The Journey

Part 1

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

When you want to know what life is really about, the Bible has the answers.  This great book will take you on a journey.  Just open your mind to the possibilities that much of what you know may not be true.  This section provides overviews of each book of the Bible, to help with basic understanding of this great book.

A new world filled with an unimaginable variety of life, along with the heavens, was created in just six days.  So it is at that point where this journey begins.  Listed below is an outline of the books of the Bible, which will provide an understanding of how it is organized.  The Bible is a whole library of books, sixty-six in all, written over thousands of years and collected into one coherent volume.  Man wrote and assembled the Bible according to the divine inspiration of God.  It is truly amazing how these different writings over thousands of years just flow together, which is proof of divine authorship.  There is no other literary work like it in the world.  It covers how God relates to man throughout the whole history of the earth.  For people who know God and the truth, the end is not a day of dread as many predict.  There will be a day of great joy at the end of this journey, at the destination of mankind. This is where the real treasure of immortality and eternal happiness is to be found.  This is an awesome gift of God to man, because a great price has been paid for it.  The most important decision that every person in the world will have to make, is weather to believe God, or not.  We will now continue with this fantastic journey from the beginning of time and up to the present and beyond.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Books of Moses

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

The History Books

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

The Wisdom and Poetry Books

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

The Prophets

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Four Books of the New Testament

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Acts of the Apostles

The Books of Letters

Romans

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy

2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

James

1 Peter

2 Peter

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

The Book of Revelations

The Old Testament

GENESIS

The word “genesis” means “the beginning” or “origin“.  This first book of the Bible tells us what happened in the beginning, when the world and everything that lives was created.  Outside influences and rebellion turned a perfect world into what it is today.  To answer questions about today, we have to look to the beginning.  When things go wrong, something has to be done to make it right.  God cannot let anything go uncorrected because He is perfect and that is His nature.  Let’s say you did something bad and you were going to get punished for it, but someone else stepped in and said they will take the punishment for you.  This individual acted as a substitute for you, so that you could go free and the justice would still be served.  The prophecy of the man from Heaven that would do this great act, is in this first book of the Bible.  It is Jesus, the Son of God, who comes into the world to save humans from the punishment they deserve.  There has to be law, otherwise there would be chaos.  A person’s freedom can only continue to the point in which it interferes with another person’s freedom.  A world of harmony cannot exist without mutual respect between the inhabitants.  This is why only the Creator has the keys to true life.  The whole book of Genesis chronicles the expanding human race and their decisions to follow God, or to go their own way with the resulting consequences.

The Angel of the Lord - He is the second most powerful being in existence next to God, and is called the Word of God.  He left His position of glory in Heaven and came into the physical world as a mortal named Yeshua. That was His actual Hebrew name which meant “Deliverer”.  His name was translated in later times as Jesus.  He is the Son of God, who came into the world as a substitute for the punishment that man deserved for breaking the laws of God.  This act would then serve the justice of God.  God cannot lie, and when He sets in place a law, an action must be taken to make the situation right.  God the Father has put Jesus in charge of all creation.  In fact, the world and the heavens were created through Him and for Him, which is why He is also called God.  The original language of the Bible is Hebrew, and the Hebrew word for God is “Elohim”, which is plural.  Jesus is the physical image of the invisible God of all existence, which explains why God said “Let us make man in our own image“.  It was God the Father and the Angel of the Lord communicating.  Also, anytime that God was seen throughout the Bible, it is always the Angel of the Lord because the Bible states that no man has ever seen the one true God who is “The Father“.  The Angel of the Lord, which was Jesus before coming into our world, speaks the exact words of God.  God the Father is the God of Jesus, because when Jesus appears in His resurrected form in The Book of Revelations, He calls Him “My God“.  When He was a mortal on earth, He even said that “The Father is greater than Me“.  Actually, the Bible is all about Jesus, “The Word of God“, and the relationship between man and the will of The Father.  Jesus even identified Himself as the “I Am” of the Old Testament.  When Moses climbed the mountain of God and met the Angel of the Lord, he asked who he should tell the people who sent him, and He said “I Am Who I Am.”  When the Pharisees asked Jesus who he was, He replied “before Abraham I Am” which is why the Pharisees wanted Him tried for blasphemy, because He said He was the God that existed before Abraham.  The Bible actually revels who Jesus was before He became a human.  In the Book of Daniel, the Archangel Michael is described as the prince of the people of Israel, and that He would rise in the last days to protect them.  Since Jesus is the only prince of Israel that will return, this truly indicates that He is Michael.  The meaning of the name Michael means “One who is like God”, which clearly describes Jesus.  Also, there was only one archangel in the Bible, and when Jesus returns, He will arrive with the shout of the archangel.  Throughout the Bible, many people received new names from God.  When Jesus returns, He will also have a new name from God that only He will know.         

Adam and Eve - They were the first humans created by God on earth.  They were immortal in the beginning, as was everything including animals, because nothing could die at that time.  But due to their decision to not follow God, they were changed into mortals and sent out of the Paradise of God called the Garden of Eden, which set the stage for the fallen world we presently live in.  Every living thing would only live for a period of time and die, nothing would last forever.  The whole creation is degenerating toward an eventual end.  Everything was affected, for example, even metal would not have rusted in the previous state of the world.  

The Serpent - His name was Lucifer in the beginning, which means “light bearer“, and was the most beautiful angel in Heaven.  But due to his pride and wanting to rule Heaven and all of creation, he fell from grace and his name was changed to Satan, which means “adversary“.  He tricked the first humans into not following God and now the world is presently ruled by him, and the angels that follow him.  This explains the present state of all creation and the strange phenomena of the world.

Prophesy of the Savior - This is the first prophesy of the coming Savior of mankind who would make it possible to restore all of creation to it‘s former glory.  God said He would put enmity between the seed of the Serpent and the seed of the woman.  Since a woman does not have seed, it was through a great miracle that God caused a virgin woman to give birth to the Son of God, who would overcome the Serpent to bring peace to the world and to the people that accepted him as the true ruler anointed by God.  

Cain and Abel - This is the account of the first murder in human history, which involved the first two sons of Adam.  This happened when Cain murdered his brother Abel because of jealousy.  Because of this, God gave Adam and Eve another son who was righteous like Abel, named Seth.  He would now be the one who would carry on the unblemished line that the Savior would come from.  

Enoch - Enoch was the first man who was “translated“, meaning he was physically changed and did not die.  He walked with God for three hundred and sixty five years, which meant that he believed God and followed His ways.  He ministered to the people during this time period and then was taken by God to Heaven.  The prophet Elijah was also translated and taken to Heaven in the same manner.      

Angels and Giants - Angels are of the same physical characteristics as man and are even referred to as men throughout the Bible, except they are immortal with super human strength and superior intelligence.  Man will be the same as the angels in the end, just as Adam and Eve were in the beginning.  Before the great flood, a group of fallen angels mated with mortal women and produced a race of hybrid beings known as “the giants“, who where degenerate and oppressed all men.  This unnatural genetic mixing was intentional, in order to physically corrupted the generations before the flood, except for the line of Seth, which remained pure.    

Noah and The Flood - Noah was chosen by God to warn of His coming judgment because of the corruption on the earth, which was caused by the disobedience of man and the cohabitation of the fallen angels.  Only Noah believed God and survived the flood by building a vessel that would hold his family and a pair of every species of the earth, in order to repopulate it after the flood.

Beginning of the Nations -It was from Noah’ sons, Shem, Japheth and Ham, that all the nations of the earth were born.  The actual genealogy of every nation is listed here.  Every person on the earth today came from these three men, which in turn, was born from Noah who was a descendant of Adam.  

The Tower of Babel - Many years after the flood, people started a movement to unite as one and rely on themselves instead of God, which is happening again today.  They built a city, along with a structure known as the Tower of Babel, which seemed to be an observatory for the heavens which could have involved the forbidden knowledge of the angels.  Due to this rebellion, God destroyed the tower, changed all their languages and dispersed them all over the earth.  All languages today, still share the root of a single common language.  

