#yobl

1.. RECAP & PREPARING FOR CGDaily Reading for Week

2 Chronicles 18-20, Psalm 75  

2 Chronicles 21-24, Psalm 76

2 Chronicles 25-27, Psalm 77  

2 Chronicles 28-31 , Psalm 78  

2 Chronicles 32-34 (skim), Psalm 79

2 Chronicles 35-36, Psalm 80  

Matthew 1-2, Psalm 81  

2. FOCUS OF TIME TOGETHER

To remember and recall the covenant promises that God made with Israel at different points in the Old Testament and to begin to see how these promises would have been anticipated by Israel at the start of the New Testament.

3. OPENING PRAYER

Read Psalm 18 as your opening prayer.

4. INTRO TO DISCUSSION

It took more than half the calendar year, but we have finally reached the end of the Old Testament! Chronicles is the last book in the Jewish ordering of the Old Testament. It functions as a long recap of much of Israel’s history that is at once an invitation for the reader to reflect back on Israel’s history and look forward to the time when the promises of God will be fulfilled. Last week, we reflected on our own personal and communal interaction with the Old Testament: what was difficult, what we found particularly life-giving and impactful, and how we assessed our own thoughts/emotions/actions when it came to the spiritual discipline of reading Scripture daily.

This week, we will finish our reading in the Old Testament by trying to create a basic foundation of understanding what we have just spent the last 8 months reading. The hope is to synthesize some of the major themes/ideas of the Old Testament that will be important as we step into the New Testament. Regardless of if you have kept up with the reading or stopped somewhere along the way, it will be crucial to have a shared basic foundation from which we can approach the New Testament. Though the entire Old Testament is important for understanding Jesus and the church, we will focus on simply understanding the major covenants God made with Israel — which Jesus, according to the New Testament writers, fulfilled.

At various points in the Old Testament, God made covenants with Israel. In those covenants, He promised certain things to Israel. When the Old Testament ends — literally with an incomplete sentence in Hebrew — there is a collective longing and anticipation for these promises to be fulfilled. This week, we will try to understand the basics of these covenants and the promises that are embedded in them.

5. LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION

Throughout the Old Testament, God made covenants. These covenants often build on one another and give us an important framework for understanding the New Testament — especially the person, teachings, ministry, and death/resurrection of Jesus. Let’s quickly look at the 4 major covenants and the promises tied to them. This way of organizing the covenants comes from Christopher Wright’s wonderful book Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament:

The covenant with Noah (Genesis 6:18-21, 8:21-9:17): This covenant which God makes is universal. First, He promises to save Noah and his family before the flood. Then after the flood, He makes a promise to all creation to never again destroy the world with a flood and to preserve the conditions necessary for life on earth to continue.

The covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-2, 15:1-21, 17:1-27): This covenant which God makes with Abraham is similarly universal to the Noah covenant in that it pertains to all humanity but with a different focus. It concerns God’s redemptive work through history. God promises that through Abraham and his descendents He will bring His redemptive blessing to all nations on earth.

The Sinai Covenant (Exodus 19:3-6): This covenant which God makes is national in scope. Specifically, it is a covenant between YHWH and all of Israel, His chosen people, mediated through the leadership of Moses. It is linked with the covenant with Abraham in this way: It is through Israel that God’s promised blessing to all nations will take place. Israel will be God’s chosen, priestly people reflecting the loving goodness of YHWH to the nations around it by adhering to the terms of the covenant, the Torah. The Sinai Covenant also includes the promise of a land for Israel, a physical space God had prepared for them to call home.

The Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7, 23:1-7; Psalm 89, 132): This covenant is one which God primarily makes with David and his house (or dynasty). God promises to establish and sustain David’s house forever. However, this promise doesn’t only concern David’s family but Israel itself. In promising David that his house will be permanently established, the covenant by implication extends that promise to Israel itself. This, along with the expectation that David and subsequent kings would be faithful to the Law given to Israel on Mt. Sinai, ties it to the Sinai covenant.

The Prophets, especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel: This isn’t a “covenant” in the way the previous four were, but the Prophets are filled with promises which God makes with Israel before, during, and after their experience of Exile and extends through to the time of Jesus in the New Testament. God promises that Israel will return to the promised land that they have been exiled from and rebuild the temple that Babylon destroyed (where His presence would dwell again in that new temple). They will also have a renewed relationship with Him, a new experience of God’s forgiveness after experiencing the judgement of exile, and a new obedience to the Law. There is also a promise of a new Davidic king that would defeat Israel’s enemies and establish them as an independent nation freed from foreign rule and the promise of a time of agricultural abundance and prosperity that ties the new covenant to the Davidic Covenant and the covenant with Noah. (We looked in depth at these promises in Week 29 material on Ezekiel.)

These four covenants and the promises in the Prophets form the narrative backbone of the Old Testament. They would have been deeply ingrained in the consciousness of the Jewish people in the time of Jesus, and indeed still are today. As we step into the New Testament, we will continually see the New Testament writers referring back to these covenants and promises, consistently interpreting the life of Jesus through these texts.

