Darkness

Tenth Plague: Death of the First-Born

God commanded the Israelites to celebrate yearly the “Passover”, where the death angel passed over the houses that had the blood of a lamb.

Exod 12:1-14

Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ’On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. ’And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. ’Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

’Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. ’And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. ’Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. . . roasted in fire . . . ’You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.

’And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’S Passover. ’For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. ’Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. ’So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations.

After this Pharaoh finally gave in and agreed to let Israel go (and with all the wealth of Egypt), but as soon as they left, Pharaoh changed his mind. He sent his army after them where Israel was cornered against the Red Sea. God parted the waters and led them through on dry ground.

Exod 14:21-22

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Then the waters closed in on Pharaoh’s armies:

Exod 14:28-29

Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

The Israelites were guided by the mysterious Shekinah glory cloud that led them to Mount Sinai. On the way their faith was tested as they experienced intense heat, hunger, thirst, and war. God did many miracles including “manna”, bread that fell from heaven.

The Giving of the Law

Then the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai; Moses went up into the mountain for 40 days. God revealed Himself and they were terrified.

Exude 19:16-18

Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thundering and lightning’s, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

Out of this momentous encounter came the covenant between the Lord and Israel, including the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17). When Moses delayed in coming down from Mount Sinai, the faithless people became restless. They persuaded Aaron to take their golden earrings and other articles of jewelry and to fashion a golden calf for worship. When he came down from the mountain, Moses was horrified at the idolatry and rebellion of his people. The sons of Levi were loyal to Moses, however; and he ordered them to punish the rebels (Ex. 32:28).

because of his anger at the golden calf, Moses cast down the two tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments and broke them at the foot of the mountain (Ex. 32:19). After the rebellion had been put down, Moses went up into Mount Sinai again and there received the Ten Commandments a second time (Ex. 34:1,29). There was given hundreds of laws in three phases:

Moral Laws (10 Commandments written by the finger of God),

Civil Laws (Dietary and Judicial also), and

Ceremonial Laws (Sacrifices, Feast Days, etc.).

In giving the Law to the Hebrew people, Moses taught the Israelites what the Lord expected of them– that they were to be a holy people separated from the pagan immorality and idolatry of their surroundings. Here the foundation of Judaism was laid., A God given religious system all centering around the Tabernacle (the place where the blood was sprinkled on the ark), the Sacrifices, and the Priesthood. The Levites were the priestly tribe, and Aaron (Moses’ brother) was the first High Priest.

Israel was numbered and organized for war. The 12 Tribes were established (Sons of Jacob) and leaders were appointed for each tribe.

The Wilderness Wanderings

From Sinai, God led the Israelites through “the great and terrible wilderness” to Kadesh (the border of the promised land). Moses sent 12 spies, one from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, into Canaan to explore the land. The spies returned with glowing reports of the fruitfulness of the land. They brought back samples of its figs and pomegranates and a cluster of grapes so large that it had to be carried between two men on a pole (Num. 13:1-25)

The majority of the spies, however, voted against the invasion of the land because of the huge inhabitants of Canaan, and fortified cities “walled to heaven”. It was a report of doom. Yet two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, brought back a report full of faith and encouragement.

Num 13:30-33

But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land, which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” . . . Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

But the people lost heart and rebelled, refusing to enter Canaan and crying for a new leader who would take them back to Egypt. To punish them for their lack of faith, God condemned all of that generation, except Caleb and Joshua, to perish in the wilderness for 40 years (Num. 14:26-38). All those 20 years old and up would indeed perish in the wilderness with the exception of Joshua and Caleb.

During these years of wandering in the wilderness, Moses’ patience was continually tested by the murmurings, grumblings, and complaints of the people. At one point, Moses’ patience reached its breaking point and he sinned against the Lord, in anger against the people. When the people again grumbled against Moses, saying they had no water, the Lord told Moses to speak to the rock and water would flow forth. Instead, Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Apparently because he disobeyed the Lord in this act, Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land (Num. 20:1-13). That privilege would belong to his successor, Joshua.

After 40 years the sandglass ran out and Moses brought the tribes back to Kadesh. They camped on the plains of Moab where Moses spoke to them for the last time. Moses then turned his leadership over to Joshua. God

Joshua and the Conquest of Canaan

Joshua & the Conquest of Canaan

Then Israel finally crossed over the Jordan River (on dry land) and entered Canaan and celebrated their first Passover in the Promised Land. God spoke to Joshua and made him a strong leader.

Josh 1:5-6

“. . . as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

The sins of the Canaanites were at the boiling point and Joshua was to completely destroy them lest Israel inherit their evil ways. Some of the abominations happening in the land were temple prostitution, father and son committing sexual acts with the same prostitute, child sacrifice, homosexualities, idolatry, and on and on. God spoke about their evil ways throughout the entire Old Testament.

Lev 18:25-30

’For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. ’You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you ’for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), ’lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

’For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people. ‘Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the LORD your God.’”

Deut 18:9-22

“When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, “or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. “For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. “You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. “For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you.

The inhabitants of Canaan were terrified. The first city they conquered was Jericho. It was a miracle, when the trumpets were blown, the walls fell.

Josh 6:20

So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

Under Joshua, the Israelites conquered the entire country (Josh 21). The only defeat was at Ai, where an Israelite named Achan disobeyed God’s orders. In 7 years they defeated 31 kings in the land. Joshua divided the land among the 12 tribes of Israel as God directed.

Joshua was a great leader but he made 2 fatal mistakes. First, he failed to completely defeat the Canaanites (especially the Philistines, Amalekites, and Midianites), and second, he failed to wipe out completely the filthy and idolatrous fertility cults of the land. Joshua’s failure to cut this cancer completely out of society resulted in disastrous times for about the next 400 years of Hebrew history.

The Judges

Before he died, Joshua urged Israel to keep trusting God and obeying His commands, but they didn’t. After Joshua died, “every man did what was right in his own eyes”. They would forget God, the enemy would severely oppress them, they would cry out to God for help, and God would raise up a deliverer (Judge) to free them of their misery. This was the sad pattern for the Israelites for almost 400 years. The main deliverer-judges were: Othniel, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, Eli, and Samuel. (Ruth also lived during this period). Probably the most important person in this era was Samuel.

Judg 2:10-19

When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work, which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals; and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger.

They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed. Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them.

They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do so. And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.

The message that seems to become evident during the dark period of the judges is that man is inherently sinful and will always revert back to his evil ways, and the Lord will always be there for those who cry out to Him, but forgetting God can only result in bondage and defeat.

The Judges

Some of them received only a brief mention in the Book of Judges. These minor judges were:

Shamgar 3:31,

Tola 10:1-2,

Jair 10:3-5,

Ibzan 12:8-10,

Elon 12:11-12, and

Abdon 12:13-15.

The other judges are viewed in greater detail in the Book of Judges:

Othniel 3:7-11 a nephew of Caleb, deliverered Israel from the Mesopotamians.

Ehud 3:12-30 was lefthanded and killed Eglon, king of Moab.

Jephthah 11:1–12:7 was a harlot’s son who defeated the Amorites.

Gideon 6:11-8:35 led 300 Israelites to defeat the entire army of the Midianites.

Samson 13:1–16:31 delivered Israel from the Philistines. Known for his great strength.

Deborah 4:1–5:31 urged Barak to attack the mighty army of the Canaanites.

Samuel the Prophet

And moving on we come to Samuel who was the first of Israel’s great prophets, and the last of the judges. Samuel’s mother Hannah (who was barren) had prayed for a son.

Sam 1:10-11

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life. . .”

She praised God when He answered her prayer and gave her a child. Hannah gave Samuel to the priest, Eli, so he could be taught to serve the Lord. As a child, Samuel, heard from God that he was going to be a prophet and judge in Israel. Before Samuel’s time, a prophet was called a “seer.” But Samuel was not just a forecaster of the future but became a “mouthpiece” for God. He was used by God to inform Eli that his house would be punished for the abuses and the perversions of his sons who were the priests of the people. The priest was a mediator for God to the people and for the people to God. But they were completely corrupt. Samuel also rebuked the nation about their evil ways.

