Old Testament - Summarized

 Hello! Today there will be a special project: summarizing the thirty nine chapters, and overall flow of the Old Testament. Today will also be the New Testament summary.

GENESIS

God creates the earth and all the things and makes two "humans" in the Garden of Eden. However, they sin, and they depart from God. God promised them that their relationship to God will be restored and achieved by one of their descendants. Adam and Eve's son Cain kills his brother Abel, so he is forced to leave the household of Adam and Eve. Cain is cursed by God and despised by other people. Seth is born in place of Abel. Seth's descendant Noah is a righteous man, but all the other people are now evil, so Noah and his family builds a big boat (an ark), God floods the entire land, and Noah and his family starts humanity again, but now there are only descendants of Seth, not the descendants of Cain (evil). Noah has three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Through Shem he has a descendant named Abraham. Abraham was a righteous man and the Lord sent him to the Promised Land, Israel. Abraham's nephew, Lot, who went on his journey to the Promised Land, left him for Sodom, but it was wicked so it was destroyed but Lot's family were spared and left the city. Abraham is old, but because God blessed him and he had a child Isaac. Isaac's sons were Jacob and Esau, and Jacob's sons were the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph gets kicked out to Egypt but he becomes the leader there, and forgives his brothers later when they come to Egypt for kicking him out. Jacob dies, then Joseph and his brothers die, but their descendants continue to live in Egypt.

JOB

Job lived in the time of Abraham. He was a wealthy man who loved and was faithful to God, but Satan inflicted him by sending disasters to kill his livestock and most of his family. Job remained faithful. Satan then inflicted him with boils on the skin, but he was faithful. Job and three of his friends had a long conversation. Though the others wanted Job to curse God, Job refused. Job was blessed with even more wealth by God and his sickness was cured because of his integrity.

EXODUS

The Israelites (descendants of Jacob) are in Egypt but the new king is oppressive and wants to kill them the babies and enslave the men. Moses, a descendant of Levi son of Jacob, who managed to survive and he, though was raised in royalty (As the princess adopted him instead of killing him when she found him as a baby), killed an Egyptian man for hurting a fellow Israelite. He then fled to Midian, a land in modern day Saudi Arabia, (their ancestor was Midian, who was one of the sons of Abraham), but the Lord wanted to save the Israelites and spoke to him as a burning bush. Moses and his brother Aaron tried to negotiate with the Pharaoh but he does not want to let them go, so Moses inflicts miraculous plagues upon Egypt, as the Lord gave him the ability to do so, and eventually after a severe plague where the Egyptians' firstborns are killed, the Pharaoh lets them go. Moses goes with all the Israelites out of Egypt back to the Promised Land Abraham lived in. Moses and the people cross the Red Sea by parting it, navigates through the Sinai Peninsula, stopping at Mt Sinai, where Moses receives commandments from God and builds a tabernacle for him. However, the Israelites rebel, so Moses provides them manna from God.

LEVITICUS

Aaron brother of Moses is proclaimed the first high priest of Israel, to offer sacrifices at the tabernacle or temple and to minister over the people. The sons of Aaron and their sons will become the next high priests. The Lord gives  commandments, requirements, and guidance to the Levitical Priests, and also he separates the tribe of Levi from all the other tribes to work and help the Lord's holy places. 

NUMBERS

The Israelites on their way to the Promised Land are rebellious, and disobey God and their leaders. God punishes the Israelites, causing plagues. Numbers resumes the story from Exodus - they depart from Mount Sinai and hold a census of the Israelites, depart, rebel against God and the leaders, so they are punished with wandering and multiple hardships. The first generation that lived in Egypt dies, but their children replace them, and a census is held to count the new generation's population, and they begin to prepare to enter the Promised Land.

DEUTERONOMY

Moses then leads the  out from Horeb, their previous location, and they send spies to search the Promised Land for enemies. But the people do not want to attack them since they fear, as the enemies are strong, so they are punished. They wander again, but then begin to attack some of the enemies.  They defeat some of the enemies. Moses dies at the end.

