"Grasping the big picture of Genesis is very important. Central to this picture is the family line that forms the backbone of the entire book. The importance of this lineage cannot be overstated, for beginning in 3:15 the offspring of the woman becomes the source of hope for the defeat of the serpent and the restoration of the earth and everything in it..." (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (1:1)

Eternal God creates all things good and makes Man to rule in His likeness. But Adam and Eve believe the lie of the serpent, Satan, and disobey God bringing a curse upon all Creation. God casts Adam and Eve out of the Garden and from His presence, but does not leave them without hope.

CHAPTER 4-7

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, ad behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth." (6:11-13)

Mankind plunges into increasing degrees of wickedness with each generation. God will bring His judgment upon the earth through a great flood, but He determines to preserve His creation through one man, Noah.

CHAPTER 8-11

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." (9:8-11)

Noah, his family, and the animals are saved from the judgment waters through the arc. God makes a covenant with Noah and His creation. It is an incomplete restoration however. Sin continues to reign in the heart of man and they seek to "make a name for ourselves" (11:4) by building a great tower eventually called Babel, because the LORD confuses their language causing them to disperse across the face of the earth.

CHAPTER 12-15

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will You give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "Behold, You have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir." And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir." And He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be." And he believed the LORD, and He counted it to him as righteousness. (15:1-6)

Beginning in chapter 12, the story narrows its focus to Abram. It is through this man that God will accomplish His redemptive mission, even though all odds seem stacked against it.

CHAPTER 16-18

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God." (17:1-8)

God makes a covenant with Abraham. God's promise includes faithfulness, a nation and nations of people, kings and land, and most importantly, the one true and everlasting God to be their God. The sign or mark of this covenant agreement between God and Abraham's descendants is circumcision (:9-14).

"Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son" (18:14).

CHAPTER 19-21

The LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as He had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. (21:1-3)

In spite of the sin and impatience and unbelief of Abraham and Sarah and this family of people, God fulfills His promise to them. Isaac is the son of the promise of God.

CHAPTER 22-24

And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the starts of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." (22:15-18)

Abraham is obedient to God even to the point where he would sacrifice his only son Isaac at the command of the LORD. Abraham trusts God, God proves His faithfulness and promise, and through the lineage of Abraham will come a blessing to all the nations. As we will see, this is the hope of the Messiah.

CHAPTER 25-28

And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (28:12-17)

The covenant promise of God continues through Abraham's lineage, now to Jacob. God's plan and promise will not fail.

CHAPTER 29-31

Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. As he looked, he saw a well in the field... Rachel came with her father's sheep... And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father (Laban). (29:1-2,9,12)

The lineage continues through Jacob. He has 11 sons through a conflicted relationship triangle with Rachel and Leah. Jacob's son Joseph is his last son by Rachel. Joseph will take a prominent role in the next generation.

CHAPTER 32-34

And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,' I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that You have shown to Your servant, for with only my staff I crossed the Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But You said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'" (32:9-12)

And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." (32:27-28)

Jacob wrestles with God. He is given a new name, Israel, which means "he strives with God." After a lifetime of striving, Jacob receives this blessing, he is reconciled to his brother Esau, and the Story continues through Israel.

CHAPTER 35-37

Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. (37:28)

Joseph, the youngest son of Jacob, is betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. The Story appears to take a horrible turn, as it has before, but God's purpose will prevail in an unlikely way as the Story continues through this man Joseph.

CHAPTER 38-40

And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. (39:20-21)

It appears that Joseph's situation is getting worse. He is framed by Potiphar's wife and thrown into prison. But the LORD remains with him and there is no doubting the purposes of the LORD in the midst of this adversity.

CHAPTER 41-42

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you." And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." (41:38-41)

Pharaoh has a dream that only Joseph can interpret because God is with him. The interpretation pleases Pharaoh so that he sets Joseph in command of his kingdom. There is a famine in all the land that reunites Joseph with his brothers. Even though things were looking grim for Joseph, God has worked to bring about His redeeming purposes.

CHAPTER 43-45

So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (45:4-8)

Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and God reveals His perfect purpose in Joseph's story. It is a story within the Story demonstrating how God accomplishes His plan exactly how He designs, even in spite of human sin and error.

CHAPTER 46-47

Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life were 147 years. (47:27-28)

Through these twisted events, the nation of the line of Abraham and Jacob grows, just as God promised. His plans prevail.

CHAPTER 48-50

His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants." But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones." Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (50:18-21)

Jacob dies and Joseph's brothers plead with him not to take his revenge against them for selling him into slavery. They bow down before him as his servants, fulfilling Joseph's dreams back in chapter 37. Joseph responds with a statement that captures the whole Story: "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good". God's purposes prevail.

"Within the story of man's salvation, the book of Exodus describes a great forward step. The book of Genesis showed the plight of the human race and its need for salvation. The call of Abraham began the process of divine rescue. Then Jacob's migration to Egypt seemed to put the plan aside. But in a most dramatic fashion Exodus shows the divine plan reactivated... The NT sees the OT exodus story as the pattern for the ministry and death of Christ..." (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel - and God knew. (2:23-25)

God's chosen people come under the oppressive rule of Pharaoh in Egypt. They cry out to God for deliverance. God chooses a mediator through whom He will work to deliver His people. The mediator is Moses.

CHAPTER 4-6

God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.'" Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. (6:2-9)

The people are being crushed by the harsh rule of Pharaoh. But the LORD hears them. He remembers His covenant to them and promises to fulfill it, even though things appear to be at their ultimate worst. But there seems to be a trend that God is at His best when circumstances are at their worst.

CHAPTER 7-9

"You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them." (7:2-5)

God will deliver His people through His chosen mediator, Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh's heart is impenetrably hard. He is unwilling to let the people of Israel go, but the LORD will prevail through great acts of judgment - plagues that fall upon the land and the people of Egypt.

CHAPTER 10-12

All the people of Israel did just as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts. (12:50-51)

The final plague that the LORD brought against Egypt is known as the Passover and becomes a statute for the people to observe forever. The blood of the sacrificial lamb is spread over the doorposts of the homes of the people of God. By the blood of the lamb, the judgment of God passes over them. This marks a central and thematic moment in the Story.

CHAPTER 13-15

Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses. (14:30-31)

The LORD delivers His people from the hand of the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea. The people of Israel pass through the waters on dry ground. When the Egyptians pursue them, the waters return and consume them. The Exodus is a pivotal point in the Story of the Old Testament. One that the people of God remember forever. 

CHAPTER 16-18

So Moses cried to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." (17:4)

The LORD has done a miraculous work to bring the people out of Egypt. But it's not long before the people start to grumble as they trek through the wilderness. They are impatient and faithless. The LORD provides for them through the manna and water from a rock in the desert. He sustains them and gives them victory in battle. The faithfulness of God to His people is inexhaustible.

CHAPTER 19-21

"You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel." (19:4-6)

The LORD has lead the people to Mt. Sinai. It is at this place where God will fulfill what He promised to Moses through the burning bush. He establishes His covenant with the people through the giving of the Law, the Ten Commandments, that He would be their God and they would be His people and a testimony to the world.

CHAPTER 22-24

"Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries." (23:20-22)

God establishes His covenant with the people of Israel through Moses. The covenant promise of God includes the Law, descendants and land. The people promise to obey Him...

The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. (24:12-13)

CHAPTER 25-27

And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it. (25:8-9)

God commands the people to make for Him an arc and a tabernacle and other furnishings. This will be the place and the means by which God will dwell among His people. He makes a way. In spite of the sin and rebellion of the people, God establishes the means by which He will dwell among them in relationship. However, the true and better tabernacle was yet to come.

CHAPTER 28-29

"There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God." (29:42-46)

Laws are given for the consecration of the priests who are to serve the LORD and mediate between the LORD and the people. A ritual of sacrifice is required for atonement for the sins of the people. The requirement of sacrifice will be a significant theme through the Story.

CHAPTER 30-31

And He gave to Moses, when He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. (31:18)

God gives Moses the Law written on the tablets of stone. The Law contains the Ten Commandments and the laws and regulations for the relationship between God and His chosen people.

CHAPTER 32-34

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on teh children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. (34:6-8)

The one and only almighty God of all creation reveals Himself to Moses. He is a God who has chosen to make His name known.

And the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. (34:27-28)

God gave Moses the tablets of stone in chapter 31. Then again here in chapter 34. What happened in these four chapters? Moses delays on the mountain, so the people grow impatient and construct a golden calf to worship. God is ready to destroy the people for their idol worship. Moses, in his own wrath, breaks the original tablets on the ground. Judgment is executed. But the LORD restores His covenant with the people.

CHAPTER 35-40

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. (40:34-38)

The tabernacle is assembled. The LORD stirs the hearts of the people to give to the work, and He empowers the skillful hands of craftsmen. Upon completion, the glory of the LORD fills the tabernacle as He dwells among His people.

"The book of Leviticus is concerned with what it means to be the holy people of a holy God: it provides instruction for conduct, both in private and as members of the body of God's people, and it details the ways in which the sacrifices and priesthood are to be administered as God's gracious provision for His people's failures. Without doubt, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the culmination of salvation history..." (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-4

The LORD called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock. (1:1-2)

The LORD gives laws and orders for various offerings. This is how the people will relate to God. He is establishing the nature of their relationship. It's about closing the gap between a holy God and a sinful people so that they can be together.

CHAPTER 5-7

This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering, which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day that He commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai. (7:37-38)

How will a holy God make His home among sinful people? Through sacrifice of atonement. These sacrifices and offerings had to be repeated regularly by priests who would mediate the relationship between God and man.

CHAPTER 8-10

And Moses said to the congregation, "This is the thing that the LORD has commanded to be done"... Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. (8:5,10)

The Priesthood of Aaron and his sons is initiated. They are set apart, or sanctified for this purpose: They will administer the sacrifices and offerings so that the sins of Israel may be atoned for and God in all His holiness may dwell among them.

Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and then all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. (9:22-24)

CHAPTER 11-13

"For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." (11:44-45)

The laws and regulations given to the people are thorough and precise, but not without purpose. The people of God are commanded to be holy in all their ways. They are to be holy because the LORD God is holy. He is their God and they are His people. Their purity and devotion - their special relationship with God - will be a testimony to the rest of the world.

CHAPTER 14-15

The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him before the LORD. The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the alter. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean. (14:19-20)

Further laws are given for cleansing of diseases and ailments of various kinds.

CHAPTER 16-18

"Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins... And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free into the wilderness... And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month... For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins" (16:15-16, 20-22, 29-30)

The Day of Atonement is an annual ritual for the atonement of the sins of the people of Israel. The priest enters the most holy place and performs a twofold sacrifice: one goat of propitiation, and one of expiation. This sacrifice would mark the pattern for atonement of sin, one that would be ultimately and finally achieved by the perfect, once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is a central theme in this great Story.

And the LORD spoke to Moses saying, "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the LORD your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow My rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore keep My statutes and My rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD." (18:1-5)

CHAPTER 19-20

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy... You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. (19:1, 20:26)

The LORD has set apart (made holy) this nation for Himself. They are to be distinctly different from the rest of the world as they reflect and represent the LORD their God. This is true for the people of God today, the Church.

CHAPTER 21-23

"So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the LORD. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD." The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the LORD that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts." (22:31-23:1-2)

There are regulations for the Levites, the priests, the sons of Aaron in chapter 21 and 22. Again, they set forth the terms by which a holy God will dwell among His chosen yet sinful people. Chapter 23 sets forth the requirements for annual feasts. Each of these events is a remembrance and convocation. For example, the LORD establishes the Feast of Booths "that your generations may know that I made the people of  Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God" (23:43). The people must remember the works of God. When they forget, they stray from Him.

CHAPTER 24-25

"Therefore you shall do My statutes and keep My rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely. The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely. And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?' I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop: you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives." (25:18-22)

Further laws about the Tabernacle, retributive justice (an eye for an eye) and the treatment of the land and of property based on the Sabbath principle. "Israel is required to keep these holy times as a symbol that they are holy people" (ESV Study Bible, p.250). The LORD promises that as they do, He will take care of them and provide for them.

CHAPTER 26-27

"If you walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and do them, then I will... But if you will not listen to Me and will not do all these commandments, if you spurn My statutes, and if your soul abhors My rules, so that you will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant, then I will do this to you... These are the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai" (26:3-4, 14-16, 27:34).

God has established His covenant with Moses and the people at Mt. Sinai. He has established the terms of their relationship. There are blessings for obedience, and curses for disobedience. God's covenant promise will remain immovable. The Story of God's relationship with His people will build on this foundation.

"Numbers continues the story of God's people, following them from Mount Sinai to the verge of the Jordan River. The book shows the steadfast purpose of God to fashion a people for Himself who will display His image to the world, and out of which His appointed Savior will arise. The unfaithfulness of the members of that people puts God's steadfastness to the test; but whereas the unfaithful members suffer God's punishment, the people as a whole are preserved and shaped" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-4

The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, "Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head." (1:1-2)

God commands Moses to number all the people of Israel (hence the name of the book). They are also given instructions for how they will camp, how they will march or travel, and the arrangement of the Tent of Meeting.

CHAPTER 5-7

On the day when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle and had anointed and consecrated it with all its furnishings and had anointed and consecrated the altar with all its utensils, the chiefs of Israel, heads of their fathers' houses, who were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were listed, approached and brought their offerings before the LORD... This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed. And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him. (7:1-3, 88-89)

The Tabernacle is prepared and there is an offering involving all the tribes of Israel for its consecration. All the laws and preparations from the preceding chapters describe the process required for a holy God to dwell among His chosen people. At the end of the chapter, Moses enters into the presence of the LORD and speaks with Him. A way has been made, though painstaking, for this fallen people to have a reconciled relationship with their Creator and God.

CHAPTER 8-10

On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. (9:15-18)

The presence of the LORD is with the people in the form of the appearance of cloud and fire. He leads them through the wilderness. The people must follow God in obedient faith, and there are consequences when they don't...

CHAPTER 11-13

But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." Then the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are." (13:30-31)

The people grow impatient and weary from wandering in the desert. They complain against God. At the threshold of the Promised Land, they send spies to determine if the land is obtainable - forgetting or doubting that it is the LORD who has promised this land to them. The majority come back with a negative report, full of doubt and fear.

CHAPTER 14-16

Then the LORD said, "I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen My glory and My signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed My voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And non of those who despised Me shall see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and His descendants shall possess it." (14:20-24)

The people rebel in unbelief. The 12 spies return from scouting out the Promised Land of Canaan and all but two are full of doubt. Ultimately, they doubt that God, who has proven Himself time and time again, is able to fulfill His promise. So the LORD swears to punish the people for their sin.

