Themes of the Old Testament

Slide to Destruction

The first example is Israel. First, there would be one good king, and then all the other kings would worship Baal. The consequence for the bad kings would be that Assyria would scatter them. Second is Judah. There would be two good kings but then the rest of them would worship idols. The consequence for their bad kings would be that they would be taken over by the Babylonians. So to wrap it up, you could say that the kings just went for power. And they also focused on popularity. You have to listen to the prophets in your life. And there are also consequences for doing it our way and not God’s way. My own example was social media. A lot of times people focus on popularity and “followers” or something like that. People also focus on beauty and things like that.

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Themes of the Old Testament

Call

God then called Abraham and Sarah to be the parents of a great nation. Abraham and Sarah didn’t always trust God’s call and tried to control things on their own. In the end, God kept his promises. Some examples are, moving, adoption, cancer. But my example was a telephone. Whenever I hear of the world telephone, I think of calling someone. Especially God calling me. So we have to trust God with everything and trust him because we know he will do good.

Slavery and Salvation

First off, Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph then helped his family survive the famine. Then, Moses. Moses was BORN into slavery yet he lead Israel out of Egypt. A summary of this could be…that people intended to harm others but God planned it for a good sake. In this part of the Bible, God proclaims, that “He is who He is”. God is unchanging. He never changes. God is faithful, and present today in your heart if you accept him in your heart. You could also say, that God is a “verb”. My example was the Star Spangled Banner. The song reminds me of the freedom of our country. And that the United States of America is a free country.

Symbol of the Lamp

God promises to send a savior through the line of David. God uses the symbol of a lamp since that was the only source of light for the people of that day. David was a man of God’s own heart even though he had made many mistakes. David’s line leads to Jesus. Who is the ultimate light of the world. My example was a flashlight or the torch that they use in the show Survivor because like the torch in Survivor, it is the only source of light that they get to use for their adventure. Also, a flashlight reminds me of God because when I have a flashlight in the dark, it reminds me that God is the light of the world and that He will always protect me.

 

 

Themes of the Old Testament

Cycle of Judges

The cycle went like this: everything goes well, people start to sin, the enemies would attack, they cry to God, and then God sends a judge.

And then people looked around and wanted a king like other nations. All the people did what they thought was right. And then we have to ask ourselves, do we do what culture wants, or what God wants? My example was “Money Vs. Respect”. Just like Culture vs God. Because we have to respect and not worry too much about money. In life everything does not depend on money. But when we respect others, we will get friends. You can not buy friends with money. It is all about RESPECT.

 

A Savior

The people could not keep the Sinai Covenant so God offered a new covenant. The new covenant that God made would be written on their hearts, and not stone tablets. It did not need animal sacrifices since Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. Then Jeremiah gave the new covenant. Called the Davidic Covenant. It did not have any conditions, and it was based on grace and forgiveness. And then later, Isaiah gave the people pictures of the new Savior that they could relate to. My example was a rainbow because whenever I think of the word “covenant”, I think of a rainbow and that God will keep his promises. So we have to trust God that we will keep promises.

 

 

 

Themes of the Old Testament

Sinai Law

The Ten Commandments were a covenant with God. God gave the Ten Commandments to protect us. Today’s gods might be: sports, electronics, beauty, friends, social media, music, and food. All of these things can take you away from God. My example was the Switzerland flag because it is a big plus in the middle. It reminds me of protection. And with the Ten Commandments, God says that he makes them not to smother us, but to protect us.

 

 

Themes of the Old Testament

Conflict and Doubt

In the Bible times, Israel struggled with God. They did not trust God. In this story of conflict and doubt, it involves Jacob. He wrestled with God and also did not trust him. Other people that struggled and wrestled with God were: Sarah, Abraham, Moses, Jonah, Peter, Isaac, Joseph and brothers, Thomas, Noah, David, and finally Saul. A lot of things that happen is that you ask, WHY? WHAT’S NEXT? Why me? And so on…My example was soccer, #8, and #14 because my friend that I played soccer with, passed away, and I just wanted to ask God, WHY??? And those were the jersey numbers he used. So in the conflict and doubt, we have to trust God ALWAYS.