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NOTES ON PENTATEUCH

THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES

GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS AND DEUTERONOMY
Prepared by Dr. Joy M. George

Introduction

The first five books of the Bible, the Torah is written by Moses. The name of God as YHWH is
revealed to Moses only in Exodus 3. The fact that this name is used to refer to God from
Genesis 1 and 2 in the creation account indicates that the author of Genesis is Moses. Even
though the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch is disputed by modern scholars, Jesus
referred to these books as the Law of Moses, quoting from Genesis and Deuteronomy. The
Old Testament Introduction course deals with the issue of Mosaic authorship and the
discussions of JEDP hypothesis, this course will be taught with the assumption that the
student is familiar with the arguments and have come to the conclusion that these books are
of Mosaic origin.

Moses wanted to give a law- book for the new generation of Israelites as they were poised to
enter the promised- land. Genesis is written to give the context of Israelite selection as a
covenant people of God. The first 11 chapters of Genesis gives the history of the world from
creation until the division of the various nations of the world and the formation of languages.
Chapter 12-50 gives the patriarchal history from Abraham till Joseph. This part of Genesis
explains the origin of the Jewish nation from Abraham and how they ended up in Egypt and
the reason behind the 400 years of slavery.

Exodus gives the history of Israel 400 years after the time of Joseph till the giving of the Law
and the commandments pertaining to the worship of God around the Tabernacle. Moses was
selected as the leader to redeem the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage under the
Pharaoh. God sent 10 plagues to Egypt to force the hand of Pharaoh to free the Israelites from
bondage. The redeemed people of God received the 10 commandments at Mt. Horeb (Sinai).
They also received the laws pertaining to worship of YHWH through the tabernacle.

The Book of Leviticus continues the laws pertaining to the worship of YHWH describing the
sacrifices for the remission of unintentional sins, the laws of priesthood, dietary laws, the
Day of Atonement, to deal with forgiveness for intentional sins through repentance and
humbling. It also gives the laws pertaining to sexual purity and the seven festivals.

The Book of Numbers restarts the history from the time of giving of the law at Mt. Sinai till
they reach the eastern side of Jordan at the end of the wilderness wanderings. It gives the
details of the sin at Kadesh- Barnea that caused the 40 years of wandering. The numbering
of the people at the beginning and at the end of 40 years shows a reduction in population in
the 40 years.
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The Book of Deuteronomy is a repetition of the law in a new format based on the Suzerain
Vassal Treaty Covenant of the Hittites. The first four chapters is the historical prologue and
chapters 5-26 are covenant stipulations, a repeat of the laws in Exodus and Leviticus.
Chapters 27-29 are curses and blessings, prescribing the punishment for disobeying the
covenant stipulations and blessing for obedience. The book ends with the death and farewell
message of the mediator of the covenant (Moses) to give the covenant a permanent status.
The last chapters must have been added by Joshua to give the book this important character.
Once the covenant mediator dies, the covenant cannot be altered. Therefore, these chapters
are added to Deuteronomy.

THE BOOK OF GENESIS (SUMMARY)

In the Hebrew Canon of Scripture, the title of the Book is “Bereshith”, the first word of this
book, meaning “In the Beginning” or beginnings. The Latin word “Genesis” also has similar
meaning “Origins”. It is a book of beginnings. It describes, the creation of the universe, origin
of mankind, the entrance of sin, the judgment of God through the flood, the beginning of
nations and the origin of Jewish nation as the chosen people of God. It also describes the plan
of God to save the world through the seed of the woman and the covenant that God made
with Abraham, which is the foundation of God’s plan for the ages.

Creation Account

The first verse in Genesis (1:1) describes the author of creation as God (Elohim). It does not
make any effort to introduce this God. It takes the whole Bible to explain Him. God created
three things in the beginning, matter, space and time. All the rest of the creation is from this
matter. The heavens describe the source of ‘light” and the space between them. Also, light is
the reason for the “time”, the day and night. Though the name of God is introduced to us only
in Exodus 3, the author being Moses, identified Elohim as YHWH. This is further proof that
Moses is the author of Genesis. He used the combined name of YHWH ELOHIM in 2:4 and
following to make sure that we know ELOHIM AND YHWH as same God. The higher critical
school picked up on this and claimed that it indicates multiple authorship of Genesis.

Verse 2 describes the chaotic condition of the matter being created, ex-nihilo. It was formless
(without shape) and the earth, water and the air were empty of any living beings. The
subsequent days of creation were to remove these two deficiencies. First, the water was
moved to one place so that dry land could appear and light was brought into play to remove
darkness. The mention of the Spirit of God at this juncture is significant. The Spirit is the life
giver and preserver of the created world. The world and everything in it were created by,
through and for His son ( Colo. 1:16). The triune God is the author and sustainer of all
creation.

The first day of creation starts with the “light”. It is the source of life and a perfect picture of
the Son of God, who is light and life. It is also, the timekeeper, separating the day and night
making the calendar.
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The second day of creation is for removing formlessness (tohu), by separating the waters
above the atmosphere and waters below the atmosphere on the ground making the air
between them is the visible expression of life. Air is ruah, the life sustaining force for all living
things. The water above the atmosphere was protecting the earth from harmful rays from
outer space and until the Flood, this canopy remained to give long life for humans. Also, this
water was a punishing rod, which God kept there to be used at a later date. So, for the second
day, God did not say that it was good. The canopy helped the earth by providing the moisture
without rain and uniform temperature.

The third day of creation is to bring form to the earth by moving the water to one side
forming dry land and seas. There were no continents, but only one large dry land
(panangaea) and one sea.

Also, on the third day God removed the emptiness of the land by bringing in vegetation. The
main thing about the plant is that it was according to species, that it cannot be mixed as far as
the genetic code is concerned, the grass, herbs (small plants) and trees as separate species.
They were created as full -grown plant producing fruit and seed in them. God created
everything with age. This is also an argument against calculating the age of the earth based
on the age of the stones.