CHAPTER 17-18

So the LORD said to Aaron, "You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony... And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death." (18:1-2, 7)

The priesthood of the Levites, the sons of Aaron, is established. They will mediate between the sinful people and their holy God. No outsider may enter His presence directly. A priest is the representative of the people before God.

CHAPTER 19-21

Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe in Me, to uphold Me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them." These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and through them He showed Himself holy. (20:10-13)

More accounts of how the people grow impatient and they reject the truth of God's promise and proven character. Another incident follows only one chapter later, where the people complain against God and He sends venomous snakes to attack the people. They are saved when they look upon the bronze snake that is lifted up on a pole (something Jesus will reference during His ministry). The LORD exercises His righteous judgment, while also providing a way of salvation.

CHAPTER 22-24

And Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them." And he answered, "Must I not take care to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?" (23:11-12)

The people of Israel pass through the land of Moab. Balak, the king of Moab, fears the number of the people and calls on Balaam, a diviner, to curse them. However, the LORD puts words in Balaam's mouth that only bless the people. Balaam does this four times. His final oracle includes a prophesy about the rise of the Davidic dynasty, a King to come.

CHAPTER 25-27

The LORD said to Moses, "Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against My word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold Me as holy at the waters before their eyes"... Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, "Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd." So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua..." (27:12-18)

Moses is permitted to see the Promised Land, but he will not enter because of his disobedience. He is called to appoint a new leader of the people who will lead them into the Promised Land. His name is Joshua.

CHAPTER 28-30

"These you shall offer to the LORD at your appointed feasts, in addition to your vow offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your grain offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings." So Moses told the people of Israel everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses. (29:39-40)

The LORD speaks through Moses to the people giving them commands for the calendar of public sacrifices and vows. At this point, Moses's leadership is about to end and pass on to Joshua. But God continues to use Moses and His chosen mediator to establish the commands of His covenant especially as the people prepare for the next epoch in the story - the Conquest of Canaan.

CHAPTER 31-32

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people." (31:1-2)

The people prepare for the conquest of the Promised Land. Leadership is about to be passed from Moses to Joshua. Before the people go into Canaan, vengeance is taken against the Midianites who earlier caused the Israelites to sin by worshiping Baal at Peor. In chapter 32 the people of Reuben and Gad hang up the people from entering the Promised Land. Moses confronts them and secures their cooperation in the Conquest.

CHAPTER 33-34

And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it." (33:50-53)

God will fulfill His covenant promise that He made at the very beginning with Abraham: the promise of land. The people are commanded to purge the land of all pagan and ungodly influences. They must be a holy, unadulterated people as their God is holy.

CHAPTER 35-36

"You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel." (35:33-34)

Sin must be atoned for in order for the LORD to dwell in the midst of the people of Israel. The shedding of blood is the price that is required. This is an important theme that will continue to unfold through the rest of the Story.

"Deuteronomy is an important book for understanding not only OT theology but also the theological unity of both Testaments. Deuteronomy recognizes the need for God to act within the heart if Israel is to achieve faithful obedience to God's covenant. The ideal life in the land is for each member of the people, and the body as a whole, to display fervent love to God as their proper response to God's love for them; this is the means by which the rest of the world is to learn of the true God - the very reason for which Israel exists... Deuteronomy looks forward to the day when God will change Israel's heart. This longing recurs in the OT. It is finally met through the work of Jesus' death and the giving of His Spirit" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

And I commanded Joshua at that time, "Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. So will the LORD do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you." (3:21-22)

The Conquest begins. Moses writes the book of Deuteronomy from the first person. The people of Israel defeat King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan. Moses gets to see the Promised Land, but is not permitted to enter because of disobedience in the wilderness.

CHAPTER 4-6

"Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey... (6:1-3)

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (6:4-9)

Moses has given the commands of God to the people that they would obey the LORD and enjoy the blessing of being His people. Verses four and five of chapter 6 are known as the Shema, which means "hear" and even more specifically, "listen and obey". This is the definitive command of God for the people.

CHAPTER 7-9

"Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?' Know therefore today that He who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the LORD your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the LORD has promised you." (9:1-3)

The LORD will lead the people across the Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land. Israel will drive out the wicked and sinful nations before them by the power of the LORD. It is the LORD who will accomplish it because He will fulfill His covenant promise.

CHAPTER 10-12

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, so serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the LORD set His heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve Him and hold fast to Him, and by His name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven." (10:12-22)

Moses reminds the people of the commands and covenant of God. Look at what the LORD has done. He has fulfilled His promise to His chosen people. They have become as numerous as the stars, and they are entering the land that He swore to give them. Praise Him for His faithfulness and commit to loving and obeying Him.

CHAPTER 13-14

"If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. (13:1-5)

All of chapter 13 is worth further contemplation, not only for the immediate implications for the people of Israel, but for modern Christians as well. God calls His people to purge themselves from all wickedness and idolatry and anything that might tempt them to run after "other gods". Pay close attention to your heart. God asks for undivided devotion.

CHAPTER 15-16

"And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make His name dwell there. You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes." (16:11-12)

Moses is reminding the people of the laws, commands and statutes that the LORD has given them so that they may keep them when they enter into the Promised Land and make their home there. The title "Deuteronomy" means "second law". Moses is restating all the laws of God to the people so that they may observe them and be blessed by God's favor and presence.

CHAPTER 17-20

"When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations." (18:9)

Moses continues to instruct the people as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. There are laws of all kinds: civil, social, religious, familial, wartime, etc. The main point is that the people of God must be set apart from the wickedness of the world around them.

CHAPTER 21-23

"So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear." (21:21)

This statement is repeated several times. The laws and commandments that Moses is giving to the people are extensive, but they carry one consistent theme: the people of God are to be holy as the LORD their God is holy.

CHAPTER 24-27

"This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you will walk in His ways, and keep His statutes and His commandments and His rules, and will obey His voice. And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for His treasured possession, and He has promised you, and that you are to keep all His commandments, and that He will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that He has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as He promised." (26:16-19)

Moses continues to lay out the statutes and rules for the people. They are not without purpose. They are the foundation for this covenant relationship. The people have declared that the LORD is their God, and the LORD has declared that they are His treasured possession.

CHAPTER 28-29

"And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God... But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all His commandments and His statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you." (28:2,15)

"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." (29:29)

These things that have been revealed by God through Moses are for the people so that they would obey the LORD and serve Him alone. If they do, there will be great blessing. But if they don't, there will be cursing.

CHAPTER 30-31

And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him"... And the LORD commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you." (31:14,23)

Leadership is passed on from Moses to Joshua. The commands of God have been given to the people to obey, but even in this moment the LORD knows that the hearts of the people will wander away from Him. Is there hope?

CHAPTER 32-34

And the LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 'I will give it to your offspring.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there." So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD... Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (34:4-12)

The Torah comes to a close and along with it the life of the central figure of Moses. Joshua will lead the people in the conquest of the Promised Land.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

"God's people were to fulfill their calling by being faithful to the covenant in the land God had given them. The leadership of Joshua had set them up to do just this, and yet success was not automatic. The people depended on faithful leadership, which they generally lacked. Even the judges fell short of the ideal for leaders; nevertheless, God used them to preserve and chastise His people, and to teach them their need for a faithful king" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger... Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. (2:11-12, 15-16)

Sadly, it is not long before the people turn away from the LORD to follow after other gods and the idols of the pagan tribes that they failed to drive out from their midst. As the LORD had promised, their disobedience leads to curse and distress. The LORD is merciful toward them and raises up judges to lead and deliver them, but the cycle of their waywardness continues.

CHAPTER 4-5

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lippidoth, was judging Israel at the time. (4:4)

Deborah sits as judge over Israel. The people again have done what is evil in the sight of the LORD and He has given them over to a foreign king. The LORD uses Deborah and Barak to deliver the people from oppression, and He gives them rest for 40 years.

CHAPTER 6-8

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years... When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites... And the angel of the LORD appeared to him (Gideon) and said to him, "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor... Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian..." (6:1, 7, 12, 14)

The people forsake the LORD their God and fall under the oppression of the Midianites. They cry out to the LORD in their distress and God raises up a judge to deliver them. These chapters contain the story of the Gideon. He leads an army against great odds to deliver Israel. Deliverance and restoration doesn't last long unfortunately. This is the cycle of the book of Judges.

CHAPTER 9-12

The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him. So the anger of the LORD was kindles against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel... (10:6-8)

The trend continues. These chapters contain stories of seven different judges of Israel: Abimalech, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon and Abdon.

CHAPTER 13-15

And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, betewen Zorah and Eshtaol. (13:24-25)

Samson is born and grows up to be judge over Israel, who is under the oppressive rule of the Philistines at this time. Samson is brutish and disobedient, but the Spirit of the LORD works through him to fight against the Philistines.

CHAPTER 16-18

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (17:6)

Samson is deceived by Delilah so that he loses his strength and he is captured by the Philistines. With his last act of strength he brings down the house of his captors, killing thousands. Micah of Ephraim makes an idol for himself and takes in a Levite priest from Judah. The tribe of Dan comes around seeking an inheritance for themselves in the land. They steal, kill and overtake the city of Laish for themselves... Without the governing lordship of God, everyone does whatever seems right to him, and sin abounds.

CHAPTER 19-21

And all who saw it said, "Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak." (19:30)

The final chapters of Judges contain a gruesome story of immorality, murder, division and war between the tribes of Israel. There is little mention of the work of the LORD among them. There was no king in Israel, meaning there was no human king, nor did the people honor God or submit to His rule. They were governed only by themselves.

"As a foreigner and ancestor of David, Ruth is a forerunner of the universal blessing that Christ's redemptive work ushered in. Many OT prophecies anticipate a new David reigning over Israel and incorporating the Gentiles into his benevolent empire. This expectation is fulfilled in David's 'son', Jesus the Christ (or Messiah). In Him, the 'gospel' preached beforehand to Abraham, that all nations will be blessed, is fully realized. Through Christ, David's throne is reestablished forever. Christ's reign is universal. In Him, redeemed people of all nations, no longer strangers and aliens, become fellow citizens in God's household" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-4

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed by the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who love you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him." Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. (4:13-17)

The book begins with tragedy and loss, but ends in joy and gain. It is the character of God who is faithful in His covenant love for His people to redeem. Ruth is a story of redemption. Naomi, Ruth and Boaz make up the main characters in the story. They portray faithfulness, loyalty and godly character, which God is pleased to bless. God's glorious and often non-obvious sovereign orchestration of all things is also clearly seen as the seemingly random and isolated incident is actually a critical piece in the genealogy of the promised Messiah.

"The period of the Judges shows the serious problems Israel had, both in its leadership and among the people as a whole. The books of Samuel show God's continued care for His people, in raising up for them a king whose job was to be their champion, representative, and example. Saul, by his disobedience to God's messenger, proves to be an unsuitable king. David, on the other hand, in spite of his moral failures, is God's choice to be the beginning of an enduring dynasty, from which the ultimate Ruler, who will lead Israel in bringing blessing to all the nations, will arise" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

And she vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your servant and remember me and not forget Your servant, but will give to Your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head." (1:11)

Hannah, the wife of Elkanah an Ephrathite, is barren. She cries out to the LORD for a son and vows to commit him to the LORD all the days of his life. Samuel is born and he is established by God as a prophet of the LORD.

CHAPTER 4-8

And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD only. (7:3-4)

The Philistines have overpowered the Israelites and captured the Ark of the Covenant. While the Ark is held in the house of the Philistine god, Dagon, the LORD torments the Philistines with plagues and tumors. So they send the Ark back. God defends His glory and honor with or without the Israelites. Samuel calls the people back to repentance and obedience. The LORD then gives the Philistines into their hand.

CHAPTER 9-12

Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, "Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over His people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies..." (10:1)

Saul is chosen by God to be king over Israel. God reveals this to Samuel and orchestrates their meeting as Saul and his servant are searching for his father's donkeys. The Spirit of God comes upon Saul as he is anointed king. His first act is to deliver the people from the threat of the Ammonites in chapter 11.

CHAPTER 13-14

Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.' So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering." And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which He commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you." (13:11-14)

Saul is hasty, and he disobeys the command of the LORD. The consequence is devastating to his reign as king. God seeks a man after His own heart to rule His people. This clearly points to David, as he is later described as a man after God's heart.

CHAPTER 15-17

When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. (17:48-49)

These chapters are packed. Saul disobeys the command of God again and the kingdom is torn from him. The LORD chooses David to be king. It is not his appearance or stature, but his heart that God esteems. In faith and in defense of the name of the LORD, David goes up against Goliath. His success brings victory for his people over the Philistines.

CHAPTER 18-20

Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul (18:8)... Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. (20:33)

God is with David whom He has chosen to step into the position as king over Israel. David's success in battle and admiration from the people only increases. Saul's trajectory is the opposite, as the LORD has departed from him. This causes Saul to become jealous and angry to the point where he seeks to kill David. Jonathan, Saul's son, has become an ally and friend to David and helps him escape from Saul.

CHAPTER 21-24

He said to David, "You are more righteous that I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands... And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand." (24:17-18, 20)

Saul pursues David from city to city seeking to kill him. Saul is merciless. David has a chance to kill Saul in a cave in the wilderness of Engedi, but chooses not to. David declares to Saul that he means him no harm, but instead seeks to honor him as the LORD's anointed king of Israel. Saul responds in repentance, but we will see this is only temporary.

CHAPTER 25-27

Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake." (26:21)

David continues to flee from Saul. He has another opportunity to kill Saul but chooses not to. He attempts to use this example of mercy to reconcile with Saul. It is short lived. David flees to dwell among the Philistines.

CHAPTER 28-31

Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa...Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. (31:1, 6).

Saul comes to his end. As Samuel had foretold, Saul's disobedience has caused the LORD to depart from him and hand over the kingdom to David. While Saul's life plummets to its end, David finds favor as he continues in his steadfast character and faithfulness to God. As the Story continues, David will step into the place chosen for him as God's righteous king to rule His people.

"The period of the Judges shows the serious problems Israel had, both in its leadership and among the people as a whole. The books of Samuel show God's continued care for His people, in raising up for them a king whose job was to be their champion, representative, and example. Saul, by his disobedience to God's messenger, proves to be an unsuitable king. David, on the other hand, in spite of his moral failures, is God's choice to be the beginning of an enduring dynasty, from which the ultimate Ruler, who will lead Israel in bringing blessing to all the nations, will arise" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. (3:1)

Saul has died and David mourns his death. It is now time for David to ascend the throne, but not without conflict. Ish-bosheth, son of Saul attempts to take the throne. The nation is divided and war breaks out. It is clear, however, who will be victorious as God's chosen leader.