Abraham and Sarah - God promised a son to Abraham and Sarah, who were of the unblemished line of Seth which was genetically pure of the intermingling of the angels.  It was not until Abraham was one hundred years old that God caused Sarah to give birth to Isaac.  

Isaac and Ishmael - The two sons of Abraham have set the stage for events that are happening in our present time.  Before Sarah gave birth to Isaac, she did not believe God would give them a son and had Abraham father a child through her maid Hagar.  But, Sarah became jealous of the son named Ishmael and sent him and Hagar away.  God promised great nations would come from Ishmael, who are the modern day Arabs.  The people of Israel are the descendents of Isaac, which is why there are problems in the Middle East.  It is a great family feud that started with these two men.     

Sodom and Gomorrah - A nephew of Abraham named Lot, lived in Sodom.  The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were so wicked that God decided to destroy them.  Two angels were sent to rescue Lot and his family because he was the only righteous man there.  Corrupt men of the city came to the house of Lot and wanted to have sex with the men in his house, which is were the word Sodomy comes from.  The angels disabled the men and took Lot’s family outside the city, but his wife looked back, meaning she tried to go back and was caught in it’s destruction and became “a pillar of salt“.  This could mean she was encased in salt, due to what happened to the city.   

Jacob and Esau - Isaac married Rebekah and bore twins named Jacob and Esau, of which the nations of Israel and Edom came from.  Esau was very hairy, but Jacob had smooth skin.  Esau sold his birthright as first born to Jacob for a bowel of stew, which means he did not value it.  Then at a later time, Rebekah helped Jacob trick his father Isaac into giving the blessing meant for Esau to Jacob.  Later on, Jacob was also tricked.  Rachel was the girl he was supposed to marry, but he was tricked into marrying her sister Leah instead.  Later he finally married Rachel, and it was from these two wives that the twelve tribes of Israel came.  Later, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel.

Joseph - Of the twelve sons of Israel, Joseph was his favorite.  The other brothers became jealous and sold him into slavery.  But during his imprisonment, he found favor of the king and prospered at a time when there was a great famine in the land.  After his rise in stature, his brothers journeyed to Egypt for food, but they did not recognize their brother.  Later, he reveals himself and forgives them all, and they all settled in the land of Egypt with their families.  From the beginning, there has been a progression of families and people who were of the genetically unblemished line, which will lead up to the Savior of mankind coming into the world.

EXODUS

The word exodus means “the way out“.  Genesis ends with Abraham’s descendants of seventy people living the good life in Egypt. Exodus opens with this same family grown to almost three million people that are now in slavery.  The Pharaoh at this time did not know of Joseph and what he did for Egypt.  This book is about God opening the door for the people of Israel to leave the slavery in Egypt, so that they could have freedom by following Him.  God does the same for anyone today if they will follow Him.  A whole nation was lead into the desert where everything they needed would be provided, if only they would put their trust in God.  Due to human nature, their failings are chronicled so we can learn from them.  Some of the greatest miracles of God are in this book.  In the desert, God gives Israel His Laws for all humans to live by.  But, since man is not perfect and breaks these laws all the time, there must be punishment.  This is why the prophesied Savior, the man of Heaven who was perfect and never broke the laws of God, will step in and take the punishment.  Being that He was unblemished and willingly took this punishment upon Himself, qualified Him to  be the Redeemer of all mankind.  This book is about God communicating His will to mankind, so that everyone can live in harmony.   

Moses - When the families of Israel known as the Hebrews became too numerous, the Egyptians forced them into slavery, because they were afraid they would rise up against them and take over the kingdom.  It was then that a human savior was raised named Moses, who was a type of the Savior that would save all humans.  Moses was raised in Egypt, but went to the land of Midian as an exile where he met God at Mount Sinai.  Ancient Midian was located in the area that is now modern day Saudi Arabia.  This means the true mountain of God is in Saudi Arabia, which is contrary to the belief of the mountain being in the Sinai Pennisula.  He then returned to Egypt and through the power of God, freed all of Israel.   

