The big picture of the Bible

Bible study on the big picture of the Bible.

The relationship planned

Genesis - poetic or descriptive.
Genesis 1:26-28
V31 completed and it was very good.


The relationship broken

We don't need God involved.
Genesis 3:22-24
Showing God's mercy - can not share the same space as God. This compares with blessing of Genesis 1
God already has a plan. V15

Genesis 6:5-6 God's heart was filled with pain - His heart was broken. Then the account of Noah - God didn't scarp it all! 



The rescue foreshadowed

Genesis12:1-3 promise that God will bless him and he will be a blessing. Very specific promises.  God tested Abraham to give up the most precious thing he had Genesis 22:7-14 v8 Abraham believed and trusted in God - whatever happens he can trust that God will provide. Abraham had a trust that God will be sending His son. They sacrificed a ram not a lamb - He was to come later.

Jacob and Joseph. Joseph had a trust in God. Following all the suffering he is able to end up in a position of rescue. Out of Egypt comes rescue. Joseph still says that God intended it for good.

Exodus starts with fruitfulness in Egypt. oppression follows and the place of blessing becomes slavery. 

God calls Moses and the character of the nation. Promise to rescue from Egypt. Vision of what was lost in Eden.
Exodus 6:3-8. Promise to rescue in the middle of judgement. God is always the initiator - it's on His terms. Plagues follow then eventually go ... Rescue in the context of the death of a son.

Wandering in the desert. Food and drink then instructions on how to live follow. Out of the experience of rescue this is how you should live.

What does it mean .... Illustrations to help community living in those conditions.

Life gets difficult - looking backwards rather than forwards. Faith vs lack of faith and trust.

Move into promised land - a place of blessing and obedience. Follow Gods ways and experience the blessing. They had not earned the promised land. Roughly the size of Wales. Stuck in the middle of Egypt and Syria. All of life flowed through the promised land. Huge impact they could have. Only 2 from original group would arrive in the promised land. Conquest of the promised land was a blessing. When they trusted God victory came much easier.

Joshua 24 - follow God. The conquest was not simple.  Fighting over land was the norm. The Israelites had to fight or they would lose everything.

Judges can feel quite hard to relate to. They had to fight. How wold the surrounding cultures pull them in different directions away from God. The Israelites gave in and they were oppressed. They eventually screamed out to God and the Judges would rescue them. Samuel was the last.

Samuel 1 we need a king! This would make us like them. God says give them what they want. Samuel hands over leadership to the king but warns them of the consequences. Saul chosen by God. Saul starts to have too much authority and power and doesn't want to submit so has to go. David chosen.

Ruth - the line of David. God sees someone who is faithful in God's way. They need to believe that God is in this and they need to trust in him.

Jerusalem chosen because it did not belong to any of the 12 tribes. Ark carried in.

Peace in the land and the nation became big in the time of David. They are enjoying the promises of God. Many psalms written in this time, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastics.  People not being a blessing to people around them.

2 Samuel 7:9-12 A promise of God. The promise echoes the ones to Abraham. Establish a throne for ever (Jesus) 

David's life not all perfect and has his weaknesses! We should take heart but doesn't excuse.

Solomon starts well but gets caught up in the trappings of power. Solomon uses people to fulfil own plans. 

1 Kings 12 and 13. Jeroboam creates his own sanctuary and leads people away from God. Next two hundred years goes badly in Israel in the North and Judea in the South is better.

The rise of the prophets when the kings lose sight of what is going on. Eg story Elijah. 

Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah - turn back to God.

Things got so bad in the north and were exiled. 2 Kings 17:7-20 He thrust them from his presence. We don't know what happened to those 10 tribes in Assyria.  It's only the two tribes who remain as Jews.

Judah had a good king Hesakiah but followed by a bad king and lead the tribe away.

Zephaniah
Habakkuk
Jeremiah
Nahum
Daniel
Ezekiel
Lamentations
Obadiah

The people ended up in exile despite all the warnings. Exile in Babylon. Would the LORD still be their God again? Isaiah 40/41 - yes you will be God's people again. There will be a better rescue.

There will be a new path from the exile in Babylon. Isaiah 65:17-19. A fantastic picture of a rescuer. Not a soldier king but a servant king who would obey.

Ezekiel 36:22-28 You will have a new heart and spirit that you were incapable of this. Other nations were share in the blessing.

Babylon fell and released the two tribes. 

Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Joel

No real sense of a new beginning as they return. No real sense of how will these promises be fulfilled. There continued to be oppression culminating with the Romans.

They believed that the king from the line of David would come. Pharisees believed that everyone had to obey for a day. Zealots wanted to fight. Others went off into the desert.

Always the prospect of a new start and a chance to repent. A repeating pattern through the old testament.

John the Baptist and Jesus on Earth. Jesus from no where, does miracles and claims He can only do things that God can do. How did people react to Jesus - you can't claim to forgive sins.

Jesus replays the history of Israel but He is the reason. Eg Jesus feeding the 5 thousand as a memory of Moses.

He rides a donkey into Jerusalem to fulfil prophesy. The rescuer King is here! Follow me and learn about the nature of the Kingdom. Message of freedom and forgiveness. The suffering servant and saviour - relating Isaiah to Jesus. What happened there? Wasn't He the great Messiah? He comes back - physically risen! This was God himself.  

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

This was the rescue and what it took. It took a death of God's own son on himself. 

The rescue accomplished ....

The restoration begins - there is yet more to come. There will be am amazing fulfilment. The king has been but we've not seen the kingdom in all it's fullness. Let's gets as many people into the kingdom.

Take the message out - the church is born and spreads out. 

Acts 

The letters that follow are encouragement of new believers and how to live out the kingdom. Opposition from outside and within. Factions split and people live as if the rescue is still to come. Opposition including the death of many martyrs. 

Romans - Jude

Revelation looks into the future in highly symbolic. Victory over everything that gets in the way.

Rev 21:1-5
Rev 22:1-5

An amazing picture - the tree of life which we were banished from is available. Even the leaves will heal the nations. Heaven is better than Eden and will be 'perfect'

Act 1 creation
Act 2 the fall
Act 3 what God did through Israel
Act 4 Jesus 
Act 5 (scene 1) New Testament church
act 5 (scene 2) Us! 



We are part of the story ... 

We have a part in the story ...