The Philistines and other enemies oppressed Israel so severely that they became disheartened. They complained that the nation had no hope of survival as long as it remained a collection of tribes. They were tired of being a theocracy under God. They wanted something more tangible. They wanted a monarchy. They cried for a king. They longed for a strong nation headed by a warrior king. The more Samuel tried to wed them closer to Jehovah and His direct rule over them, the more discontent they became. They wanted what the other nations had, an earthly king. At last, a broken-hearted Samuel let them have their way. (1 Sam 1-8).

Sam 8:4-22

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. “According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day– with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods– so they are doing to you also. “Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. “He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. “He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. “And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. “He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. “And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. “He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. “And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”

Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. So the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.”

Saul, The First King

The Lord had always intended to give Israel a king (Deut 17), but Israel’s sin was in demanding a king from the wrong motives, in looking for that king in the wrong tribe, and in demanding a king before it was God’s time to give them one. A man named Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin was chosen, a man of impressive stature, who embodied the basic ideals Israel had at the time, being much more concerned with his appearance than his heart. It’s sad how Saul’s character turned out to be a reflection of Israel as a whole.

Sam 9:1-2

There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. . . And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one you shall anoint to reign over My people.”

Saul was a weak and ineffective king who didn’t do much with his life except try to murder David, his son-in-law, despite David’s repeated expression of loyalty, because he knew David was destined to take his place one day on the throne. Saul’s hatred and insane jealousy for David made him fail as a king and Samuel regretted anointing him. Saul’s reign ended in disaster. He received no answer for his prayers, and even sought the help of a witch.

The battle that took place the next day at Gilboa was a bitter defeat for Israel, Saul himself was wounded, and he committed suicide by throwing himself on his own sword. Three of his sons, including Jonathan also died.

The greatest failure for Saul, the first king of Israel, was when he disobeyed God at Gilgal. The Philistines were encamped against Israel and Saul’s troops were deserting daily. The prophet Samuel had promised him that all would be well, only he must wait for God’s time. Samuel would come at the end of a week and would offer a sacrifice. Then Saul’s armies would have the victory. Saul impatiently went ahead and offered the sacrifice himself. No sooner had he finished than the prophet appeared. Saul had greatly sinned in officiating as a priest.

Sam 13:11-14

And Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, “then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

David, The Rightful King

Like Jesus, David was from Bethlehem. He grew up as a shepherd and was skillful in music and courageous. Samuel secretly anointed him as king and God openly showed Israel His chosen by his single-handedly slaying of the giant, Goliath of Gath.

Sam 17:43-50

So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. “Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’S, and He will give you into our hands.”

So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him.

But Saul began to hate David more and more. David had served at Saul’s court, had been married to his younger daughter, and had gone to battle numerous times at Saul’s command, and Saul began to hope that David would die in battle. When Saul openly tried to murder him was when David took to the hills.

For some 20 years David hid in the wilderness from Saul where he gathered an army from the outcasts of Israel. David wrote most of the Psalms at this time and God called him, “a man after My own heart.” Finally, 7 years after Saul died, the tribes crowned David king at Hebron. (about 1000 BC). He brought the Ark of the covenant (gold box containing the 10 commandments and symbolizing the throne of God) to Jerusalem, which he established as the capital (2 Sam 1-5).

David was Israel’s greatest and truly ideal king. He was a great warrior and a man who loved God. He brought great peace and prosperity to the land. But David also had his weaknesses. He took many wives, like other kings, and this was forbidden by God. He even arranged the murder of one of his soldiers so that he could marry the man’s wife who he had already seduced. David was a great sinner, but he was also very remorseful and repentant. David also took a census (headcount) of his army, showing a lack of trust in God. God punished David and Israel for his sins. The good qualities found in David are a picture of Christ who would be a descendant of David.

As David, in his old age, looked back on his life and pondered on how God had delivered him from all of his enemies he sang:

Sam 22:4

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

2 Sam 23:1-2

Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; thus says the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel: “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue. . .”

The next king was Solomon.

