Old Testament studies; a class book

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Table Of Contents

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I. The World Before Abraham 9

II. The Days of the Patriarchs : Abraham and

Chapter I. Ihe World Before Abraham

The Purpose of Bible History. — Bible history traces the deahngs of God with men and brings us in gradual unfolding both revelation and redemption. It tells of the revelation which God made concerning himself, and it sets forth the redemption which God, through his incarnate Son, wrought for the race. This history, as has been suggested, is "His-Storyf' it comes from God ; it tells of God ; it is designed to lead to God.

Bible history differs from other history in its nature and purpose. Ordinarily, history deals with men and nations, recording their lives and their deeds, and measuring their service and their worth. This history is concerned with the affairs of men and nations only in so far as these may be used to serve the high purposes of divine revelation and teaching. This purpose explains why much attention is given to certain characters and events, while others of apparently equal importance are passed over in silence or with the briefest mention. We will have frequent occasion in these Studies to note this fact. Thousands of years are covered by the first eleven chapters of Genesis, while four books, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, are given to the record of the incidents and revelations of forty years.

God is in all history and manifests himself in the lives of all men and in the affairs of all nations. But God manifested and revealed himself in a peculiar sense in Hebrew history, and God's Spirit in a special way guided and inspired the records of Holy Scripture. Bible history is real history and is to be treated and studied as such. But Bible history is more than ordinary history, and if we would enter into its sacred meaning and message, we must needs approach it with full recognition of its august nature and its divine purpose.

The Creation. •

The Account of Creation. — In the first chapter of Genesis we have: (i) a general statement that God created all things, ''the heavens and the earth,'' Genesis i : i, 2; (2) a somewhat detailed account of this creative activity, setting forth successive stages in the creation, and indicating the developments of each of the six creative days. (Genesis i : 3-31.) These developments were as follows :

First day. Light was created and divided from the darkness.

Second day. ''God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament."

The World Before Abraham.

Third day. The seas were separated from the land, and the lower order of vegetable growth came into being.

Fourth day. The sun, moon, and stars were called out.

Fifth day. Fish and fowls, the lower orders of animals were created.

Sixth day. The higher order of animals came into being, and man was created.

The heart of this wonderful account which sets before us the self-existent, creative God, and which solves the deepest of all mysteries, the origin of matter and of man, is set forth in three statements :

'Tn the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.''

''And God said, Let us make man in our own imiage, after our likeness/'

''And God said, It is not good that the man should be alone ; I will make him an help meet for him."

In Wonderful Agreement with Modern Science, — Certainly it was no thought of Moses to write for scientific purposes a treatise on the origin and structure of the world. Nothing could have been farther from his thinking than the giving of instruction to the rustic shepherd people for whom he wrote as regards the mystery and marvel of scientific problems. It is unscientific to forget the ends for which Moses wrote and the state of the people for whom he wrote. In simple language, adapted to the plain people of his day and of all succeeding ages, Moses sets forth God's creative activity. So far from stumbling over any slight apparent discrepancies between this account and the verdict of modern science, we may well wonder that this ancient narrative follows so closely the order of development as we now read it in the strata of the earth's surface.

The Sabbath. — When God had finished his creative work, he rested on the seventh day. "And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it ; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Thus the Sabbath comes to us from paradise, a part of God's original thought for the race. It was not a burden or a restriction laid upon man, but a blessing bestowed upon him, designed to serve his best physical and spiritual interests. A proper observance of the Sabbath involves (i) rest, (2) worship, (3) service; which means that on the Sabbath we should rest, we should worship, and we should in some way serve God and our fellows.

Both by his own example and by direct command, God decreed that man should work, and thus work was a part of God's original plan for the race. The happiness of paradise did not involve idleness ; Adam was to subdue the earth and have dominion over all living things. The rest required on the Sabbath implies and demands work.

The Marriage Relation, — Out of the inspired record of creation, and from the Garden of Eden, comes the marriage relation. Dr. William Smith points out the following principles as growing out of the record concerning the creation of man and w^oman: ''(i) The unity of man and wife as implied in her being formed out of man and as expressed in the words, 'one flesh'; (2) the indissolubleness of the marriage bond except on the strongest grounds; (3) monogamy, as the original law of marriage, resulting from there having been but one original couple, as is forcibly expressed in the subsequent references to this passage by our Lord and St. Paul; (4) the social equality of man and wife as implied in the terms ish and ishah, the one being the exact correlative of the other, as well as in the words 'help meet for him'; (5) the subordination of the wife to the husband, consequent upon her subsequent formation; and (6) the respective duties of man and wife as impHed in the words 'help meet for him'/'

The Garden of Eden. — (i) Its Location. - It is impossible to determiine definitely the location of this garden which the Lord ''planted eastward in Eden/' Clearly Eden is a general term describing a certain territory in which the garden was located. Of the four rivers named in connection with this land, two are supposed to be the Tigris and the Euphrates, though we are unable to determine concerning the other two. The region of the lower Euphrates in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf answers all the requirements of the Scripture description, and this was probably the location of the Garden of Eden.

(2) Its Happiness. "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden ; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food" (Genesis 2: 8, 9). Everything essential to the happiness of the first pair was provided — fruits and flowers, beauty and every charm. In each other and in God they found blessed communion, while in the care of the garden they found wholesome occupation.

The Object of This Account. — It prepares the way for all the history which follows. Moses is writing an introduction to the message of divine revelation and redemption, a message which culminates in the coming of the incarnate Son of God to die for the race. He begins where in the nature of the case he must begin, with God, and in his opening word he shows how this world and man stand related to God. God created this world and called man into being. This fact sends its light down through sacred history, helping to explain God's attitude toward a sinful race, and making explicable that central fact of all history, the voluntary death of the Son of God as an expiation for sin. Link this word of Genesis i : i with the strong assertions of God's care for men ; link it with John 3 : 16 ; link it with the Cross ; immediately we have light on what would otherwise be insoluble mystery. We know why God should care for men ; we can even in a measure understand why he became incarnate and died for men — God had created man in his own likeness and image.

The Value of This Account. — If we would be impressed with the value of these first two chapters of Genesis, let us imagine, if we can, that these chapters have been stricken out, and that our Bible begins with the story of the fall in the third chapter of Genesis. A list of some priceless things which we would thus lose will suffice : (i) that God created the heavens and the earth; (2) that God made man as a special and distinct creation; (3) that man was made in the image of God and after his likeness; (4) that God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it by ceasing from his creative labors; (5) that in mercy to man's loneliness God made woman as a companion and help meet for man, and that man is to leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife; (6) that both man and woman were created without taint of sin.

The Fall.

If it is needful that the message of revelation and redemption shall be introduced by a statement of how the world and man came to be, it is equally needful that such record shall be preceded by a satisfactory explanation of how sin came to be. Is sin an original part of God's creative work? How did sin come? The third chapter of Genesis answers these questions.

God's Prohibition, — Having placed the newly created pair in a beautiful garden marked by every pleasure, ''God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayst freely eat : but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2: 16, 17).

This command was not imposed arbitrarily, merely to test man : it was given in mercy to warn him. The word, "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," is not a threat, it is not so much the denunciation of punishment; it is rather a statement of an inevitable fact graciously made to guard against harm and evil. If man was to be free, free to serve and worship God, he must also be free to refuse God

The World Before Abraham. yj

and commit sin. In order to be real, freedom of choice must equally embrace holiness and sin ; because God would make man capable of worship and obedience, he made him also capable of the choice of evil. He did not leave man alone in his innocence and ignorance, but mercifully instructed him concerning evil.