The word for making the sun and the moon is “asha” and not “bara” as in the previous verses.
This means that on the fourth day these two lights were specifically appointed as time
keepers, so that day, month and year can be calculated. Day, month and year are creations of
these two luminaries. In a miraculous way God brought the light from the stars near to the
view of humans on the earth, because the stars are to declare the glory of God. It is for
revealing the infinite God to humans.

In the fifth day of creation, the emptiness in the sky and seas were removed. Birds fly in the
sky and fish swim in the water. They were also created to keep the boundaries of genetic
code (specie). Because they were living creature, they were blessed and given the command
to be fruitful and multiply and fill the air and the water.

The sixth day of creation included all the land creatures, animals, crawling creatures and
man. They also have to maintain the restriction of the species (of its kind). While the animals
were created with the word of God, man is made from the dust of the ground in God’s own
image and likeness. This fashioning of man from the ground was also referred as “asha”. He
was given the dominion power over the rest of the creation and they are God’s
representatives here on earth. God created Adam (mankind) as male and female. But how the
female was brought out of man is described only in Chapter 2.

Chapter two opens with the summary statement that God completed the creation in six days
and rested on the seventh day and blessed and sanctified it. This became the reason for the
Israelites to keep the seventh day as a day of rest and worship of God. The general condition
of the earth was stated. The plants were yet to be spread out and so also, the animals are to
be multiplied. Man was created differently by fashioning him from the dust of the ground and
God breathing his “ruah” into his nostrils to make him a nephesh. YHWH ELOHIM planted a
garden in Eden (east) and placed him in the garden. Since there was no rain, the mist from
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the ground watered the earth. The garden had four rivers that watered the garden. God also
placed two trees in the garden and gave instruction to Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree
of knowledge (knowing good and evil). This means that he was permitted to eat from the tree
of life. God also realized that it was not good for man to be alone and he needed a suitable
help -meet (companion). Before flood, man and animals were vegetarian. They ate the fruits,
grains and vegetables for food. The command for man to name the animals was for the
purpose that if man would find a suitable helper comparable to him from them. As God
planned, it was an exercise of the intellect, emotion and will of man, which God created in
him. He successfully completed this test. The fact that two of the rivers that originated in the
garden, Euphrates and Tigris are still in existence, we know that the garden was in a plateau
at the border of Turkey and Armenia. The two of the west -flowing rivers dried up after the
flood because of the geography at the west of Turkey with the formation of the
Mediterranean Sea. The present day Sahara desert probably was once the river- bed of
Pishon. Gihon went around the area of Ethiopia (Cush).
The instruction to man ‘not to eat’ of the tree of Knowledge came to Adam before the
creation of the woman (Gen. 2:15-17). God realized the need for man to have a help-meet
comparable to him. The naming of the animals by Adam was a test of his emotions, to see if
he would find a help-meet comparable to him from among the animals. Verse 20 closes with
the statement that Adam did not find a suitable help-meet comparable to him. So, the woman
was taken out of man, by God in the first operation in history. This is to show the intimacy
that God wanted in the marriage relationship, an emotional bond. Ribs, literally means, ‘side’.
There is no missing ribs in man, but the woman was equal to man from his side. The man is
“ish” and his wife is “isha”.
The marriage of Adam to Eve (Gen 2:24) is a picture of the ultimate union of Christ and the
Church (Eph. 5: 32). Jesus will come down from the father to receive the bride and Christ will
establish the kingdom here on earth. The declaration that Adam and Eve were naked and
they were not ashamed is a theological statement of their innocence and also their
vulnerability. Clothing is for protection and for keeping one from the vagaries of nature.
There was no blood- thirsty mosquitoes or insects that bite, and therefore, clothing was not
necessary.

The Fall of Mankind

Chapter 3 introduces the ‘serpent’. This creature is a picture of Satan (Rev. 12:9 and 20:2).
Satan being a spirit cannot act without taking up a physical body. Here he took the body of
the ‘serpent’ because it was more cunning than any beast of the field. Adam and Eve knew
the serpent as clever and they listened to this creature. But it was Satan, speaking through
the serpent. This is evident from the usage of ‘he’ as the spokesperson.

The question of Satan concerning the prohibition was aimed at casting doubt about the
character of God. The woman replied saying that indeed God prohibited them from eating the
fruit of the tree and even touching it was not permitted. This is more than what God stated.
So she exaggerated the prohibition agreeing to Satan that God was unfair in putting this
restriction on them. So, Satan made his assertion that she will not die, but that her eyes will
be opened and that she will be like God, knowing Good and Evil. God is purposely keeping a
good thing away from her because of God’s selfishness and that God is jealous of His position
and wants to keep the good things to himself without sharing with His creation. She was
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tempted to take and eat the fruit, because she analyzed and came to the conclusion that it
was not a poisonous tree (harmful), but was pleasant to see, desirable and perceived to be
good for making one wise. She ate the fruit and gave to her husband who was with her in this
conversation. He also ate the fruit as a rebellious act.
The consequence of the sin was disastrous. Their eyes were opened to see that they lost their
innocence. Now they have to sew the fig leaves to cover the nakedness. Now God appeared to
them in a storm (the cool of the day is a wrong translation) and they had to hide from God.
The excuse they gave to God in hiding was that they were naked and therefore hid among the
trees of the garden. This is a nice excuse, but there were only two individuals on the earth
and they do not need to be ashamed. So God asked Adam if his conscience is the one that
pronounced him guilty. When man doubted the goodness of God and considered the
prohibition as a curtailment of his right, he sinned. He experienced evil for the first time. So
he put the blame on God who gave him Eve as his help-meet. She squarely put the blame on
the serpent. Sin is the same ever since. When God gave the ten-commandments, the same
attitude persisted. Is God preventing me from enjoyment of life by putting these restrictions?
When we fall, the blame is always on someone or something else.

