The God of the Old Testament

1. The God of the Old Testament

2. “And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I have shown your glory on earth; I have finished the work you gave me to do…I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world.” (John 17:3-6 – GN)

3. “If a man commits adultery with the wife of an Israelite, both he and the woman shall be put to death.” (Leviticus 20:10 – GN) “I do not condemn you…” (John 8:11 – GN)

4. “And when His disciples James and John observed this, they said, ‘Lord, do you wish us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did?’ But He turned and rebuked and severely censured them. He said, ‘You do not know of what sort of spirit you are, For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them’” (Luke 9:54-56 - Amplified)

5. “Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people. When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these’…Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them, and blessed them.” (Mark 10:13-16 – GN)

6. “When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus' followers. ‘What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riff-raff?’” (Matthew 9:11 – The Message)

7. Who is the Old Testament God? • “All ate the same spiritual bread and drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself.” (1 Corinthians 10:3-4 – GN)

8. “And you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I AM” (John 8:24 – GN) • “When you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that “I Am Who I Am” (John 8:28 – GN) • “I am telling you the truth, Jesus replied. Before Abraham was born, ‘I Am’” (John 8:58 – GN)

9. “You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me!” (John 5:39, 40 – The Message)

10. “A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, ‘Wonderful Counselor,’ ‘Mighty God,’ ‘Eternal Father,’ ‘Prince of Peace.’” (Isaiah 9:6,7 – GN)

11. 1Searching for the character of God

12. “The LORD answered, ‘You can do it because I will help you. You will crush the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man.’ Gideon replied, …’give me some proof that you really are the LORD. Please do not leave until I bring you an offering of food.’ He said, ‘I will stay until you come back.’” (Judges 6:16,17 - GN)

13. “He ran to him, stood over him, took Goliath's sword out of its sheath, and cut off his head and killed him. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they ran away.” (1 Samuel 17:51 – GN)

14. “…one of Saul’s relatives, Shimei…came out to meet him, cursing him as he came. Shimei started throwing stones at David and his officials, even though David was surrounded by his men and his bodyguards. Shimei cursed him and said, ‘Get out! Get out! Murderer! Criminal! You took Saul’s kingdom, and now the LORD is punishing you for murdering so many of Saul’s family. The LORD has given the kingdom to your son Absalom, and you are ruined, you murderer!’

15. “Abishai…said to the king, ‘Your Majesty, why do you let this dog curse you? Let me go over there and cut off his head!’ ‘This is none of your business,’ the king said to Abishai and his brother Joab. So David and his men continued along the road. Shimei kept up with them, walking on the hillside; he was cursing and throwing stones and dirt at them as he went.” (2 Samuel 16:5-10,13-14 – GN)

16. 2 • God is frequently described as actively doing what He instead allows to happen

17. “The LORD was angry at Israel again, and he made David think it would be a good idea to count the people in Israel and Judah.” (2 Samuel 24:1 - CEV). “Satan wanted to bring trouble on the people of Israel, so he made David decide to take a census” (1 Chronicles 21:1 - GN).

18. “By the living LORD,’ David continued, ‘I know that the LORD himself will kill Saul, either when his time comes to die a natural death or when he dies in battle.’” (1 Samuel 26:10 – GN) “So the LORD killed him…” (1 Chronicles 10:14 - GN).

19. “Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the LORD your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation. But I show my love to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my laws.” (Exodus 20:4-6 – GN)

20. “The city of murderers is doomed! I myself will pile up the firewood. Bring more wood! Fan the flames! Cook the meat! Boil away the broth! Burn up the bones! Now set the empty bronze pot on the coals and let it get red-hot….You will not be pure again until you have felt the full force of my anger. I, the Lord, have spoken. The time has come for me to act.” (Ezekiel 24:2,9-14).

21. “And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses. Now the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him.” (Exodus 9:34,35; 10:1 - NKJV)

22. “God has blinded their eyes and closed their minds, so that their eyes would not see, and their minds would not understand, and they would not turn to me, says God, for me to heal them.” (John 12:40 – GN)

23. “But on the way the people lost their patience and spoke against God and Moses. They complained, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We can't stand any more of this miserable food!’ Then the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many Israelites were bitten and died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Now pray to the LORD to take these snakes away.’ So Moses prayed for the people.” (Numbers 21:4-7 – GN)

24. 3 • God the iconoclast • 1: one who destroys religious images • 2: one who attacks settled beliefs or institutions • “He (God) is the great iconoclast.” (C.S. Lewis)

25. Abraham • “God said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will show you.’” (Genesis 22:2 – GN)

26. “When the king of Moab realized that he was losing the battle, he took seven hundred swordsmen with him and tried to force his way through the enemy lines and escape to the king of Syria, but he failed. So he took his oldest son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him on the city wall as a sacrifice to the god of Moab. The Israelites were terrified and so they drew back from the city and returned to their own country” (2 Kings 3:26,27).