Satan's Temptation. — Over against God's word of command and warning, Satan places a false word of persuasion and temptation. Coming in the form of the serpent which ''was more subtle than any beast of the field," the Tempter makes insinuation to the woman concerning God's authority and his goodness : ''Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" In simplicity the woman recited the fact that God had given permission to eat all fruit except of the tree in the midst of the garden, concerning which he had said, "Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Then the evil one declared that God's word was false, and he boldly asserted that God was m.oved not by desire for their welfare, but was envious of his creatures ; "Ye shall not surely die : for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

Man's Fall. — The woman had pursued a course involving peril ; she had given audience to Satan ; she had paused to give ear to his evil suggestions. Now she took a step further in peril; she consented to linger and look upon that which was forbidden. As she lingered and looked, ''the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise/' Fascinated by what she saw, and overlooking the fact that death lurked beneath, ''she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat/'

God's Promise, — The offspring of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. The result of this first sin was swift and terrible. True, "the eyes of them both were opened," but their eyes were opened to look upon their shame with such a consciousness of guilt that when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

And now lest the guilty pair shall take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever, God sends them forth from the Garden of Eden after having pronounced a curse upon the serpent, a curse upon the man, and a curse upon the woman. But as they go forth, God gives a promise to save them from despair and to lead them to look for a deliverer. This promise, which for thousands of years constituted a star of hope for the sinful race, was a part of the curse upon the serpent: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3 : 15).

The World Before Abraham. X9

This promise was essentially vague. The offspring of the woman was to bruise the head of the serpent, though in the contest, as the Deliverer crushed him to death, the serpent should bruise his heel.

The Value of This Record, — It shows the origin and nature of sin. The reason and necessity for this account of man and the origin of sin must be apparent. This account together with the record of creation in the twO' preceding chapters shows that sin was not a part of God's original creation, but that it came through the suggestion of an alien evil spirit, and by the free choice of man himself. The account also indicates that God used every precaution to warn and save man from this folly. As in the further progress of the Scripture narrative, we see the persistent efforts of God to save men from sin, efforts culminating at last in the death of the incarnate Son of God, we may by this record of the fall be assured that God is not seeking to amend his own imperfect work or to retrieve mistakes he had himself made in the original creation of the race.

This incident of the first human sin from which all sin has come, standing as it does in the opening chapters of Genesis, sends its light on down through the w^hole succeeding record of revelation and redemption. God in pity is ever after seeking to deliver man from the perils and death in w^hich he has, voluntarily and in wanton disobedience of God's gracious word of command, involved himself. The promise v^hich God gave beckoned and comforted the race in its long pilgrimage, until at last it had glorious fulfillment when he that w^as born of a woman went out to Calvary and bruised the Serpent's head, though in the terrible conflict the Serpent bruised his heel and wounded him so that for three days he lay lifeless in the tomb.

That our first parents should transmit to their offspring the nature which was fallen and marred by their own transgression, was inevitable. This lies in the original constitution of the race. If it seems hard that all the race for all time should be sinful because the first man sinned, we do well to remember that by this same law of headship, all the race for all time and for eternity may be saved from sin because the second Adam did not sin. ^'For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive'' (i Corinthians 15 : 22).

Cain and Abel.

After the creation and fall, we have recorded in this great introductory section of the Bible three special incidents : the murder of Abel, the flood, and the confusion of tongues. These incidents, illustrating the persistent sinfulness of sin and emphasizing the hopelessness of the race apart from divine interposition, pave the way for the significant step recorded in the twelfth chapter of Genesis, when God in a sense turns from the race as a whole and begins to reveal and

The World Before Ahraham. 21

manifest himself in a peculiar way to Abraham and the nation which he founded. Through this race he will manifest himself to all races.

The record of Cain and Abel may be briefly summed up in four words : offerings, murder, curse, banishment.

The Offerings of Cain and Abel. — Concerning the origin of sacrifices, the Scriptures are silent; whether these arose from some unrecorded command of God or grew out of the sense of sinfulness and the desire to make some atonement for sin, we do not know.

Both Cain and Abel brought offerings ; Cain, of the fruit of the ground, for he w^as a tiller of the soil ; Abel, of the firstlings of his flock, for he was a shepherd. For reasons which are not stated, but which are clearly connected with the spirit which prompted the sacrifice, God accepted the offering of Abel, but rejected the offering of Cain. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain'' (Hebrews 11:4).

Cain Murders Ah el. — ''Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.'' In vain the Lord admonished him. ''And Cain talked with Abel." Perhaps they quarreled with heated words, and Cain rose against his brother when they were alone together in the field, and slew him. This first murder, the more heinous because it was premeditated fratricide, and because it was without reasonable provocation, has laid hold on the imagination of all succeeding ages, illustrating as it does the swift growth of the principle of sin which began in the garden as disobedience, and quickly developed into violence and bloodshed.

