Category Archives: Bible Overview

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

August 20, 2024

Posted under

Bible Overview, Old Testament

What was manna?

The Israelites ate manna for forty years. Nearly every meal, every day, seven days a week the Israelites ate manna. During the forty years in the wilderness the average Israelite would have eaten tens of thousands of meals of manna. Manna kept the Israelites alive in a land where food was scarce. Manna was so important to Israel that God commanded them to put a pot of manna in the Ark of the Covenant as a memorial of the wilderness wanderings. What was manna?

The Hebrews named their wilderness food “manna” because they did not know what it was. Manna is a Hebrew word that means, “what is it?”. Was it vegetable, meat, grain or fruit? No one knows. All the Bible says about the nature of manna is that it was bread from Heaven, was white and tasted like a flat cake made with honey. (Exodus 16:4, 31)

Every morning manna appeared on the ground. God commanded the Israelites to gather each morning enough manna to feed their own household for one day. Any who tried to store manna overnight found it rotten the next morning. The exception to this was Friday. On the sixth day of the week the Israelites were to collect enough manna for two days. The fourth commandment forbade the Israelites to work on the Sabbath. God would not send manna on the Sabbath. Instead, God would preserve the manna collected by Israel on Friday morning so that it would remain edible through Saturday.

God gave manna as the primary food to sustain the Israelites during the entire forty years of their travels in the wilderness. This daily provision was a remarkable testimony of the faithfulness of God to keep His promises and to provide for His people. Manna was more than just food to keep Israel alive. Manna was a lesson, an examination and a picture.

The Bible declares two additional reasons God sent the Israelites manna every day. He gave them manna each morning as a test of their obedience. (Exodus 16:4) The Israelites were notoriously disobedient. The manna was a daily test of their obedience. Each morning every family was faced with a choice, would they obey God today or disobey Him? The manna was one way in which the Israelites faithfulness to God was revealed.

The manna also served as a continual illustration of the Israelites need to obey God. God gave manna to teach them that a person’s life depends not only on what he eats, but also upon obedience to the Word of God. (Deuteronomy 8:3) The manna was given as a daily reminder the Israelites were totally dependent upon God for their life. If they obeyed Him they would receive His blessing.

The most important thing about manna is its imagery. Manna was a picture of Jesus. Jesus taught the manna in the wilderness was not the True Bread from Heaven. Jesus was the bread from Heaven sent from God the Father for the eternal sustenance of all who believe Him. (John 6:32-40). When Jesus said, “I am the bread of life,” He declared Himself to the be what all people need and who will give life to all who receive Him. Those who take Jesus as their Savior will live forever.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

May 7, 2024

Posted under

Bible Overview, Genesis, Old Testament

Who was Isaac?

Little is known about the promised son of Abraham. One would expect the Bible to focus on the child for whom Abraham and Sarah waited twenty-five years to receive. One would expect Scripture to say much about the life of the man who was willing to lay down on an altar and be killed as a sacrifice to God. The Bible says little about Isaac. The argument can be made that only one chapter in Genesis focuses on Isaac, compared with ten chapters that focus on Abraham, seven that focus on Jacob and ten that focus on Joseph. Isaac has a background role in the book of Genesis.

Isaac was the son of Abraham and Sarah, born when Abraham was one-hundred years old and Sarah was ninety. He was the son promised to Abraham as the first of countless descendants and the beginning of a great nation. Isaac was proof God would keep all His promises to Abraham.

The little known about Isaac suggests he was a man of faith who trusted his father and, more importantly, trusted God. Isaac’s faith is first seen in Genesis 22 on the way to make sacrifice at Mt. Moriah. Isaac’s age at that time is not known, but he was old enough to carry the bundle of wood required for the sacrifice. Many pounds of wood would have been needed to consume any animal sacrifice. Isaac’s ability to carry the heavy load of wood suggests he was no younger than his early teen years.

When it came time to make the sacrifice, Isaac was placed on the altar. The Bible says only Abraham and Isaac went up the mountain to make sacrifice to God. Abraham had no servants to help him restrain his son. Isaac was old enough that it would have been impossible for Abraham to put him on the altar without resorting to violence. The Bible is silent about what transpired between Abraham and his son before Abraham reached for the knife to kill Isaac, but Isaac was almost certainly a willing participant. He lay on the altar of his own accord. This readiness to be offered showed a great trust in Abraham and an even greater trust in God.