Solomon

David ordained that his son Solomon become the next king. He then gave Solomon the plans for the Temple and said:

Chr 28:9-11

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. “Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”

Soon after this, the Lord appeared to Solomon and offered him anything he wished for:

IKing 3:5-14

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. “Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. “And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. “Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, “behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. “And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. “So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

Afterwards Solomon became Israel’s most magnificent king. He built the marvelous Temple and God’s favor was with him. When he had finished the Temple he made sacrifices and said a public prayer:

IKing 8:27-30

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! “Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: “that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. “And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive. . .”

Then God revealed His glory:

Chr 7:1-3

When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’S house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever.”

During his reign he made Israel a world power and great wealth flowed into the kingdom. He had such great wisdom from God that people came from distant lands to here him. He taught many proverbs and wrote Ecclesiastes and Songs. Yet Solomon did more than any other king to break down the kingdom and to destroy its true foundations. His biggest mistake was in disobeying God by taking many wives, and marrying the daughters of foreign kings. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He allowed them to build altars to “Astarte” (Ishtar in Babylonia and Astoreth in Phoenicia) the fertility goddess and other pagan gods.

The instructions in the Law for a king were as follows:

Deut 17:14-20

“When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ “you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. “But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ “Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

“Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. “And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, “that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.”

Though Solomon was gifted with incredible wisdom, his heart led him astray. Toward the end of his life troubles began to appear through powerful factions, and enemies raised up both within and without the nation. Though Solomon made Jerusalem one of the wonders of the world, the kingdom was ready for a collapse. When Solomon died (about 922 BC) the kingdom split in two.

The Kings

The Kings of Israel (all wicked)

Jeroboam I

Nadab

Baasha

Elah

Zimri

Omri

Ahab

Ahaziah

Jehoram (Joram)

Jehu

Jehoahaz

Jehoash (Joash)

Jeroboam II

Zechariah’

Shallum

Menahem

Pekahiah

Pekah

Hoshea

Kings of Judah (8 were good)

Rehoboam

Abijam

Asa (Good)

Jehoshaphat (Good)

Jehoram

Ahaziah

Athaliah

Joash (Good)

Amaziah (Good)

Azariah (Uzziah) (Good)

Jotham (Good)

Ahaz

Hezekiah (Good)

Manasseh

Amon

Josiah (Good)

Jehoahaz

Jehoiachim

Jehoiachin

Zedekiah

The Divided Kingdom

After Solomon the fame and fortunes of Israel went downhill. The nation rebelled against God and his laws. God might have destroyed Israel had He not promised to Abraham a redeemer and He still planned to use the house of David for this.

When Solomon died a civil war broke out as Solomon’s sons and generals fought for the throne. Rehoboam had his fathers blessing to be the new king, but Jeroboam had more military influence. In the end, Rehoboam took the southern half of the country and called it “Judah”. Jeroboam took the northern half and kept the name Israel. Each claimed to be God’s chosen king.

The Northern Kingdom (Israel)

The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 of the tribes (excluding Judah and Benjamin). It lasted for about 210 years until it was destroyed by Assyria in 722 BC. Its capital was Samaria. Every king of Israel was evil. In the northern kingdom there were 9 dynasties (family lines of kings) and 19 kings in all. An average of 11 years to a reign. 8 of these kings met death by violence.

The epitaph written over every one of its kings was:

IKing 15:34

and he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel to sin.

It was king Ahab who introduced Baal worship to them.

IKing 16:30-33

Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

The last king was Hoshea (2 Ki 17). The petty wars of the past, wars with Syria and Edom, Ammon and Philistia, were now to give way to war on an ominous new scale. A world empire was being gathered into the ruthless hands of the Assyrians. The ruthless and cruel Assyrians (under Sargon II) besieged Samaria for 3 years and finally it fell, Israel was doomed. The Assyrians hauled them away into captivity (722 BC). BKA2The_Assyrians.htmBKA2The_Assyrians.htm

But the Lord always reminded them of why judgement came:

II Ki 17:7-23

For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods, and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.

Also the children of Israel secretly did against the LORD their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city. They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the LORD had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger, for they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”

Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.” Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God. And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them that they should not do like them.

So they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone. . And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight. For He tore Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and made them commit a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.

The Southern Kingdom (Judah)

The Southern Kingdom consisted of 2 tribes (Judah and Benjamin). The kingdom extended in the north as far as Bethel, while in the south it ended in the dry area known as the Negev. Its eastern and western boundaries were the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Jerusalem was its capital and it lasted from about 922-586 B.C.,

Judah was left suddenly independent when Rehoboam flatly refused to lighten the heavy load of forced labor and high taxation imposed on the Israelites by his father Solomon (1 Kin. 12:1-24). Upon Rehoboam’s refusal, the ten tribes living north of Bethel promptly declared their independence.

But something else occurred along with this Division. An entirely unexpected blow that devastated Judah. Shishak, Pharaoh of Egypt, invaded the country, plundered the treasures of the Temple and the royal palace, and destroyed a number of newly built fortresses (2 Chr. 12:1-12). Judah never recovered from the sudden loss of her national wealth. Because her land was not as fertile as that of the northern kingdom of Israel, Judah never enjoyed the same degree of prosperity. Rehoboam wanted to attack Israel and reunite the kingdom by force, but a Word from the Lord came to Shemaiah the prophet saying,

IKing 12:24

’Thus says the LORD: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel.”

Judah had somewhat of a better record. Only 8 of Judah’s kings served God. These were: Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah. The rest of the 20 kings were wicked. In the southern kingdom there was only one dynasty, that of king David, except usurper Athaliah from the northern kingdom, who by marriage, broke into David’s line, and interrupted the succession for 6 years, 20 kings in all. An average of about 16 years to a reign.

Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram (about 848-841 B.C.) married Athaliah, daughter of king Ahab and the wicked Queen Jezebel; and their marriage led to Baal worship also being established in Jerusalem (2 Kin. 8:18). Jehoram’s son Ahaziah reigned only for one year (841 B.C.) before he was killed. The pagan queen-mother Athaliah seized the throne and nearly brought the Davidic line to extinction by killing most of Ahaziah’s sons. Only the infant Joash escaped; he was rescued by his aunt Jehoshabeath and her husband Jehoiada, the godly high priest (2 Chr. 22:10-12). After six years Joash was proclaimed the lawful king, and Athaliah was executed.

Baal worship climaxed in Judah during the reign of Ahaz (2 Ki 16). Ahaz (about 732-715 B.C.), was faced with Assyria’s rise to power under TiglathPileser III; but Ahaz resisted the urgings of Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel to join an alliance against Assyria. Instead, Ahaz sought help from Assyria, against the prophet Isaiah’s advice, and received assistance in return for heavy tribute. Syria and the kingdom of Israel were destroyed in 722 B.C., leaving Judah at the mercy of the Assyrians.

When Hezekiah (about 714-686 B. C.) succeeded Ahaz, he also disregarded Isaiah’s advice and became involved in a coalition with Babylonia and Egypt against Assyria. Assyria, now ruled by Sennacherib, moved against Jerusalem in 701 B. C. It was at this time that Hezekiah constructed the Siloam Tunnel to bring water from the Spring of Gihon into the city of Jerusalem (2 Chr. 32:30). But then something very strange happened. Somehow, miraculously the Assyrians withdrew from attacking Jerusalem after suffering heavy losses, perhaps from a plague. History leaves a big question mark at this point. Why didn’t Sennacherib build a seige mound against Jerusalem and completely conquer it? The Bible reveals something very interesting:

Isa 37:33-38

“Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return; and he shall not come into this city,’ says the LORD. ‘For I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ “Then the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses– all dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

Revival came during the reign of Hezekiah but it was immediately swept aside by Manasseh, who was Judah’s most wicked and longest ruling king. The nation never fully recovered from the effects of this evil king. Manasseh’s son Amon continued in his father’s depravity, but he soon was murdered. His successor Josiah (about 640-609 B.C.) restored traditional covenant religion, which was based on the Book of the Law newly discovered in a Temple storeroom (2 Chr. 34:14). Many did not follow Josiah’s example, however, and the prophet Zephaniah foretold disaster for the nation. By 610 B.C. the Assyrian Empire had collapsed under Babylonian attacks, and Babylon prepared to march against Egypt, which had been helping the Assyrians. Against Jeremiah’s advice, Josiah intervened and was killed at Megiddo.