Curse and Banishment. — To show for all time his abhorrence of the crime of murder and the certainty that sin cannot go unpunished, God denounces a curse upon the very ground which, as a protest against the crime of Cain, shall not any more yield for him her strength. ''A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth.'' Lest the presence of Cain prove a menace and a demoralizing influence, and as a further expression of divine disapproval, God drives Cain forth from the community which had begun to grow.

From Cain to Noah. — Between the above event, in which Cain slew his brother, and the flood, record of which begins in the sixth chapter of Genesis, there is a lapse of many hundreds, perhaps many thousands, of years. Inasmuch as it is not the purpose of the Scriptures merely to record history, but rather to trace the revelation of God, long years are frequently passed over in silence. Of this period we know but little save that the race wonderfully increased both in numbers and in wickedness. After the death of Abel, Seth was born to Adam and Eve. Following in the steps of ''righteous Abel,'' he became the progenitor of a godly race, while Cain, driven out by Jehovah, went forth to found a race in which violence and lust prevailed.

This long period is illumined by the record of one man who looms distinct on the horizon: "and Enoch walked with God : and he was not ; for God took him'' (Genesis 5 : 24).

The Flood.

Exceeding Sinfulness. — "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them'' (Genesis 6: 5-7).

It is scarcely possible to see how stronger language could have been used to describe the deep wickedness which prevailed upon the earth. The statement of God's repentance and regret for the making of man is what is called anthropomorphism, the ascribing to God of language which would under similar circumstances befit men. We are not to suppose that God changed in any sense, since he is eternal and unchangeable.

Noah Finds Favor. — Noah, a just man and perfect in his generations, found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God announced his purpose to destroy the earth because of prevailing corruption and violence, and commanded Noah to^ build an ark, giving him full instructions as to the materials and dimensions. The word of God, ''yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years/' is sometimes taken to mean that, as a penalty for sin, the length of human life was to be shortened to one hundred and twenty years. It is rather to be construed as indicating a respite ; after the announcement of coming destruction, wicked men should have one hundred and twenty years before the impending doom shall fall.

The Race Destroyed. — When Noah, in obedience to God's command, had built the ark and had gathered of all living creatures, the word of the Lord bade him come into the ark with all his house, his wife and three sons — Shem, Ham and Japheth — with their wives. ''And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.'' Dr. William Smith well says, "The narrative is vivid and forcible, though entirely wanting in that sort of description which, in a modern historian, would have occupied the largest space. We see nothing of the deathstruggle; we hear not the cry of despair; we are not called upon to witness the frantic agony of husband and wife, of parent and child, as they fled in terror before the rising waters."

It is well to read the sublimely awful story as the inspired writer has described it and let it make its own impression on our minds. Many unimportant details may be passed over and profitless questions may be left unasked. It is needless, for instance, to raise the question as to the extent of the flood, whether it was universal

The World Before Altraham. 25

in the sense that it actually encircled and covered the whole earth. It was certainly universal in that it extended to every part of the earth occupied by the human race.

Noah's Descendants. — When Noah came forth from the ark, he built an altar and worshiped God. ''And God blessed Noah and his sons and said imto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.'' The descendants of Japheth spread abroad, reaching to the shores of the Mediterranean and into Asia Minor ; the race of Shem filled southwestern Asia, particularly the Arabian peninsula ; the descendants of Hajn found a home chiefly in Africa.

The Confusion of Tongues.

The Tower of Babel. — While the new race which descended from Noah rapidly increased in numbers and apparently in civilization, wickedness seems also to have grown rapidly. A company of people moved eastward and settled in the alluvial valley of the Euphrates. Here they thought to establish an empire, build a central city which should be their capital; and, despite the explicit promise of God that the earth should no more be destroyed by flood, they assayed to build a tower ''which should reach to heaven.'' This program involved disobedience in that God had commanded the race to scatter abroad and replenish the earth ; it involved also unbelief in that they distrusted the word of God which declared that there should be no more a flood to destroy the race. This ambitious project was possible because the people were of one language. As a simple means of defeating their plans, God came down and confounded their language; ''So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth ; and they left off to build the city'' (Genesis ii : 8).