Hebrews 11:20 says, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.” Isaac transferred to Jacob the promises God had first given to Abraham. The Abrahamic covenant was handed down to Isaac who then passed it to Jacob. Isaac said to Jacob, “Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you.” (Genesis 27:29) Isaac’s words are nearly identical with the promise God gave to Abraham. (Genesis 12:3) Isaac later said to Jacob, “May God Almighty bless you . . . and give you the blessings of Abraham.” (Genesis 28:3-4) Isaac had not seen any particular evidence his descendants would be a great nation or would multiply to become as numerous as the stars, but he obviously believed God would keep all His promises to Abraham. Isaac believed he was the beneficiary of those promises. By faith he gave the promise of God to Jacob in confidence God would keep His Word.

Otherwise, the life of Isaac is somewhat unremarkable. He lived in Canaan as a nomad. The Bible records a time when his faith wavered and shows that he acted foolishly in his dealings with his sons. Isaac did not commit any remarkable sins or perform any remarkable deeds. He appears to have a lived an ordinary, faithful life in which he simply trusted God to keep His Word.

Isaac is the overlooked patriarch of Israel whose unremarkable life ought to encourage people today. Isaac is praised in Scripture as an example of faith, but not because he did any incredible deeds. He is praised because he believed God. So it is today. God is seeking those who will trust Him in their daily lives. The faith of some people will be shown in a remarkable trust in God which leaves home to venture far away in service to the Lord. The faith of some will be an unshakeable trust which gives all in sacrifice to God. For the majority of people, trust in God will be exercised in the mundane events of daily life. Most are called to live a life of faith which works a job, raises a family, serves in a church and walks with God. This faith is unremarkable because it is the faith required of the majority of Christian. Isaac shows that God is pleased with the unremarkable faith which simply obeys Him, trusts His promises and is faithful to Him in the boring routines of life.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

April 23, 2024

Posted under

Bible Overview, Christianity

Who was Luke?

Forty different men wrote the Bible. Thirty-nine were Jewish. Only one Biblical author was not a descendant of Abraham. That one man wrote more of the New Testament than any other author. His name is Luke.

Luke did not write the most number of books in the New Testament. Paul wrote thirteen and John wrote five. The two books written by Luke, the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, make up twenty percent of the New Testament. Without the work of Luke, Christians would know little about the earliest days of the church. Despite the historical importance of Luke’s writings, little is known about Luke’s life.

Luke was not one of the twelve apostles and he never saw Jesus. No one knows for certain where he was from or when he was saved. In Acts 16 Luke begins to use the word “we” in his record of the travels of Paul. This change in pronouns suggests Luke joined Paul’s ministry team in Troas. Luke journeyed with Paul into Greece, and appears to have stayed in the province of Macedonia for several years. He rejoined Paul’s team when the apostle returned to Macedonia in Acts 20, and he then traveled with Paul to Jerusalem. Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and transfered to Caesarea. Luke followed him to Caesarea and then made the long journey with him to Rome. Luke remained with Paul throughout the apostle’s house arrest. Possibly Luke wrote the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts during his time in Rome.

Luke was the first historian of Christianity. He is the only New Testament writer who did not personally see the resurrected Jesus. Despite not being an apostle or eyewitness of the resurrection, Luke’s writings show he was a conscientious chronicler of the life of Jesus, the beginning of the church and the spread of the gospel. The opening verses of Luke speak of his investigation into the life of Jesus and of his intention to present a well-ordered account of Jesus. He faithfully reproduced the results of that investigation in a two volume work which presented an exact account of the life of Jesus, the growth of the church and the ministry of the Apostle Paul.

The only other personal information known about Luke is that he was a doctor. Paul mentioned Luke in the letter to the Colossians and called him, “The beloved physician.” The latest reference to Luke in the Bible is in 2 Timothy 4. Paul wrote 2 Timothy during his final Roman imprisonment. Shortly before his execution he said, “Only Luke is with me.” Luke remained faithful to Paul when others forsook him. Though Bible is silent about the years between Paul’s first and second Roman imprisonments, it appears that after Paul was released from prison he continued to travel and preach the gospel. Luke probably traveled and ministered alongside him. When Paul was arrested the final time, Luke stayed with him and ministered to him during his final days.

The Bible does not tell what Luke did after the death of Paul. Tradition says Luke settled in Greece and ministered in the city of Thebes. He is said to have lived into his 80’s and to have died at the hands of an angry mob who skinned him alive and then crucified him on an olive tree. We know relatively little about the “beloved physician” who wrote so much of the Bible. We do know he was a faithful minister and a careful historian who produced an invaluable account of the life of Jesus and the early days of His church.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

April 16, 2024

Posted under

Bible Overview, Islam, Old Testament

Who was Ishmael?

Ishmael was the oldest son of Abraham, born ten years after Abraham left Haran to travel to the land of Canaan. Before Abraham left for Canaan, God promised him that He would give Abraham a son and, ultimately, many descendants. God also promised to bring great blessing to the entire world through the son He would give Abraham. Abraham believed and obeyed God. The years passed, but Abraham had no child.