Egypt and the Miracles - When Moses had been in Midian and was married with children, God told him to go to Egypt to free all of Israel.  Through a series of plagues and miracles, Pharaoh finally let them go.  But later, he chased them into the desert where God performed the mightiest miracle of all, by parting the waters of the sea for the people to pass through.  The army of Egypt was destroyed when God closed the water over them.  A similar series of plagues will happen in the end times as described in the Book of Revelations.  

Israel in the Desert - Over three million people had left Egypt and traveled through the desert, but even though they witnessed the great miracles of God, they still lost faith in Him many times during their travels.  Moses even smashed the first stone tablets of the Ten Commandments wrote by God due to the rebellion of the people when he returned from receiving them.  Later, when they were to enter the land God promised to them, they would not go because some of the descendants of the giants lived there.  They were in the desert forty years, but now He made them wonder forty more years for their disobedience, since He would have made them victorious in their new land.

The Law - The Ten Commandments was received by Moses at Mount Sinai and are the basis for a perfect society.  Jesus was asked by his disciples about the most important commandment  of all.  He said to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, which is represented in the first three commandments, and to love your neighbor as yourself, of which the last four are centered on.  He said every other law hangs on these two.  Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible which included all of the laws of God and became known as The Law.  But, since no man could ever follow the law perfectly, and the ultimate penalty for breaking the law is death, there had to be a substitution.  To do this, God instituted a series of sacrificial procedures as a substitute, which served the purpose of making the people aware of their transgressions.  This would continue until, the Man of Heaven, His Son Jesus, would take the responsibility of the sin of every man.  The justice of the Law of God would then be served.      

The Tabernacle - After receiving the Ten Commandments, the people were instructed to make a tent structure that could be moved when they traveled, along with all of the furnishings and instruments.  This structure was were all of the communication and activities with God would take place, like a mobile command center.  It was built with all of the items that the people of Egypt gave them, because all of Egypt feared the God of Israel.  The tabernacle was patterned after the actual temple that is in Heaven.  This served as a temporary facility until they would come into the promised land and build the permanent temple.  

The Ark of the Covenant - The ark was a special item through which God communicated with the high priest of the tabernacle.  Notice that this ark relates to the ark of Noah, which was also a saving vessel.  It was basically a box with two winged angels known as cherubim on each side facing each other, along with what was called the mercy seat between them.  It was above this mercy seat that the voice of God was heard.  Inside the ark, was the second set of stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments that God replaced.  Also, Aaron’s rod that was used in Egypt and a jar of manna, which was the food that came from Heaven, was also inside.  It was carried with poles that slide through gold rings, because no one was allowed to touch it.  The awesomeness of the power of God was manifested through this special item.  Everyone throughout the lands where they traveled was afraid of it.       

Urim and the Thummim - This is an intriguing item of which very little information is given.  It was a special breastplate that the High Priest Aaron would wear, which had precious stones sewn into the fabric.  The words Urim and Thummim means “light” and “perfection“.  Through it, God would communicate to the priest by illuminating the gem stones.   

LEVITICUS

The book of Leviticus is named after the Levites, who were the tribe of Israel who were responsible for the Tabernacle and all the holy things of God.  The theme of the book is about how to worship God.  All of the rituals and sacrifices foreshadow the life of Jesus, because He was the ultimate sacrifice for all people, which would ultimately be fulfilled in Him.  This book gives information on how to life a healthy and moral life.  

Rituals of the Tabernacle - God told all the people that because He is holy, that they also should be holy.  The word “holy” simply means “set apart“, which would make them different from the other nations.  They were to be the people of God, an example to all of the world.  All of the rituals were designed to make the people aware of just how bad sin is and why they needed a Savior.  Sin is basically going against God and how He intended the world to function.   

Clean and Unclean Things  - The people were instructed to eat certain things and to avoid others, because God did not want them to be like the other nations that worshipped false gods.  The restrictions on food was both ceremonial and scientific.  Due to the knowledge of modern times, there are reasons why certain foods are not good for people, while others are.