The City of Babylon. — The city which the people thus began to found was called Babel, because Jehovah did there confound the language of all the earth; it figures in later history under the well-known Greek name of Babylon.

From the long period of thousands of years which came before Abraham and the beginning of the Hebrew race, the inspired writer has recorded for us in this introductory section of the Bible five incidents :

(i) Creation, to show how the universe and man came to be, and to set forth God's relation to the newly created world and race.

(2) The Fall, to show how sin began to be, and thus to set forth the origin of sin as coming by man's voluntary choice; the nature of sin as being a willful elevation of self against God; and the divine displeasure, as shown in the curse pronounced upon the sinners.

(3) The Murder of Abel, as illustrating the natural growth and violence of sin. In the garden, in its beginnings, disobedience; outside of the garden, in its full development, murder.

The World Before Ahraham. 27

(4) The Flood, which shows how, when the race had utterly failed, God spared the best man living, and in him and his sons gave the race a new probation.

(5) The Confusion of Tongues, in which is set forth the folly and failure of the race which descended from righteous Noah.

These incidents, especially the repeated failure of the race when tried under the most favorable conditions, prepare us for the history which begins with the twelfth chapter of Genesis, in which God in a sense turns to one man, Abraham, and selects one people sprung from that man, to whom he reveals himself and through whom he offers redemption to all peoples. In our next chapter we enter upon that history.

28 Old Testa/rnent Studies.

QUESTIONS.

What is the purpose of Bible history?

Give an account of creation.

What of the agreement of the Mosaic account of creation with modern science?

What was the object of this account of creation?

What is the value of this account?

Tell of the origin of the Sabbath. How is the Sabbath to be observed?

Name some principles suggested as growing out of the record of the creation of man and woman.

Describe the Garden of Eden: (1) Its location, (2) its happiness.

Why did God forbid the fruit of the tree of knowledge? How were the first pair tempted to sin? Explain the stepsi by which Eve was led to disobey. What promise was given to the guilty couple, and

how was this promise fulfilled? What is the value of this record of the fall?

Give the essential features in the story of the first murder.

Give the essential features in the story of the flood.

What led to the confusion of tongues?

Indicate briefly why each of the five leading incidents of this period is recorded.

Certify to the reading of "Selections for Reading and Study."

OUTLINES FOR CHAPTER II.

THE DAYS OF THE TATIIIARCHS : ABRAHAM AND ISAAC.

Scripture Record — Genesis, chapters 12-27. Selection for Reading and Study — Genesis 12-27. Time — Abraham and Isaac, 2000 to 1724 B.C.

Abraham and His Wanderings (Genesis 12-25).

World Conditions in Abraham's Day.

The Call of Abram.

Abram's Faith Fails.

Abram and Lot.

Abram and the Promised Son.

Abraham's Faith Tested.

Abraham a World Character.

Isaac the Son of Promise (Genesis 25, 26).

Isaac and Rebecca.

Birth of Esau and Jacob.

The Covenant Blessing.

Esau Sells the Birthright.

CHAPTER 11.

THE DAYS OF THE PATRIARCHS : ABRAHAM AND ISAAC.

Abraham and His Wanderings.

World Conditions in Abrahams Day, — (i) There was a well-advanced civilization. The inhabitants of the Euphrates Valley and the people who settled in Canaan and Egypt were kinspeople, being alike descendants of Shem. In all of these countries, especially in the valleys of the Nile and Euphrates, there was in Abraham's day a well-developed civilization, with stable government and a cultivation of the arts and sciences. Writing was practiced and communications for commercial and governmental purposes were carried on between widely separated sections. Thus vvdien Abraham left his home in Ur of the Chaldees, he left a high degree of civilization, with great cities and extensive commerce; when he came into Egypt, he found a government many centuries old and a civilization which had long before produced those marvels of architecture, the pyramids. The fact that in Haran, in Canaan, and in Egypt, Abraham found friendly peoples, with whom he could easilv communicate and among whom he readily (30)