The Pentateuch

The Pentateuch The first 5 books of the OT are called the Pentateuch Also referred to as “The Law”, the “Law of Moses”, or the “Books of Moses” Jews refer to it as the Torah (What Christians call the Old Testament, the Jews call the Tanakh) Jewish tradition, as well as Jesus, attributed these books to Moses

Genesis – Book of Beginnings

Genesis – Book of Beginnings Lays the foundation for the rest of the Old Testament The occurrence of just about every Biblical doctrine first appears in Genesis Exodus might be viewed as birth of the nation of Israel Gen 12-50 is the stories of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and intro to the rest of the OT Gen 1-11 is really ancient and is the story of the beginning of the world and humanity

Gen 1-2: The story of creation

Gen 1-2: The story of creation God created the heavens and the earth (1:2; John 1:3,10; Heb 11:3) We did not evolve The trinity appears in Genesis 1 … the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (v 2, NIV) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness …” (1:26, NASB, italics mine) The earth was “formless and void” (1:2, NASB) Days 1-3 God gives form to the formless Days 4-6 God fills the void

Gen 1-2: The story of creation Days Form to Formless Filling the void 1, 4 Separated light from darkness Sun, moon, and stars 2, 5 Separated waters below from waters above Fish, sea creatures, and birds 3, 6 Gathered waters below and formed dry land Animals and man 7 God rested

Gen 1-2: The story of creation Note: Light existed before the sun was created. Light will also exist after the sun is gone (Rev 22:5) Humans were the crown of God’s creation (1:26-30) The rest of creation he called “good”, but he called man “very good” Man (humans) created in God’s image God blesses man He gives man authority over the rest of creation He commands him, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it” (NASB) Man is a vegetarian at this point

Gen 1-2: The story of creation God rested on the seventh day, the basis for establishing the Sabbath God creates man from dust and woman from man God gives man the responsibility to “cultivate” and “keep” the Garden of Eden God creates the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:9). In heaven, only the tree of life appears (Rev 22:2) God gives one command: eat from any tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:16-17). Completely different environment (2 catastrophic changes)

Gen 3: The fall of man

Gen 3: The fall of man Satan first appears on the scene in the form of a serpent Did Adam tell Eve that God said don’t eat or even touch the tree? The first Adam should have offered his life for his bride, but instead, sin and death entered the world through him (Rom 5:12) “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie…” (Rom1:25) The most devastating and second most significant exchange in the history of the world

Gen 3: The fall of man Man covered himself with fig leaves He now hid himself from God’s presence God promises a savior in cursing the serpent The curse doesn’t really give people any new responsibilities, just pain and hardship in the things they were already responsible for God clothes Adam and Eve with skins A sacrifice was made to cover them God stations cherubim to guard the way to the tree of life

Gen 4: Things go downhill quickly

Gen 4: Things go downhill quickly Abel offers a better sacrifice than Cain (Heb 11:4) Cain kills Abel (the first murder) “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (4:10) John 13:34-35 Cain chooses to leave God’s presence (4:16) Self-righteous Lamech, who murders and justifies himself, also the first recorded instance of bigamy

Gen 5: The genealogy from Adam to Noah

Gen 5: The genealogy from Adam to Noah These are all our ancestors Notice the extremely long lifespans Enoch walked with God and did not die (5:24, Heb 11:5)

Gen 6-9: Noah and the flood

Gen 6-9: Noah and the flood Notice the supernatural mischief (6:1-4) Dimensions of the ark: 300 cubits x 50 cubits x 30 cubits Not just rain, but “all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened” (7:11). Worldwide, not local Noah was in the ark 371 days

Gen 6-9: Noah and the flood Once again, there is a sacrifice (8:20) God blesses Noah and his sons, and commands them (9:1-7) Be fruitful and multiply Fill the earth, populate it abundantly Respect the life of every man, do not murder Man is no longer required to be a vegetarian (9:3) God promises to never to destroy the earth or people by flood (9:11) Next time will be by fire (2 Pet 3:10)

Gen 6-9: Noah and the flood Things go down hill quickly again (9:20-29): Noah gets drunk His son Ham sins against him Shem is blessed Canaan is cursed

Gen 10: The table of nations

Gen 10: The table of nations Source of many nations referred to later in the OT Nimrod, the first world dictator (10:8-12). Was he Gilgamesh? Some fascinating and provocative articles: http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/nimrod.html http://truedemocracyparty.net/2012/07/the-epic-of-gilgamesh-nimrod- second-oldest-writing-from-the-lost-book-of-enki/

Gen 11: The tower of Babel

Gen 11: The tower of Babel “Come, Let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly” (11:3, NASB) God promised not to destroy the earth/mankind by water (Gen 9) And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (11:4, NASB). Men were commanded to fill the earth (Gen 1, 9) God makes Abraham’s (Abram’s) name great (Gen 12:2) As it turned out, God “scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth” (11:8)