The ultimate defeat of Satan is pictured in the analogy of crawling on the ground and eating
dust. The seed of the woman will ultimately crush the head of the serpent. But Satan will
bruise the head of the seed of the woman (Christ). The pain in child- birth and the child
rearing and woman’s submission to man are the curses put on her. The struggle of man in
obtaining the necessities of life throughout his life and finally returning to dust from where
he is taken (death) was his curse. The earth will not give its strength and the unwanted
weeds will grow more easily than the wanted herbs and grains.

The fact that man will die one day made the birth of a child more important. So the
importance of Eve as the life-giver gained strength. God made tunics of sheepskin and
covered the nakedness of Adam and Eve. This is symbolical of the covering God makes
through the death of an animal (the concept of sacrifice). The eating of the tree of life
guarantees eternal life. We see this tree again in the paradise of God in the Book of
Revelation and the redeemed are given the permission to eat of this tree, which produces 12
kinds of fruit in 12 months of the year. Keeping man out of the garden was important
because death is necessary due to the presence of sin. Death is a blessing for the sinful
humanity. A life without sin and death are guaranteed in the glorified life. For the first time,
angels are introduced, “cherubim” as the guardians of God’s holiness. The same cherubim are
found on the ark of the covenant protecting the seat of God in the temple of God.

Cain And Abel

When the first child was born. Eve thought that it was the fulfillment of the prophecy in
Genesis 3:15. She thought he is the promised seed of the woman. So, she said that I have
“qanah” (gotten) a man-child, who is YHWH. The translation “from the Lord” is an
interpretation given by some translators. Literally she thought that the birth of the first child
is the fulfillment of the promise. As he grew up, this thought of hers gradually faded. May be
his character was not good. The Book of Hebrews states, Cain was from the evil one. His
character was from the evil one. So, the second child is named Abel, meaning ‘vanity’. Also,
the early death of Abel made this name more prophetic.
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Domestication of animals has started and Abel was a herdsman. Cain was a farmer. After
some time, both the brothers wanted to express their gratitude to God for the good that they
received in their profession by bringing an offering to God. Cain brought from his offering, a
meal offering or first fruits, while Abel brought a first-born from his flock and of their fat.
This could mean that Abel was giving the best, while Cain was not. There is no mention of any
sacrifice here. But there was a problem with regard to their attitude. God respected Abel and
his offering, but Cain and his offering God did not respect. Cain became angry with Abel. The
book of Hebrews says that by faith Abel offered a better offering than Cain. Instead of
correcting his mistake, he became angry with his brother. God warned him, to control his
emotions, but he harbored bitterness and sought an opportunity to eliminate Abel, whom he
thought is a competition. The first murder in history took place away from their parents
without any eyewitness. But it cannot be hidden from the judge of the universe. He was
cursed and he was kicked out of the family and inheritance and became a fugitive and a
vagabond. The earth also was cursed that it may not give its strength to the violent sinful
people of the earth. Cain lost the protection of God and exposed himself to the violence of this
world. God reduced the death sentence to life imprisonment at his pleading (it was a jail
without walls).

He lived in the land of Nod (vagabonds) and built a civilization away from God. Since he did
not have an address, he named a city after his son, Enoch. During the days of Lamech, the first
mention of polygamy and the beginning of art and music. The arrogance of Lamech is stated
in the poetry of 4:23 and 24. After Adam lost both his sons to sin, he got another son from
God and named him Seth (appointed one). His son is called Enosh and in his time people
began to call on the name of YHWH. In contrast to the evil of the time, true YHWH worship
was started through the line of Seth and Enosh.

Genealogy of Genesis 5

The average life span of the first 10 generations was 900 years. This long life is due to the
different environment and climatic conditions before the flood. Also, food may have played a
role (vegetarian food grown in the perfect climate). The ten generations of the chosen line is
a message about God’s plan for the ages. Adam means-man, Seth means, appointed, Enosh-
mortality, Keinan-sorrow, Mahaelel- Blessed God, Jared- Shall come down, Enoch-teaching,
Methusalah- his death shall bring, Lamech-despairing and Noah-Comfort/peace. If we put
these names together we have this message: Man appointed (by God) brought death and
sorrow, but the blessed God shall come down, teaching that his death shall bring to the
despairing comfort and peace. Methusalah was 187 years of age when he had Lamech born.
When Lamech was 182 years of age when Noah was born. When Noah was 600 years old, the
flood came. The age of Methusalah was 969 years and therefore, the flood came exactly the
same year when he died (187+182+600). This makes further importance to the meaning of
his name. God revealed to Enoch that when his son dies the flood would come upon the earth.
It is also interesting to note that he lived the longest is a recognition of the grace of God in
prolonging the judgment. If Shem, Ham and Japheth were born to Noah in his 500th year, they
must have been triplets. This also make sense that all the three were 100 years old at the
time of the flood and that they all were married, but had no children. When Lamech died at
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the age of 777, his father Methusalah was 964 years of age (777+187). Lamech, the father of
Noah, died five years before the flood. But his father outlived the son, five more years.

According to genealogy in Genesis 5, the flood came 1656 years after the flood.

The Judgment of Flood (6-8).

The cause of the flood was the unusual mixing of the Sons of God with daughters of men.
According to Job 38:7, and 1:6, the morning stars are synonymous to the “sons of God”,
meaning angels. Some have interpreted the “sons of God” as descendants of Seth and
daughters of men as daughters of Cain. This kind of interpretation is an attempt to avoid the
complex issue of angels having sex with humans. Also, the judgment included man, beast,
creeping things and birds of the air. There was genetic alteration of the animals, birds and
creeping things that they also should be destroyed along with men. All flesh had corrupted
their way upon the earth (6:12) and the earth was full of violence. The children born through
this sexual union of angels with humans were called, Nephilim (fallen ones), indicating the
satanic nature of this new breed. They also corrupted all the other species through altering
their genetic line so that unimaginably huge and violent creatures were born. The dinosaurs
of the ancient times are a product of this time. The fossil records and ancient mythologies
bring out the truth of the times. God brought into the ark only those who were not corrupted
through this satanic invasion of the world (physically) through immoral unions. God judged
the ancient world and reduced the life span of man to 120 years and destroyed the satanic
progeny through the flood. The angels who sinned in this fashion are now put in a dungeon of
darkness reserved for the end times (2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6). The Nephilim were there during the
flood and afterwards in Canaan as the enemy of God and His people. These probably came
through Ham, whose wife could have carried some of the genes of these ancients. It was
Canaan, one of the grandsons of Ham is cursed by Noah for Ham’s disrespect of his father
(Genesis 9). The Anakim, the Rephaim, Zam-Zummim and Avim of Deuteronomy 2:10 and
king of Bashan, Og, whom Israel defeated (Deut. 3:11) were Ham’s descendants. The giant
who founded the city of Hebron was Arba (the earlier name of Hebron was Kiriath-Arba).