CHAPTER 4-8

"Now, therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, 'Thus says, the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture from following the sheep, that you should be prince over My people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more... Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to Me a son..." (7:8-14)

David is anointed King. God makes a covenant with David to establish his throne and the nation in the place that God has promised. God also makes an important promise to establish a throne of the line of David; a throne that will stand forever and a house for the name of the LORD. The Davidic Covenant becomes the hope of the people of God to all future generations of the Messiah King.

CHAPTER 9-12

When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. (11:26-27)

Sadly, King David commits an egregious sin while his army is out fighting against the Ammonites. David's adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah is the ultimate low point of his life. The LORD brings a curse against David, but the throne of the LORD's anointed will stand. It is through the marriage of David and Bathsheba that Solomon, the future king, comes and the promised lineage continues.

CHAPTER 13-15

Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. (15:6)

As Nathan prophesied to David after the incident with Bathsheba, "Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house..." (12:11), Absalom, David's son rises up against him. There is rape, murder and conspiracy among the family of David, specifically his sons Amnon and Absalom. Absalom rises up in rebellion against his father, David.

CHAPTER 16-18

And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, "Good news for my lord the king! For the LORD has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you." The king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" And the Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man." And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" (18:31-33)

Absalom rises up against David and musters an army with him. There is a battle between Absalom and David. David stands victorious, but not without painful grief at the loss of his son.

CHAPTER 19-21

So all the men of Judah withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem. (20:2)

After the death of Absalom, David is able to return to Jerusalem to take his place as king. However, according to the prophecy of Nathan, war does not depart from David's house. Even upon his return to Jerusalem, a man named Sheba from the Israelites who formerly followed Absalom attempts to rise up as king against David. There is division and fighting.

CHAPTER 22-24

"The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me;

     His word is on my tongue.

The God of Israel has spoken;

     the Rock of Israel has said to me:

When one rules justly over men,

     ruling in the fear of God,

he dawns on them like the morning light,

     like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,

     like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

For does not my house stand so with God?

     For He has made with me an everlasting covenant,

     ordered in all things and secure..." (23:2-5)

David sings a song of praise to the LORD in the victory that He has secured for him. David declares the covenant faithfulness of God that establishes and under-girds his throne. David has sinned against the LORD in his lifetime, but the LORD has been merciful to him. David's sin has not gone unpunished, but the favor of God has never left him. He is the prototype king of the people of God, from whose line the ultimate King and Savior would come.

"God's purpose in establishing Israel had been to bring blessing to the world through the people's covenant faithfulness. He instituted the Davidic dynasty to lead the people in their faithfulness. The history of Israel, as told by 1-2 Kings, is full of tragedies: the rupture of the kingdom so that the north was in rebellion against David's house; the failures of so many kings, north and south, to live faithfully and to lead wisely; and the deportations of the north and then of the south. And yet God will not fail in His purpose: Kings ends with kindness shown toward David's heir, which leaves the hope that the Davidic line will continue, leading to the ultimate heir, the Messiah, and the hope that a chastened Israel may itself be restored and may fulfill its calling for the world" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established. (2:10-12)

David dies. Even on the verge of his last breath there is an attempt to steal the throne by his fourth son Adonijah. But David anoints and establishes Solomon, the son of Bathsheba, as king. Things start off well as Solomon seeks the LORD for wisdom to rule the people.

CHAPTER 4-7

Now the word of the LORD came to Solomon, "Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and obey My rules and keep all My commandments and walk in them, then I will establish My word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel." (6:11-13)

Solomon builds the temple, a house for the name of the LORD God. It is elaborate. Each of its component parts has specific design instructions. This would be the place that the LORD would dwell among His people. Much of the design is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden, the first place where God communed in fellowship with His Creation. Solomon also builds his own palace adjacent to the temple.

CHAPTER 8-10

As soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the king's house and all that Solomon desired to build, the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the LORD said to him, "I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before Me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting My name there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time. And as for you, if you will walk before Me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping My statutes and My rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.' But if you turn aside from following Me, you or your children, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins." (9:1-8)

The construction is complete. The Ark of the Covenant is brought into the house. A massive sacrifice and feast is held to consecrate the house and the nation. It is a monumental occasion. Yet the covenant relationship between God and His people has not changed. God desires integrity and uprightness. Will Solomon be this kind of king and leader?

CHAPTER 11-13

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women... from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods"... So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done. (11:1-2, 6)

Sadly, Solomon's heart is pulled away from following the LORD. Instead he falls in love with foreign women who influence him to follow after their gods. The LORD pronounces judgment upon Solomon and the nation for his disobedience. The kingdom is divided in two: Judah (the remnant tied to the Davidic Covenant), and Israel.

CHAPTER 14-16

Now the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried at Tirzah, and Elah his son reigned in his place. Moreover, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and also because he destroyed it. (16:5-7)

This is a standard and reoccurring summary statement given throughout 1 Kings in these chapters. A king rises up in Judah or Israel. He leads the nation either into disobedience and sin, or obedience and righteousness. The former are far more frequent in number than the latter. Many of the accounts are further recorded in Chronicles. This passage about Baasha also highlights the role of prophets used by the LORD at this time to condemn sin, pronounce judgement and call people to repentance.

CHAPTER 17-19

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "Is it you, you troubler of Israel?" And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." (18:17-19)

These chapters contain the story of the prophet Elijah. As a prophet of God, he confronts the sin and disobedience of King Ahab and the people. He demonstrates the faithfulness of God and His power to destroy false gods and idol worship. He seeks to purge the people of their sinfulness by exacting God's judgment and calling people to repentance. Elijah destroys the prophets of Baal, confronts Ahab and Jezebel, anoints King Hazael of Syria and Jehu king of Israel to bring judgement. Then he calls Elisha to follow in his footsteps as prophet.

CHAPTER 20-22

So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the LORD that He had spoken. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place. (22:37-40)

Ahab, king of Israel is a prominent figure in these chapters. He is a wayward and disobedient king, with the help of his wife Jezebel. The prophets have spoken against him and foretold of his death. Yet Ahab does show genuine repentance at one point, which causes God to restrain His judgment. Ahab dies in battle against Syria and we will see the judgment of God carried out upon his son, Ahaziah.

CHAPTER 1-3

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me." And he said, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so." And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw him no more. (2:9-12)

The trajectory of the kingdoms continues mostly downhill as king after king strays from the way of the LORD. The prophetic mantle passes from Elijah to Elisha. He will continue the work of calling God's people to repentance and faith. He will also sound forth the judgment of God upon the rebellious. At this time, Jehoram, brother of Ahaziah, son of Ahab reigns in Israel and Jehoshephat reigns in Judah.

CHAPTER 4-7

But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel." (5:8)

These chapter contain accounts of Elisha's spectacular miracles. He heals sick and dead people, provides food in the midst of famine, fights wars and even causes an iron axe head to float in water. All this is done to clearly declare that "there is a prophet in Israel". There is a man of God in Israel doing the work of the LORD in the midst of crooked nations.

CHAPTER 8-11

"Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the LORD has done what He said by His servant Elijah." So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his great men and his close friends and his priests, until he left none remaining. (10:10-11)

The prophecy according to Elijah, recorded in 1 Kings 19, comes to pass. Hazael reigns as king in Syria and Jehu reigns as king in Israel. Jehu carries out fierce and brutal judgment on the house of Ahab and Jezebel. All of Ahab's descendants and the priests of Baal are executed, along with Jezebel who is thrown from a window and eaten by dogs in the street, just as the LORD has spoken.

CHAPTER 12-14

For the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. But the LORD had not said that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. (14:26-27)

Israel is afflicted because of their sin and disobedience. But God will not blot them out. He made a covenant with Abraham, Jacob and David. God will fulfill His purpose through this wayward people. He will demonstrate is great mercy and steadfast love even in the midst of their sin. He will raise up a savior-leader through whom He delivers His people.

CHAPTER 15-17

In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced... Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by My servants the prophets."

But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God. (17:7-8, 13-14)

Israel falls to Assyria. They are conquered and taken captive. Ultimately this is a result of their sinful disobedience and idol worship. The LORD had commanded them to walk in His ways. He gave the prophets and messengers calling them to repentance and obedience. They would not listen. So God executes His righteous judgment. Is all lost?

CHAPTER 18-19

Isaiah said to them, "Say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.'" (19:6-7)

Hezekiah takes the throne in Judah and he rules in righteousness unlike the kings before him. The LORD is with him in his obedience and righteousness. This is a picture of the way the LORD and the king should relate. Sennacherib, king of Assyria threatens to conquer Judah. The prophet Isaiah reassures Hezekiah that the LORD will deliver them, and He does, against great odds.

CHAPTER 20-22

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. (22:11)

Hezekiah is succeeded by Manasseh who, unfortunately plunges the nation into idolatrous disobedience. As a result, the LORD speaks of utter ruinous judgment to come upon Jerusalem and Judah. Manasseh is succeeded by Amon, who is succeeded by Josiah, who is a righteous king. His priests discover the Book of the Law. It has been forgotten. Upon reading it, Josiah is devastated. Unfortunately, the plight of the nation will not be diverted.

CHAPTER 23-25

And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of the King Zedekiah. (25:1-2)

As was foretold, Jerusalem falls to Babylon because the sin and disobedience of the people had grown so severe. The LORD executes His righteous judgment against them in the form of foreign captivity. Is this the end of the nation of God's people? Have they fallen so far that they cannot be redeemed? What about God's covenant promise to David? The book ends with a small glimmer of hope when Jehoiachin king of Judah is brought out from prison to dine with the king of Babylon.

"Isaiah's book is a vision in that it reveals, through symbols and reasoned thought, a God-centered way of seeing and living. It offers everyone the true alternative to false appearances of this world... Isaiah shares with the rest of the OT a high view of the mission of Israel. God called Abraham and his family to be the vehicle by which He would bring to the whole world the blessing of knowing the true God. The great tragedy of Israel was their repeated faithlessness, which hid the light from the Gentiles. God will not be thwarted, however, and in order to bless the Gentiles He will purify His people and from them raise up the heir of David. Though Isaiah denounces hypocrisy, greed, and idolatry as offenses against God, he also foresees the Savior of offenders, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God-with-us, the child destined to rule forever, the hope of the Davidic throne, the glory of the Lord, the suffering servant of the Lord, the anointed preacher of the gospel, the bloodied victor over all evil, and more... Through Isaiah's vision the eyes of faith see their iniquity laid on Another, they see a new Jerusalem of eternal gladness, they see all humanity giving God the worship that is His due forever, and that prophetic vision keeps their hope alive. As with the rest of the OT, these things were written 'that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope' (Romans 15:4)" (ESV Author and Title, History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-4

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against Me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand." (1:2-3)

Isaiah begins with a clear declaration from the mouth of God to the people of God. They have forsaken the LORD their God and turned astray. Judgment is coming, but there is hope for the future as well.

CHAPTER 5-8

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" (6:1-3)

Isaiah has a vision of the LORD upon His throne. His glory and majesty and holiness are so overwhelming that Isaiah comes undone. But the LORD provides atonement for him that he may stand before Him and answer the call to be God's prophet before the people of God who will remain stubborn and stiff-necked.

Also, chapter 7 gives one of the many messianic prophecies of Isaiah that so clearly describes Jesus. "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (7:14).

CHAPTER 9-12

But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish... The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness for this time forth and forevermore. The seal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (9:1-7)

In the midst of the crushing judgment of exile and oppression upon the people, there is hope. There is hope in the promise of God to raise up a Savior King.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. (11:1-2)

CHAPTER 13-17

"I will rise up against them," declares the LORD of hosts, "and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity," declares the LORD. (14:22)

The LORD declares judgment upon the warring nations of Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus. The list goes on into chapter 18. These nations were once a tool of judgment in the hand of the LORD upon the kingdoms of Israel and Judah for their sin. The tables will turn. The LORD is determined to judge all sin with righteous judgment.

CHAPTER 18-22

In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance." (19:24-25)

Oracle after oracle of impending judgment upon wayward and disobedient nations. However, in the midst of judgment there is great hope. The LORD will accomplish healing, restoration and right worship, not just among His people Israel, but to all the nations of the earth. There is coming a future day when all people of all kinds will bow in reverent worship to the one true God.

CHAPTER 23-27

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. (25:8)

The righteous judgment of God is executed against nations and people who are wayward and disobedient. The whole earth will know the judgment of God. Yet the covenant mercy and grace of God will also be known to those whom He has chosen. The judgment of the LORD will turn to worship as the people learn righteousness in repentance.

CHAPTER 28-30

For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as He hears it, He answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, "Be gone!" (30:19-22)

This stretch of oracles of judgment continues from Isaiah. The LORD is declaring His sovereign lordship over all the earth and His righteous governance over all nations. He will execute justice upon the earth. Simultaneously, He declares that He will demonstrate His great grace, mercy and covenant faithfulness to His chosen people. There is a future day coming when God will make all things right. He will lead His people in truth and righteousness and they will cast out idols from their midst. They will hear and walk according to the voice of their Teacher.

CHAPTER 31-35

They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped... And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness... And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (35:2-5, 8, 10)

Isaiah proclaims a message of hope. There will be judgment upon the sin of the nations, but there will be a restoration of righteousness. The LORD will triumph in righteousness with His chosen people.

CHAPTER 36-38

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him:" (37:21-22)

The text changes from prophetic oracle to historical narrative and captures a conflict between Hezekiah king of Judah and Sennacherib king of Assyria and Isaiah's role as prophet. This event is also recorded in 2 Kings 18-20. Assyria threatens to conquer Judah and defy the God if Israel. Hezekiah goes to Isaiah to seek the LORD's help. The LORD delivers Judah from the hand of the Assyrians.

CHAPTER 39-41

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD." (39:5-6)

King Hezekiah makes the mistake of inviting envoys from Babylon to look upon all the treasures of his house. Isaiah calls him out and says that this nation will come and take everything away. Immediately following the incident, however, Isaiah launches into an oracle of comfort for God's people in the midst of their captivity.

CHAPTER 42-44

Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I formed you; you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you. (44:21-22)

These chapters are loaded with prophetic rejoicing at the declaration of God's faithful and saving promises to His people. He will redeem. He will restore. He will establish His kingdom in righteousness under One King who will uphold perfect justice and righteousness. An idol is nothing, and all those who trust in them will be put to shame, but there is great hope for the people of God.