Sexuality and Morality - It was in this section that the rules for sexual behavior were set.  They serve both as a way to happiness and also as a healthy life style for all people.   

Feasts and Celebrations - These gatherings were instituted so all the people would remember the great things that God did for them.  They were to be a time of joy and remembrance which pointed to the future.  

NUMBERS

The book of Numbers starts with the census figures of the families of Israel in the beginning chapters.  Afterwards, the main focus is on the events that happen while in the wilderness.  They constantly lost faith in God, even though they saw for themselves the awesome miracles He performed for them.  This was written so we could learn from their example.  They didn’t even trust God when they were going to enter the land He was giving them.  They had been in the desert for forty years, so He let them wonder for forty more years until all of the generation that did not believe in Him was gone.  It was after the second forty years, that they would finally enter their own land.  

The Families and Their Duties - All of the families of the twelve tribes were assigned different duties within the social structure.  This shows that God has a hierarchy of governing officials both in heaven and on earth.  One of the main attributes of God is order, which applies not only to society, but also to the physics of the material world.

The Cloud and the Fire - When God spoke to the people, it was through the Angel of the Lord.  The Bible states that there is only one God, and that no man has ever seen Him.  The Angel of the Lord was the one that spoke the words of God and interacted with the people of Israel.  This is why He was called the Word of God, because He spoke the exact words of God.  He was of one mind with God, which made it seem as though the words were His own.  During the day He provided shade, and at night He provided light.  But this was not a cloud as we know it, because this was a physical presence.  The only reason the word “cloud” was used, is because that was the only thing in the world at that time which could describe this awesome sight.  The “clouds of heaven” are described many times throughout the Bible.  Their characteristics make it obvious that these are not just an ordinary clouds.  The Angel of the Lord descended in a cloud at the mountain of God with thundering sounds and what they interpreted as lightening.  The people could not even stand to hear His voice because of His awesomeness.  This shows why the Angel of the Lord is the second most powerful being next to God.  He was also known as Michael the Archangel, who would then come into the world as Jesus, by being born through a woman who was of the unblemished line of descendents.  

Israel Complains - As Israel journeyed through the desert, the people complained numerous times and even caused rebellion, even though they had seen the great miracles of God.  They were always given everything they needed to survive, but they were not thankful of God for it.  This is still the same scene today.  The lesson here is, to be satisfied with what you got and by having faith in God, He will always give you what you need.   

Land of the Giants - When Israel approached the Promised Land, they sent spies out to see what was there.  The giants, which were the children of Anak, lived there along with other pagan tribes of men.  When they came back, they said bad things about the land, but only a man named Caleb and Joshua believed God and said to go into the land.  The people were afraid and refused, which caused them to wander another forty years in the desert until all of that generation had disappeared, except for Caleb and Joshua.  These were the only ones that were allowed by God to enter the land and conquer the giants.

The Talking Donkey - During the conquest of the land, the king of Moab sent for a man named Balaam.  He was a man who knew God, and the king wanted him to curse Israel because of their victories in the land.  He disobeyed God by going to Israel , but along the way his donkey stopped three times because it saw the Angel of the Lord blocking the way with a sword, which means that animals can see things that we cannot.  Each time Balaam beat the animal, but after the third time the Angel of the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey so it could talk.  The donkey told Balaam how faithful it was to him and that it was trying to save his life.  Then the Angel opened the eyes of Balaam so he could see the Angel standing there.  He then admitted that he sinned and did what God wanted him to do.  Even an animal can have the power of speech through God, which in our times only happens in movies.   

DEUTERONOMY

The book of Deuteronomy is a reflection on the past with a look into the future.  Deuteronomy means “second law giving“.  Moses tells the new generation about all the mistakes of the former one, while giving them instruction about the land they are about to enter.  He also informs them on the cost of disobedience.  Even Moses could not enter the land because of not obeying God, but he was allowed to look at it before his life was over.  Joshua  would be the replacement for Moses and would lead Israel into their promised land.