27. “They have built altars to Baal in Hinnom Valley, to sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. I did not command them to do this, and it did not even enter my mind that they would do such a thing and make the people of Judah sin.” (Jeremiah 32:25 – GN)

28. “What shall I bring to the LORD, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings to him? Will the LORD be pleased if I bring him thousands of sheep or endless streams of olive oil? Shall I offer him my first-born child to pay for my sins? No, the LORD has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.” (Micah 6:6-8 – GN)

29. “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: Long ago your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and served other gods. But I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates River. I led him through all of Canaan and gave him many descendants. I also gave him Isaac.” (Joshua 24:2,3 – God’s Word)

30. Jesus and the Canaanite woman • “But Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples came to him and begged him, ‘Send her away! She is following us and making all this noise!’ Then Jesus replied, • ‘I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel’” (Matthew 15:23, 24). • “At this the woman came and fell at his feet. ‘Help me, sir!’ she said. Jesus answered, • ‘It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs’” (Matthew 15:25, 26).

31. ‘That’s true, sir,’ she answered, ‘but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their masters’ table.’ So Jesus answered her, ‘You are a woman of great faith! What you want will be done for you.’ And at that very moment her daughter was healed” (Matthew 15:27, 28).

32. 4Understanding the Setting

33. The plagues • Blood • Frogs • Gnats • Flies • Death of the animals • Boils • Hail • Locusts • Darkness • Passover

34. “On that night I will go through the land…punishing all the gods of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:12 - GN)

35. Blood – Hapi, the god of the Nile who was thought to bring water and life to Egypt • Frogs – Heka, the ‘toad goddess’, a symbol of resurrection • Gnats – Geb, the god of earth and vegetation • Flies – Khepri, the god of insects • Death of the animals – Apis, the god of cattle • Boils – Thoth, the god of medicine and wisdom. They would sacrifice humans and burn them alive on high alters and then spread their ashes into the air as a blessing to heal people • Hail – Nut, the ‘sky goddess’ of harvest • Locusts – Anubis, the god of the fields • Darkness – Ra, the ‘sun god’ believed to the physical father of all pharaohs

36. Mount Sinai • “On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud appeared on the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast was heard. All the people in the camp trembled with fear. Moses led them out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD had come down on it in fire. The smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and all the people trembled violently. The sound of the trumpet became louder and louder. Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder. The LORD came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain.” (Exodus 19:16-20 – GN)

37. “The LORD said to Moses, ‘I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will believe you from now on.’” (Exodus 19:9 – GN)

38. “Put to death any woman who practices magic. Put to death anyone who has sexual relations with an animal. Condemn to death anyone who offers sacrifices to any god except me, the LORD” (Exodus 22:18-20 – GN) • “Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your relatives. Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother. You must not disgrace your own mother…No man or woman is to have sexual relations with an animal; that perversion makes you ritually unclean” (Leviticus 18:7,23 - GN)

39. “When the people heard the thunder and the trumpet blast and saw the lightning and the smoking mountain, they trembled with fear and stood a long way off. They said to Moses, ‘If you speak to us, we will listen; but we are afraid that if God speaks to us, we will die.’ Moses replied, ‘Don’t be afraid; God has only come to test you and make you keep on obeying him, so that you will not sin.’” (Exodus 20:18-20 – GN)

40. Elisha • “…some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, ‘Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!’ So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.” (2 Kings 2:23,24 – NKJV)

41. “Then Elisha died and was buried. Groups of Moabite raiders used to invade the land each spring. Once when some Israelites were burying a man, they spied a band of these raiders. So they hastily threw the corpse into the tomb of Elisha and fled. But as soon as the body touched Elisha's bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet!” (2 Kings 13:20,21 – NLT)

42. Noah • Abraham • Rahab • David • Solomon • Hosea • Peter • Martin Luther • “king of hops”

43. C.S. Lewis • “God will look to every soul like its first love because He is its first love.” • “From the moment a creature becomes aware of God as God and of itself as self, the terrible alternative of choosing God or self…” • “Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God: the proud, the avaricious, the self-righteous, are in that danger.”

45. “Clouds and darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.” (Psalms 97:2) “Now the message that we have heard from his Son and announce is this: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him.” (1 John 1:5 – GN)