CHAPTER 45-48

"For My name's sake I defer My anger, for the sake of My praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I do it, for how should My name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another." (48:9-11)

Through Isaiah, God declares His sovereign, majestic rule over all creation. He holds all things in His hands and orchestrates them as He pleases, with nothing to hold Him back. Of Cyrus the king of Persia, in chapter 45, He says, "I name you, though you do not know Me... I equip you, though you do not know Me" (:4-5). Whether or not they know or acknowledge it, the heart of every man, king and common, is held in the hand of God. His plans, especially for His glorious redemption, will prevail. In this the people of God have hope.

CHAPTER 49-51

"The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame." (50:5-7)

Who is this person spoken of by the prophet Isaiah? Who is this righteous servant of God who endures unjust suffering?

CHAPTER 52-54

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, My servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. (53:11)

Isaiah speaks of a Messiah, a servant of the LORD, One who will save His people. There is hope for forgiveness and restoration for the people of God, but it is specifically linked to the work of a Person. This Messiah will suffer greatly. He is lowly, afflicted and crushed. But in His suffering, He will bear the sins of the people. Who is this Messiah?

CHAPTER 55-57

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before Me, and the breath of life that I made. Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near," says the LORD, "and I will heal him." (57:15-19)

God is absolutely holy and righteous and He rules over all Creation that He has made. He rightly executes judgment against sin and wickedness. Israel, the nation of people He made especially for Himself, has gone astray in wickedness. They departed from the Lord and went the way of their own heart. God determined to justly punish their waywardness, but not without hope and purpose. He is determined, in the great mercy and grace of His covenant promise, to heal and restore His people.

CHAPTER 58-60

"And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression," declares the LORD. (59:20)

The hope for a Redeemer who will come by the promise of God to restore the people of God is a prominent theme in Isaiah's message.

CHAPTER 61-64

Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed. (61:9)

Isaiah continues to declare great hope for the people of God. There is an echo of God's covenant promise to Abraham from generations ago. God will not forget His promise to establish a nation blessed to be a blessing.

CHAPTER 65-66

"For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before Me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, declares the LORD. And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against Me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." (66:22-24)

The closing statements of the book of Isaiah are a summary of its greater theme, and the greater narrative of all of Redemptive History. The LORD reigns over all creation in justice and righteousness and He is moving all things towards a day of ultimate restoration. The righteous will triumph with the LORD in victory while the wicked are cast out into eternal darkness.

"The Lord has yoked himself to Israel and will not give up on her, even in the face of the rampant unfaithfulness of the northern kingdom. He must purify Israel from her unfaithfulness through terrible punishments. For the northern kingdom to return to the Lord, the people must return to the house of David (3:5), which they will do in the 'latter days' (the time of the Messiah)" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-5

When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD." So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. (1:2-3)

The prophecy of Hosea is illustrated vividly in the action he takes to marry Gomer, a prostitute. Gomer is an unfaithful wife, like Israel has been unfaithful to the LORD, their God. But Hosea is persistent in loving her in spite of her adultery, just as the LORD God is persistent and faithful to His wayward people.

CHAPTER 6-10

Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved. Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird - no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! (9:10-11)

Hosea uses more similes and comparisons do describe Israel: grapes in the wilderness, a luxuriant vine, a trained calf, and a toddler, "all of which stress God's past care for them, their reckless ingratitude, and the unavoidable consequences" (ESV Study Bible, p.1635).

CHAPTER 11-14

I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for My anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon... Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them. (14:4-7,9)

Hosea closes with a promise and a plea. He has clearly declared the message to the people of Israel. Can't they see their apostasy? Can't they understand the righteous judgment of God? Won't they turn back to Him in repentance and faith? Let the wise and understanding give attention to this message. The LORD will be faithful and merciful and restore His people. But the wicked transgressors will only continue in their stumbling.

"God called His ancient people in love and mercy, He preserved them to be the vehicle through which He poured out His Spirit on all kinds of people, and He will preserve them against all who seek to destroy them. In all of His care for them, He aims for 'torn' hearts, and not just torn garments, from His people, that they might love Him with their whole hearts" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! ... "Yet even now," declares the LORD, "return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hears and not your garments." Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster... And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit... "So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. (2:1-2, 12-13, 28-29; 3:17)

The judgment of the LORD is fierce. His righteousness and holiness are an unrelenting fire burning against all sin and unrighteousness. Yet for those who turn to Him in repentance, He brings healing and goodness. His wrath is fierce, but His grace and mercy are greater. Chapter 2:28-32 is quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when God pours out His Holy Spirit on those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

"God 'knew' Israel out of 'all the families of the earth,' and instituted it to be a place where righteousness and justice, in both the private and public spheres, would be on display for all mankind. The northern kingdom of Israel had rejected that calling and abused that privilege, and so God would punish them all the more severely for their unfaithfulness. And yet even this terrible judgment did not eclipse all hope: there would still come an heir of David, in whom alone Israel and Judah, and indeed all the world, would find peace and blessing" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-5

For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel ... "Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph." (5:14-15)

Amos declares oracle after oracle centering on the unrighteousness of Israel. A severe judgment is coming upon them for their sin. God is just. He is also merciful. He is calling His people back to Himself. He will preserve a remnant of His chosen people who will turn to Him in righteousness and obedience.

CHAPTER 6-9

"For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, 'Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.' In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by My name," declares the LORD who does this. (9:9-12)

The second half of the prophecy of Amos contains visions of judgment. They are severe, but the book closes with notes of hope. God will uphold His covenant promise through the royal line of David. "God does not intend for judgment on Israel to be final, but to be a tool through which blessing may ultimately come" (Note on 9:11-15, ESV Study Bible).

"Edom is the target of Obadiah's prophecy of doom because it exemplifies hostility toward God's people. The Edomites took delight in bringing disaster to Jerusalem. Even through Jerusalem fell for its unfaithfulness, and even though Edom was one of God's tools for bringing judgment, the Lord has tied Himself to His people and will punish those who hurt them. Eventually, Jerusalem will be restored and its blessings will extend to the Gentiles" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever... For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head... But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions... The exiles of this host of the people of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the Negeb. Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD's. (:10, 15, 17, 19-21)

"Jonah's rescue from death provides an analogy for the resurrection of Christ. The repentance of the Ninevites anticipates the wide-scale repentance of Gentiles in the messianic era" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die." And the LORD said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?" (4:9-11)

Jonah is the stubborn prophet. He resists the command that God gives him, even fleeing on a ship to a different city, only to be thrown overboard, swallowed by a fish and vomited up at the city where God wanted him. He grumbles against the mercy that God shows to Nineveh. The infinite and sovereign mercy of the one holy God trumps our finite and limited, ultimately self-centered judgment.

"In every age God wants His people to respond to His love by doing justice, practicing loving-kindness, and walking humbly with God. This is genuine humanness, and by it Israel was called to commend God's goodness to all mankind. Israel and Judah in Micah's day were corrupted by their refusal to embrace God's purpose, and thus would suffer judgment; but there would yet be a remnant who would experience God's forgiveness and be part of His plan to bless the world through the Messiah's rule" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-4

But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us." Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. (3:8-12)

Micah is a prophet of the LORD who, by the Spirit of the LORD speaks powerfully and explicitly of the sin of the people, exposing their transgression with fiery precision. He is also the messenger of God's corresponding judgment upon the sin and wickedness of the people. Yet, by God's great grace and covenant faithfulness, Micah also heralds the mercy and redemption of God that will prevail (see chapter 4).

CHAPTER 5-7

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore He shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace (5:2-5) ...

Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread  our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. (7:18-20)

Praise the LORD for His covenant-keeping character. There is hope unshakable for the people of God who trust in Him, even in the midst of severe judgment and apparent abandonment. The Story of redemption unfolds another facet in chapter five where a ruler is foretold who will come out of the city of Bethlehem.

"Although God had used the Assyrians to chasten the wayward southern kingdom, He did not allow Judah to be annihilated. God's plan, that the Messiah would come from the line of David, would not be thwarted. The religious feasts of Judah, which God encouraged them to keep, would have reminded them of the future Savior" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

The LORD has given commandment about you: "No more shall your name be perpetuated; from the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile." Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off. (1:14-15)

Nahum declares the coming judgment of Nineveh ("the arrogant capital of the Assyrian Empire") for their idolatry, arrogance, and violence and calls Judah to faithful obedience in light of His covenant faithfulness. "Beautiful feet" is seen again in chapter 10 of Romans.

"God's ways of preserving and purifying His people are mysterious to the believer; and yet God calls His suffering people to show faith that God's purposes for the world will at last prevail - a faith that NT authors develop and commend" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and You will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and You will not save? ... "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own" ... Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's; He makes me tread on my high places. (1:2, 5-6; 3:17-19)

Habakkuk is distressed to see the unrestrained wickedness all around him. Won't the LORD do something? Yet God is not idle or absent. He is diligently orchestrating all things according to His perfect purposes so that righteousness would prevail according to His glory and His covenant faithfulness. Habakkuk humbly and gladly surrenders to the God of the universe.

"God visits judgment on His own people to purge the faithless from their number. At the same time, He preserves the faithful and will use them to bring knowledge of God to all peoples. On the great day of judgment, God will purge the faithless from all mankind and bring the faithful into their full inheritance" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

"I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD... "those tho have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of Him"... The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day... Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! ... On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem; "Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing. (1:2,614-15; 3:14,16-17)

The theme of Zephaniah's prophecy is the coming day of the LORD. It is a terrifying day of wrath poured out on the sinfulness of men and the nations that are governed by them. Yet there is also a day coming where the LORD will pour out His mercy and grace and love over His people that He has chosen. There could not be a more extreme contrast between these two days, and it is the same God who will bring about both according to His glorious purposes.

"In the history of God's dealings with His people, the question of the apparently undeserved suffering of faithful individuals recurs again and again. The book of Job reminds God's people that they have an enemy who will denounce them (Satan), and, through the ignorance of Job's friends, it helps the faithful to remember at all times how small a part of any situation is the fragment that they see. This equips believers to trust and obey amid life's perplexities, and it enables the faithful to support and encourage one another in a spirit of tenderness and humility. The death and resurrection of Jesus have not removed this perplexity. They have, however, given a firm foundation to Job's hope in his 'Redeemer'" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all the he has in in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (1:12)

The LORD and Satan have a discussion about this man named Job. He is a righteous man who fears the LORD. But his life has been full of prosperity. Satan, whose name means 'Accuser', condemns Job for his easy life of faith. God gives permission to Satan to bring disaster upon Job's life. What will come of Job's suffering? Will his integrity prevail?

CHAPTER 4-7

"Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same." (4:7-8)

Eliphaz is the first of Job's friends to speak to him in his trouble. Job has four friends who will try to reason with him in his suffering and explain why all of this is happening. Each of them will defend the same essential message: suffering and trial is the result of sin, therefore Job must be in the wrong before God. But Job will defend his integrity.

CHAPTER 8-11

"How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind? Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? If your children have sinned against Him, He has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, surely then He will rouse Himself for you and restore your rightful habitation." (8:2-3)

Job's friends Bildad and Zophar are next to reply to Job's wrestling. They assert the same message. Surely Job and his family must have sinned and they need to repent before the LORD and they will be restored. Job affirms that no man is in the right before God, but he continues to defend his character. Job is beginning to get frustrated with God and with his friends.

CHAPTER 12-15

"But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?" (12:3)

The argument builds between Job and his friends. Each of them is attempting to explain Job's situation and each of them claims to have understanding, but none of them can agree. Job's situation seems inexplicable.

CHAPTER 16-19

"How long will you torment me and break me in pieces with words? These ten times you have cast reproach upon me; are you not ashamed to wrong me? And even if it be true that I have erred, my error remains with myself. If indeed you magnify yourselves against me and make my disgrace an argument against me, know then that God has put me in the wrong and closed His net about me. Behold, I cry out, 'Violence!' but I am not answered; I call for help, but there is no justice." (19:2-7)

The "comfort" of Job's friends is no comfort at all. Job feels entirely misunderstood and misrepresented. And neither Job nor his friends seem to be able to understand or represent God in a way that makes sense of Job's situation. There is no answer that seems to reconcile this tormenting mystery of Job's suffering. 

CHAPTER 20-23

"The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged off in the day of God's wrath. This is the wicked man's portion from God, the heritage decreed for him by God" ... "Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?" (20:27-29; 21:7)

Another exchange takes place between Job and Zophar. This time they argue about the plight of the wicked. Zophar says the wicked always perish, yet Job describes how the wicked are often seen enjoying prosperity. What's the deal? Wickedness doesn't always seem to lead to loss and righteousness doesn't always seem to lead to gain. "Where is God and what is He doing?"

CHAPTER 24-28

And Job again took up his discourse, and said: "As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days." (27:1-6)

Job continues to defend his integrity, but acknowledges that God alone holds all wisdom and power in His hands.

CHAPTER 29-31

"Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary! Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me as a crown; I would give Him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach Him. (31:35-37)

Job gives his 'final' defense. If it is true that he has sinned, let him receive his just punishment. He is not seeking to pervert or escape justice. He genuinely defends his integrity. Why won't God answer and explain this situation to Him?

CHAPTER 32-34

Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. He burned with anger also at Job's three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. (32:2-3)

Elihu, the fourth of Job's friends, takes his turn to speak. There is nothing outright wrong with what Elihu says. In fact, there is nothing outright wrong with anything that has been said, whether by Job or one of the friends. The conflict is that an explanation for Job's suffering remains illusive and unexplained.

CHAPTER 35-37

"Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it... Job opens his mouth in empty talk; he multiplies words without knowledge." (35:13,16)

Job's friend, Elihu continues his explanation. Though his words contain truth, they do nothing to fully explain Job's situation. Ultimately Elihu ends up offering no helpful words to Job, and only condemning him for wickedness he did not commit.

CHAPTER 38-39

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said... (38:1)

After volumes of desperate words from Job and his friends, the LORD speaks. Job does not receive an answer from the LORD about his specific situation. Rather, he is taken on a tour of the complexity of the universe that God alone governs in perfect wisdom. Job finds himself put in his proper place: humbled before the mighty Creator.

CHAPTER 40-42

Then Job answered the LORD and said: "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to Me.' I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (42:1-6)

Job repents before God. He never receives an explanation for the disaster that came upon him. He is only shown a snapshot of the height and width and depth of the majestic wisdom and power of God, to which he must respond in humble surrender. Each of us must assume the same posture before the omniscient and omnipotent Creator God who alone holds all the details of the universe in His holy hands.

"Throughout history God has been fashioning a people for Himself who will love and obey Him, and who will express and nourish their corporate life in gathered worship. The Psalms served as a vehicle for the prayers and praises of God's people in Israel, and Christians today, who have been grafted into the olive tree of God's ancient people, can join their voices together with these ancient people in their worship. There are indeed adjustments to be made, now that Jesus has died and risen, and yet Gentile believers in Jesus may rejoice with the people of God of all ages" (Introduction to the Psalms, ESV History of Salvation Summary).

