Short Study of the Old Testament

Copyright © 2022 Rev. Dr. Jackson Yenn-Batah.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-8047-2 (sc)

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WestBow Press rev. date: 11/04/2022

DEDICATION

This bookShort Study of the Old Testament

is dedicated to my beloved son

Andrew Yenn-Batah, Financial Consultant.

Your love, devotion and care inspires me daily

to higher service to the LORD.

Peace, love and grace abide with you always. Love you Drew.

PREFACE

Short Study of the Old Testament was written as a result of a weekly Bible Study with my Congregation at Wesley United Methodist Church in Arlington Texas to encourage them to read and study the Old Testament for guidance, comfort and strength in their daily Christian life.

Believing that the stories and people in the Old Testament serve as examples for believers today, my intent of writing this book is to give a short explanation of the main gist of each of the 39 books of the Old Testament to help the reader to have a fair understanding of each book and to start reading the Old Testament with new interest and excitement.

By reading the Old Testament, I hope readers will understand the New Testament better because all the teachings and events in the Old Testament give us the background to all that happened when Jesus was born and during his life.

For example, understanding the Old Testament’ sacrifices shed light on what Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross means.

It is my hope that readers will enjoy this Short Study of the Old Testament and therefore become better Christians through obedience to the LORD.

My sincere thanks and gratitude to all my Bible Study students at Wesley United Methodist Church, the Church leaders and my devoted ministerial staff Rev Kate Thompson and Mrs Eno Afon (Candidate for Ordained Ministry) for their support, commitment and service to the Lord at Wesley United Methodist Church, Arlington Texas.

Grace, peace, love and God’s blessings to you all.

JYB.

CONTENTS

1.     The Origin of the Bible

2.     What is the Old Testament?

3.     Genesis: The Beginning Story

4.     Exodus: From Slavery to a Nation

5.     Leviticus: Forming a Worshipping Nation

6.     Numbers: The Old Yeild for the New

7.     Deuteronomy: A Time Between

8.     Introduction to the Historical Books

9.     Joshua: Claiming the Promised Land.

10.   Judges: The Conflict of Sin and Grace.

11.   Ruth: The People of God

12.   1 & 2 Samuel: God is King but the People Want a King

13.   1 & 2 Kings: Human Limitation

14.   1 & 2 Chronicles: The People of God

15.   Ezra & Nehemiah: Faith Under Seige

16.   Esther: Courage in Challenging Times

17.   The Poetry and Wisdom Books

18.   Job: God’s People and Suffering

19.   The Psalms: God’s Presence in Songs and Prayers

20.   Proverbs: A Guide to Holy Living

21.   Ecclesiastes: Searching for Truth and Meaning

22.   Song of Songs: The Love Song

23.   The Prophetic Books

24.   Isaiah: God’s Judgement and Salvation

25.   Jeremiah: Judgement, Doom, and Weeping.

26.   Lamentations: God Hears Our Cry.

27.   Ezekiel: Is God Present With Us?

28.   Daniel: Living in Exile

29.   Hosea: A Spiritually Bankrupt Nation.

30.   Joel: The Dreadful Day of the Lord.

31.   Amos: Nation in Disarray

32.   Obadiah: Judgement on the People of Edom

33.   Jonah: The Merciful God

34.   Micah: Love Mercy, Walk Humbly Seek Justice.

35.   Nahum: The Destruction of Assyria’s Capital—Nineveh

36.   Habakkuk: Why Does Evil Go Unpunished?

37.   Zephaniah: Repent or Perish

38.   Haggai: Think Careful About Your Ways.

39.   Zechariah: The Lord Rules Over All

40.   Malachi: The Day of the Lord

CHAPTER 1

The Origin of the Bible

At the beginning of our Short Study of the Old Testament, we need to know a few things about the Bible first. The Bible makes it clear that God inspired the whole Bible in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. All scripture is God inspired and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The Bible is made up of 66 books that were written over a period of 1,000 years by more than forty individuals inspired by God. In the Old Testament, we have 39 books and in the New Testament 27 books.

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew with some Aramaic while the New Testament was written in Koine Greek - a dialect of ancient Greek that merchants and travelers used. Before the printing press was invented, around 1440 AD in Germany, the Bible was copied by hand by special scribes who developed intricate methods of counting words and letters to ensure that no errors are made. The Bible was the first book ever printed on the printing press by Gutenberg Press i1455–the Latin Bible. Today, there is much evidence that the Bible we have is remarkably true to the original writings of the many copies made by hand before the year 1500AD. More than 5,900 Greek manuscripts from the New Testament alone still exists today. The text of the Bible is better preserved than any other writings in the world.

Amanzingly, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, in 1946-1947 at the Qumran Caves, confirm the astonishing reliability of some of the copies of the Old Testament made over the years. Although some spelling variation exist, no variation has affected basic Bible doctrine. As the Bible was carried to the other countries over the years, it has been translated into the common languages of the people by scholars who wanted others to know God’s word.

If you are wondering why or what is the reason for studying the Bible, here are some simple reasons:

Studying the Bible enables us to know God. God created heaven and earth and everyone in it (Genesis Chapter 1-3) and to know God is to have eternal life (John 17:3).

Studying the Bible enables us to enjoy and love God by meditating on God’s character, principles, and promises. In doing so, we rejoice in his love, care, and forgiveness (Psalm 119:12-18, 1 Timothy 6:17).

We learn to understand God’s word, to learn direction in life, to find comfort and hope, to become pure and holy, and to Obey His Great Commandment which is to love God with all of our being and our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31), and Jesus’ commandment to love one another (John 13:34-35).

Exploring the Old Testament, therefore, provides us with the background of each book so we can become acquainted with the lands and cultures in the Bible. This allows us to travel through the book so we can enjoy the richness and beauty of the scriptures. Additionally, there are major themes in each biblical book to help us grasp the main message of each book.

Finally, we discover that Jesus is the center and star of God’s revelation as shown in each book to guide us understand God’s plan of salvation and restoration.

CHAPTER 2

What is the Old Testament?

The Old Testament is the Word of God as much as the New Testament. It was complied over hundreds of years and written by many different authors; it all