Old Testament Survey (Part II)

The books of the Bible have a time and space context. When we read the Scriptures, we must take these two aspects into account and understand when and where God said these things. The Old Testament basically covers two thousand years of history before the birth of Christ, but Genesis 1–11 records the pre-historical portion

The history of Israel began around 2000 BCE. Pastor David Pawson divides this history into four parts, each spanning five hundred years. These are four distinct periods, starting in 2000 BCE, 1500 BCE, 1000 BCE, and 500 BCE. If we use major events to label these four periods, the four events are: the calling, the Exodus, the kingdom, and the exile.

The first period is when God chose Abraham, selecting him and his descendants to be His people.

The second period is when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt.

The third period is when they received the Promised Land and enjoyed a golden age of peace. This was the peak of Israel’s history, when they not only possessed their own land but also conquered many other nations.

The fourth period is the lowest point in their history: the time of the exile.

Each period had its most representative figures. In 2000 BCE, it was Abraham; in 1500 BCE, it was Moses; in 1000 BCE, it was David, who ruled Israel during this time; and in 500 BCE, it was Isaiah, the most famous figure of the exile period.

Furthermore, these four periods had different types of leaders for Israel. The first period was led by Patriarchs, from Abraham to Joseph. The second period was led by Prophets, from Moses to Samuel. The third period was led by Kings, from Saul to Zedekiah. The fourth period was led by Priests, from Joshua, who returned with Zerubbabel, to Caiaphas in the time of Jesus.

So, the role of leadership shifted from Patriarchs to Prophets, to Kings, and then to Priests. This doesn’t mean there were no other prophets or priests during those times, but rather it indicates a transition in the primary leadership role. It wasn’t until Jesus came that the roles of Prophet, Priest, and King were combined into one person.

Israel tried these three different types of leadership, but what they were truly searching for was a person who embodied all three roles. In the Old Testament era, all the leaders failed.

Within these four periods, there were two gaps, each lasting four hundred years. The first gap is between the Book of Genesis and the Book of Exodus. The second gap is the four hundred years between the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, and the first book of the New Testament, Matthew. The Bible records nothing from these two periods because God was inactive and completely silent. After four hundred years, God suddenly spoke again: John the Baptist appeared to preach. He was the first prophet after the second silent period. Then came the miracles of Jesus—His birth, death, resurrection, and ascension—which ushered in the New Testament era.

(Compiled and edited based on the Chinese Union Version and recordings from David Pawson’s “Unlocking the Old Testament” series.)