PREFACE

Old Testament Survey

The Bible is the world's best seller. The message of God is considered so vital to man that translators and Bible agencies have produced parts of the Scriptures in more than 1,200 languages. At least 95% of the world's population has portions of the Scriptures in a language available to them.

WHY STUDY THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Old Testament has had the widest acclaim of all writings in the fields of literature, history, and religion, Jews, Muslims, and Christians find their beginnings in the Old Testament. It continues to attract and challenge the keenest scholars and meet the needs of even the humblest of every generation. In contemporary Christianity, the Old Testament is more neglected than the New, Because of the prominence of law in the Old Testament, and of the Gospel in the New, readers do not always clearly understand that God's grace operated throughout the history of His dealings with men. Those who portray the God of the Old Testament as a God of wrath and judgment, and think of God in the New Testament as a God of love, should not ignore the fact that Moses (Deut. 4-6), Jeremiah (9:23, 24), and others represented Him as the God of love and justice. The Apostle Paul, who was thoroughly versed in the Old Testament, called God the "Father of mercies" (11 Cor. 1:3).

The Old Testament provides the historical background by which we are able to understand the New. This is apparent in the fact that the New Testament contains over 600 references or allusions to the Old. Jesus and the apostles constantly appealed to it in their teaching. Paul used the Old Testament with great effectiveness as he went from synagogue to synagogue to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Christ (cf. Acts 17:3, 11-13; 18:5, and others). Neither human nature nor God has changed since Old Testament times. Our study of man's relationship with God guides us today and leads us to the proper response of faith and obedience.

THE HISTORY OF OLD TESTAMENT TIMES

The history of the Old Testament is found primarily in the first seventeen books (Gen.- Esther) of our English Bible. After a brief account of the developments from Adam to Terah, biblical history is basically concerned with God's chosen nation beginning with Abraham (ca. 2000 B.C.), and continuing until the time of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (ca. 450 B.C.). The poetic and prophetic books reflect various periods of history and allow insight into prevailing political, religious, and cultural situations.

As we may learn from the Old Testament itself, the historical books are more than the national records of the Jewish nation, and tell us more than its history. Both Jews and Christians hold that the Old Testament discloses God's revelation of Himself to man. Jesus gave it His stamp of approval as Holy Writ and taught that it had predicted His coming (Luke 24:44, and others). Paul called Old Testament Scripture the oracles of God (Rom. 3:2).

While it is sacred history, the Old Testament gives an account of natural events, guided by and interwoven with the supernatural activity of God. In times of both blessing and adversity in Israel, God was accomplishing His purposes in national and international developments. Consequently, the Old Testament can be interpreted properly, only when both the natural and the supernatural are recognized in its pages.

Old Testament history may be conveniently divided into the following periods: