A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

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43. ELISHA: The Prophet of Twice the Power 44. ISAIAH: On the Hinge of the Kingdom’s History 45. ISAIAH: The Revival Years 46. JEREMIAH: The Collapsing Kings 47. EZEKIEL: Visions of the Glory of God 48. DANIEL: The Years in Babylon 49. FIVE LEADERS: Their Responsibility for the Return of the Jews 50. ESTHER: The Saving of a Nation 51. NEHEMIAH: The Rebuilding of the Walls 52. THE END: The Last of the Prophets INTRODUCTION Certain people make history. They are generals who win wars, explorers who discover new areas, rulers who bring about change in society, or thinkers who write books and/or transform the world with their ideas. History makers are influential and their places in history are measured by what they accomplish. But that does not mean they are necessarily famous. Some history makers walk obscurely through life, unknown by those around them, but the next generation experiences the results of their influence. This book is an unusual approach to the Old Testament. It is a study of those people who have influenced the events of the Old Testament. Obviously, I could not include every event in an Old Testament history, nor could I say everything about each person that I discuss. This book follows one of several approaches that historians use to interpret and record the events of the past. Some historians interpret history as a struggle between good and evil, sometimes called a Jewish view of history. Other historians use a cycle view of history; i.e., people struggle from hardship to prosperity, then become lax and lose their attainment and again become captive to adversity. I have chosen to interpret the Old Testament through the influence of great individuals as they improved society or destroyed the quality of life in their culture. History makers have cast a long shadow over the Old Testament. The spiritual level of society is often measured by the quality of its leadership. What these History makers did in the past is the way I interpret the work of God today, that great men build great churches and average pastors maintain them. This book is not just an Old Testament survey that gives the theme, outline, author, and contents of an Old Testament book. There are many outstanding such books, such as Willmington’s Survey of the Old Testament (Victor) by my life-long friend Harold Willmington, who teaches with me at Liberty University. History Makers of the Old Testament is a history of the Old Testament that places people and events in a sequential order. But it does more than pin incidents on a time-clothesline; it interprets the Old Testament through the sequential influence of history makers. The average American is not interested in dusty history stories. They want to know about people. And God’s people want to know bout God’s people. So I believe they will love reading about Old Testament people like themselves. The people who lived before Christ were not much different from us today. They have the same desires, family problems, and frustrations. Yet
average people, in difficult circumstances, with inadequate means, faced insurmountable obstacles and became history makers. Their lives are worth our study. This book is more than just a collection of historical data about people in the Old Testament. It attempts to analyze the spiritual principles of history makers and apply them to twentieth-century life. Therefore, practical applications from the lives of Old Testament heroes are made to modern people. Some of the material in this manuscript is drawn by permission from the course in Old Testament Survey (BIBL 101 and 102, Liberty University School of LifeLong Learning) by Dr. Ed Hindson, D. Phil. We both taught this course at Liberty University. I appreciate his knowledge and insight into the Old Testament. I want to recognize the work of Rev. Douglas Porter in this manuscript. During his seminary days he lived in my home and we developed more than a teacher-student relationship. We became friends and we share this same philosophy of history. Doug was my graduate assistant. He helped in the research, typed the narrative from my class notes, and helped me think through the issues. Mr. Garen Forsythe, a graduate student in Old Testament at Liberty University, proofread the Hebrew notations. ONE LUCIFER: The Beginning of the Eternal Rebellion (Genesis 1:1-25; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19) Sincerely yours in Christ, ELMER L. TOWNS LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 1989 The endless stream of eternity was interrupted when God created the world. A drama of humanity began to unfold on the stage of history. The angels in front-row seats became witnesses to a splendid stage production of the magnificent grace of God. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Time was divided into compartments described as, “morning and evening.” The simplicity of lengthening shadows and the chirping of crickets echoed the details of Creation. The brilliant sunrise of each new day mirrored the majesty of the Creator. The angels applauded God as He created first land, then water, and next the energy called sun. It is said, “[Angels] shouted for joy” (Job 38:7) because they were overwhelmed by the power and beauty of new things unfolding before them. “In the beginning God created the heavens.” The word heavens is plural which includes the whole of heaven and all its innumerable parts. This includes the angels, the throne of God, and everything therein. The heavens were created at the same time as the angels; neither is eternal. As a
Page 2 and 3: A Journey Through The Old Testament
Page 6 and 7: matter of fact, nothing is eternal
Page 8 and 9: Be like the Most High The title “
Page 10 and 11: TWO ADAM: The Man Who Had Everythin
Page 12 and 13: Individuals normally fall into sin
Page 14 and 15: Christ whom Paul calls “the last
Page 16 and 17: abandon Cain. Rather the Lord came
Page 18 and 19: When Cain determined to abandon the
Page 20 and 21: would be that son, Noah, who sailed
Page 22 and 23: 8 The Flood which followed the ente
Page 24 and 25: always leads to judgment. But Noah,
Page 26 and 27: happened in the tent is not certain
Page 28 and 29: at this time that the Americas and
Page 30 and 31: Though the Scripture explains, “N
Page 32 and 33: The first call of Abram involved th
Page 34 and 35: Damascus (cf. 15:2-3). When Abram a
Page 36 and 37: SEVEN ABRAHAM: Lapse of Faith: Reas
Page 38 and 39: their root in this period when Abra
Page 40 and 41: comes to God must believe that He i
Page 42 and 43: (Gen. 13:8, literal translation). A
Page 44 and 45: greater blessing. The man of faith
Page 46 and 47: mothers, a practice which may have
Page 48 and 49: Melchizedek is described as the pri
Page 50 and 51: tion of righteousness. Also, the co
Page 52 and 53: Israel, consistently tried to destr
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HAGAR AND SARAI (Gen. 16:4-6) (2080
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the natural carnal instincts of hum
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eflects a change in Abram which end
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appreciation. When God promised Abr
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desert period in Abraham’s life w
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focus on the problems and soon come
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FOURTEEN LOT: The Destruction of So
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The Scriptures record, “The sun h
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of the highest costs associated wit
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must be viewed as intentional mocki
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6, 9). Second, we are to reckon or
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“offer” and the name of the sac
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forward to that distant day when on
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faith commitment to God is more tha
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constant reminder of the past. Abra
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THE SERVANT AND THE FATHER (Gen. 24
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Rebekah proved herself to be a hard
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een meditating about his flocks, bu
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let the children separate them and