"The history of salvation generally deals with the overarching story of God's work in calling, preserving, and shaping a people for Himself, through whom He will bring blessing to the whole world. It also takes up the unfolding of God's revelation, especially the developing idea of who the Messiah will be and what He will do. At first glance, Proverbs has little to do with this, focused as it is on the daily life of particular members of God's people. However, it has much in every way to offer. First, the people in Proverbs are God's covenant people, and the kings are Davidic. Second, concern for the well-being of the people as a whole is never absent from the book.

The connection of Proverbs to salvation history can be seen more fully from noticing how Psalms 111-112 work together: Psalm 111, a hymn of praise, celebrates the great works of the Lord that further His redemptive purpose for His people, while Psalm 112 is a wisdom psalm, looking very much like Proverbs set to music. The two psalms have much in common, which invites the reader to connect them. The wisdom described in Psalm 112 and in Proverbs guides the particular Israelite in his priorities and choices, and enables him to contribute to the whole body of God's people. It is what leads the covenant members toward the ideal of likeness to God and properly functioning humanity, so that their lives carry something of a taste of Eden - and this is what the Gentiles need to see in them" (Introduction to Proverbs, ESV History of Salvation Summary).

PSALM 1

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." (1:1-3)

This Psalm paints a portrait of the godly man. He abstains from things that are wicked and people who are wicked. He is devoted to the law of the LORD both day and night. He flourishes like a healthy tree.

PROVERBS 1-3

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (1:7)

Wisdom is the theme of Proverbs, and it is found by the person who walks in the fear of the Lord. Proverbs is full of practical instruction for fearing the Lord and walking in wisdom.

PROVERBS 4-6

My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. (4:20-27).

These proverbs are written by a father to his son with a plea for wisdom and righteousness. Living a life of godly wisdom requires diligence and attention. Sin is deceptive, and devastatingly destructive. These chapters share a particularly strong warning against the deceptive sin of adultery.

PROVERBS 7-9

Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud... (8:1-3)

Proverbs personifies Wisdom as a woman standing in the midst of the city and calling out with an invitation to listen to and follow her. Wisdom is not hidden from the public. She is seen and heard. The challenge is for the simple to leave their simple and foolish ways and turn to her. Simultaneously, Proverbs personifies Folly with an equally loud voice calling out in the midst of the people. People will listen to and follow one of these two voices.

PROVERBS 10-12

The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land. (10:30)

Proverbs is filled with statements that contrast the righteous and the wicked. This contrast is always stark. Righteousness leads to life, and wickedness leads to ruin. Life is not always this stark however. The other wisdom books of Job and Ecclesiastes present a more complex and mysterious reality.

PROVERBS 13-15

The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps... The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. (14:15)

Proverbs paints a contrast between the simple and the prudent, or the foolish and the wise. The foolish person is carried away by sin. The wise person fears the LORD and walks accordingly.

PROVERBS 16-18

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD... The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps... The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. (16:1, 9, 33)

The relationship between man's endowed responsibility to think and act, and God's sovereign authority and orchestration of all things in Creation is put in perfect tension in Proverbs. The wise person understands this tension and lives accordingly.

PROVERBS 19-21

A wise king winnows the wicked and drives the wheel over them... Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love his throne is upheld... The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He will. (20:26, 28; 21:1)

Proverbs speaks specifically of the role of the king in government and society. Solomon, who wrote most of the Proverbs, was king of Israel. He asked the LORD to grant him wisdom to lead the people. As the king goes, so go the people. This is why the role of the king is so important, and why the LORD governs the heart of every king with the same absolute authority as He governs the rest of His Creation.

PROVERBS 22-24

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. That your trust may be in the LORD, I have made them known to you today, even to you. Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge, to make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you? (22:17-21)

Here in these chapters are "thirty sayings of the wise". This section is specifically defined. There is another section beginning in chapter 24 with a similar heading. These sayings reflect other wisdom literature from the time period, but are set apart by their devotion to the LORD.

PROVERBS 25-27

These also are the proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied. (25:1)

"The present form of the book of Proverbs came into existence, at earliest, in the reign of Hezekiah. Hezekiah is credited with reviving Judah's religious traditions. A new, expanded edition of Solomonic proverbs was apparently part of that revival" (ESV Study Bible, commentary, p.1178). The wisdom of Proverbs, centered on the fear of the LORD, fueled the obedience of the nation, and brought about prosperity and the favor of God.

PROVERBS 28-31

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. (31:10)

These final chapters of Proverbs contain more wisdom sayings from Solomon and additional authors. Themes of integrity, fairness, faithfulness, justice and diligence continue throughout. Proverbs 31 is especially well known for its portrait of a godly wife. The wisdom of Proverbs reaches into every corner of life, teaching God's people how to live according to His Kingdom and His righteousness.

"The history of salvation is the grand overarching story of the Bible; embracing it gives coherence to all of life. It calls each of God's people to own the story, and it dignifies each one with a role in the further outworking of the story. Nevertheless it is impossible for any human being to fully grasp how his or her decisions will contribute to God's grand scheme; and Ecclesiastes helps people to see that they do not have to understand this. Each of the faithful, by 'fearing God and keeping His commandments', participates in ways that he cannot 'find out', trusting that God will take care of the big plan. Despite the fact that the Preacher is a great king and a teacher of true wisdom, He ultimately surpasses Solomon and others. From a Christian theological perspective, reading the biblical story line as a whole, one can see analogies between the Preacher and Jesus Christ who is the 'Son of David', king, 'wisdom from God, and 'one Shepherd', in whose ministry 'something greater than Solomon' has arrived" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-4

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity... I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. (1:1-2, 12-14)

The message of Ecclesiastes can appear morose and negative, but like the other wisdom literature books, it is concerned with imparting wisdom to the people of God so that they will walk in the fear of the LORD. It therefore rounds out the wisdom literature with a view of the complexity and fleeting nature of life - described as "vanity" or more accurately "vapor". Life cannot be grasped. It is a fleeting vapor.

CHAPTER 5-8

See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. (7:29)

This fleeting life is complex and impossible to grasp. The Preacher has sought to understand the world around him, but to no avail. Yet there is only one thing that he understands: God is righteous, and mankind has turned from God in sin. This is at the root of every issue in Creation.

CHAPTER 9-12

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (12:13-14)

Ecclesiastes paints a grim picture of life and it's complexities. The aim of the book, however, is not to discourage diligence and righteousness in light of the fleeting "vanity" of life. Instead, the godly will gain wisdom in embracing this complex reality and focusing on the one most important thing: fear God and keep His commandments.

Enjoy life, work hard, pursue righteousness and obedience. Because this life is unpredictable, fleeting, complex and often grievous, you cannot grasp it - it is a vapor. In this tension is wisdom.

"The fall of mankind damaged every aspect of human lives, and God's work of redemption aims to restore every aspect to its proper functioning. God's goal is that romantic love, with all its potential pain and degradation, should be an arena of enjoyment for His redeemed people" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-4

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine... (1:2)

The depiction of the love and romance between the man and the woman is vivid and passionate. Romantic, passionate love is a gift from God and should be enjoyed to its fullest according to God's design. The man and woman exchange words to one another that are overflowing with endearing imagery. Their desire for one another is overflowing, and it is good.

CHAPTER 5-8

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon you arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised. (8:6-7)

Romantic love between a man and a woman is a powerful force that eludes explanation. It is a gift from God, and it is protected, preserved, and blessed by God when it is done in a way that honors Him according to His design.

"Jeremiah was called to speak to the people of Jerusalem during a revival under King Josiah and continued to speak to them during that city's final fall to the Babylonians. His task was to hammer home the message that Jerusalem's fall was not due to any lack on God's part but was due entirely to Judah's unfaithfulness toward God, specifically by listening to false prophets rather than true ones. Even this horrifying disaster, however, was not the end: Jeremiah foretold a return from exile, an everlasting covenant, and a new covenant in which God's people would at last embrace the covenant in their hearts. Israel and Judah would be reunited and finally fulfill their calling to bring light to the world" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: "Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore?... Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD, for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion" (3:6, 14)

Jeremiah is set apart as a prophet of God, even before he was born (1:5). He proclaims a message exposing and condemning the infidelity of Israel, and calling the people of God to repentance and restoration. In the midst of this, Jeremiah also proclaims coming judgment upon Israel because of their sin. The image of "a boiling pot, facing away from the north" (1:13) tells of the disaster that is coming from a northern nation, Babylon.

CHAPTER 4-6

"But even in those days, declares the LORD, I will not make a full end of you. And when your people say, 'Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours'." (5:18-19)

Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not pay attention.' Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for My law, they have rejected it." (6:16-19)

Judgment is coming upon this wayward people who have turned from God and His law. The people will be conquered by Babylon and enslaved in a foreign nation. Yet God will preserve a remnant and uphold His covenant.

CHAPTER 7-9

"Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (9:1)

Jeremiah is deeply grieved over the sin and impending judgment of his people. He is often referred to as "the weeping prophet". "While he does occasionally weep for Israel's condition, and this depth of concern speaks well of him, this emphasis on his weeping may mislead readers regarding his toughness. Jeremiah was a determined, dedicated, longsuffering, and visionary follower of God. His courage and stamina serve as examples to even the most faithful of all God's embattled servants" (Introduction to Jeremiah, Author and Title, ESV Study Bible, p.1364).

CHAPTER 10-13

And the LORD said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey My voice. Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not." (11:6-8)

The covenant God made with His people, Israel when He brought them out of slavery in Egypt is the standard and foundation for their relationship. The people have abandoned their relationship with the LORD. Covenant is the form in which God's relationship with His people has and always will exist.

CHAPTER 14-17

Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail? (15:18)

Jeremiah is deeply grieved by the situation. His message of judgment and repentance is met with hostility. He cries out to God, doubting Him and His sustaining protection. But God responds to Jeremiah with a call to faithfulness and a promise to uphold him.

CHAPTER 18-22

Thus says the LORD, "Go, buy a potter's earthenware flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests, and go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you... Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, and shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, so that it can never be mended." (19:1-2, 10-11)

Jeremiah communicates the message of God using more than just words.

CHAPTER 23-25

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness'." (23:5-6)

Jeremiah tells a terrifying message of judgment, yet within it is a glorious message of salvation and hope. Ultimately, the LORD promises to keep His word, His covenant. From the royal line of David will come a King to reign in perfect righteousness. In this promise the people of God hope. "Such predictions of a coming king, part of the larger complex of messianic expectations, were seen by the NT authors as fulfilled in Jesus" (Note on Jer. 23:5, ESV Study Bible).

CHAPTER 26-29

The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, "You shall die! Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD saying, 'This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant'?" And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. (26:7-9)

Jeremiah's message is offensive to the other "prophets" and "priests" of Judah who were certain that good things were in store. There were other "prophets" at the time of Jeremiah who told a different message. It would be revealed whose message is truly of God. Jeremiah must persevere in the face of opposition.

CHAPTER 30-32

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (31:31-34)

Though the righteous wrath of God is executed against the people of Judah for their sinful waywardness, the LORD will not abandon them entirely. There is a day coming when He will make a new covenant with His people that is not external but internal. The LORD will turn the hearts of His people to know and follow Him, and He will forgive their sin.

CHAPTER 33-36

Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned." (36:27-28)

Jeremiah continues to proclaim the message he has received from God concerning the coming judgment upon Judah. Jeremiah calls Baruch to write the message on a scroll and deliver it to king Jehoiakim and the officials of the king's house. Jehoiakim rejects the message and burns it in the fire. So Jeremiah writes again. This becomes a pattern for Jeremiah: proclamation and rejection.

CHAPTER 37-39

In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. (39:1-2)

The thing that Jeremiah had been warning about - the coming conquest of Babylon against Jerusalem - has finally arrived. Zedekiah king of Judah is carried away. His family is killed and he is tortured and put in chains and the people of Judah are taken as slaves. Jeremiah is taken, but is not harmed.

CHAPTER 40-44

When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the LORD their God, with which the LORD their God had sent him to them, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to live there,' but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon." So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the LORD, to remain in the land of Judah. (43:1-4)

There is a remnant if Israelites remaining in Judah. They attempt to rebel against the Chaldeans (Babylon) and flee to Egypt. They seek the LORD via Jeremiah. Though initially they promise to obey whatever the LORD says through Jeremiah, they reject his message and call him a liar. The people attempt a futile rebellion against Babylon, and a futile rebellion against God. Both end in disaster.

CHAPTER 45-48

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. (46:1)

God rules over all the earth in perfect righteousness, not just Israel. He will execute judgment and justice over all the nations that have gone astray. The only kingdom that prevails over all in the end is the Kingdom of God.

CHAPTER 49-50

"Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones. Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: behold, I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, as I punished the king of Assyria. I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead. In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant." (50:17-20)

"Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like Me? Who will summon Me? What shepherd can stand before Me? Therefore hear the plan that the LORD has made against Babylon, and the purposes that He has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations." (50:44-46)

God rules over every nation, and He uses them however He pleases. He uses Babylon to bring judgment upon Israel for their sin. Now He will appoint another nation to bring judgment upon Babylon for their sin. His covenant faithfulness belongs forever and only to His chosen people whom He will preserve.

CHAPTER 51-52

And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. (52:31)

These final chapters describe the full siege and capture of Jerusalem by Babylon. God's people are carried away into exile in two waves. It is an ultimate low point. However, the book closes with a glimmer of hope. Jehoiachin king of Judah is released from prison and given a seat at the king of Babylon's table. The people remain in captivity, but favor is shown to the lineage of David, according to the unbreakable promise of God.

"Isaiah had foretold God's future for Jerusalem: she would be the vehicle for bringing light to all the Gentiles in the Messianic era; but the unfaithful in her midst, who dominated her life and testimony, must be purged from her by disaster, while the faithful remain to build her up. Lamentations is a book for the faithful, enabling them to mourn for Zion's disaster and to pray in hope for her renewal, and thus for the completion of God's saving purpose for the world" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-2

How lonely sits the city... Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the LORD has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe. (1:1, 5)

The city of Jerusalem is destroyed and desolate. An enemy nation has taken her captive. The people lament. While the people respond in intense despair, the cause of this disaster is clear: the LORD has afflicted His people because of their sin.

CHAPTER 3

Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in Him." (3:19-24)

Chapter three is written from the perspective of a man who has witnessed and experienced the suffering that accompanies God's righteous judgment. In the midst of intense affliction, he 'calls to mind' and finds hope in the character of God.

