07/30/2024
The Story of the Bible
When I was a kid, the Bible seemed really confusing. It was a big book full of people with strange names who lived a really long time ago.
And it was full of odd events that seemed completely unrelated. At least that's how it appeared to me at the time.
But when I got older, I learned a few things that made the entire Book make a lot more sense.
Like this: the Bible tells one story. Sin and salvation. Man's fall, man's redemption. Every book of the Bible is part of that story.
THE PROBLEM
The first man and the first woman disobeyed God's word and sinned. When that happened, they died spiritually.
But God had a plan to make salvation possible for everyone who would ever live.
The plan began to unfold when God told a man named Abraham to leave his home and his family and go to a land that God would eventually give to Abraham's family. God promised to give this man land.
God also promised to make this man, who was then childless and getting up there in years, a great nation of people.
But the third promise was the biggest of all. God promised that in Abraham, all families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). God would solve the problem of sin through Abraham's seed.
God repeated these promises to Abraham's son, Isaac, and to Isaac's son, Jacob. Much of the rest of the Bible follows Abraham's family until salvation becomes a reality.
THE ROUGH START
Jacob's name was eventually changed to “Israel,” and his sons were known as the 12 tribes, or families, of Israel. So Abraham's descendants became known as Israel, or the children of Israel.
Through a series of interesting events—some sad, some fortunate—Jacob and his sons and their families ended up in Egypt. First they were guests, then they were slaves.
THE EXIT
God instructed a man named Moses to lead God's people, Israel, out of Egypt. It took a lot of work, but the Israelites left Egypt and got away from their oppressors.
THE LAW
Once they got out in the wilderness, God began delivering a Law to Moses to give to Israel. It became known as the Law of Moses.
This law was only for Israel. It was going to be their religious law and their civil law when they got into the land that God promised to give them. It was meant to keep them pure and different from the nations around them, and it was supposed to get them ready for the Savior.
THE LAND
It took a while, but Israel finally got into the promised land. They drove out most of the inhabitants and and conquered the land and set up shop.
THE HISTORY
The Israelites lived and worked and raised kids. Sometimes they were faithful to God, often they were not. When they sinned long enough, God allowed them to lose part of their land to a nearby nation as punishment, as He'd told them He would.
They eventually got a king, Saul. Then another, David. Then a third, David's son, Solomon. When Solomon died and his son became king, the kingdom split. Then there were two kingdoms: 10 tribes in the north, known as Israel, and 2 tribes in the south, known collectively as Judah.
Eventually the 10 tribes in the north were conquered and scattered. The southern kingdom lasted a little longer, but Babylon took it captive for 70 years. When that was done, those captives got to go back to their homeland.
Throughout their history, God sent prophets to warn Isreal and call them back to the Law God gave them. Those prophets also spoke of wonderful things to come in the future—a Savior, His kingdom, and forgiveness.
THE PROBLEM SOLVED
Then about 2,000 years after God promised to bless the world in Abraham's seed, an Israelite boy was born in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem. When He was about 30 years old, He began teaching, fulfilling prophecies, and performing miracles.
Jewish leaders conspired with Roman officials to put the Man to death. But He rose from the grave and told His disciples that this was all according to the plan. Forty days later, He returned to His home in heaven.
The Man's disciples began telling the world the good news that salvation was possible because God sent His Son to live and die for us. That Man was alive again, and everyone who believes that message and does what He says can be with Him in heaven.
His disciples eventually spread that message far and wide, and they wrote what “Christians” need to know to live faithfully and remain in fellowship with the Savior.
For more information about the story that the Bible tells, visit our services just north of the hospital. Or call Chris Moore at (806) 205-0181 or Nathan Brewer at (580) 339-6623. They'd love to visit with you.