After Josiah there was no hope for Judah, the last 3 kings were all evil. The Babylonians swept down upon Jerusalem in 597 B. C. and captured it. A second attack led to Jerusalem’s second defeat in 586 B. C. Captives from both campaigns were taken to Babylonia to mark the captivity of the Southern Kingdom.

The Babylonian Captivity

Around 605 BC. Nineveh and Assyria had fallen. It was just Egypt and Babylon who were seeking world supremacy. The young brilliant new king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, went out and defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish. He marched on to Judah, during Jehoiakim’s reign, and took thousands of Hebrews back to Babylon (including Daniel , who became one of the greatest prophets). Nebuchadnezzar made two more attacks when he heard of rebellion in Judah. Each time he took captives (including Ezekiel the prophet). Only a remnant of the weakest, poorest, and least threatening Jews remained. King Nebuchadnezzar set up a puppet king (Zedekiah) of David’s line to sit on the throne of Judah and made him swear an oath of allegiance (2 Chr 36:10-12).BKA2Babylon.htmBKA2Babylon.htm

Zedekiah was as faithless as the rest of the evil kings of Judah. He then rebelled and allied with other enemies. When Nebuchadnezzar heard he came back for the last time (586 BC) to reduce Jerusalem to rubble and send the Temple up in flames. Zedekiah was forced to witness the slaughter of his sons, then his eyes were put out, and he himself was carried off to Babylon. The Kingdom was over and the “times of the gentiles” had begun.

2 Kin 24:13-14 13 And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. 14 Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.

The Captivity to the Return

The Return from Babylon

The people of Judah were horribly distressed. They lost their home, their city, their pride, their Temple, the ark of the covenant, and they were taken as prisoners to Babylon, the homeland of idolatry. But God raised up great men to remind them of Jeremiah’s prophesies, that they would only be there for 70 years. Babylon would not be their home:

Jer 29:10-14

For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

They would return and the temple would be rebuilt, and the Messiah would still come. Daniel and Ezekiel sought to keep the true faith alive.

The Decree of Cyrus

By 538 BC. Babylon had passed into history and the Medo-Persian Empire took its place. Cyrus the Persian issued a decree to allow the Jews to go back to their land, and with the blessing of The Persian Empire. The Jews were hardly moved. Babylon was their home. Only a portion returned (Neh 7) and only 74 of the Levites, who were supposed to be known for their dedication to the things of God.

Zerubbabel

The first move back to Palestine was led by Zerubbabel, of the house of David. He was the only one of royal blood to pay any attention to the decree of Cyrus (Ezra 2). When he returned, he found just rubble. No temple, torn down walls, and a mixed breed of corrupt Jews (Samaritans) living there. In 536 BC. he laid the foundations for a new temple, built an altar and worshipped the Lord. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah helped urge the Jews on. They finished the work on the Temple in 516 BC. (exactly 70 years).

Ezra and Nehemiah

58 years later (458 BC) more Jews returned (Ezra 7) under the leadership of Ezra. 12 years later, Nehemiah, received permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and to govern Judea. He arrived in 444 BC. Despite much opposition, Nehemiah completed this seemingly hopeless task in 52 days. Then a revival followed. Ezra and Nehemiah canonized the books of the Old Testament. They read aloud to the people and gave interpretation. About 40 years later, the prophet Malachi condemned the people for slipping back into their sinful ways.

The Prophets

The history of the rise and fall of the Hebrew nation are found in the history books (Genesis-Esther). The prophets appeared during the days of the fall of the Hebrew nation. At the moment of the apostasy of the 10 tribes at the close of Solomon’s reign and Israel’s golden age the ministry of the prophets began. The prophets gave a wake up call as soon as people began to forget God.