As we begin the New Testament in the next week, it is important to remember the pieces of the covenants and promises that were yet to be fulfilled at the end of the Old Testament. These promises were on the forefront of Israel’s mind for hundreds of years in the Intertestamental Period. When Jesus begins His public ministry, Israel is still waiting for many of these promises to be fulfilled and wondering when and how God will fulfill them. The most recent and pressing promises, which are listed in the Prophets section above (E), are those Israel is most eagerly awaiting and looking out for in the time of Jesus. Practically, they were still waiting to be liberated from exile, vindicated and exalted over the oppressing nations, and returned to power in their homeland, after which the temple could be rebuilt and filled with the return of God's glory/presence.

Questions for Basic Understanding:

These questions are to help us interpret and understand the text as it was intended to be interpreted and understood.

Before you embarked on the journey of reading through it this year in YOBL, what would you have said was the overall theme and/or storyline of the Old Testament?

Now having read through the Old Testament over the past 8 months and especially keeping in mind the covenants mentioned above, what would you now say is the overall theme and/or storyline of the Old Testament?

Questions for Listening to Scripture:

These questions are to help us be affected by Scripture in the way it was intended to affect us.

Read the following passages:

Genesis 9:8-17

Genesis 12:1-2, 15:12-20

Exodus 19:1-6

2 Samuel 7:8-17

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Take a moment to step back and recall the story the Old Testament tells as a whole using the four covenants and the promises of the Prophets as reference points.:

What stands out to you about God choosing to continually renew covenants with Israel and stay in relationship with them for nearly two millennia?

What does it say about God’s character and hopes for Israel?

What do you notice about Israel’s seeming inability to remain faithful to the covenants?

What does this say about how difficult it can be for an entire community to obey the commands of God?

Questions for Self Examination:

These questions are to help us look at ourselves, be aware and honest about who we are in light of our interaction with Scripture, and consider any appropriate action.

How are you feeling about entering into the New Testament this week? Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to? Is there anything in particular you will miss about the Old Testament?

6. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

There will be no small group discussion this week.

7. CLOSING

Daily Reading for Week

Numbers 5-7 [skim ch.7], Psalm 30

Numbers 8-10, Psalm 31

Numbers 11-13, Psalm 32  

Numbers 14-16, Psalm 33  

Numbers 17-18, Psalm 34  

Numbers 19-21, Psalm 35

Numbers 22-24, Psalm 36  

Resources for Week

Read Scripture Video: Numbers

Read: Numbers 6:22-27, Numbers 14, Numbers 23-24

1. FOCUS OF TIME TOGETHER

Reflect on Israel’s repeated disobedience and rebellion as well as God’s patience and generous blessing on his people.

2. GROUND RULE / GOAL / VALUE FOR THE WEEK

Value: Blessing - Read: Numbers 6:22-27

This week our value is blessing. We want to practice blessing and being blessed. We will look at how God instructs Israel to bless and spend time blessing one another.

3. CONNECTION AND UNITY EXERCISE (MUTUAL INVITATION)

Share with the group in what way you have experienced a blessing this week?

4. OPENING PRAYER

Have one person pray that we would recognize God’s blessings and praise Him for constantly providing.

5. INTRO TO DISCUSSION - Watch Numbers

Numbers sounds like a boring book and if we’re honest the first 10 chapters kinda are. They are filled with Moses taking a census of Israel as they are about to leave Mt. Sinai after having spent a year there in God’s presence as he’s given them the Law. But after the first 10 chapters of mostly, you guessed it, numbers, the book becomes a travelogue of Israel’s journey from Mt. Sinai to the Promised Land. As Israel begins to journey a pattern begins to emerge. The people begin to grumble and complain to God about a variety of things. The journey is hard, they are hungry, thirsty, tired, etc. They begin to actually wish they were back enslaved in Egypt. God hears their grumbling and is exceedingly patient with them, allowing the people to follow their disobedient desires and feel the full weight of the consequences. This results in God declaring in Numbers 14 that, because of the people’s desire to forsake the Promised Land and return to Egypt, anyone over the age of 20 would not enter the Promised Land. So Israel wanders through the wilderness between Mt. Sinai and the Promised Land (a journey that should take 2 weeks) for 40 years. And yet, despite Israel’s constant rebellion, God still chooses to remain faithful to them, even blessing them in the midst of their grumbling. He continues to provide them with manna, quail and water throughout their journey. This culminates in the story of Balaam, a pagan sorcerer/prophet sent by Balak, the king of Moab, to curse Israel. Three times Balaam tries to curse Israel and three times God only allows him to bless Israel, even though Israel is unaware this is happening. We see God’s faithfulness and steadfast love of his chosen people despite their rebellion.

6. SMALL GROUPS

Break up into 3 groups and assign each group one of the three passages:

Numbers 14, Numbers 23, Numbers 24

 Read and summarize your group’s respective section.

What can you learn about God through this passage?

What do these passages illustrate about God’s relationship with Israel?

What do these passages suggest about man’s attempt to disrupt God’s plan?

What can we learn as a fellowship from these passages?

7. LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION 

Daily Reading for Week (HW for next week)

Genesis 19-21, Psalm 6  

Genesis 22-24, Psalm 7

Genesis 25-28, Psalm 8

Genesis 29-31, Psalm 9

Genesis 32-34, Psalm 10  

Genesis 35-37, Psalm 11

Genesis 38-40, Psalm 12

Resources for Week

Recap Video: Genesis 1-11

Read Scripture Video: Genesis 12-50

Read: Genesis 12:1-9, 15:1-21, 26:1-5, 35:9-12

Sermon: The Reason for the Bible

1.  CONNECTION AND UNITY EXERCISE (MUTUAL INVITATION)

Share what you need in a group setting for it to feel like a safe space?

Have you learned anything new from our first week of YOBL?

Is there a specific part of Genesis 1-11 that intrigues you?

2. Opening Prayer (Read Psalm 104)

3. INTRO TO DISCUSSION

Last week’s reading took us through Genesis 1-11, what we called the preface to the rest of the story of God. We read about the creation of the world, the first people God created, and their sinful rebellion that led to the spiral of brokenness and corruption which eventually tarnished the entirety of God’s once good creation. This opening picture of a good world that is tragically rotted and rotting because of the introduction of sin is what frames the story from here on out. Sin corrupts the world so deeply that God, in order to preserve good, decides to wipe out almost all of humanity. The preserved family of Noah however goes right back to how things were before the flood. The downward spiral continues, leading to the Tower of Babel story illustrating total societal corruption where humanity in their wickedness tries to build a tower to usurp God.

All of this forms an incredible dramatic moment. Essentially, the conflict and suspense builds throughout Genesis 1-11, leading the reader to wonder how the conflict will be resolved. The beginning of Genesis forces an attentive reader to ask, “How will the world be made right and good again?”And then all of a sudden chapter 12 presents an abrupt pivot, a beginning to the resolution narrative. It opens with, “Now the Lord said to Abram…” In other words, the answer to that question is, this is how: God calls Abram and tells him “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those that bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God makes Abram, who will later be called Abraham, the point person of a great promise of restoration that will drive the whole rest of the Bible forward. The promise goes from Abraham to his son Isaac, to his grandson Jacob, and then to his 12 great-grandsons who form the nation of Israel.

So Genesis is a story of beginnings, but not just about all of creation. The creation poems of Genesis 1 & 2 and the illustrations of humanity’s corruption in Genesis 3-11 together serve as a prologue to the beginning of a very specific story: The story of God’s grand effort to restore and renew the world through a specific people who will eventually be called Israel. The rest of Genesis is an origin story about how Israel came into existence, and the very important narrative of the beginning of God’s great redemption plan.

Let’s trace the dominant storyline of God making a covenant with Abraham and his family through the book of Genesis.

Read Genesis 12:1-9 & 15:1-21

This is God re-entering the story of the fallen world and proposing a resolution. Through his partnership with Abraham and his wife and future family, God makes a promise to restore the world. He establishes this partnership with a covenant.

Read Genesis 26:1-5

This is God carrying his grand plan and promise forward to Abraham’s long-awaited son, Isaac. The promise is repeated and the covenant is renewed with the next generation.

Read Genesis 35:9-12

This is yet another reiteration of the grand plan and promise, now with Abraham’s grandson Jacob. God then changes his name to Israel, meaning “prevails with God”, and gives him the same directions. Israel goes on to have a huge family with 12 sons who later become the “12 tribes of Israel”. This then is the story of how Israel, the Bible’s second leading character, comes into existence. They will be God’s partner from here on out. Genesis 1-11 begs the question, “how will the world ever be set right?” The story that immediately unfolds from chapter 12 on essentially answers with, “Israel will prevail with God”.

4. LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION

Questions for Basic Understanding

These questions are to help us interpret and understand the text as it was intended to be interpreted and understood.

How would you summarize the portions of Genesis we just read in one or two sentences?

How would you summarize the entirety of Genesis in one or two sentences?

Questions for Interacting with Scripture

These questions are to help us slow down to taste and notice Scripture, savor its richness, and meditate on its complexity of meaning.

God made it his mission to restore the world back to the early times of the Garden. He chose to do so through Abraham and his offspring. The redemptive plan begins with Abraham, who slept with his wife’s servant and pimped his wife away twice to other men to save his own life. It then moves forward though his grandson Jacob, who stole his brother’s inheritance by deceiving him and his father, and through Jacob’s cruel sons who sold their own little brother into slavery and lied to their father about it. In light of all of this, how is God’s redemptive plan going at this point in Genesis?

5. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

Questions for Self-Examination

These questions are to help us look at ourselves, be aware and honest about who we are in light of our interaction with Scripture and consider any appropriate action.

This is just the 2nd week of the year and we’ve already plowed through 47 chapters of Genesis, trying to understand the major theme and story arch of the Scriptures. Take a minute to pause and reflect. As you read this week, did you notice any of these themes we’ve discussed or was it difficult to sift through?

How has this whole project been for you thus far? Intriguing and stimulating or disorienting and overwhelming? Be honest with yourself. There’s no need to fake it. This year is a marathon, not a sprint, so it’s really important to be thoughtful and reflective as we get going.

6. CLOSING