Fitting Together the Old Testament Stories

—(Part 60 of Seeing Jesus in the O.T.)

Andrew Fountain – Aug 28, 2022

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Goal

Provide a framework to help us fit all the accounts together
Show how it fits into world history, and is not just a bunch of tales
Give you a sense of the flow,

Ten Time Periods:

Creation to Abraham
Patriarchs & Matriarchs 215yrs
Slavery in Egypt 430yrs
Wilderness & Conquest 61yrs
Judges 336yrs
Three kings 120yrs
till Captivity of Northern Kingdom 210yrs
till Captivity of Southern Kingdom 136yrs
Babylonian Exile 50yrs
Return till birth of Jesus 531yrs

Four Eras:

Creation to Patriarchs & Matriarchs
Abram—Egypt: 215yrs
(Genesis)
e.g. Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah after waiting 25 years
Nation of Israel (disorganized) 827yrs
(Exodus-1 Samuel)
e.g. Crossing the Red Sea and escaping Egypt
Nation of Israel (under kings) 484yrs
(1&2 Samuel,
1&2 Kings,
1&2 Chronicles)
e.g. David & Goliath
Exile & Return till birth of Jesus 563yrs
(Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther)
e.g. Daniel in the lion’s den

1. Creation to Patriarchs & Matriarchs

(Genesis)
Creation of the world
Adam & Eve, the fall, murder
The Flood
Abraham & Sarah
Isaac & Rebekah
Jacob & 12 sons
Joseph and move to Egypt

2. Nation of Israel (disorganized)

827yrs
(Exodus-1 Samuel)
Moses is born, hidden and discovered
Moses and the burning bush
The 10 plagues
The passover and escape
Crossing the Red Sea
Receiving the Law at Mt. Sinai
Constant rebellion against God & Moses
Enter the Promised Land
Judges like Deborah & Gideon
Samuel good, but evil sons

3. Nation of Israel (under kings)

484yrs
(1&2 Samuel,
1&2 Kings,
1&2 Chronicles)
David & Goliath
David hunted by Saul
David’s adultery & murder
Solomon builds the temple
Division of the kingdom
Ahab & Jezebel
Elijah & Elisha
Become as corrupt as the nations

4. Exile & Return till birth of Jesus

563yrs
(Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther)
Daniel & lion’s den
Three men and the Fiery Furnace
Queen Esther
Return with Ezra, rebuilding the temple
Nehemiah, rebuilding the walls or Jerusalem
Prophets speak of a coming Messiah

Four Eras:

Creation to Patriarchs & Matriarchs
Abram—Egypt: 215yrs
(Genesis)
Ends with leaving the promised land and moving to Egypt
Nation of Israel (disorganized) 827yrs
(Exodus-1 Samuel)
Ends with jugdes who are sometimes as bad as the nations
Nation of Israel (under kings) 484yrs
(1&2 Samuel,
1&2 Kings,
1&2 Chronicles)
ends with Israel as corrupt as the nations around them
Exile & Return till birth of Jesus 563yrs
(Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther)
Ends with the nation a shadow of what it once was

Naaman cleansed of Leprosy?
The Tower of Babel?
Job?
Jonah and the fish?
Joshua has encounter with God?

What it means for us

Virtually all civilizations have stories of their ancestors which give them a sense of heritage and value
- What is remarkable about the Judeo-Christian narrative is that ultimately there were no heros.
- Even the best, like David, were deeply flawed, and there is no attempt to cover this
- If a nation had invented the narratives, they would not have been like this!
The reason is that it is designed to leave you waiting for the piece that will complete it, the Messiah
Each era leaves us dissatisfied—something is missing
More clues are given each time

Date	Period	Stories
– 1	Creation to Abraham Genesis	Creation first humans fall murder corruption of most of humanity flood
2094BC 2 215yrs	Patriarchs & Matriarchs Genesis	Abraham: call, covenants, doubt, children, testing Isaac: Rebecca, blind blessing Jacob: Conflict w Esau, Blessing, escape, Rachel, trouble with Laban, return to land, trouble with sons Joseph: Coat and jealousy, slavery, prison, dreams, power, brothers and father
1879BC 3 430yrs	Slavery in Egypt Exodus	Israel: move to Egypt. slavery begins, gets much worse with attempted genocide Moses: birth, raised, murder, flight, marriage, burning bush, commissioning Plagues: the 10 plagues, culminating in the death of the firstborn Passover, escape, Red sea crossing, death of enemies, song
1449BC 4 61yrs	Wilderness & Conquest Exodus—Joshua	Wilderness wanderings Sinai covenant Death of Moses Conquest
1388BC 5 336yrs	Judges Judges-1 Samuel	Gideon, Deborah, Samuel etc.
1052BC 6 120yrs	Three kings 1&2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles	Saul David: Victory, adultery, Absalom, and other stories Solomon
932BC 7 210yrs	till Captivity of Northern Kingdom 1&2 Kings, 2 Chronicles	Rehoboam Decline of the Northern Kingdom Ahab & Jezebel, Elijah & Elisha
722BC 8 136yrs	till Captivity of Southern Kingdom 1&2 Kings, 2 Chronicles	Hezekiah, Josiah
586BC 9 50yrs	Babylonian Exile Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther	Daniel, Fiery Furnace, Esther
536BC 10 531yrs	Return till birth of Jesus Ezra, Nehemiah, Prophets	Return with Ezra, rebuilding the temple Nehemiah, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem Prophets