Moses Reviews the Past - Moses tells the new generation of Israel that will enter the promised land, about all of the great things that God has done for them and what He expects of them.  All of their history, good and bad, is reviewed so that this new generation can learn from the past mistakes.

Moses Speaks of the Future -  Moses tells the new generation of Israel of all of the blessings in store for them if they follow God.  But, he then tells them of the curses that will come upon them for abandoning God.  God told Moses before he was to die, that they would indeed abandon Him and go after other gods.  But, one day they would return to Him and receive great blessings in the future.  Moses was 120 years old when he died, but his eyes were of normal vision and his strength was the same as when he was young.  This demonstrates the effect of true faith in God.         

JOSHUA

The book of Joshua is about Joshua taking the place of Moses and leading the armies of Israel into the land that God promised them.  Joshua was victorious in every battle except one, which was the one where he listened to a man before consulting God.  God was the one who fought for them and Joshua always gave God the credit.  When the land had been conquered, it was then divided among the tribes of Israel.  Joshua believed God and did what He said.  The same is true today if you consult with God first for direction.   He might take you off the main highway of life and travel many back roads.  But when you get to where it is that you are going, you will look back and see that it was the best way go.       

Joshua and the Conquests - Joshua led the people to the Jordan river and God parted the water, just as He did to the Red Sea in the days of Moses, so they could cross over.  The people at this time, numbered in the millions.  The land was first split in half by invasion, then the South and the North were defeated.  During the invasion of Ai, God told them to go in with few men, but they did not listen and went with many and were defeated.  When they listened to God and went with few men they were victorious.  This shows that God shows strength through weakness, because it truly glorifies God for all to see the opposite of what is expected.  After the conquests, the land was then divided amongst the twelve tribes of Israel.  But later, certain tribes would turn on the others which led to them splitting apart.  The ten northern tribes became known as the northern kingdom of Samaria ,and the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin became known as the southern kingdom of Judah.  The people of Judah were known as Jews later on.

The Fall of Jericho - Spies of Israel went to Jericho and were saved by a harlot named Rahab.  She was saved from the invasion of Israel by hanging a scarlet cord out of her window, which the spies had given her so she could be recognized as a friend of Israel.  This resembles the Passover in Egypt, when Israel put the blood of a lamb on there houses and was saved.  In the future, Jesus becomes The Lamb of God to be sacrificed for humanity.  The army marched around the city once each day for seven days, but on the seventh day, they marched around seven times then the priests blew the trumpets.  This is reflected in Revelations through the seven seals, with the seventh seal being the seven trumpets.  When the trumpets blew a long blast the people were told to shout.  The walls collapsed and the army conquered the city.  Through just sound waves, God brought the walls of a city down.   

The Long Day - Due to the faith of one man, God did one of the greatest miracles ever.  He stopped the sun from moving in its’ circuit around the earth for the length of one day, so Joshua could have enough daylight to defeat his enemies.  God said there has never been a day like that, and never will again, in which He performed such a miracle at the request of a man.  Through this, God shows what is possible for having true faith in Him.  Jesus later said that anything is possible with God by believing in Him.  This phenomenon of the sun standing still for a day, was recorded in the mythology and histories of people all around the earth, which is proof of it actually happened.

The Promised Land - Joshua conquered the land of Canaan, along with most of the giants that lived there.  The problem was, that some of the giants and the people where not defeated, which would cause many troubles for the nation right up to this present day.    

JUDGES

The book of Judges covers the time after Joshua, when judges or “deliverers” were appointed by God to direct the people and save them from their oppressors.  One thing you will notice, is the cycle that keeps repeating.  When  times got hard, they would cry out to God and He would send a judge to save them.  Then when they had the good life again, they would forget God and go back to idolatry and immorality.  When God withdrew from them and they became oppressed again, they would cry out to God and He would save them again.  God truly loves all people because he is always there for you, even when you turn your back on Him.

The Judges - Twelve of the judges were listed in this book, which was Othneil, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon and Samson.  They were only temporary saviors until the one true Savior, Jesus, the Son of God would come to save all of humanity.

