A Prophet's Eye-View Of Bible History"

Much of the Old testament fits into five basic categories, with each category having five points. Breaking Old Testament history down like that makes it a bit easier to remember. When we look at the big picture, e.g., an overview of the five categories, it gives us a context for understanding and remembering a lot of the specific details.

The next two lessons will share the five categories with you to give you a framework (or context) to put details of Bible history into. Then we will explore each of the categories in greater detail in subsequent lessons.

Category 1 - The Beginnings

This covers how God created mankind, as well as man's early interactions with God. Things started very well, with mankind in a close and intimate relationship with God. But sin was introduced when Adam and Eve choose to disobey God and partake of the one thing He told them not to partake of. That lead to a severing of the special relationship they had enjoyed with God. The first curses were introduced and so was aging and death. As time passed and the earth's population grew, mankind became more interested in pursuing their own interests apart from God's plan for them. Sin and wickedness increased. And demonic beings began to interact with mankind and to teach them new levels of wickedness and occult practices.

In the midst of humanity's decline, there were some people who remained faithful to God. God met and interacted with them, and He caused His favor and blessings to be released in their lives.

Man's sin and wickedness increased to the point where God wished He'd never created us. So, God decided to release just judgment and destroy the wicked and rebellious creatures that His creation had become. However, God's judgment did not apply to the few godly people who were living for Him and honoring Him. He spared their lives when He destroyed the rest of humanity. From this we learn that when God releases His judgment on a wicked society, He preserves His faithful servants from that judgment.

Category 2 - The Restart Or "New Beginnings"

This covers the period of time from Noah to when the patriarchs (Joseph's brothers) were spared from dieing in the famine and given safe refuge in Egypt.

When God had first created man and woman, He gave them a mandate to be fruitful and multiply and fill and subdue the earth. God specifically documented the lives of those who remained faithful to Him as man fulfilled this commission. We find that history in Genesis 5. We reach a point in history where each of the godly men have lived their lives and died. Only Noah and his children were left alive from these godly lines. Noah was 600 years old and his youngest son was 100. All three boys had grown up and gotten married, but apparently none of them have had any children yet. (That was not unusual in those days .. Noah's dad was 182 when Noah was born and his grandfather was 187 years old when Noah's dad was born.)

Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives were all spared when God destroyed the rest of mankind via a flood. After the waters receded, God gave the original mandate to Noah and his family: they were told to be fruitful and multiply and fill (e.g., re-populate) the earth (Genesis 9:1). So they began to fill that commission. Over time, the earth was populated again. Then God started longing for a special people to be set aside from all of the other people of the earth as His people. He longed for people who will honor and worship Him, ones He could have a personal relationship with.

So God selected one individual, Abram, and called him out from his people to be set aside for God. God's call was not just on Abram, but on his descendents. We see God's faithfulness and blessings and His protection demonstrated to His people over and over again. We learn that He is faithful and He is able to carry through on His promises. We see God interact in their lives on a personal level over and over again. We learn from that that God desires a personal relationship with His people.

Category 3 - God's Government

When a great famine hit the earth, God had already worked behind the scenes to provide for His people. He arranged for them to be relocated to Egypt where they would have food and water for themselves and for their flocks. At first they prospered in Egypt. 400 years passed and everyone in Egyptian government favorably predisposed towards the Israelites died off. The new regime was afraid of them and began to enslave and oppress them so they could not be a threat to the government's power base. The Israelites began to cry out to God because of the injustices and hardships they suffered. God heard them and raised up a deliverer for them. And when He delivered them, He established His chain of command or His government over them.

God supernaturally empowered His first few leaders. They were God appointed (this was not a democracy) and they demonstrated a great deal of power and anointing. When God set up His government, He set it up around Himself. His first human leader, Moses, had the task of teaching His people how to walk in His ways and have relationship with Him. God was very present with His people during His early government. There were even supernatural manifestations, such as God leading his people as they traveled as a pillar of cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. Moses did not make arbitrary leadership decisions. Instead he consulted God and found out what God wanted to do, and then implemented what God said.

For the most part, that leadership style continued with Moses' successor, Joshua. God used Joshua to lead the people into the promised land and establish them in it. Both Moses and Joshua were clearly God appointed, God directed. They both experienced a great deal of spiritual warfare and enemy opposition and they both walked strongly in God's supernatural anointing and empowerment.

As time progressed, the government leaders seemed to get less God-centered or anointed. The nation of Israel went through the same pattern over and over. They would start out committed to God and under his blessings. As they prospered, they put their own agendas over Gods' and they backslid and fell into idolatry. Then God sent judgment and they were defeated or went into captivity. They would repent and cry out to God and He would raise up a judge to deliver them. Then the whole cycle would repeat.

After this cycle repeated several times, God began ruling His people through His priests and prophets. Some of them were great leaders and some were self-serving and wicked. The people felt they were unjustly treated by these carnal priests so they cried out to God to give them a king (like other nations had). The request was basically to take government out of God's hands and put it into their own hands. God honored their request and gave them a king. He selected a king that met their criteria -- Saul. Saul started out well but be became self-serving and things rapidly declined under his leadership.

Then God removed the king that met "man's criteria" and gave them a king that met God's criteria -- David. David was a man after God's own heart, and he endeavored to rule the nation God's way. He endeavored to discern and obey God's will as he led his people. Still, the onus and authority of leadership had been transferred from God to man.

From all of this we learn that God uses fallen man to accomplish His purposes. Some of the vessels He chooses remain faithful to God and are good spiritual and political leaders. Others start putting their agendas, desires and concerns over God's. In general, those type of people tend to make less than desirable leaders. But we must be aware that the leader who God selects and puts into place may not be perfect. He uses imperfect vessels from time to time. It is possible for a God appointed leader to have serious character deficiencies in some areas.

(Our next lesson will cover the remaining two categories, "Man's Declining Government" and "The Prophets, God's Spokesmen To Mankind").