Finding Christ Between the Testaments

Fascinating message by Dr. John Barnett on the Intertestamental Period (the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew.)  The message of this silent period is that the Jews were victorious when they were obedient to the Word and defeated when they fell away from the Word.  The intertestamental period also presents the timeframe when the four main religious groups of Christ's day (the Essenes, Pharisees, Sadducees and Zealots) came into development, and also gives more background into the very dark and violent times of the life of people like Joseph, Mary, Simeon, Anna, Elizabeth and Zacharius, etc.

Dr. Barnett discusses how Daniel (in Dan. 11) prophesied about Alexander and the four kingdoms (prophetic words that were indeed fulfilled), as well as a little more background into the some of the Apocryphal books.  Although for Protestants we can sometimes be a little quick to dismiss the Apocrypha as non-canonical "Catholic" books, even though these are not cannon they do offer some interesting insight into the dark times between the testaments, including details of events such as the Maccabean revolt.


Some of the Apocryphal works, such as the Ezras books, need to be taken with a grain of salt:  per Dr. Barnett, I Ezras is basically just a copy of the Old Testament book of Ezra with extra stuff added in about "don't mistreat the Jews".  II Ezra's is a "flaming apocalyptic" with various inaccurate prophecies.  Its noteworthy that Jesus nor any of the New Testament ever make mention of the Apocrypha.  Rome clings to these, primarily because of fringy passages like 2 Maccabees 12:43, that talk abotu how Judas Macabees, when his soldiers died, shacked them up and made a sacrifice for them.  The entire Catholic system of purgatory was built around this one verse.

Dr. Barnett gives an excellent overview of this Intertestamental Period, and it helps give an little more background into the lives of those in Luke's gospel and the rough, violent time that they were coming out of.

Genesis Chapter Summary

High level summary of every chapter of Genesis, from some recent notes I took. These are all in my own words, and not just lifted from the chapter titles in the Bible (although some are likely very similar)

Ch. 1 - Song of Creation
Ch. 2 - Adam and Eve and Marriage
Ch. 3 - The Fall and the Promise of Redemption
Ch. 4 - Cain kills Abel
Ch. 5 - Geneology of Adam to Noah
Ch. 6 - The Baptism of the earth
Ch. 7 - Flood
Ch. 8 - God's Covenant
Ch. 9 - God blessed Noah and his sons. Ham's sin
Ch.10 - Nations Descendant from Noah
Ch. 11 - Tower of Babel
Ch. 12 - Callof Abram. Abrahamic covenant (land, seed, blessing)
Ch. 13 - Abraham leaves Egypt with wealth and riches. Abram and Lot separate.
Ch. 14 - Abram rescues Lot. Melkizedek blessed Abram.
Ch. 15 - Covenant Restated. God passes between pieces of animals.
Ch. 16 - Sarah and Hagar. Hagar flees with Ishmael and encounters angel of the Lord
Ch. 17 - Covenant renewed. Isaac birth promised.
Ch. 18 - Three visitors. Abraham pleads for Sodom.
Ch. 19 - Destruction of Sodom. Lot's wife dies. Lots daughters beget Moabites and Ammonites.
Ch. 20 - Abimelech. Abraham lies about Sarah.
Ch. 21 - Birth of Isaac
Ch. 22 - Abraham tested
Ch. 23 - Sarah dies
Ch. 24 - Isaac and Rebecca.
Ch. 25 - Birth of Esau and Jacob.
Ch. 26 - Isaac and Abimilech
Ch. 27 - Jacob is blessed
Ch. 28 - Jacob works for Laban
Ch. 29 - Jacob marries Leah and Rachael
Ch. 30 - Jacob has children
Ch. 31 - Jacob flees Laban
Ch. 32 - Jacob's repentance
Ch. 33 - Jacob meets Esau again
Ch. 34 - Detour with Dinah and Shechemites
Ch. 35 - Jacob renamed
Ch. 36 - Esau's descendants
Ch. 37 - Joseph's dreams
Ch. 38 - Strange Judah/Tamar/Onan detour
Ch. 39 - Potiphar's wife causes problems for Joseph
Ch. 40 - Joseph interprets dreams of prisoners
Ch. 41 - Joseph interprets the Pharaoh's dream
Ch. 42 - Joseph's brothers head to Egypt
Ch. 43 - Joseph's brothers return home
Ch. 44 - Joseph tests his brothers
Ch. 45 - Joseph reveals his identity
Ch. 46 - Joseph's family goes to Egypt/Jacob and Joseph reunited
Ch. 47 - Jacob and family move to Egypt/famine
Ch. 48 - Jacob blesses Joseph's sons Ephriam and Manasseh
Ch. 49 - Jacob blesses his twelve sons/Jacob's death and burial
Ch. 50 - Joseph's death/Embalmed in Egypt/Buried in Shechem

