Old Testament – Karen Gamble Writes

Don’t Look Back

There’s a story in Genesis 18-19 that tells about the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah.

God sent angels to the two towns to destroy them because of their great wickedness.

Just before destroying the cities, the angels sent Lot, his wife, and two daughters out of the area, telling them to flee to safety and not to look back.

Unfortunately, Lot’s wife does look back and is turned into a pillar of salt. (Genesis 29:16)

Why?

Because she didn’t just look back, she looked back with longing.

Instead of looking to the rescue from destruction God was providing her, she looked back at the old life she was losing with desire to keep it.

She didn’t want to let go of the old life she was leaving behind.

I wonder how many of us have done that?

Maybe we left behind a job we loved, a friendship that was not healthy for us.

Maybe we’ve had to let go of a bad habit/pet sin we enjoyed.

Maybe we’ve had to leave a ministry we enjoyed participating in or a church we valued.

Maybe we’ve even had to let go of a romantic partner.

Whatever it is, God called us away but we are struggling with the loss.

If He’s called us away, He’s calling us to let go, walk away, and move on.

Category: God, Old Testament, People in the Bible, Scripture Study | LEAVE A COMMENT

Overview of the Bible

The Christian Bible is the most important piece of literature ever written.

More than just a bunch of stories, it is a true account of people throughout history, their lives, and their relationship with God. It is a show of how much God loves mankind and an explanation of the redemption plan He has put into place to rescue us all from our sins.

It tells about God, His nature, His character, and His plan for mankind. It also gives instructions and advice on how to live a holy life that is pleasing to Him.

The bible is broken up into 2 parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each part is a collection of books, written by various authors throughout history.

The Old Testament opens with the beginning of time when God created the world and mankind. It ends about 400 years before the birth of Jesus.

it’s books are sorted and classified into four categories.

The books of law are the first five books of the Old Testament. They were primarily written by Moses. They share how God created the world and mankind. They also explain how God established laws and explained His expectations for the Israelites. In these books He established how societies, governments, and families should be organized. He also gave clear and specific warnings against certain actions.

The books labeled history share events that happened to the Israelites. Their purpose is not to just tell us history. Their purpose is to show us God at work in the people group of Israel* and to help us understand that God has an active hand in the lives of His people.

Also called the wisdom books, the five books of poetry focus on the individual and their need for a relationship with God. These books cover every emotion we have. They are mostly made up of poetry and wise saying written by men. They are focused on helping us make wise decisions and showing us how to worship God.

The major prophets and minor prophets are books of warning. In them, the prophets are cautioning the people against disrespecting God. They help us to see where God’s heart was and how He continued to warn and work with the people even as they continued to get farther and farther away from Him. The difference between the major and minor prophet books is their length.

The New Testament starts with the birth of Jesus and goes through the end of time.

Category: New Testament, Old Testament, Scripture Study, Teaching | LEAVE A COMMENT

What Is Passover?

Passover is a Jewish holiday that commemorates when the death angel passed over the Israelites’ houses.

The Israelites were slaves in Egypt.

At God’s prompting, Moses went to the Pharaoh and asked him to let the people go.

The Pharaoh refused and as a result God sent several plagues.

The 10th one was that the death angel would pass over each house and strike dead the first born of each family as well as that of their cattle.

To spare His own people, God instructed the Israelites to kill a lamb and to smear its blood around the outer door frame of their home. When the angel passed by it would not kill anyone inside a home with these markings.

This plague finally convinced the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. He even told them they could take with them whatever they wanted, which allowed them to gather needed supplies for their journey.

To commemorate this event, God called the Israelites to yearly observe this Passing Over with a 7-day festival.

During this time no one may eat anything with leavening (yeast) in it. They must remove all yeast from their house.

On the first and seventh day of the festival they are to hold a solemn assembly. No one is to work on these days except to make food for the people to eat. (Exodus 12:14-20)

This festival is to take place from the evening of the 14th day until the evening of the 21st day of the Hebrew month Nisan.

Category: God, Holiday, Old Testament | LEAVE A COMMENT