The Course of the Flood (Genesis 7,8)

The ark was a box 450 feet long, 75 ft wide and 45 feet height. It was not an ocean- liner, but
a floating box in violent waters. Stability was the main criteria for this floating box. The
proportion of the ark was such that its center of gravity was way at the bottom, making it a
very stable floating vessel. It was made of Gopher wood, a transliteration of the Hebrew,
because we do not know the English equivalent. He used tar as a sealant to prevent water
leaking in. Also it was divided into three storeys to increase the usage of the full volume.
There was enough space for all the known species of land and air creatures plus space for
food for a year. The animals were not carnivores, so they may have eaten the grains or
fodder. This is a picture of the kingdom of God when the nature of animals would change and
lion and bear will eat straw like ox.

God brought the water above, in the canopy (2nd day of creation) and water stored in the
deep to come up to make the flood. There was only one land and one water body before the
flood. But after the flood the amount of water on the surface of the earth has increased many-
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fold. So the land- mass was reduced and several oceans were formed after the flood. Also,
there were movements of the tectonic plates due to change in the weight of the water on the
surface and mountains became higher. Otherwise, the statement that water covered all the
mountains during the flood will not be possible. Also, we can still see evidence of water
covering the mountain- tops, where fossils of sea- creatures are found. It took forty days to
bring the water from above to cover the surface of the earth to a height of Mountain of Ararat
where the ark finally settled (17000 ft. above sea level). Though rain stopped after forty days,
water continued to rise for 150 days and it took a full year and one month for water to recede
so that Noah and family could come out of the ark into dry land. Though the distinction of
clean and unclean animals were given later as part of the regulation concerning the dietary
regulations of Israel, Moses gives the indication here that some of the animals are clean and
some others are unclean. Only clean animals are to be sacrificed. God brought the animals
and birds to the ark and He shut them in. After year of stay inside the ark, they came out of
the ark along with Noah and his family of 8 people in all.

Covenant of Noah (Genesis 9)

God made the covenant with Noah by promising never to destroy mankind with another
flood. The nature of man was not changed, but God in His grace vowed not to destroy them
and the living creatures with another flood. Also, he promised, that normal seasons, winter
and summer and normal cosmic activities would continue without any change. Now, a new
dimension of the dominion power of mankind is added. The creatures of the earth, sky and
sea will fear man because of the new permission that man can eat the animal flesh as part of
the diet just as vegetarian food was given before the flood. The only restriction was that he as
the ruler of the earth, should not show cruelty towards them while killing them for food.
Eating blood is prohibited because it was the sign of life. He is only allowed to eat the flesh.
This restriction is repeated also in Acts 15, when James wrote the letter to the Gentiles
regarding food restrictions. Also, killing another human being was prohibited. It is
punishable with death, because man is created in the image of God. He commanded man to
be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. He gave the rainbow as the sign of the covenant.
Since rain has become a part of the post flood earth, rainbow is a natural sign, which God
gave to man as a reminder of the covenant. The mist rising from the earth watered the earth
before the flood (Gen. 2:6). Rain was a new phenomenon after God removed the water above
the atmosphere (canopy) and brought it down as flood (cf. Gen 2:7: Gen. 7:11).

Genealogy of Shem Ham and Japheth (Genesis 10-11)

In the post flood world, Shem, Ham and Japheth had children born to them. The descendants
of Japheth occupied Asia- minor, Greece and Central Asian region. The descendants of Ham
occupied Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and Canaan. The descendants of Shem occupied,
Mesopotamia, Assyria, Syria and Persia. The division happened during the time of Nimrod,
who built the tower of Babel as a rebellion against God’s command to spread out and fill the
earth. Nimrod wanted to build a tower to keep the people together and make a name for
themselves. God confused the language to make the people spread all over the world. No one
was able to understand each other. But the family ties forced them to form groups and
languages to communicate. So, the families and clans stuck together and formed languages.
The miracle of Pentecost was a reversal of this curse. They were able to understand other
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languages without learning them. Babel happened during the days of Peleg, the fourth
generation from Shem. The language this group spoke was named after their father Eber. So,
Hebrew language was spoken by Eber and his descendants including Abraham. People were
identified by their languages from this time onwards. Two years after the flood Arphaxad
was born to Shem. Based on the statement of Genesis 5:32, Shem was 100 years old at the
time of the flood. If Babel happened during the time of Peleg, it was about 101 years after the
flood (fourth generation from Shem). Terah, the father of Abraham was four generations
from Peleg (121 years) after Babel. When Abraham left Haran to go to Canaan, he was 75
years old. It was about 367 years after the flood in 2023 years after the creation of Adam.
Noah lived 350 years after the flood. Abraham could have the opportunity to see and meet
Noah if he was living in Mesopotamia. Shem lived 500 years after the flood. It is suggested
that Melchizedek of Genesis 14 could be Shem. Noah would have died 17 years before
Abraham’s journey to Canaan at the age of 950. When others of later generations were dying
at early age, Shem outlived Abraham for another 33 years. Shem could very well be living in
Jerusalem and he is recognized as the priest of the most high God and the king of
righteousness. It also fits the expression in Hebrews as the one, without beginning of days
(born prior to the flood) and keeps on living even when others were dying. While going back
to Hebron from Damascus, Abraham was met by Melchizedek, who was the good old grand
father brought bread and wine to his grandson and his tired servants who were returning
from defeating the Mesopotamian kings. Abraham gave tithes of all to Melchizedek in return.
The writer to the Hebrews is saying that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham. Later in
history, Jesus would become the true king of righteousness and the great high priest. In fact,
Arphaxad, Shelah and Eber lived above 400 years and would be alive during the life-time of
Abraham.

