Welcome to an interactive journey through the Law books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Here we will explore the beginning of everything – the world, man’s sinful nature, God’s plan of redemption, and His calling out of a people for His own inheritance. We will follow the nation of Israel from God’s initial promise to Abram, through their sojourn in Egyptian slavery to their miraculous exodus, their years of testing as they wandered in the wilderness, right up to Moses’ last message to them before they entered into the Promised Land.
This Spirit Life Module will guide you in letting God reveal Himself through the first books of the Bible. The Bible is your main text, and you will be reading every word of the books of the Law in this course. If you continue on through the entire series, you will read through the entire Bible. According to I Timothy 1:5, “the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” This module is designed to give you a framework to meditate on God’s Word, receiving revelation from every single book, that you might grow in love, pureness of heart, obedience that results in a good conscience, and faith in your Lord.
Dr. Andrew Hardy introduces each lesson with a short teaching, giving you historical, cultural and biblical background to the passage of Scripture you will be reading. You will then read the assigned chapters of the Bible, meditating upon them and expecting the Holy Spirit to illumine them to your heart and mind. When the disciples on the road to Emmaus heard what Jesus had to say, they exclaimed, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was … explaining the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32). That is our goal for this course: that the Lord Himself will open up the Word to you, speaking to you in every lesson. As you read, you will create your own summary of the Bible by writing a title for each chapter in your own words.
Each book is summarized in a one-page overview in your Through the Bible textbook. Here you will learn the approximate date the book was written, any key words or expressions that are used frequently in the book, and the key events and characters. The graphs in the text will help you see how each chapter fits into the overall flow of the book, and how each book fits into the overall flow of the Scriptures.
Then, to help you go deeper into the Bible, you will answer questions about the passage you read. These questions may ask you to trace a specific theme through the book or through the whole Bible. They may want you to explore specific passages or develop your personal theology about various subjects based on the Scriptures you have read and related passages. You will do character studies and explore Old Testament types and shadows. And always, you will be encouraged to ask the Lord what He wants to say to you through His Word and how He wants to apply it to your life. These questions are open-ended, allowing the brand new student of the Word to answer them as well as he is able but also offering a challenge to the lifelong student of the Bible to dig deeper.
You are also encouraged to memorize one verse from the passage read in each lesson. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to hide God’s Word in your heart. When the Lord brings a particular verse to your attention, write it down. Meditate upon it. Journal about it. Read it and your journaling morning and evening for a week. Allow the revelation to sink down into your spirit, where the Holy Spirit can use it to shape you into His image.