Genesis 26: 34 - 27: 45

Missed worship last week, so there's a gap in the Genesis notes, but here's where it picks up again. Pastor Paul spoke more on the unraveling narrative of Issac, Jacob and Esau. He spent a lot of time more so on the topical side of things, addressing themes of God's election and various viewpoints of God's interaction with the world, then touched on the passages more specifically.

Genesis 26: 34 - 27: 45 talks about the stolen blessing. Isaac had planned to bypass God's will and just give Esau the blessing, but Rebbecca schemed to have Jacob get it instead. It's all a big mess, but as pastor said, God's will is accomplished in spite of us. God's election is at work here, and in Gen. 25 we God's election at work in the two nations in the womb, Jacob and Esau.

Pastor Paul went on to elaborate some of the misconceptions of God's role in the universe. Some of the worldviews that he pointed out and spoke about were:

• Deism - God created everything and left it all alone.
• Pantheism - God is in everything and not distinct from the creation.
• Everything just by chance (as opposed to providence)
• Impersonal faith - "Things just happen. That's just how the world is", etc.

So Pastor spoke about the errors of these various views, and identified how God's providence means that He is continually involved with all things. He also identified the idea of preservation, that God holds all things together. All things are created through Him and for Him. If it wasn't for this, the rules of the universe wouldn't be constant and things would just fall apart.

Another question addressed was that, if God in in control, then why is there evil? Pastor Paul pointed out that often bad things, or things that seem bad to us at the time, are there as part of God's direction leading to good. He pointed out the example of Joseph, who was taken from his family and brought into slavery. From this "bad" situation, Joseph, given the ability from God to interpret dreams, was able to rise in prominence to being second in command of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh, and from this position, he was able to not only save his family but also ultimately the people of Israel.

Gen. 25:1-18

For the beginning verses of Genesis 25, Pastor Voddie spoke about the life of Isaac and his somewhat minimal narrative in the Bible. With Isaac, his importance is defined in terms of who he's connected to in terms of God's covenantal promise.

(Voddie touched on the "controversy" around Gen. 25:1 and his other offspring, and what was the situation that empowered him to have more children. Was it his "rejuvenation", that allowed him to have Isaac, also something that allowed him to have other children as well? The issue with Keturah and whether she was a wife or concubine is interesting but ultimately not important. One interesting note is that Keturah bore Midian, and later on with will be the Midianites who took Joseph out of the well to sell to the Ishmaelites.)

The various promises that shape the life of Isaac include God's promise to provide offspring for barren Abraham, as well as the land of Caanan. We also see through God's promise that Ishmael would be a great nation an example of Abraham's unfaithfulness, and presents the account of another son who does not get to be the promised one. Abraham did not have to sin to fulfil the promise. Ishmael was set against Isaac, and this is still manifest to this day.

In terms of the messianic linage, through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc, we see that it wasn't from the goodness and sinlessness of these individuals that God called them to be of the chosen line. Rather, God used this lineage of sinful men to lead up to Christ, the one through whom forgiveness of sins would be offered.