The Call of Abraham

God called Abraham while he was in Ur of the Chaldees. His wife Sarai was the daughter of
Terah through a different wife than Abraham’s mother. Sarai was Abraham’s half-sister. His
brother Haran died in Ur, but had two daughters, Milcah and Iscah. Milcah was married to
Abraham’s brother, Nahor. Laban and Rebecca were born to Nahor through Milcah. Later
Abraham’s son married Rebecca and Jacob married Laban’s two daughters, Leah and Rachel.
So, this was a close- knit family. In the beginning stages of humanity, it was not a genetic
problem to marry from close relations. Lot was the son of Haran, who died in Ur. Abraham
was able to convince his father to come with him to Canaan. But he stopped short, and stayed
in Haran (Paddan-Aram). May be this place was named after their deceased brother.
Abraham took Lot and his wife Sarai and departed for Canaan after the death of his father
Terah. Nahor and his family stayed back in Haran.

The call, which God gave to Abraham, while he was in Ur, was repeated once again after the
death of his father in Haran. The command involved leaving the country and his family to a
country, which God will show to him, and it was later confirmed as Canaan. He promised
Abraham that He will give him a land, a nation and a blessing and to make him a blessing for
others. Abraham left the country and family and went to Canaan. His nephew Lot went with
him. He reached as far as Shechem, the center of the promised- land. The marker was an old
oak tree, which will serve as a lesson to the succeeding generation where Abraham came.
These trees last thousands of years. The promised seed to Abraham is Jesus Christ according
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to Galatians 3:15. Through Christ, Abrahamic covenant will be fulfilled, when he will
establish the millennial kingdom and rule as the king.

Abraham’s decision to go to Egypt during a famine in the promised -land is a precursor to his
descendants going down to Egypt and becoming slaves for 400 years. He had to tell a lie that
his wife was his sister. Abraham’s fear that the Egyptians will kill him and spare his wife
because she was beautiful is a reminder that Pharaoh will order the killing of male babies of
the Hebrews and spare the females later in history. God had to bring plagues upon Pharaoh
and his household to let Abraham and Sarai leave the Egyptian territory. When he left, he was
given, plenty of animal wealth, gold and silver by Pharaoh. Hagar was one of the slaves he
acquired in Egypt. When Israel left Egypt, they went with much wealth given freely by the
Egyptians.

Abraham and Lot

The separation of Lot from Abraham and his departure to the plains of Jordan was necessary
for the fulfillment of Abrahamic covenant. While Lot was looking for well -watered land and
fortified cities, Abraham lived in tents and built an altar to the Lord in Hebron by the oak
trees. God renewed the Abrahamic covenant once again after the departure of Lot. Later
Abraham bought a piece of property in Hebron from the Hittites, the cave of Machpelah, to
bury his wife Sarai. This shows that the land belonged to the Hittites and Abraham never
owned any piece of property other than this burial site in the land of promise. The writer to
the Book of Hebrews says that Abraham knew that the promise of land is not earthly, but the
city of God and Messianic kingdom (Heb. 11:8-10). Lot pitched his tent as far as Sodom. He
lost his family and future because of this decision to follow the worldly instinct. Eventually,
God destroyed these cities by fire and brimstone because of the sin of homosexuality. The rift
valley and the formation of the Dead-sea is an evidence of the great natural calamity in the
area. Sulphur (brim-stone) is abundant in the area. Also, tar-pits, a by-product of oil wells
bringing the oil to the surface. Both these products are highly inflammable.

Abraham and Melchizedek

The cities of the Jordan valley were wealthy to attract kings from Mesopotamia. Lot became a
prisoner of war. Abraham had to gather his servants, 318 of them to pursue the departing
kings with the booty as far as Hobah north of Damascus in Syria and retrieved the prisoners
of war including Lot and the booty. The mention of valley of Siddim full of asphalt pits is
significant in the light of the later destruction of Sodom by fire. Asphalt (tar) is the residue of
oil. This may explain why these cities have become rich. On his return from Syria after the
defeat of the Mesopotamian kings, Abraham was met by Melchizedek, king of Salem
(Jerusalem). He was a priest of God and he received 1/10th of the spoils from Abraham after
he gave bread and wine to Abraham and his servants. The writer to the Hebrews says that
Melchizedek was greater than Abraham because he received the blessing from Melchizedek.
A lower person is blessed by a greater (see the notes, to see the possibility of Shem being
Melchizedek). According to Psalm 110, Christ is a priest forever after the order of
Melchizedek (in contrast to Levitical Aaronic Priesthood).
This person is introduced in the Abraham story because of the importance of Jerusalem in
later history of Israel. The eternal city of God is also called New Jerusalem.
 11

Ratification of Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 15).

There are three types of covenant mentioned in the Old Testament. 1. Salt Covenant, in which
the two parties who enter into a covenant exchange their salt bags. It is an act of trust in each
other, because salt is essential for life of the shepherds to keep them from dehydration. 2.
Shoe Covenant, in which they exchange the sandals. Though they will not be wearing the
sandals because the shoe sizes are different for different people. The fact that they keep them
as tokens of their agreement is the key to this covenant. If they want to break the agreement,
they will throw the shoe away. 3. Blood covenant, in which the parties will pass between the
split animal. The meaning is that those who would violate the provisions of the agreement
will similarly be cut into two pieces. This is a permanent covenant.