Prophets of the Assyrian Period Jonah Joel Amos Hosea Isaiah Micah Zephaniah Nahum

Prophets of the Babylonian Period BKA2untitled.htm - 91b890b1Jeremiah Habakkuk Ezekiel Obadiah Daniel

Prophets of the Persian Period Haggai Zechariah Malachi

God warned Israel and Judah over and over again through the prophets. The people forsook God, worshipped idols, did injustice, and loved evil. But God was kind enough to forewarn them of coming judgements because of sin and apostasy, and he would do marvelous miracles through the prophets that would give them hope and encouragement. The prophets even revived their faith in the coming Messiah and His glorious Kingdom. Prophets like Jeremiah warned both Israel and Judah even after it was too late and there was no chance for recovery.

Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, “and say to them, ’Thus says the LORD of hosts: Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them till there is no place to bury. “Thus I will do to this place,” says the LORD, “and to its inhabitants, because of all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to other gods.“Then Jeremiah came from Tophet, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord’s house and said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.’”

God was also very clear about prophets who spoke falsely and worked miracles to back up their words:

Deut 13:1-3

“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, “and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’– which you have not known–’ and let us serve them,’ “you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deut 18:20-22

‘But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ “And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’–“when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Messianic Prophesy

A) The Importance of Prophesy

Beginning in Old Testament times there were men known as prophets who declared or spoke forth God’s word. These prophets were “mouthpieces” of God with personalities similar to ours, and they would get a Word from the Lord and speak it out using their own personalities, and the message spoken out or written was the very word of God. Therefore it says:

2 Pet 1:20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

These prophecies declared blessings or curses, dealing with the present or future. They were given ideally to strengthen the people and give them hope in the Lord. The Jewish faith was preserved through the prophets and the Lord was brought near to Israel. Jehovah was seen as the ruler of the world, in whose hands are the destinies of the future. Through these prophecies the Jews recognized their God and realized His presence and divine providence. As a nation they experienced oppression and sorrow, and so also as a nation they were often cheered up by the prophets with messages of future deliverance and victory over their enemies. They could say with the Psalmist:

Ps 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

God used the prophets to strengthen His people and give them hope. Something I often wonder about is when the kingdom of Judah was overthrown by Babylon, the holy temple that Solomon built, destroyed, the vessels and riches taken, and the people led captive to Babylon (an idolatrous land 600 miles across the desert), they might have thought “where is our God now,” if it wasn’t for the strengthening words of Jeremiah the prophet that there was a limit to their banishment, and that after 70 years the Babylonian empire would be destroyed, and they would be restored to “the land” of their fathers. And what’s amazing is that we actually find Daniel , one of these exiles, calculating these 70 years, strengthening himself through the Word of the prophet, though unfulfilled:

Dan 9:2-3 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

God’s promises bring His people near to Him, regardless of exactly when they will be fulfilled.

B) The Messianic Prophesies

The most important prophecies to the Jewish church and nation were the “Messianic Prophecies”. Words about a Messiah King who would reign in righteousness. This was the Jewish faith and hope. In His days Judah would be saved, and Israel would dwell in safety. This more than anything else, preserved the faith of the nation to Jehovah their God. Though beaten down by their enemies, though carried captive into foreign lands, yet their spirits rose with the hopes of final deliverance and future greatness. They looked forward to a time when Messiah their anointed King, to whom the heathen would be given for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession, would rule over them.

It may be that they misunderstood the nature and meaning of their prophecies; it may be that they overlooked the predictions relating to the sufferings of the Messiah, thinking only of His glorious reign, but still these Messianic hopes were the life of the nation, and the source of all that was beautiful in it. Were it not for the hope in a Messiah, the Jewish religion would have degenerated into a dry performance of ceremony and ritual, without any insight into their meaning, without any understanding of the nothingness of mere form and outward religion and of the necessity of spiritual worship.

We sometimes think that the priests were the heart of Judaism and the ceremonies within the temple and tabernacle, but the prophets made very clear that Jehovah was there, in their midst, and they were to come with clean hands and a pure heart. When the people would dry up spiritually and just excercise outward observance the prophets would wake them up and denounce their sacrifices and offerings and foretell their discontinuance. These prophets were the great spiritual preachers among the Jews continually reminding them that sacrifices were worthless unless performed by pure hands; fasts, and assemblies, and new moons, if done outwardly, were worse than useless. As Isaiah said:

Is 1:11-13 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies– I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.