JOSHUA

After the death of Moses, Joshua becomes leader and with the help of God manages to attack and conquer the Promised Land, however the land is not fully sealed yet. Joshua then dies, and Israel becomes ruled by various judges.

JUDGES

Israel is unfaithful to God, so God lets enemy kingdoms around them defeat them, like the Philistines. The people repent and are faithful again, so the Lord sends a judge to defeat the enemies. Many judges come along, such as Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, and Deborah. 

RUTH

Around this time, a woman named Naomi lived. Her family died but her daughter in law Ruth stayed with her. Naomi then sent Ruth to the farm so she may get grain from whoever is kind enough. She agreed, and Ruth went to the farm. Boaz allowed her to take grain, and Naomi was thankful of this. Later, Ruth married Boaz and had a son named Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse. Jesse's son was David.

1 SAMUEL

There was a man named Elkanah around the time of the judges. He had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. One day, when Hannah was sacrificing offerings in the Tabernacle, she looked sad. She wanted a child. The priest Eli said that God will grant her it. Hannah then had a son named Samuel. Samuel then lived in the house of Eli and was dedicated to God. The Lord called him one night and said that Eli and his sons would die because of his sons' sins. And that happened. Samuel grew up to become the final judge of Israel. When the Israelites asked Samuel for a king, Samuel, though saying that king would be bad, did so, and anointed Saul as king. Saul was good at first but he then sinned and disobeyed God, so Samuel rebuked him and anointed David son of Jesse, who was the son of Obed, who was the son of Boaz, to become king, though he was very young by that time. David killed a Philistine giant, Goliath, and became popular. Saul tried to kill him but he fled and eventually Saul died in battle. Samuel dies.

2 SAMUEL and 1 CHRONICLES

After Saul died, David  became king of Judah, but Saul's son Ish Bosheth became king everywhere else. There was war, eventually ending in David's triumph against the House of Saul. David became king over all Israel. David conquered Jerusalem and made it capital and defeated many nations. However, he sinned by taking Uriah's wife Bathsheba after intentionally killing Uriah. The prophet Nathan rebuked him, and as punishment, Bathsheba's son died. David had another son named Solomon. Absalom, another son of David rebelled against his father, but was killed (though David did not desire of his death), and then David died, after preparing materials for the Temple promised to be built by his son Solomon.

1 KINGS and 2 CHRONICLES

After David died, Adonijah his son took the throne. However, the throne was promised to be for David's other son Solomon. Adonijah dies, Solomon becomes king, and then Solomon received wisdom, since he desired it in a dream that God made. He was also blessed with riches. He built the Temple, and it was very great and its details are meticulous. However, he sinned by marrying foreign wives and falling into worshipping idols. After Solomon died, Rehoboam his son became king, but Jeroboam rebelled against Rehoboam. Jeroboam and his successors ruled most of Israel, and Rehoboam Judah. Jeroboam set up golden calves for worshipping, and was very sinful. Between David to Jehoshaphat: David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat. Between Jeroboam to Ahab (however, Israel's kings were not always familial; Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Omri, Ahab. Ahab was a very evil king, he married Jezebel princess of Sidon, a foreign city and worshipped their idol Baal. For this, Elijah the prophet rebuked him and as Elijah proclaimed, God sent years without rain to Israel. 

2 KINGS and 2 CHRONICLES

Ahab was killed and his son Ahaziah became king. He too was wicked. In Judah, Jehoshaphat was a good king who, like his father was righteous. Ahaziah was evil, as he worshipped Baal and he too was punished like his father. Elijah is taken up to heaven by God, and Elisha becomes prophet after him, and he performed many miracles like Elijah because of God. Ahaziah was killed by Jehu and he became king.  Jehu also killed Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat. Athaliah became queen of Judah but Joash son of Ahaziah managed to become king. After Jehu, who was wicked, died, his son Jehoahaz became king.