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Though Isaac left the city, he did
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similar symptoms of aging in his ow
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house of God.” Bethel would be mo
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a curse. It might be paraphrased to
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The Dreamer (Genesis 37:1-50; 26) T
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JOSEPH AS A SLAVE IN EGYPT (Gen. 39
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plenty, God continued to bless Jose
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Some critics have disputed the reli
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high, and a man who had a vital rel
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scarring and mutilation may be caus
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God, Eliphaz was instructed, “Tak
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First, Jochebed wove a basket out o
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were a phenomenon which challenged
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oasis Marah which means “bitter
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The giving of the Law to Israel cam
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While Moses and Joshua ascended the
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A second area of interest in the Bo
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ecause of the same kind of unbelief
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Israel. “And the earth opened its
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contains a chapter which the rabbis
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Learning about a sustained confiden
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Christ, John the Baptist chose seve
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described as a savior meeting the S
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JOSHUA: From Victory to Victory (Jo
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THE NORTHERN CAMPAIGN (Josh. 11:1-1
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TWENTY-EIGHT JUDGES: Othniel, Ehud,
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attlefield or in spiritual realms.
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DEBORAH AND BARAK AND THE DEFEAT OF
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Lord is with us” (v. 13), suggest
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GIDEON: THE READY CRUSADER (Jud. 7:
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of action in that city, it was he w
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ead during their Exodus from Egypt
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LOVE’S REQUEST (Ruth 3:1-18) Naom
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worshipers. Because of the importan
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paternity could not always be estab
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Jephthah’s problems were not over
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THE WIFE OF MANOAH (Jud. 13:1-25) (
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decaying carcass of the lion as a h
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Delilah sought to learn the secret
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With the compromising Levite and Mi
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attlefront would raise the spirits
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“Then she made a vow and said, `O
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the voice again, he was to remain w
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territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He
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when they would cry out to God beca
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finding the lost asses; however, hi
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a battle and the ensuing loss of li
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Philistines disarmed the nation so
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to mourn until God intervened and s
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valley of Elah. “I defy the armie
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Saul began to view David as a perso
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Samuel were staying, he too began p
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dead. Every legitimate means of dis
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On the death of Saul, David was the
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elieved Joab could be trusted. He p
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that place until the dedication of
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his own bed in Jerusalem rather tha
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David himself had called for the st
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When his cousin Jonadab probed Amno
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attlefields against Absalom, the ot
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enemies of Israel during his reign.
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agreed with the settlement, the oth
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THE WEALTH OF SOLOMON (1 Kings 9:10
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Though most of the book contains an
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JEROBOAM AND REHOBOAM: The Division
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chance of succeeding, and now it wa
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It took the serious illness of his
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Kingdom of Israel. The political tu
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God. This apostate dynasty would le
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anticipatory sense as the next dyna
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The Man of Like Passion and Power (
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again appear in the sky and the ear
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times before his servant saw a smal
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for the king. “Because you have l
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Rather than call for the surrender
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On another occasion, Elisha raised
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“And it all happened after this t
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In a strange chain of events, while
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different pattern of ministry in se
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that Israel’s captivity really be
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epentance. Even before the Northern
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you shall go up to the house of the
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tree with a saw, cutting the prophe
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FORTY-SIX JEREMIAH: The Collapsing
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(597-586 B.C.) Nebuchadnezzar appoi
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transferred by God from the priestl
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Ezekiel did not believe Israel’s
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prepared according to regulations.
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6:10; 7:12, 21; Neh. 1:5; 2:4; Ps.
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may have often heard her father spe
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Cyrus was an unusual choice for God
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temple, the Samaritans intimidated
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For the Jews who chose not to retur
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that had been thwarted. When he hea
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project would take. Soon Nehemiah h
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Jerusalem had been more than physic
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Antiochus Epiphanes was predicted i
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