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Old Testament Study - Part 13. The lesson on June 4, 2006 continues the Old Testament Series with Part 13. The Word of God is a book of human
history that has more veracity in it than any other book today. Yet, it has come under attack by man as to it authenticity and has been labeled a book of myth,
fables, and legends. God’s Word is more important to the life of a Christian than eating bread and drinking water. We are to be built up in our faith, and to avoid
the Old Testament because we don’t know of the history, or it’s too confusing. 3000 prophetic statements in the Old Testament have come true
and this shows the power and wisdom of God. The motive to study the Old Testament is to reveal the wisdom of God. There are 16 prophets in
scripture (Major and Minor). The Majors have more content and the Minor prophets have smaller content. 10 of the Prophets wrote before the exile,
and 6 during the exile of the Nation of Israel. The exile occurred when Babylon came in and took over Jerusalem along with the Southern tribes in
496 BC. The Northern Kingdom (the remaining two tribes) were wiped out by the Assyrians in approximately 596 BC. The prophets began before 500
BC. A handout was provided from the Companion Bible, appendix 77 which details the chronological order of the prophets. The Spirit of God bears
witness with our spirit. The Bible is how His Spirit makes spiritual “eye
contact” with our spirit and we learn and grow. This is the way God leads us along. The lesson also reviewed the King
Josiah and how he behaved wonderfully for the Lord. In II Kings 23:25 (KJV) it said “And like unto him was there no king
before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law
of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.” After his death, Josiah’s son was made King and did much evil in
the sight of the Lord. It covers Babylon being destroyed by the Medo-Persian empire. There are 100 different prophesies about Babylon that have been fulfilled.   Click here to listen now or go to the Old Testament Series.  Be sure and download the handout here.
Old Testament Study - Part 14. The lesson on June 11, 2006 focuses on the post-exile prophets
and looks at the books Ezra, Nehemiah, Ester, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. These books wrap
up the Old Testament and require you to learn them by reading them over and over. In order to be
prepared to share the Word of God, you need to have scripture hidden in your heart. Several Companion Bible appendices are mentioned that work as good study aides on these topics (
Appx. 50, Appx. 53, and Appx. 58). It establishes that the Book of Ester came chronologically first, then
Nehemiah, and then some 26 years later Ezra comes and is interested in rebuilding the Temple.
During the time of Ezra and Nehemian, we find the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and some 30
years after that we have Malachi. The timeframe for this time period is the 6th Century (500 BC)
after David and Solomon’s reign as Kings of Israel, then with the time after Solomon with the divided
Kingdom. Israel was held captive for 70 years as told in Daniel. Daniel tells of 70 weeks in chapter
9:24, 25 (Seventy weeks covers 70 x 7 years which is 490 years). The last 7 weeks (7 years) is
known as the tribulation period. This passage is key to understanding the timing for the rebuilding of the Temple (It is explained thoroughly in the book Elijah’s Coming. Here is the chapter on the 70 weeks of Daniel). 454 BC is the
timeframe for Nehemiah. This is the fourteenth lesson in the Old Testament series and covers the post-exile period prophets. Click here to listen now or go to the audio lessons for the month.
 Father’s Day.
We live in a homogenized society today. The land of the free and the home of the
brave has been turned into the land of whoever and the home of “stay as long as you want”.
America is in a sad state of affairs today as the Christian foundation has eroded in our families and
therefore our Nation. There is no declaration of what’s right and absolute. There is an attack on the
family in this homogenized society when what we have nationally and spiritually has been diluted to
exclude God. The first thing God established was the family unit because that is the foundation of
our growth and learning about God to propagate what He means in our lives. There was an article written by Nicholas von Hoffman entitled the “Mush God”. It said “Here is the key God of western
civilization today. The mush god has no theology to speak of—being a cream-of-wheat divinity. The
mush god has no particular credo, no tenets of faith, nothing that would make it difficult for the believer and unbeliever
alike to lower one’s head when the temporary chairman tells the Reverend Rabbi Father Mufti or so and so to lead us in
an innocuous, harmless prayer. For this god of public occasions is not a jealous god. You can invoke him to start a
hooker’s convention and he she or it won’t be offended. "Protector of the buddy system—the mush god is the lord of the
secular ritual. The mush god is a serviceable god whose laws are not chiseled on tablets of stone but written on
sand—open to amendment, qualification and erasure. This is the god who will compromise with you, make allowances, declare all wars holy and all peaces hallowed." This exemplifies the homogenized problem we have today. There is no
boldness for God. The problem begins at home and it begins with the father. Children need to live from the rules
established in the home from their father and mother. The attack is on the family unit. The Christian home should mirror
what God had sent home to the family and it has to begin with the father. As stated in Proverbs 4:1 (KJV) “Hear, ye
children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.” We learned from Job 28:28 (KJV) what the definition of understanding is “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is
understanding.” The lesson on June 18, 2006 reminds us that there are no perfect parents so there are no perfect
children. However, God has called you to have the responsibility of teaching your children to live Godly (Deuteronomy 6:1-2). Click here to listen now. You may also see the other lessons for Father’s Day.
 Old Testament Study - Part 15
. The passage in 2 Chronicles 36:14-21 is the last page in the Hebrew canon and covers the period 70 years before the post-exile to that little bit of time between
the pre-exile and exile. This passage is the last page of the Hebrew bible (It is not Malachi as it is for
us in the Old Testament.) We learn from this passage that there was no remedy for the Nation of
Israel. The Babylonians were brought by God to wipe out His people. This series has covered the
Old Testament scriptures so we can learn the lessons and build our faith which gives us a
perspective of God. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and we should build our faith by
familiarizing ourselves with scripture. God takes care of those that respond to Him. He may not pull
you out of whatever trouble you are in but He will give you faith and hope while you are in it.
Without faith it is impossible to please God. The one thing that is important is who you know. You
can’t get to know God unless you are saved and set your mind to read the scriptures and be faithful
to what He has called you to do. Now, previously we learned that Ezra came first, then Nehemiah, chronologically
speaking. The last date found in Ezra is 403 BC so the time from Malachi to Matthew was 400 years when God was silent
towards Israel until He sent His son. Israel is left without a home, without a Temple, and without a City. The great splendor
they had under Solomon is gone. The Medo-Persians come in and wipe out the Babylonians. Then after the Persians, the
Greeks come in and conquer with Alexander around 336 BC. Around 285 BC Egypt takes over and sets up places for the
Jews to live and this is when the Septugent was written. Then the Syrians come in and do some terrible things and that
gives rise to the Maccabees (this is part of the Apocrypha with 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees). Then about 100 years
later the Romans come in and establish rule. Rome conquers Judah, and Jerusalem and under the leadership of Pompea,
he appoints Antipas to be the procurator of Jerusalem. These are Edomites. Antipas has a son named Antipater who has
a boy named Herod which brings us to about 40 BC is ruling during this time period. The Jew during this time period,
doesn’t have a place to worship to they invent Synagogs because on Sabbath they meet together and read what
scriptures they have and pray. During this time the scribes begin to write the Rabbinical law which contains the traditions
and customs collected over the last 400 years. The Lord ran into these during Matthew 15. We find groups like the
Pharisees and Sadducees arise. When Christ was born in Matthew chapter 1, you will find genealogy taking Christ back to
David. We learn in Galatians 4:4-5 ”But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman
, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” The “we” in
this passage is the Jew. The lesson on June 25, 2006 continues the series on the Old Testament and ends talking about
Elijah coming back to Israel to restore them to the New Covenant. Click here to listen now or go to the entire series to listen to all the lessons.
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Audio Lessons for this Month