The Abrahamic covenant was ratified through the blood covenant called “karat berit”
(cutting of the covenant), in which, the parties that enter the covenant would walk between
the animal, split into two parts. God once again made the promise that his children will be as
numerous as the stars of heaven. Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness. This is equivalent to the justification or salvation in the Old Testament (Gen.
15:6). The cutting of three animals was to increase the importance of the agreement. The
birds being small, was not split into two. The burning torch was symbolical of God passing
between the pieces, while Abraham was sleeping. The Abrahamic covenant was unilateral,
only God put Himself under oath, it was unconditional and a permanent covenant. According
to the provisions of the blood covenant, both parties are required to pass between the pieces.
In this case, only God passed between the pieces, while Abraham was asleep. This indicates
that the Abrahamic covenant is unilateral and unconditional. God swore to Himself that He
would fulfill the provisions of the covenant. Abraham was justified (declared righteous)
through faith before the covenant was ratified (15:6).

God used this occasion to reveal that the descendant of Abraham will be slaves in Egypt for
400 years and from there, they will be brought back to the land of the promise. This 400
years will serve two purposes, the first, to make Israel a nation and second, to give time for
the Canaanites to repent or ripen their sins. The boundary of the promised- land was from
Nile-river in the south to Euphrates in the north, including Lebanon and Syrian territories.
On the west was the Mediterranean and to the East, the Arabian-desert. However, the
Edomites, Moabites and Ammonite territories (presently Jordan), were not given to Abraham
and his descendants.

Abraham and Hagar

Abraham’s wife Sarai was barren. She knew that it was God who restrained her from
conceiving. Ten years passed after their arrival in the promise-land. So, she used the Hittite
custom of surrogacy by taking Hagar, an Egyptian slave to bear a child for Abraham.
According to the custom, the woman will become a concubine of Abraham and the child will
belong to Abraham and Sarai. However, her plan went sour as Hagar became arrogant and
wanted to take the place of Sarai. So, Sarai treated Hagar harshly with the consent of
Abraham, and Hagar ran away.
 12

After Abraham was justified (15:6), he needed to live by faith. But instead he listened to the
voice of his wife as Adam and yielded to the flesh. The result was the children of the flesh
(Gal. 4: 21-31). Through the intervention of the Angel of Yahweh (appearance of Christ in the
OT), Hagar was brought back and Ishmael was born. Sarah blamed God for her barrenness,
just as Eve doubting the goodness of God. The practical lesson is that when we run ahead of
God, there is always trouble; the flesh loves to help God; true faith is shown in patience (Isa.
28:16). Faith and flesh cannot be mixed. Abraham and Sarai needed their flesh to be crucified
(dead) and then the promise will be fulfilled. After the birth of the promised-seed, the son of
the flesh needed to be expelled. Though God blessed Ishmael and he became a patriarch of 12
tribes (Gen. 25:13-15), they became the archenemy of the Jews for generations. The sins we
commit in our flesh has long lasting consequences.

The sign of the Covenant (Genesis 17)

God introduced Himself in this chapter as “El-Shaddai”, meaning, all -sufficient one. He gave
them a sign of the covenant, that all male including foreign slaves born into the house of
Abraham be circumcised. We do not have any historical evidence that this ritual was
practiced by any before Abraham’s time. The circumcision should be performed on all males
on the 8th day. But for the first time, the command was given to Abraham when he was 99
years of age. His son Ishmael was 13 years of age. Today, the Muslims following this tradition,
their males are circumcised when they are 13. They claim their ancestry from Ishmael (the
Arabs). God changed the names of Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of nations) and
Sarai (contentious) to Sarah (princess). God promised to Abraham that Sarah will have a son
and he will be the promised seed. When this was told to Abraham, he laughed. Later, this was
announced to Sarah and Abraham by the angels who visited them at the Oaks of Mamre and
then Sarah laughed. When the child was born, Sarah said, those who hear will laugh. In these
three instances, the laughter had different meanings; for Abraham it was a sign of joy and for
Sarah, it was sign of unbelief (as stated by the angels) and the people who hear will laugh as a
sign of mocking. Isaac means “laughter”.
God said that Ishmael will not inherit the covenantal blessings of Abraham, but he will have
12 princes born to him and will be a patriarch like Jacob. Later when Isaac grew, at Sarah’s
initiative and at God’s approval, Ishmael was cast out along with Hagar (Gen. 21:8-16).

The visit of Angels (Genesis 18)

The chapter starts with the statement that YHWH appeared to Abraham while he was staying
in a tent near the terebinth trees of Mamre (Hebron). Abraham was still a pilgrim living in
tents. Three men in the noon time appeared to Abraham. The time is significant because the
light was bright and it was not a vision. Also, it was lunch time and the visitors needed food
and shelter during the heat of the day. The writer to the Hebrews, cites this as an example of
hospitality, that Abraham entertained strangers and they happened to be angels. Abraham
did not know that they were angels (Hebrews 13:2). He invited them to stay under the shade
of the tree so that they can be fed. The details of the food served is mentioned as, beef, milk,
butter and wheat bread (unleavened). It is stated that they ate. This is significant because, it
tells that the angels and the LORD (YHWH) who appeared in human form were able to eat
human food. A very important fact with respect to the angels who took the human form in
Genesis 6 were able to have sex with human women. The two angels of this chapter went
 13

down to Sodom and the people of Sodom came to Lot’s house to have sex with them. After
the meal, YHWH announced that within a year, the promise of the seed through Sarah will be
fulfilled. Sarah laughed hearing this, because she knew that her menstrual cycle is ceased and
it is not normally reversed. Also, Abraham himself is old. So God had to assure Sarah that
there is nothing impossible with God. God had to prove his resurrection power after they
experience death. Jesus waited four days after Lazarus death to bring him back to life, to
prove His resurrection power.

In this chapter, Abraham exercised his position as the priest, to intercede for Lot and the
people of Sodom. He was pleading for the justice of God. He knew that God judged the world
in a flood when the number of righteous has come down to 8 people. So, he stopped with 10
in his intercession for Sodom.

Destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19).

Two of the angels went down to Sodom to help Lot out of the destruction that God had
planned for Sodom, for the sin of homosexuality. The problem here was not lack of
hospitality. Lot insisted that the two strangers who came to town should not spend the night
in the open square but in his house. He knew the danger of the place. They came to his house
and he made unleavened bread and big feast to entertain the strangers. The mention of
unleavened bread is to point out that these guests were unexpected. In the night, the whole
city, old and young flocked to Lot’s house to have sexual union with the strangers. Lot offered
the daughters to ward off the homosexual gangs. Lot knew that the men were not interested
in women. In fact, these daughters were married (19:14) and the sons-in-laws never
consummated their marriage. They were still virgins. The men of Sodom were so aggressive
that they were about break down the door of Lot’s house to come inside to take the men
away. So, the angels took Lot inside and closed the door. They caused the men to be blind so
that they could not find the door. The angels also took the family of Lot, his wife and two
daughters outside the city before dawn. The angels told them not to look back and escape to
the mountains. But Lot sought permission to go to Zoar (insignificant), a small city in the
plain as the mountain will be too difficult for his flight. Lot’s wife loved the city and her
belongings and she wanted to linger on. She became a pillar of salt. Jesus said “remember
Lot’s wife”, a symbol of love for the world. The subsequent events leading to the birth of
Ammon and Moab are a consequence of Sodom. Daughters knew of men only interested in
men and only his father is known to be different. Jesus said, the end time will be like the days
of Lot and Noah. There is a worldwide acceptance and interest in homosexual behavior,
fuelled by women’s liberation and their lack of willingness to submit to male leadership.

God’s Protection of Abraham in spite of his unbelief (Genesis 20)

Abraham journeyed from Hebron to the country of Abimelech, the king of Gerar. There he
lied about his wife as his sister. This is a repetition of the mistake he made in Egypt. This is a
much graver sin than the one in Egypt, because Abraham was told by God that Sarah will
bear the promised seed within a year (Genesis 18). Either he was testing God or he was
taking advantage of the assurance he had in the promise of God. If Sarah had sexual
relationship with Abimelech, it would spoil the promise of God to Abraham. So God “withheld
Abimelech from sinning and did not allow him to touch her” (20:7). Abraham’s excuse was
 14

that Sarah was his half-sister and he was afraid of the people of the land that they would take
her and kill him, if they knew that she was his wife. Abimelech had to sarcastically tell Sarah
that he had given thousand pieces of silver to her brother as compensation. Moses tells us
that she was rebuked for her actions (v.16). Abraham prayed for Abimelech and his family
that God opened the wombs of his women, that they would bear children. Because of this
incident, God closed the wombs of these women. Probably Sarah was in the house of
Abimelech for some months.

The Birth of Isaac (Genesis 21)

As God promised in Genesis 18, the child was born to Abraham and Sarah at the appointed
time. They named him Isaac, meaning, laughter. There were three types of laughter involved
in the story. Abraham’s laughter of joy, Sarah’s laughter of unbelief, and neighbors laughter
of joking. Isaac was circumcised on the 8th day (the first one in Jewish history). Abraham was
one hundred years old and Sarah was 90 or 91. When Isaac was weaned (may be around 3)
that Sarah saw that Ishmael was mistreating the little boy and asked Abraham to cast out the
bond woman (Hagar) and her child (Ishmael) from the house. Probably, Ishmael was 17
years of age at this time. God approved this action in a message to Abraham. So he reluctantly
let them go, because Abraham loved his son Ishmael. God also told Abraham that He will
bless his son Ishmael and he will live in opposition to Isaac’s descendants. The prophecy of
Arab-Israeli conflict for generations to come was stated here. Just as Jacob had 12 sons,
Ishmael also had 12 sons, who became 12 tribes of Arabia. Ishmael’s wife was from Egypt .
The various Arabian tribes, Kedar, Dumah, Tema are regions in Arabia. The children of
Abraham through Keturah , Midian and Dedan settled in Arabia as well. Esau married the
daughter of Ishmael and settled in Seir. Isaac and his descendants settled in the promised
land and they were not intermarried to the descendants of Ishmael or Esau. Abraham had to
send his servant to Padan-Aram to get a wife for Isaac. The various tribes surrounding the
nation of Israel coming out of Abraham and Lot, prominent in later years are, Edom (Esau),
Midian (Keturah), Moab and Ammon (Lot) and the Arabian tribes.
Abraham’s treaty with Abimelech, the king of Gerar (Philistine territory) was mentioned here
to tell us about the origin of the name Beersheba (seven wells), which Abraham dug in the
area. This was reclaimed and dug a second time during the time of Isaac. Beersheba is part of
Israelite territory.

The test of Abraham (Genesis 22)

Even after God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, where he expressed his solid faith, he
showed weakness in lying about his wife as sister (Genesis 20). So, it was necessary for
Abraham to go through this test. His back up plan was Ishmael but that is no more as he was
kicked out of his house along with Hagar. Now his sole plan for the future depended on Isaac.
God tested Abraham to see if his faith was in God or in Isaac his only begotten son. From
Beersheba he had to travel three days to reach the place of Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him on one
of the mountains there. According to the Book of Hebrews (11:19), Abraham believed that
God is able to raise Isaac from the ashes, after he was sacrificed. But God stopped him at the
last minute before he killed Isaac and provided him a substitute, ram for the sacrifice. The
substitutionary atonement of Christ and the resurrection of Christ from the dead after three
days are typically presented here in this story. The statement of Abraham to his servants to
 15

stay with the donkey, that he and Isaac would go to Moriah (YHWH shall provide), worship
YHWH and we will return (determination) are the expressions of faith. If Christ was crucified
at the same place where God told Abraham to take his son is a possibility. Abraham was
willing to do what God would do two thousand years later in the same area by giving His son
as a substitute for our sins.