From Jehu to Hoshea: Jehu -> Jehoahaz -> Jehoash -> Jeroboam II -> Zechariah -> Hoshea. Hoshea was the last king of Israel, as the Assyrians destroyed them. Judah was left and managed to remain. 

From Joash to Hezekiah: Joash -> Jehoash -> Amaziah -> Azariah -> Ahaz -> Hezekiah

Hezehiah, however, defended against Assyria since he trusted in God. His son Manasseh was wicked, so God punished Judah. Manasseh's grandson, however, Josiah, was a good king but still, God punished Judah, and Josiah's son was the last king of Judah. The Judahites then were exiled to Babylonia.

ISAIAH

Isaiah was a prophet during the time of king Hezekiah. He prophesied of many things of the future, made prophesies about Jesus, and also guided the king. Isaiah was called by the time of the death of King Azariah.

JEREMIAH and LAMENTATIONS

Jeremiah was a prophet during the time of the kingship of the sons of Josiah. He warned them, and the Israelites, to repent for God will punish them, and the Babylonians will destroy them. They refused to listen to him, but his prophecies happened. Later, he wrote the book of Lamentations, a poem of sadness about the fall of Jerusalem.

EZEKIEL

Ezekiel was a prophet during the time of the kingship of the sons of Josiah and after. It talks about how Jerusalem was judged for its sin by being exiled , and that Israel will be restored as well as the Temple and Jerusalem. 

DANIEL

During the exile of the Judahites and Israelites to Babylon, Daniel was prophet. He entered a high rank in the Babylonian government and could interpret dreams as God spoke to him. Daniel was protected by God and was very well liked by the Babylonian kings and the Persian kings after them.

MINOR PROPHETS

Amon, Hosea, Joel, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Haggai, Malachi, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Zechariah were the minor prophets. They lived between the times of Israel to the Exile. Their prophecies are just as amazing as those of the major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel), but their books were shorter. Many of their prophecies predicted Jesus and some of the information on him.

EZRA

After the exile to Babylon and Persia, the Israelites were sent back by King Cyrus. Ezra wrote many files on the people, objects, and articles brought back from Persia.  He documented a lot of the history after the return, including construction projects. Ezra himself read the Law and he and the people confessed sins.

NEHEMIAH

Nehemiah was another person who returned from Persia. He came back and helped the Israelites rebuild the walls and the temple, though facing opposition. He organized the construction of the buildings.

ESTHER

In the book of Esther, Esther and her cousin Mordecai save the Jews from anillihation. The persian prime minister Haman hates the Jews and wants to kill them, but it turned out that Mordecai saved the king's life, and Esther, his cousin, was King Xerxes' wife. So, Xerxes killed Haman and the Jews were saved.

PSALMS

Psalms are a collection of one hundred and fifty songs of praise to the Lord, written by King David, and many other authors such as Asaph, Jeduthun, Melchizedek, Moses, and Abraham. There are multiple types of psalms and they often display the Lord in metaphorical terms (such as a lawgiver, shepherd, or shield), they often are written from the emotions and situation of the author,  and some simply of praise. 

PROVERBS 

Proverbs are a collection of thirty one wise sayings and poetry, written mostly by King Solomon. It covers topics about wisdom, sins and virtues, and what you should do. It is known as the Book of Wisdom in the Old Testament since it was written by Solomon, the wisest man in history.

ECCLESIATES

The Ecclesiates were also written by King Solomon. It says that every worldly thing - even wisdom, wealth, and power are meaningless. It encourages us to fear the Lord over everything and that there is a time for everything.

SONG OF SONGS

The Song of Songs is a short song composed by King Solomon. The themes of the song are about love, in a conversation between three characters, He, She, and Friends. 

That was all books of the Old Testament! See you a few days later for the summary on the New Testament.