The Messianic future was to be an era of moral purity, war was to cease, and total peace was about to dawn upon the earth; God’s Spirit was to be poured upon all flesh; and on and on were the blessings promised to Jerusalem, as Isaiah said:

Is 62:1-7 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, And give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Therefore it was by the messianic prophecies that true religion was preserved and nourished among the Jews, spiritual worship which alone pleases God. The true worshippers realized that God’s promises brought them near to Him, regardless of exactly when they would be fulfilled.

The Jews could find great hope in promises yet to come, but even more important are the promises already fulfilled. Our faith and hope rest on a still surer foundation, the fulfillment seals the prophecy with the stamp of divinity. That which was to the Jews as a light shining in a dark place, is to us the dawning of the day, the rising of the day-star in our hearts. And if, among all the prophecies in the Old Testament, the Messianic predictions were of special importance to the Jews, just think how much more important they are to us, who believe that we see the fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth.

All other prophecies are of minor importance. The prophecies about the ancient cities of Babylon, Tyre, and Nineveh are very important and strengthen our faith in the Bible as prewritten history, but the prophecies concerning Messiah are so much more important and so interwoven with Christianity and an essential evidence of our faith.

Here is a list of some of the prophesies about Jesus. First the topic, then the Old Testament prediction, and the New Testament fulfillment:

Messianic Prophecies

The seed of the woman

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

The seed of Abraham

Gen 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

The Tribe of Judah

Gen 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

Matt 1:2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.

The seed of Jacob

Num 24:17-19 “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel… Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, and destroy the remains of the city.”

Lk 3:34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

The seed of David

Ps 132:11 The LORD has sworn in truth to David; he will not turn from it: “I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body.

Jer 23:5-6 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Rom 1:3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,

A prophet like Moses

Deut 18:15-19 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear… `I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. `And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.

Jn 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

The Son of God

Ps 2:7 “I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, `You are My Son, today I have begotten You.

Prov 30:4 Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, if you know?

Matt 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Resurrected from the dead

Ps 16:10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 13:35-37 “Therefore He also says in another Psalm: `You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’ “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; “but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.

Betrayed by a friend

Ps 41:9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

Matt 26:48-49 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

Ascend into Heaven

Ps 68:18 You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive; you have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God might dwell there.

Acts 1:9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

A priest like Melchizedek

Ps 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Heb 5:5-6 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”

Seated at the right hand of God

Ps 110:1 The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

Matt 26:64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

The rejected stone to become the chief cornerstone

Ps 118:22-23 The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

Is 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.

Matt 21:42-43 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: `The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.

Born of a Virgin

Is 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Lk 1:34-35 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Minister in Galilee

Is 9:1-2 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.

Matt 4:13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali,

Will be meek and humble

Is 42:2-3 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; he will bring forth justice for truth.

Is 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.

Matt 26:62-63 And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But Jesus kept silent….

Bring salvation to the Gentiles

Is 11:10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.”

Is 42:1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, my Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

Is 49:6 Indeed He says, `It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

Matt 15:21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

Will be beaten

Is 50:6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

Matt 26:67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands,

Will establish a New Covenant

Jer 31:31-33 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah– “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Matt 26:28 “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Will have two missions

Is 61:1-2 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God;

Will perform miracles

Is 35:5-6 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.

Jn 11:47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.

Called Jehovah God

Is 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Jn 8:24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I Am, you will die in your sins.”

Jn 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Born in Bethlehem

Mic 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

Lk 2:4-6 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.

Will enter the Temple with authority

Mal 3:1 “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.

Matt 21:12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.

Will enter Jerusalem on a donkey

Zech 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; he is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Matt 21:2-3 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 “And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, `The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

Will be pierced

Ps 22:16 For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;

Zech 12:10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

Is 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Jn 19:34 one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

Forsaken by His disciples

Zech 13:7 “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion,” says the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; then I will turn My hand against the little ones.

Matt 26:31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: `I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

Victory over death

Is 25:8 He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.

Heb 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

Jn 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

The exact time of His death predicted

Dan 9:26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off….