CHAPTER 4-5

The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned! For this our heart has become sick, for these things our eyes have grown dim, for Mount Zion which lies desolate; jackals prowl over it. But You, O LORD reign forever; Your throne endures to all generations. Why do You forget us forever, why do You forsake us for so many days? Restore us to Yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old - unless You have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us. (5:16-22)

A lament is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. The people of Jerusalem, the people of God, are overwhelmed with grief and sorrow for their sin. They acknowledge their sin before God, and the righteous judgment that it has warranted. In their brokenness they cry out to Him for restoration. "Restoration depends on a right relationship with God, and only God can do the restoring" (ESV Study Bible, note on 5:21).

"Like other prophets called to explain the Babylonian exile, Ezekiel stressed that it was due to the people's faithlessness toward God, and therefore to their failure to live as God's renewed humanity. He also stressed that even this disaster was not the end of Israel's story. God would restore them morally and spiritually, and eventually use Israel to bring light to the Gentiles. Ezekiel adds a nuance to this prophetic refrain: Israel's calling was to show forth the holiness of God's name, but they had 'profaned' that name (treated it as unholy); in restoring them, God would act to vindicate the holiness of his name before all nations, enabling them to know Him" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-4

And He said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. (2:3-5)

Ezekiel has a vision of the LORD on His throne. Similar to Isaiah's experience, Ezekiel falls on his face, but the Spirit of the Lord lifts him up and commissions him as a prophet of the Lord GOD. He will speak the word of God to a stubborn and rebellious people.

CHAPTER 5-8

"And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber's razor and pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel... Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely, because you have defiled by sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them." (5:1-4, 11-12).

Like other prophets used by God in Israel's history, Ezekiel proclaims his message using imagery as well as words. Here, the judgment upon the nation is portrayed using Ezekiel's own hair.

CHAPTER 9-12

"Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.' Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.' And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all it abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My rules and obey them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD." (11:16-21)

Though God has removed and scattered His rebellious people, and Ezekiel is deeply grieved by the judgment upon them, there is a clear promise of redemption and reconciliation. God will create a new relationship with His people from the inside out, by giving them a new heart that obeys Him.

CHAPTER 13-15

And the word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take a peg from it to hang any vessel on it? Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything! Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set My face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them. And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord GOD." (15:1-8)

The metaphor of the vine for Israel is common in the Old Testament. Here, the only thing that the vine is good for is burning. The vine has become useless, says the LORD.

CHAPTER 16-18

The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die." (18:1-4)

God declares that each person is individually accountable to Him for his or her righteousness or wickedness. The generations of Israel's past have sinned against God and God has therefore brought about His righteous judgment. But the call to this current generation is to turn from their wickedness and they will live. God does not delight in the destruction of the wicked (:23). He loves to embrace the one who turns to him in repentance and obedience.

CHAPTER 19-21

"And I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes, and be careful to obey My rules, and keep My Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God. But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes and were not careful to obey My rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned My Sabbaths." (20:18-21)

Israel's history is one of reoccurring rebellion and judgment. Still, the LORD promises restoration for His name's sake.

CHAPTER 22-24

"Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD." (24:24)

As prophet of the LORD, Ezekiel communicates the message using more than just words. In these chapters, the message to Israel is portrayed in metaphors and allegories, as well as the physical death of Ezekiel's wife.

CHAPTER 25-27

The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Because you said, 'Aha!' over My sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession..." (25:1-4)

Ezekiel shifts his focus from Jerusalem to other nations. God is Judge and King over every nation of the earth, and He carries out His just judgment. "Implied hope for Israel is thus a secondary message of the condemnatory foreign-nation oracles" (ESV Study Bible, p.1536).

CHAPTER 28-30

"Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to My servant Jacob. And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God." (28:25-26)

God has declared His judgment on all the wayward nations, and tucked in the middle of His righteous wrath is the enduring promise to His people that He will restore them. His covenant promise will never be lost.

CHAPTER 31-33

"So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, you shall give them warning from Me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul." (33:7-9)

Ezekiel's task as a prophet of God was a matter of life and death.

CHAPTER 34-36

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God." (36:22-28)

The LORD will act to uphold the renown of His great name. He will not go back on His covenant promise. He will set apart a people for Himself, who will honor Him as their God, walk in His ways, and be a light to the world. The LORD will do it.

CHAPTER 37-39

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And He led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"... (37:1-3)

A vision is given to Ezekiel of dry bones in the valley. They are utterly without life. The LORD breathes on the dry bones by His Spirit and they are restored to full form and life. This is an analogy for the work that the LORD will do to His people, Israel. "And I will put My Spirit within you, and you shall live..." (:14)

CHAPTER 40-44

Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God is Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of His coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when He came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. (43:1-5)

Ezekiel is given a vision of a new and restored temple. Contrasted with his first vision at the beginning of the book where the glory of God departed from the temple, here, the glory of God enters the temple to signify the God of Israel dwelling again with His people.

CHAPTER 45-48

"The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There." (48:35)

From the vision of the restored temple where the glory of God dwells comes the vision of a river flowing from the temple and into the land. Once dry and desolate, the land now springs with life. The division of the land to the tribes of Israel is restored. This is a picture of a "new Eden": full restoration of the relationship between God and His people sustained by His Spirit. The majority of the book of the prophecy of Ezekiel is dark and devastating. Yet it ends with a vivid image of hope and promise fulfilled.

"The exile was not the end of the story for God's ancient people, nor of their calling to bring light to the world. Ezra stresses God's providence and mercy in moving imperial rulers to favor His people, and in raising up new shepherds to serve them, especially Ezra and other priests and Levites. Nevertheless, not all the promises of the prophets have come to pass; God will do still more through them. The people really have a new chance to live as God's distinctive people" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ... "Whoever is among you of all His people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel..." (1:1,3)

The book begins with the issue from Cyrus king of Persia that all Israelites held in captivity may return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple of the Lord GOD.

And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, "For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel." And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. (3:11)

The foundation of the temple is laid and the people shout for joy in remembrance of the LORD's faithfulness. Some of the old generation that had known the old temple before its destruction wept.

CHAPTER 4-7

And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach His statutes and rules in Israel. (7:8-10)

The building of the temple is opposed and delayed by adversaries (4-5). King Darius of Babylonia defends the decree made by Cyrus and the building continues to its completion. It is dedicated and the Passover is celebrated (6). Then Ezra is commissioned to go and teach the Law of the LORD to the people.

CHAPTER 8-10

After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost." As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled my hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. (9:1-3)

Unfortunately, the people of Israel have disobeyed God, even in the midst of the kindness He has shown them in orchestrating their return from exile. Ezra discovers this and is deeply grieved. He prays to God, seeks His forgiveness, and leads the people in repentance and restoration. In this way, Ezra embodies God's chosen leader. He is an intermediary standing in the gap between God and the people. This role is ultimately and finally fulfilled in Jesus Christ the Messiah.

"After the exile, God is renewing His people in the land, in order to carry out what He promised to Abraham. God's people must renew their commitment to covenant faithfulness, laying hold of God's forgiveness and seeking to practice purity in their corporate and private lives. God in His mercy raised up Ezra the priest and teacher, and Nehemiah the governor, to lead His people in the hard work that this renewal requires. The public ceremonies of chapters 8-10 enact this renewal, confessing past unfaithfulness and recognizing that everything - including the fulfilling of Israel's mission to bring light to the world - depends on God's grace and steadfast commitment to His promises" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-3

Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision." And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, "Let us rise up and build." So they strengthened their hands for the good work. (2:17-18)

Nehemiah is made aware of the ruinous state of his home land, Jerusalem and he is devastated. He calls upon the LORD in prayer and fasting. He goes before king Artaxerxes whom he serves as cup bearer and gains permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall and strengthen the city and its people. God's hand is upon him.

CHAPTER 4-6

But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set a guard as protection against them day and night. (4:7-9)

Opposition arises. Nehemiah and the people with him take up arms in one hand and continue building with the other. It's a total team effort. Nehemiah proves himself a leader of the people not only in the reconstruction of the wall but also in battle and in moral reform. After fifty-two days, the wall is finished.

CHAPTER 7-9

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. (8:9)

Good things are happening. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah should be considered together. They overlap as the role of Nehemiah and Ezra overlap. In these chapters a census is taken under the leadership of Nehemiah, Ezra the priest and scribe reads the book of the Law before all the people for several hours. The people turn to God in repentance and worship. They celebrate the Feast of Booths and restore the covenant relationship between God and His people.

CHAPTER 10-11

"The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and His rules and His statutes." (10:28-29)

The covenant is sealed with an oath. The people commit to walk in the ways of the LORD. Judah and the city of Jerusalem are repopulated (11).

CHAPTER 12-13

While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense... Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good. (13:6-9, 30-31)

Even after the completion of the Temple and the wall and the dedication and confirmation of the covenant, the people backslide into disobedience. Nehemiah is forced to come in and set things right, but the sense is that the people are still a long way from where the need to be. There is still a longing and anticipation for the relationship between God and His people and their devotion to Him to be complete.

"For each following generation of Jews, the book of Esther answers the question, 'How is it that we are still here?' by pointing to God's often hidden purpose. In the larger story of the Canon, it shows how God has preserved the offspring of Abraham for His purpose of bringing blessing to the whole world through them by raising up the Messiah and by including Gentile believers in His people. Thus Gentile Christians own this as their story too" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-5

Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come into the kingdom for such a time as this?" Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, "Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish." (4:13-16)

The book of Esther is full of conflict, suspense, and God's providence, though God is not mentioned. An edict is issued by the king of Persia that all the Jews in all the provinces should be killed. Esther, who has been elevated to a place of power in the kingdom, chooses to stand in the gap on behalf of her people and go before the king to seek their salvation.

CHAPTER 6-10

For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammadetha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them. But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year (9:24-27).

A great reversal takes place. Esther uses her position in the kingdom to intercede for her people and turn the curse of death to a declaration of defense of her people. Mordecai, who was going to be killed by Haman, is elevated to second in command, while Haman, the one who incited the edict against the Jews, is put to death on the very steak that he had designed for Mordecai. The story of deliverance and reversal is remembered by every generation during the Feast of Purim. God is the great orchestrator of victorious reversals.

"The people of Judah could have interpreted their exile to Babylon as the end of their special relationship with God. But not only does the book of Daniel show them that it is possible to be faithful to God even away from the Promised Land, it also shows them that God has not abandoned His plan for the whole world: He controls all of history, even the most dire conflicts, to bring his Messiah’s rule to all nations" (ESV History of Salvation Summary). 

CHAPTER 1-3

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants, who trusted in Him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God." (3:28)

Daniel and his three friends are in captivity in Babylon along with many of their fellow countrymen. In this foreign land, their loyalty and devotion to God is put to the test in extreme ways. Their integrity holds fast, and God protects and elevates them through a series of amazing events.

CHAPTER 4-6

"O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty... But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him... And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven..." (5:18, 20, 22)

The story of Daniel portrays the ultimate reign of God over the limited reign of earthly kings, no matter how proud and mighty they think they are. Daniel's faithfulness to the one true King, continues to preserve him through extreme threat to his life, such as being thrown into a lion's den (6).

CHAPTER 7-9

"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." (7:13-14)

Daniel receives some of the most vivid and terrifying visions recorded in Scripture. Kingdoms of the earth rise to power like raging, destructive beasts. They rise and fall in conquest over one another. In the end, however, there is One like the son of man who comes and establishes a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. His subjects are the faithful of God who reign with Him forever.

CHAPTER 10-12

I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, "O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?" He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end." (12:8-9)

The apocalyptic visions continue through the end of the book. Daniel is given a vision of what is to come, and of "the end". Again, kings and kingdoms will rise and fall in war and conquest, but in the end the one true King of Creation will reign in final and everlasting victory with His people. This is the great and enduring hope for those whose God is the LORD.

"After the exile, the Lord is renewing His promises to His people and calls on them to finish rebuilding the temple so that He might be with them and fulfill His promises to bless the whole world through them, particularly through the Messiah from the house of David" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-2

"Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house." (1:7-9)

The people are liberated from their exilic captivity and return to their home land. This is blessing upon blessing from God. And yet, the people are lulled into spiritual apathy. God speaks through the prophet Haggai to stir the people to repentance, covenant faithfulness and diligent action to rebuild the temple and restore the life of the society of God's people under the three-fold leadership of governor/king Zerubabbel, high priest Joshua, and prophet Haggai.

"After the horrors of the exile, God is renewing His commitment to restore Judah as His treasured people. They will still suffer more distress, but in the end God will judge the Gentile oppressors and Judah will produce the Messiah, who will rule over the whole world, bringing them to worship the true God" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-4

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, "The LORD was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts." (1:1-3)

Following the exile, the Israelites return to Judah and Jerusalem and fall into spiritual apathy. God uses prophets like Zechariah to bring a stern message of the sinfulness of their apathy, a call to repentance, and a promise of redemption and restoration that will come with covenant faithfulness.

CHAPTER 5-8

Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, "Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out." And I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is the basket that is going out." And he said, "This is their iniquity in all the land." And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! And he said, "This is Wickedness." And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening... (5:5-8)

Zechariah is given several prophetic visions that are vivid, strange and even terrifying. Each one is symbolic and apocalyptic in the revelation of God's truth and God's purposes. Here, for example, Zechariah receives a vision of a woman in a basket. Her name is Wickedness, and she is contained in this basket and then carried away to portray the removal of sin and wickedness from among God's people.

CHAPTER 9-14

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (9:9)

The culminating vision of Zechariah's prophecy is that of a great king who will bring judgment, salvation, peace, restoration and the reign in godliness over the people. "He is also humble, hinting that this king is still obedient to the King of kings, and he comes riding on a donkey, the mount of one who comes to bring peace, not on the standard military mount, a horse. This prophecy famously finds its counterpart in Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when Jesus clearly signals his messianic identity" (ESV Study Bible, note on verse 9). The people wait in hope and anticipation for this coming king.

"Even though God has disciplined His people severely by means of the exile, He still intends for His name to be honored among the Gentiles. God's chosen vehicle for bringing His name to the Gentiles is His people loving Him faithfully. This is therefore the time for Israel to renew its commitment to the covenant" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-2

"A son honors his father, and a servant his maser. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, 'How have we despised your name?' By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, 'How have we polluted you?' By saying that the LORD's table may be despised." (1:6-7)

The LORD, through the prophet Malachi, brings forth a series of disputes. The LORD declares the ways in which Israel has dishonored His name. The people respond as if they had no idea. They have regressed to apathy and carelessness without concern for the Law of God.

CHAPTER 3-4

"For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts. Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction." (4:1-6)

The main point of Malachi's prophecy is summarized here with great force. The Day of the LORD is coming where He will bring judgment and establish righteousness. Therefore, remember the Law of Moses and obey God's commands, and remember the promise of the coming of Elijah the prophet. The identity of this Elijah-like prophet remains unclear, but the appearance of John the Baptist in the NT clearly reveals that the people were anticipating him, for they supposed that John was Elijah who is spoken of in this passage.

