Old Testament Recap

The Old Testament is generally divided into 4 sections.

• Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy)

• Historical Books (Joshua-Esther)

• Wisdom and Poetry (Job-Song of Songs)

• Prophets (Isaiah-Malachi)

The Old Testament is ultimately a book about God and how He has interacted with humanity and how He promises to do so moving forward. The Old Testament starts in Genesis with creation. God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. Then we follow the story of God and his chosen people.

Starting with one couple (Abraham and Sarah) God over several generations develops a people group that will eventually be known as the Israelites. While they were in slavery God calls them out to the nation of Israel, a place to call home. We follow their story from slavery to redemption with a world of events in between.

The Pentateuch meaning “law” was given to the Israelites through their first leader, Moses. It is here that we can see the rules and regulations God gave the people (and us) for living God honoring lives. It is here that we see things like the 10 commandments come into place (Exodus 20).

The Historical Books give us an in depth look at some of the heroes of the faith. People like Samson, Samuel, David, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther are all highlighted in this section. We get a close up picture of how these men and women served God. But the Historical books give us the bad things as well. We see evil kings, and the people of Israel start to turn their backs on God.

The Wisdom and Poetry section serve as a break in the historical account for the Old Testament. Books like Psalms, Proverbs, and others give readers practical ways to live a life full of wisdom and in close relationship with God. The Psalms especially walk us through almost every human emotion possible and how God can enter all those emotions with us to give us comfort and a sense of direction.

Lastly we have the Prophets which are broken up into the Major and Minor prophets. The Major Prophets are much longer books while the Minor Prophets are much shorter. Each prophet had a unique message from God but each revolved around restoration for people who come to God and destruction for people that ignore Him.

Eventually God’s people are exiled because they stopped listening to God. Once God got their attention again, he restored them to their home land of Israel. But God had further restoration in mind.

Throughout the Old Testament a Savior or Messiah is talked about. It would be through this Messiah that complete restoration would take place. Many characters showed pieces of what that Savior would be like, but the true Savior would pull it all together and be even more than what the people expected.

That Savior is Jesus, and his birth marks the beginning of the New Testament.

Key Takeaways:

• God is Creator

• God love for his people

• God restoration & forgiveness

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the Old Testament of the Bible this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Minor Prophets

You can find the Minor Prophets at the end of the Old Testament. The collection of the Minor Prophets is broken up to form twelve individual Books of the Bible, one for each of the prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi. The term “minor” doesn’t mean they are less important than the “major” prophets, like Isaiah and Ezekiel, it simply means that these books are not as long as the other prophetic books.

Most of the minor prophets lived between 800-400 BC. During this time, Israel and Judah experienced lots of oppression at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. These nations attacked, destroyed, and pillaged the Israelites’ land and sent many into exile. The prophets served as a way for God to speak to his people.

The reason the Israelites were facing such oppression was because of their own sins. They had fallen away from God and became more wicked than the nations that surrounded them. Instead of being an example for the world, Israel had become the hub for evil.

The prophets warned the people what would happen if they didn’t repent but they refused to listen. Time after time, the destruction these people prophesied came true, but by then it was too late. Israel experienced hundreds of years of turmoil during this time but God remained faithful. God used the nations of Assyria and Babylon as His vehicles for punishment but He never forgot His chosen people.

The prophets make this clear. In their prophecies, they proclaim judgment, but they also claim hope for the future. Every prophet was different but one message remained constant. Each one shed light on what God’s will was.

This message is still relevant to us today. The minor prophets and the rest of the Bible show us how to live godly lives and show us that God is returning for His people and He will make everything new. When Jesus does return, the Bible tells us that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. (Philippians 2:10-11) The people who believe in Him before He comes will bow to their savior, but the people who refuse to believe (like the people in the Minor Prophets) will bow to their judge. It is up to us on how we will bow.

Key Takeaways:

• God’s Will for our lives must be followed.

• God is returning for His people and everything will be made new!

• One day, every knee will bow. Will you be ready?

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the Minor Prophets of the Bible this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Jonah

Bible Story: Jonah 1-4

Who was Jonah?

Jonah was a prophet from Israel around the 8th century BC. Jonah was called by God to preach the gospel to Nineveh. Nineveh was known for their evil wickedness. God told Jonah to tell the people of Nineveh that God’s judgment was going to come upon them if they didn’t change their ways.

But Jonah disobeyed God and he went the other way. Jonah got on a boat and while he was sleeping a huge storm arose and Jonah was eventually thrown overboard. The Bible tells us that because Jonah tried to run from God, God appointed a big fish to come and swallow him.

While in the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed to be saved and God listened to him. After three days, the big fish spit Jonah out on dry land. There God spoke to Jonah again and told him a second time to go preach to Nineveh. This time, Jonah listened and went to Nineveh.

Once Jonah arrived, he started telling the people that God would destroy the city in 40 days. At hearing this, the king of Nineveh repented and called the whole city to return to God. Because of this, God relented from his judgment and saved the 120,000 people of Nineveh.

However, Jonah was not happy that God showed compassion to these people. Jonah thought that because these people were wicked they should be punished. But God taught Jonah a valuable lesson. All people are wicked and have sin in their lives, but all people are God’s people. We all deserve punishment for the sins we’ve committed, but God shows compassion on us everyday so we can live with him.

This compassion was never more clear than when God, in human form died on the cross for our sins. Even though we deserved destruction, Jesus showed us compassion and through grace has taken our sins upon himself. When we repent and return to a relationship with God, God’s anger subsides and we get to experience fellowship with him.

Jonah’s story is special because it shows us so clearly how Christ acts on our behalf. In fact, Jesus compared himself to Jonah (Matthew 12:40). Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, and Jesus would be dead for three days. But we know he didn't stay dead. Three days later, he defeated death, hell, and the grave by coming back to life! It’s through Jesus that our sins can be wiped away & forgiven. We just need to repent & turn back to God each day.

Key Takeaways:

• God calls people to repent.

• We need to pray and obey God.

• God forgives people who ask His forgiveness.

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the life of Jonah this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.