Two major obstacles made it unlikely Abraham would father a child. His wife Sarah was unable to have children. At the time God made His promise to Abraham she was in her mid-60’s. After ten years of waiting for a child, Sarah suggested Abraham take her servant Hagar and father a child with her. Ishmael was the child born of the union between Abraham and Hagar.

Hagar’s pregnancy produced tensions between her and Sarah. Hagar’s mistress mistreated her so severely that she ran away. God came to Hagar, told her to return to Sarah and promised to give her many descendants through Ishmael. (Genesis 16:10-12) Though God promised blessings to Ishmael, He did not make Ishmael the recipient of the promise He had made with Abraham. Isaac, the son God gave Abraham through his wife Sarah was the promised son. (Genesis 17:19)

Ishmael plays a secondary role in the Bible and is only mentioned once outside the book of Genesis. He is much more important in Islam. Muslims believe Ishmael was the son Abraham took to offer as a sacrifice to God, not Isaac as Genesis 22 teaches. The Quran regards Ishmael as a prophet, and Muhammed is believed by Muslims to be a descendant from Ishmael.

After the birth of Isaac, the problems between Hagar and Sarah became so severe Abraham had to send Hagar and Ishmael away. The two eventually settled in an isolated region north of the Gulf of Aqaba. There Ishmael married an Egyptian and fathered twelve sons. Each of his sons became founders of nations and rulers of people. God made Ishmael the father of multitudes, just as He had promised. (Genesis 16:10; 21:18) Some Arab peoples living in the Middle East today trace their lineage back to Ishmael.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

April 9, 2024

Posted under

Bible Overview, Old Testament

Who was Moses?

Moses is one of the most important people in the Old Testament. He was born a slave, survived infancy despite a decree to kill all newborn Jewish boys, was adopted by an Egyptian princess and raised in the royal house of Egypt. Moses became the first national leader of Israel, led the Israelites out of Egypt, talked directly with God and gave God’s law to the people of Israel.

Moses was a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of the Levites. He was born in Egypt after the Israelites had been made slaves of the Egyptians. At that time of Moses’ birth, the population of Israel had greatly increased. Pharaoh was afraid the Israelites were becoming too numerous, so he ordered that every Jewish boy be killed at birth. Moses’ parents refused to obey. They hid Moses for the first several months of his life. When it became impossible to keep him hidden, his mother made a small basket of reeds, placed her baby inside, set it afloat in the Nile and left her daughter to watch it.

A short while later Pharaoh’s daughter came to the river and saw the basket. She sent a servant to bring the basket to her. When she saw the baby boy inside she took pity on him, adopted him as her own and named him Moses. Moses was raised in the royal house, but when he was forty years old he killed an Egyptian for beating an Israelite. Moses was forced to flee Egypt and settled in the land of Midian. In Midian he married and fathered 2 sons. After forty years in Midian God spoke to Moses from a burning bush.

While Moses was tending his flock he saw a bush on fire. Upon investigation he realized the bush was not being consumed by the fire. God spoke to Moses from the bush. He told Moses to return to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of their captivity to the land God had promised the descendants of Abraham.

Moses argued with God but eventually went to Egypt where he told the Israelites what God had told him. Moses went to Pharaoh and asked permission to leave Egypt. When Pharaoh refused, God sent ten plagues on the people of Egypt. Finally, after the death of the oldest child in every home in Egypt, the Egyptians let the Israelites go.

God led the Israelites to the Red Sea where the army of Egypt attempted to recapture the escaped slaves. God parted the waters of the Red Sea, the Israelites crossed the sea on dry ground. When the Egyptians attempted to follow them, God caused the waters to collapse on the Egyptians and drowned the army.

Moses then led the Israelites to Mt. Sinai where he spoke with God. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and the rest of the law of Israel. Moses then gave God’s laws to the people. Moses led the people from Mt. Sinai to the borders of the land God had promised to give them. When the Israelites refused to enter the land, God condemned that entire generation, except Joshua and Caleb, to die in the wilderness. Moses led the people south into the deserted lands between Egypt and Canaan.

Moses led Israel in the wilderness for forty years until it was time for them to return to the promised land. Moses did not enter Canaan. He died on a mountain overlooking the promised land and his body was taken away by angels.

Moses is one of the most important people in Israel’s history. He was the friend of God, the giver of the law, the first leader of the nation of Israel, the first author of Scripture and the first prophet of Israel.

If you would like to read more about Moses, you can find much of the above information in the first fifteen chapters of the book of Exodus and the last chapter of the book of Deuteronomy.