CHAPTER 1-10

Adam, Seth, Enosh; Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared; Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech; Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japeth. (1:1-4)

The book of Chronicles begins at the beginning, with Adam. The intention of this record is to show that Israel is God's chosen nation from the very beginning, and that through this nation, God would fulfill His covenant promises of kingship, posterity, territory, His very presence among them and ultimately the Messiah.

CHAPTER 11-14

Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, "Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the LORD your God said to you, 'You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.'" So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel (11:1-3)... And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel. (14:2)

The focus of the account of Chronicles shifts to the reign of David. The role that David plays in the history of Israel is one of the most significant. King David establishes the territory of Jerusalem, brings the Arc of the Covenant back home, conquers Israel's enemies so as to bring peace to the land, which allows for the construction of the temple to move forward.

CHAPTER 15-17

"Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed to more... Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever." (17:7-12)

The LORD establishes His covenant with David. This is a central theme to the book of Chronicles and one of the most significant moments in the history of Israel, and ultimately the world. This is because it is through the dynasty of David that the Messiah King would come.

CHAPTER 18-21

So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people. (18:14)

David reigns as king. He is victorious over the enemies of Israel, and he establishes peace, justice and equity. Unfortunately, he sins against the LORD in one episode where he determines to take a census of the people (21). He pays a high price in a curse of pestilence. But the LORD is merciful and continues His favor toward David.

CHAPTER 22-24

Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the LORD my God. But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'You have shed much blood and have waged great wards. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.'" (22:6-10)

The building of the temple is another monumental event in the story line of Israel's history. David had it in his heart to build a house for the LORD, but it would be his son, Solomon who would carry out the work. The temple would be the place where God would dwell and commune with His people.

CHAPTER 25-29

Then David said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished. And behold the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work will be every willing man who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command." (28:20-21)

King David has done everything in his power to ready the kingdom and assemble the resources for the Temple to be built. He understands that God has not commissioned him to build the Temple, but instead has chosen his son, Solomon. Here, at the close of 1 Chronicles, the baton is passed to Solomon with a commission to complete the task and remain faithful to the LORD.

Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: "Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

"But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision." (29:10-19)

CHAPTER 1-4

Now Solomon purposed to build a temple for the name of the LORD, and a royal palace for himself. (2:1)

2 Chronicles begins with the reign of king Solomon, whose great achievement is the construction of the Temple. What king David began, king Solomon, his son, brings to completion. This also portrays the fulfillment of Davidic covenant promises traced through the history of Israel, which is more so the focus of Chronicles, rather than the individual characters such as David or Solomon.

CHAPTER 5-8

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands... and said, "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, who have kept with your servant David my father what you have declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, 'You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.' Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David. (6:12-17)

The construction of the Temple is complete. The Arc of the Covenant is brought into its place and king Solomon and all the people hold a dedication ceremony. God's promise to David of an enduring kingdom, His "physical" presence on earth among His people, and the covenant commitment of the people to prayer, repentance and obedience are major focal points in the story.

See Psalm 72. This "royal psalm" is a prayer "that the heirs of David's line (beginning with Solomon) might have success in the task that God has assigned the king (namely, ruling God's people well, protecting the poor and needy, and bringing blessing to all nation of the earth)" (ESV Study Bible, note on Psalm 72, p.1025).

CHAPTER 9-12

So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the LORD might fulfill his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. And when all Israel say that the king did not listed to them, the people answered the king, 'What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David." So all Israel went to their tents. But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who live in the cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. (10:15-19)

Solomon's son Rehoboam succeeds the throne after Solomon's death and things go downhill. He does not set his heart to seek the LORD. Because of his actions, the kingdom divides in two. This is not apart from God's sovereign determination, however, which was foretold by the prophet Ahijah. Rehoboam reigns in he southern kingdom while Jeroboam reigns in the northern kingdom. The two kingdoms continually war against each other, and foreign nations such as Egypt also come against them (12).

CHAPTER 13-17

Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. (14:1)

The line of the kings of Judah continues. These chapters contain stories of Abijah, Asa and Jehoshaphat. Those kings who honor the LORD have success, those who don't honor the LORD lead the nation into distress, but the line of king David is preserved by the promise of God. Asa, for example, starts off well, but ends poorly because he forsakes God. "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him" (16:9).

CHAPTER 18-20

Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers. (19:4)

The record of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, is contained in chapters 17 through 20. Jehoshaphat was far from perfect as a king. He sinned against the LORD by forming alliances with wicked kings from the northern kingdom of Israel. However, he is remembered in Chronicles for his civil and judicial reform (recorded in chapter 19), which led the nation in godliness and righteousness.

CHAPTER 21-24

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. (21:5-7)

The stories of the kings/rulers of Judah, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, and Joash are contained in these chapters. Generally, they are wicked rulers who lead the people into idol worship and bring judgment upon themselves and the nation. Yet God's covenant promise remains true and His sovereign reign over all things, including wicked kings, remains evident.

CHAPTER 25-27

Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper. (26:3-5)

Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham come next as kings of Judah. Each is recorded as having done what is right in the eyes of the LORD, yet each one has a downfall of idolatry or pride or failure to rid the nation of corrupt practices. The lineage of the line of David is a bit of a roller coaster, but God remains sovereign, and faithful to His promise.

CHAPTER 28-31

Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them (29:1-3) ... Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD and Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel (30:1) ... So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem (30:26) ... Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered (31: 20-21).

Hezekiah reigns as king in Judah and kills it.

CHAPTER 32-34

Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of the LORD, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. (34:29-32)

The LORD delivers Jerusalem from enemies from Assyria during Hezekia's reign. The kingdom passes to Manasseh, who starts our poorly, but is brought to a point of repentance and restoration. Following Manasseh comes his son, Amon, who does not humble himself before the LORD and is therefore destroyed. Josiah is then made king and he does what is right in the eyes of the LORD. His reign includes this account of the recovery of the Book of the Covenant.

CHAPTER 35-36

All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the LORD that he had made holy in Jerusalem. The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy... (36:14-16)

Following king Josiah's death, the kings of Judah and the people go from bad to worse, bringing upon themselves and the nation the judgment of God.

Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand... (36:17)

The nation is taken captive by the Babylonians and carried into exile for 70 years.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.'" (36:22-23)

The final sentences of the book of Chronicles contain a message of hope and return. God puts in in the heart of king Cyrus to send the nation back to Jerusalem to rebuild.

"Jesus comes as the messianic King in the line of David to fulfill the OT, especially its promises of everlasting salvation. The ultimate fulfillment comes with his crucifixion and resurrection" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-2

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. (1:17-18)

Matthew's Gospel begins with a record of the family line of Jesus going back to Abraham. It was Abraham who received the promise from God that through him all the nations would be blessed. All covenant promises would be fulfilled in Jesus who is the Christ. At the same time, Jesus breaks the sinful lineage of the sons of Adam through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit.

CHAPTER 3-4

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (4:17)

Jesus begins His ministry on earth, fully God and fully man. But not before John the Baptist heralds His coming, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah. John the Baptist also baptizes Jesus in the Jordan river where the voice of God and the Spirit of God anoint and commission Jesus as King and Messiah. And Jesus endures 40 days in the wilderness where He is tempted by Satan, corresponding to Israel's 40 years of testing in the wilderness. Where Israel fails, Jesus triumphs.

CHAPTER 5-6

"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (5:48)

Jesus begins His first public discourse, referred to as The Sermon on the Mount. "Jesus expounds the reality of discipleship lived in the presence and power of the kingdom of God but within the everyday world... Scripture is a reflection of God himself as he has made his will and character known to his people. As Christians seek to live in conformity to Scripture, they are in fact pursuing the very perfection of God. This verse provides the conclusion and summary to the antithesis section, showing that all of the Law and Prophets find their fulfillment in the perfection of the Father, which is what all Jesus' disciples are called to pursue" (ESV Study Bible, note on verses 5:1-7:29; 5:58).

CHAPTER 7-8

That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases." (8:16-17)

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?" (8:23-27)

Jesus demonstrates His divine kingdom power and authority. He controls all of the spiritual realm, casting out demons. He controls all of the physical realm, healing the sick. He controls all of creation, commanding the wind and the sea. Clearly, as the disciples say in awe and wonder, this is not a normal type of man.

CHAPTER 9-10

And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. (10:1)

The mission of the Messiah and the proclamation of the Kingdom of God is increasing. Jesus calls twelve young men to follow Him and to be His messengers. Their task will not be easy, as they head into a hostile world, but the LORD will carry forward His plans through them.

CHAPTER 11-12

"But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds." Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. (11:16-20)

Jesus encounters hostile opposition from the religious elites. They are a resistant and hardhearted generation, ultimately full of pride and self-righteousness. Jesus is not the messiah they are looking for. To them, His message and His ministry are infuriating.

CHAPTER 13-14

Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given... This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: 'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear...'" (13:10-15)

A notable mark of Jesus' ministry is His use of parables to communicate to His audience. This not only fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah that He would speak in parables to a generally spiritually blind and deaf audience, but that the revelation of the Kingdom would be perceptible only to those to whom it had been given to understand, as seen in the disciples.

CHAPTER 15-16

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (16:21)

This marks a significant point of transition in the Gospel story of Jesus. Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. The disciples appear to grasp His true identity, though not fully. Following this climactic confession, Jesus begins to elaborate on the nature of His messianic mission, which is different from what they were expecting. Jesus reveals that He must suffer and die at the hands of His opponents, but that He will rise from the dead. Inconceivable to the disciples, the road to His victorious reign goes through the cross.

CHAPTER 17-18

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (18:1-4)

Jesus has been revealing the nature of the Kingdom of God and the character of the people of God who are members of His Kingdom. It is opposite from the nature of the kingdoms of the world. Power is demonstrated through sacrificial service. Greatness is attained through humility. Forgiveness is inexhaustible.

CHAPTER 19-20

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." (20:17-19)

Jesus has traveled through Galilee and Judea proclaiming the Kingdom of God and demonstrating His divine authority. He now turns His feet toward Jerusalem, which He knows is the road to His crucifixion.

CHAPTER 21-22

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet. (21:45-46)

Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey and is received by the people shouting praise, "Hosanna", proclaiming Him as the Davidic Messiah. He purges the temple of its wicked practices by turning over tables and casting out extortionists. He engages with the religious leaders in a series of questions and parables. Their indignation toward Him intensifies.

CHAPTER 23-24

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" (24:3)

Here begins the fifth and final discourse of Jesus' ministry as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus speaks of things to come and of the end of the age. The world will grow increasingly more hostile toward Christ's followers as opponents rise up, but the message of Christ will prevail and go forth to all nations and peoples. Jesus commands His disciples to remain ready and vigilant for they do not know when the day will come.

CHAPTER 25-26

While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; seize him." And he came up to Jesus at once and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you came to do." Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. (26:47-50)

Jesus is arrested. The religious leaders were seeking a way to seize Him and kill Him, and Judas, one of the twelve disciples, was willing to conspire with them to hand Jesus over. It is a wicked scheme full of lies, but Jesus does not resist, for He knows that "all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled" (26:56).

CHAPTER 27-28

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor...

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You have said so"...

Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!" And he said, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified!"...

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"... And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split... When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus... And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away...

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it... "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

The most important event in all of human history takes place from Friday to Sunday in Jerusalem. Jesus Christ, the Messiah is crucified on a cross at the hands of the sinners He came to save. Paradoxically, as was the nature of all of His kingdom revelation, His suffering, death and apparent defeat were actually the predetermined pathway to His glorious victory over the enemies of God and the salvation of His people. Now, in His resurrection power and authority, He commissions His disciples to go and proclaim to the world the lordship and salvation of the Messiah King.

"Mark tells of Jesus' coming to bring everlasting salvation, as prophesied in the OT, and to triumph over sin and Satan. The ultimate fulfillment comes with his crucifixion and resurrection" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-2

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (1:14-15)

Mark's account (transcribed from Peter's oral account) moves quickly, hitting the high points and focusing on the theme of Jesus as "the Son of God" (1:1).

CHAPTER 3-4

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. (3:7-12)

Jesus' fame is spreading as He heals people and preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Correspondingly, the animosity of the Pharisees and religious leaders is increasing. There is something significant about this Man. He even calms the wind and the waves of the sea (4:41). Mark continues to develop the theme of "the Son of God".

CHAPTER 5-6

And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits... So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. (6:7,12-13)

Jesus has been very intentional to invest in a group of twelve young men called Apostles or disciples. They are sent out by Jesus to spread the message and the power of the Kingdom. Eventually, following Jesus' ascension, the Apostles would be the ones sent by Jesus to build the Church.

CHAPTER 7-8

And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. (8:29-32)

Jesus' identity as the Messiah, the Son of God, is becoming more clear to the disciples. Their eyes are opened. Yet, they do not fully understand or see the plight of the Suffering Servant, for when Jesus begins to talk of His death and resurrection Peter, who just confessed Him as the Christ, rebukes Him. The episode immediately preceding these verses might further illustrate this point. Jesus gives sight to a blind man, but He does so in two phases: one where he sees partially, then another where he sees fully. In the same way, the disciples see now in part, but they will see later in full.

CHAPTER 9-10

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus... And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. (9:2-8)

The identity of Jesus as the Messiah, Son of God is revealed in full. Similar to His baptism, the voice of God the Father makes a declaration about Jesus. The disciples, Peter, James, and John witness all of this. But they are still perplexed when Jesus talks about dying and rising again (:10).

CHAPTER 11-12

And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it. (11:11-14)

Jesus enters Jerusalem. His initial welcome is triumphant. He rides in on a colt while the people proclaim "Hosanna!" But the tone quickly turns to one of judgment and conflict. He sees that the temple and the city of the people of God are fruitless like a fig tree, so He pronounces judgment upon it and then proceeds to challenge the religious leaders.

CHAPTER 13-14

It was two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people." (14:1-2)

As Jesus and the disciples are leaving the temple, He foretells of its destruction and other things related to the end of the age. The disciples must be ready to endure and to suffer. This still seems contrary to their expectations of the Messiah's reign, but things are about to become shockingly clear as Jesus is targeted for arrest and execution. The disciples will scatter in fear, but the Christ will remain resolute, knowing exactly what He came to do and how He came to do it.

CHAPTER 15-16

And Pilate again said to them, "Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" And they cried out again, "Crucify him"... (15:12-13)

And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him... (15:24-25)

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice... And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" (15:34, 37-39)

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might anoint him... And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as the told you." (16:1, 5-7)

Jesus is brutally crucified. The same crowd that sought his healing power and miraculous provision, and hailed Him as Hosanna has turned on Him by the incitement of the Pharisees and religious leaders. But all this would happen just as God determined. His horrific execution was the pathway to His victorious resurrection over sin and death. Jesus is gloriously resurrected.