Samson and Delilah - The account of Samson and Delilah is one of the most popular stories of the Bible.  Samson had superhuman strength, which came from God, due to the length of his hair.  The Philistines were enemies of Israel, but one of their beautiful women distracted him from God.  She found the source of his strength and cut his hair, which led to his capture and affliction by his enemies.  Though in the end, Samson asks God for his strength one more time to defeat the Philistines, which shows how God will always return to a repentant person.  When his strength returned, he knocked out the supports of the temple that everyone was in, and the building collapsed on the Philistines.           

RUTH

The Book of Ruth has two main points.  First, it shows us an incredibly loving relationship between a daughter-in-law, Ruth, and her mother-in-law which is not found very often in our present society.  It shows us what being married and family are really all about.  Second, it traces the ancestry of the Savior through her.

Ruth - Ruth, who was not from Israel, was the wife of one of the two sons of Naomi, an Israelite.  When Naomi’s husband and both of her sons had died, she told both daughter-in-laws to go back to their own people.  But, Ruth stayed with Naomi like she was her own daughter.  She then meet Boaz, a relative of Naomi, and they soon married.  Because of her kindness to Naomi, God gave her a child that was named Obed.

The Unblemished Line - Obed, the son of Ruth, had a son named Jesse.  Jesse became the father of David, which was the righteous line that The Savior, Jesus, would come from.  

 

1 SAMUEL

The book of Samuel is about the last and most prominent person of the judges.  This book actually contains the histories of three main personalities, which is Samuel and two of the kings of Israel, Saul and David.  Israel went from a theocratic form of government, which simply means being ruled by God, to a monarchy with a human king.  They wanted a human king like the other nations, which meant that they rejected God as their king, in spite of all the miracles He performed for them.  Even though God gave them their wish, His plans would still be accomplished.  In this modern world we still have kings and elected leaders, but it is to God first that we answer.

Samuel - Elkanah, an Israelite, had two wives named Peninnah and Hannah.  Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.  She was so distraught that one day she prayed to God at the temple.  A priest saw her and only her lips was moving, so he thought she was drunk.  But she was praying to God in her heart, which shows that you only need to communicate with God through your mind, and not with words.  She prayed that if God would give her a son, she would give him to the service of God.  God answered her with a son named Samuel who became a priest as a child and later became one of the great prophets of God.

Capture of the Ark - The Philistines battled the Israelites and defeated them.  The Ark of the Covenant was captured and taken to their land.  Every city that it was taken to, was devastated with plague because of the anger of God.  They finally sent it back to Israel, but the men of that town disobeyed God and looked inside, and over fifty thousand men died.  All the people where terrified of the great power of the ark, which came from God.

Saul - Israel rejected God and demanded a king like the other nations around them.  Saul, who was the tallest and most handsome of all of Israel, became the first human king of Israel.  Saul obeyed God in the beginning, but latter, turned from His ways and was rejected as king.  David, the youngest of the seven sons of Jesse, was chosen to replace Saul as king.  

David and Goliath -  When the Philistines had gathered their armies to battle Israel, they sent out one of the giants that was with them to taunt Israel.  His name was Goliath and he was almost ten feet tall with armor that weighed one hundred and twenty five pounds.  His spearhead even weighed fifteen pounds.  All the men of Israel was afraid of him, but David saw what was going on and challenged him.  Through the faith David had in God, he defeated the giant.  This shows that no matter what you are up against, God can give you victory by having faith in Him.  

2 SAMUEL

This second book of Samuel covers the forty years of the reign of David as king of Israel.  Half of the book deals with all of his victories, where as the other half displays the great sin that he committed which brought on all of the bad times that followed.  David was truly a man that loved God.  After he committed adultery and murder, God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him about it.  David then had sincere repentance and God did forgive Him because He knew his heart.  But, God told him he would still suffer the consequences the rest of his live.  This is still true today, because God never changes and justice has to be served.  God will forgive you if you truly mean it, but you will still have to deal with the consequences of your actions.  Sin sets off a chain reaction of events with negative consequences.  This is why any sin, no matter how small, has to be eliminated.  Human nature can only be changed by the power of God.

