Old Testament History
The divine revelation which the Bible contains is given in the form of a history. God revealed his plan of saving men not in a system of doctrine, but in the record of his dealings with the world at large, and especially with one people. To understand this revelation it is necessary for us to view the great stream of history contained in the Bible. Our study on this subject will include the principal events from the creation of man, at a date unknown, to the birth of Christ.[1]
Part One
We begin by dividing the entire field of time to the opening of the New Testament into five periods. Each of these we write at the head of a column. (See the Blackboard Outline.)
| I. | The Period of the Human Race. |
| II. | The Period of the Chosen Family. |
| III. | The Period of the Is´ra-el-ite People. |
| IV. | The Period of the Is´ra-el-ite Kingdom. |
| V. | The Period of the Jew´ish Province. |
I. We find in the opening of the Bible that the Human Race is the subject of the history. This theme extends through the first eleven chapters of Genesis, which narrate the history of much more than half of the time included in the Bible. During this long period no one tribe or nation or family is selected; but the story of all mankind is related by the historian.
1. This period begins with the Creation of Man (not the creation of the world), at some unknown time which scholars have not been able to fix; and it ends with the Call of A´bra-ham, also at a date uncertain, though given with some doubt at about B. C. 2280. With this event Bible history properly begins.
2. Through this period it would appear that God dealt with each person directly, without mediation or organized institutions. We read of neither priest nor ruler, but we find God speaking individually with men. (See Gen. 3. 9; 4. 6; 5. 22; 6. 13; and let the class find other instances.) We call this, therefore, the period of Direct Administration.
3. All the events of this period may be connected with three epochs:
1.) The Fall (Gen. 3. 6), which brought sin into the world (Rom. 5. 12), and resulted in universal wickedness (Gen. 6. 5).