"Jesus comes as God in the flesh, the revealer of the Father, and the messianic King. He fulfills the OT and its symbols, especially its promises of everlasting salvation. The ultimate fulfillment comes with his crucifixion and resurrection" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-2

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth... And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. (1:14, 16-18)

The Apostle John writes with a very specific purpose: that the reader would know that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah and Son of God, and that by believing in His name, receive the gift of eternal life. The opening chapters of his gospel go all the way back to the beginning of Creation where Jesus, the Word, existed eternally as God and with God in the harmony of the Trinity. The Word became flesh and reveals the glory of the Father.

CHAPTER 3-4

"No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." (3:13-17)

Jesus has come from God. He is heaven's Messiah and the One sent by God to fulfill the purpose of God, the salvation of His people. This is the central theme of John's gospel.

CHAPTER 5-6

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (5:18)

Jesus makes bold and explicit claims of His identity, and the religious leaders oppose Him for it. He will even lose followers as His claims intensify. John records seven different "I am" claims of Jesus. The first of which is His claim, "I am the bread of life" (6:35).

CHAPTER 7-8

"Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?" Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad." So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. (8:53-59)

Jesus is unashamedly and explicitly declaring His identity as pre-existent God and Messiah. He uses the same name that God the Father uses when He refers to Himself before Moses at the burning bush, "I AM WHO I AM". According to the Jews, this kind of audacious blasphemy deserves immediate death by stoning.

CHAPTER 9-10

"If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." (10:37-38)

Jesus' ministry during His time on earth as a man included many amazing works - miraculous signs and healings and teachings with authority. The whole of His ministry made an undeniable case for His identity as the Messiah, Son of God. Seeing the works of Jesus and believing them acknowledges what Jesus says here, that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father. Again, a clear revelation of His identity.

CHAPTER 11-12

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." (11:25-27)

Lazarus, one of Jesus' very close friends, has died and Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, who were also very close to Jesus, are deeply distressed wondering why Jesus did not come sooner when they called for Him. Perhaps Jesus would have healed Lazarus before he died if He had come sooner. But Jesus did all of this on purpose, "for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." (11:4). Jesus makes another "I AM" statement here and then raises Lazarus from the dead. Many believe in Him on account of this miraculous work, so much so that the Pharisees and religious leaders determine to kill Him. From here he goes into Jerusalem for Passover. He knows that as He does, he is marching toward His crucifixion.

CHAPTER 13-15

When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (13:31-35)

Halfway through John's gospel is what is known as the Farewell Discourse. Jesus serves His disciples by washing their feet. He then spends five chapters (13-17) addressing His disciples in a way that describes a new Messianic Community. Ultimately this new community will reflect that character of God as seen in Jesus. It will be a community of self-sacrificial love and obedience to God; a community indwelt by God Himself in the Holy Spirit. This is the fulfillment of the picture of the people of God from the very beginning. 

CHAPTER 16-18

Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I AM [He]." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I AM [He]," they drew back and fell to the ground. (18:4-6)

Jesus concludes His farewell discourse to His disciples with a prayer. His betrayal and arrest is immanent. A band of soldiers and officers, along with Judas who betrayed Him, come looking for Jesus of Nazareth. When Jesus reveals His identity as I AM, the soldiers and officers draw back and fall to the ground. This is the common reaction to the presence of the divine. Still, Jesus complies, knowing what must take place.

CHAPTER 19-21

Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and struck him with their hands... When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!"... So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews"... He who saw it has borne witness - his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth - that you also may believe... (19:1-3, 6, 17-19, 35)

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (20:30-31)

Jesus is handed over to the Roman authorities, brutalized, and sentenced to death by crucifixion. And just as He foretold, three days later He rises again to new life declaring victory over sin and death. All these things are recorded by John with a specific purpose: that the reader may know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, Son of God, and that by believing in Him you may have eternal life.

"Jesus comes as the messianic King to deliver the poor and needy and downcast. He fulfills the whole OT, especially its promises of everlasting salvation. The fulfillment of his mission comes with his crucifixion and resurrection" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1

And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." (1:30-33)

Luke writes to give assurance to his readers of the things they have been taught about Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Son of God. His account begins with the special conception of John the Baptist, quickly followed by the miraculous conception of Jesus Christ to the virgin Mary and her husband Joseph. It is declared from the beginning that this child is the promised Messiah who comes from the line of Abraham and will reign on the throne of his ancestor David.

CHAPTER 2-3

As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, "I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." (3:15-17)

As was prophesied, John the Baptist heralds the message of the coming Messiah and calls the people to ready themselves in repentance. The people were in expectation. They knew that the Messiah was coming.

CHAPTER 4-5

Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And the demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose." And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. (4:40-44)

Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where He is tempted by Satan. After enduring 40 days of fasting and the temptation of the Devil, Jesus begins His public ministry. He teaches in the synagogues and heals those who are sick and demon-possessed. His identity is being revealed, and as it is, different people are responding in different ways, some in resentment and rejection, others in repentance and rejoicing.

CHAPTER 6-7

On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, "Come and stand here." And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?" And after looking around at them all he said to him, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. (6:6-11)

Jesus' public ministry continues and as it does He faces increasing hostility from the religious leaders, often identified as the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus confronts and exposes their hypocrisy and they know it.

CHAPTER 8-9

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. (9:51)

This marks a major turning point in Luke's Gospel account. Jesus has always known that His destination was the cross, but as the event draws near, there is an apparent shift in His demeanor. It follows Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ of God and the Transfiguration. These things appear climactic in the revelation of Jesus' identity in the sense that once they take place, Jesus is explicit about His impending suffering and crucifixion. It is what He came to do.

CHAPTER 10-11

"The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me." (10:17)

The tension mounts. The cross draws nearer. The stakes rise. The contrast between those who follow Jesus and those who oppose Him seems to increase with each verse. The Kingdom of God and the community of His people could not be more diametrically different from the kingdoms and categories of the world. As this contrast increases, so does the animosity from those who reject Jesus.

CHAPTER 12-13

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (12:32-34)

Jesus encourages the hearts of His disciples. The Kingdom of God, the community of Christ is radically different from the world. For this reason, the world will reject it. The Kingdom will suffer violence from a hostile world. But Jesus' message to those who truly belong to Him is to not lose heart, but to go all in and live by faith that the God of creation is their loving and generous Father.

CHAPTER 14-16

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." (15:1-2)

Jesus opens His arms to the lowly and outcast members of society. His 'banquet' is prepared for those who are spiritually and even often socially bankrupt. Clearly, the things that matter most in Jesus' Kingdom are opposite the things that are esteemed by the world. "For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (16:15). In the context of this contrast Jesus tells some of His most memorable parables, such as the parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus came to seek and so save those who are desperately lost.

CHAPTER 17-18

And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise." But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. (18:31-34)

The time draws closer. Jesus reveals the nature of His Kingdom in greater and greater detail through His preaching and healing ministry, and His confrontation with the religious leaders. But the revelatory climax has yet to take place and not even the disciples, His closest companions, can yet comprehend it. Jesus, however, knows exactly what He came to do.

CHAPTER 19-20

"Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' But when the tenants saw  him, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.' And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? (20:13-15)

Jesus enters Jerusalem. He weeps over the lostness of this city that was meant to be the place where God dwelt with His people. Jesus tells a parable of a vineyard and its owner to illustrate how far the city and its citizens have fallen away. So far that they will even kill the vineyard owner's son.

CHAPTER 21-22

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people. (22:1-2)

The scene is intensifying rapidly. Jesus tells of the destruction of the temple and the coming of the Son of Man on the last day. He implores His disciples to stay alert and ready. Meanwhile, the Jewish religious leaders are plotting to kill Jesus. Judas agrees to betray Him. Jesus and the disciples celebrate the Passover together and finally the hour comes for Jesus' accusers to arrest Him and bring Him before the high priest for trial.

CHAPTER 23-24

But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will. (23:23-25)

Jesus is handed over to the Roman authorities. He is tried, but not found by Pilate to be deserving of death. He is innocent. But the mob demands that He be killed. So a murderer named Barabbas is set free while Jesus goes to His execution. The innocent trades places with the guilty.

Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (24:44-49)

Execution on a Roman cross at the hands of a rebellious mob cannot stop Jesus Christ the Messiah of God. Instead, it is the means of securing victory and salvation for the people of God. Jesus rises from the dead and appears to His disciples. He then commissions them to go into all the world and proclaim this saving Gospel. They will receive power from God. This leads immediately into the next account from Luke, the book of Acts.

"After his ascension Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to empower the apostles as witnesses, to spread the message of the gospel, and to draw to himself people from the nations" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-2

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. (2:41-44)

The acts of Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the newly formed believing community are contained in this continuation account from Luke. Following Jesus' ascension, the promised Holy Spirit falls upon believers at Pentecost. Thousands come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Church, the new, redeemed community of God's people where His Spirit dwells is formed.

CHAPTER 3-4

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (4:33)

Peter and John and the other Apostles are performing miraculous works as they testify to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the fulfillment of messianic prophecies and salvation in His name. All these things are empowered by the Holy Spirit of God as He builds His Church.

CHAPTER 5-6

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." (5:27-32)

Peter and the apostles are boldly and unashamedly proclaiming everywhere that Jesus is the Christ. The Holy Spirit is working in them and through them to confirm the message through miracles and through the salvation of thousands. The Church is growing rapidly. But it is not without persecution.

CHAPTER 7-8

And Saul approved of his execution. (8:1)

Saul is introduced. He is a leader among the Pharisees and a vicious persecutor of the growing church. He approves of Stephen's execution and is imprisoning many other Christ-followers. His role is significant, and will only become more so.

CHAPTER 9-10

But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. (9:15)

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. (10:44-48)

Saul, the man who was a violent persecutor of the Church, is knocked off his horse by a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ and is converted to the Way. The Lord has determined to use him to preach the Gospel to non-Jews. This is a monumental moment in the expanding Church, not only because Saul's conversion is so radical, but because salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and membership in the family of God goes beyond the Jewish lineage to anyone and everyone who will repent and believe the Gospel.

CHAPTER 11-12

But the word of God increased and multiplied. (12:24)

Repentance and faith in the Gospel of the Messiah Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life is spreading like wildfire. It has burst open beyond the boundaries of Jew and Gentile. Even in the face of violent opposition, previously from Saul, who is now among the Christians, and then from Herod, who is struck dead by God in his pride, the word of God is increasing and multiplying.

CHAPTER 13-14

"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses." (13:36-39)

Paul and Barnabas are sent out to preach the good news of Jesus the Christ. Paul explains to the Jews how Jesus is the fulfillment of all that they anticipated in the history of the nation of Israel.

CHAPTER 15-16

But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses." The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. (15:5-6)

Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ has come to non-Jewish (Gentile) people. Because of this, council is held among the apostles and elders in Jerusalem to determine if Gentile believers must obey the law of Moses and be circumcised. Jerusalem remains the central hub for the growing church, while men like Paul and Barnabas go out to proclaim the Gospel and cultivate new churches.

CHAPTER 17-18

When he landed in Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. (18:22-23)

Most of the second half of the book of Acts is focused on the missionary journeys of Paul. He is a man on a mission throughout the Mediterranean region to proclaim salvation through Jesus Christ and to strengthen the disciples and the newly formed churches.

CHAPTER 19-20

"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." (20:24)

The account of Paul's third missionary journey is contained in Acts 18 through 21 and is centered in Ephesus, the capital city of the Roman province of Asia. Paul remains resolute to preach the Gospel throughout the known world and finish the course that the Lord Jesus Christ has set out for him.

CHAPTER 21-22

And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, for the mob of the people followed, crying out, "Away with him!" (21:35-36)

Paul goes to Jerusalem in spite of immanent danger. "For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (21:13). The scene is similar to how Jesus was treated when He came to Jerusalem. A violent mob rises up and calls for Paul's arrest and punishment. Paul continues to proclaim the Gospel through it all.

CHAPTER 23-24

When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in Prison. (24:27)

Paul's trial lands him in prison in Rome, though unjustly. He spends more than two years there. It is in this prison cell that he writes much of what is now the New Testament.

CHAPTER 25-26

And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind." But Paul said, "I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe." And Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?" And Paul said, "Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am - except for these chains." (26:24-29)

Paul is on trial before the Roman authorities and he continues to boldly declare the message of the Gospel. The testimony of his own life is a powerful witness to those who hear. He was once a zealous Pharisee, but Christ revealed Himself to him as the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament law and prophets. What he speaks of is irrefutable, if only those who listen would have ears to hear.

CHAPTER 27-28

He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. (28:30-31)

Paul arrives in Rome despite shipwreck along the way. All along the journey, Paul was concerned with only one thing: proclaiming the salvation of God through faith in the Messiah Jesus Christ. This was his mission alongside the other apostles as the new Church grew. It is still the mission of the Church today.

"God's OT promises of salvation are fulfilled in the gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and of new life received through faith in him. The gospel goes to both Jew and Gentile, fulfilling God's plan to bless the nations" (ESV History of Salvation Summary).

CHAPTER 1-2

So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." (1:15-17)

Paul writes this letter to Christians in Rome. He has not seen them in person, but he desires to be with them and to proclaim the Gospel to them, just as he desires to proclaim the Gospel to everyone everywhere. This is because he is set apart by God as an apostle and fully convinced of the message of the righteousness of God and the salvation of God that is available to all - Jew or non-Jew - by faith in Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER 3-4

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it - the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (3:21-25)

Jew and non-Jew alike are condemned to die as criminals before the holy God whose Law all have transgressed. Paul makes this case plain. But, praise God, a righteousness has been made known apart from the Law. It is righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, faith is and always has been the means to attain righteousness before God, as is seen in father Abraham (chapter 4).

CHAPTER 5-6

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (6:1-4)

Sin reigned in death through Adam under the Law leaving the whole world condemned. But Jesus Christ fulfills the Law through His perfect obedience, then dies the death that is due for sin as a substitute, and rises victoriously to righteousness and new life. All those who trust Him by faith for salvation share in Him the death He died to sin and the life He lives in righteousness. This glorious spiritual reality is depicted in the symbol of baptism as the believer is brought from death in sin to life in Christ.

CHAPTER 7-8

But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (7:6)

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (8:9-11)

Those who are in Christ are dead to sin, released from the slavery and condemnation of the law, and made alive through Christ by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, those who are in Christ live a new life of righteousness through the Spirit who dwells in them.

CHAPTER 9-10