David - When Saul knew he was to be replaced by David, he tried to eliminate him.  But in the end, David prevailed through the help of God and went on to establish a great kingdom for Israel.  As promised by God, the Savior would be a descendant of David

David and the Great Sin - David had great love for God, but he made a great mistake by committing adultery with a woman named Bathsheba.  When he found out she was pregnant, he sent her husband, who was in the army, to the front line of battle so that he was killed.  Because of this sin, David suffered greatly.  When David repented with all his heart for what he had done, God did forgive him.  But, God told him he would have to live with the consequences of his actions.  God will forgive anything if someone is truly sorry in their heart, except blasphemy of The Holy Spirit.  Though, we still will have to deal with the consequences.  

1 KINGS

This first book of Kings has two main parts.  It begins with the high point of the kingdom under the rule of Solomon, the son of David.  But the kings that ruled after Solomon brought trouble to Israel and eventually the kingdom was divided.  The kingdom of Israel that was in the north was known as Samaria, and the in the south was the kingdom of Judah.

Solomon - The man who became king after David was Solomon, who was a son of David.  God asked him what He should give him.  Instead of asking for riches or earthly things, he asked for wisdom to rule the people.  This pleased God, so in addition to wisdom, he also gave him riches.  Solomon became the wisest and richest man there ever was on earth, along with establishing the greatest and richest kingdom.  He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.  But it was these wives of different nations that would be his downfall, which also brought down the kingdom.

The Temple - Solomon built the first permanent temple for God, which housed the Ark of the Covenant.  The whole temple was covered with gold on the outside, and also on the inside.  He had so much gold, that it became a common thing throughout the land.

The Kings - After the fall of Solomon and the kingdom was separated, the acts of the kings that followed are described throughout the rest of the book.  Some were good and others were not, which brought hardship on both nations.

Elijah - One of the great prophets of Israel was Elijah.  Enoch and Elijah were the only two people that were taken to Heaven by God while still alive.  Elijah had many victories, but then he would sink into depression afterwards.  His life was full of highs and lows, but God always provided for him.  

2 KINGS

The second book of Kings continues with the history of the kings of the north and south kingdoms.  Two of the greatest tragedies in the history of Israel are recorded in this book.  First, the northern kingdom of Israel was capture by Assyria, which was located in modern day Syria, and taken away.  Later, the kingdom of Judah was captured by Babylon, which was located in modern day Iraq, and also taken away.  Finally, the Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem.  Israel had been taken from their land, due to their sin against God.  This shows that God can bring any nation down when they turn from Him, no matter how great they are.

Elisha - As the student of Elijah, Elisha would take the place of Elijah after he was taken up to Heaven by God, on what was described as chariots of fire.  Since there were no words to describe this event, they used familiar things from their own time period to describe this great happening.

The Captivity - Both the northern ten tribes, which was Samaria, and the southern  nation of Judah were removed from the land.  Eventually Judah returned to the land, but the northern ten tribes never returned.  So till this day, there are people from all over the earth that are ancestors of the ten tribes of Israel, but do not know it.

1 CHRONICLES

The book of Chronicles covers much of the same history as the books of Samuel and Kings, except from the viewpoint of looking back on history.  This first book starts with the genealogical records of Adam through David, and then recounts many of the events of both of the kingdoms of David and Solomon.

The Genealogies - This section is divided into two periods.  The first one details the genealogies of Adam through Jacob, then the second one covers the descendants of Jacob.  This continues to show the unblemished line that the Savior would come from.

The History - The events of the reign of King David is covered in order to teach the lessons of the past.    

2 CHRONICLES

The second book of Chronicles covers  the history of Solomon, and then the Kings of Judah.  It closes with the edict of Cyrus, the king of Persia, that conquered Babylon and let the people of Judah return to Jerusalem.  The importance of  both of these books is that they record the history of the family that the Savior would eventually come from.

The History - The past history of Solomon and the Kings of Judah is presented to reinforce the spiritual strength of the Jews.

The Return of Judah - The book ends with the return of the Jews to their land.

Next - The Journey Part 2