Purchase of the first property in the land of promise (Genesis 23)

The context of this purchase was the need for a burial place for Sarah. The land belonged to
the Hittites. He had to buy the burial place for Sarah from the Hittite chieftain of Hebron. The
Hittite chieftain demanded a heavy price for the property (four hundred shekels of silver).
He had to buy the cave, the land around the cave and the trees. Abraham did not bargain, but
gave the full price they have asked. He actually bought the land of Canaan. A permanent
burial place for Abraham’s family in the land of Canaan indicates that Abraham finally settled
in the land. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Leah and Jacob were buried in the cave of
Macphelah near the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron.

A wife for Isaac from Abraham’s relatives in Haran (Genesis 24)

The story is significant because Abraham wanted to make sure that his descendants were not
be mixed with Canaanites. God already told Abraham that the Canaanites would be destroyed
from the land within 400 years. In contrast to Ishmael and later his grandson Esau married
Canaanites, he wanted a girl from his relatives in Haran. Ishmael’s first wife was taken from
Egypt, arranged by his mother. Abraham told his chief servant Eliezer to go to Haran and
bring a wife for Isaac from his relatives on condition that he will not take his son back to
Haran. So, the servant put before God, the main condition that the girl whom he will find
from among the relatives of Abraham, that she should be willing to accompany him to
Canaan. Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor
became the wife of Isaac. Here we have a picture of the Holy Spirit coming to earth on the
Day of Pentecost to prepare the bride of Christ and taking her to Christ, the Son of God. The
union of Christ with the Church is referred as the marriage of the Lamb. The Holy Spirit is
referred as the helper (Eliezer means God is my help). Isaac coming out to meet her in the
field is symbolical of Christ coming to mid air to receive the church at the time of rapture.

Death of Abraham and the birth of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25)

Abraham took another wife, Keturah after the death of Sarah. She is mentioned as a
concubine, not having the same rights as Sarah. Therefore, the children born through her did
not have the same rights as Isaac. Six children were born to her. Midian, Dedan and Sheba
were prominent tribes of Arabia. Being children of concubines, they were given only gifts
during the life of Abraham and sent them away from the promised land to Arabia. In Genesis
39, Midianites were identified as Ishmaelites. Through intermarriage between these Arabian
tribes, Midianite were considered a subsect of Ishmaelites. Among the tribes of Ishmael,
Kedar, Dumah and Tema were prominent tribes of Arabia and regions in Arabia are named
after these sons of Ishmael. Arab means mixed people. They are a mixture of Hamitic and
Semitic lines. They being nomadic people and traders they lived in a large area including
Arabian-peninsula and from south present day Gaza to Assyria in the north.
 16

The birth of Jacob and Esau is mentioned in detail to high-light the election of Jacob over
Esau. They were twins and during delivery the older one came out hairy and red. Therefore
he was called Esau and Edom. Eventually Mt. Seir and region of Petra with red sandstone
caves became the dwelling place of Esau’s descendants. The second son came out holding
(grabbing) the heel of the older one. Therefore, he is named yakoob (Jacob) meaning heel
catcher, a euphemism for trickster or deceiver. This characteristic was evidenced in the life
of Jacob until God changed his name after his encounter with God on his return from Haran at
the brook of Jabbok. He was named by God as Israel, meaning, a prince of God. In the
prophecy given to Rebekah even before the birth of these twins, it is stated that God has
chosen the younger one to continue the Messianic line and Esau was rejected. People of
Israel remained stronger than the Edomites and they became subservient to Israel. During
the reign of Jonathan Maccabeus, Edomites were proselatysed into Judaism. Herod was an
Edomite, converted into Judaism. Esau was a skillful hunter and Jacob was a mild man
dwelling in home. Isaac loved Esau because he ate his game and Rebekah loved Jacob. This
partiality of the parents sowed the seeds of jealousy among the boys. In addition, Esau
married a Canaanite woman causing problem for Rebekah. When Esau realized that the
marriage with a Canaanite was the cause of irritation for Rebekah, he married one of the
daughters of Ishmael making the enmity of these two groups against the descendants of
Jacob more intensified in later years. The story of selling the birthright to Jacob, for a pot of
lentil stew was stated to show that Esau forfeited his birthright. Rebekah is the instigator in
this deception to obtain the birthright of the first-born. Paul uses the prophecy to Rebekah to
illustrate the doctrine of election (unconditional). However, Jacob had to pay for his
deception. He had runaway to Haran and he was deceived by Laban by making Jacob to work
for him 14 years as dowry. He gave the older girl, Leah deceptively in the darkness of night
(Isaac was blind, but Jacob had no problem with eyesight). Laban also changed his wages
many times.

Abraham’s lie repeated by his son (Genesis 26).

God told Abraham not to go down to Egypt during a famine just like the one forced Abraham
to go down to Egypt. So, instead Isaac went down to the Philistine territory of Gerar and the
king was Abimelek. The name is a title and not the name of the king. It means, my father is a
king. This title is similar to Pharaoh (Lord) or Caesar or Tsar of Russia. So, this person may
not be the same one that Abraham dealt with at Genesis 22. Isaac saying that Rebekah was
his sister after they had the twins born to them. Here Isaac told the lie to the men of the land.
Abimelek saw that Isaac was caressing his wife and asked if Rebekah was his wife. The truth
was told to Abimelek and the reason for his lie. So, he ordered the men of the land not to
harass or molest his wife or Isaac. The story in this chapter reveals that Isaac has grown in
stature as a chieftain so that he was asked to move away from their area. So Isaac moved
away into the valley of Gerar, where he dug the wells, settled in the area and from the
nomadic life of Abraham, Isaac became a farmer and made a treaty with Abimelek. The seven
wells Abraham dug earlier and reclaimed by Isaac, now became the cause of the name being
called Beersheba (seven wells), a place that Jewish people claimed as their southern border.
 17

Jacob deceived his father to take the blessing of the firstborn (Genesis 27).

This story is significant to establish the election of Jacob as the inheritor of the Messianic line.
However, Jacob and Rebekah took human means to fulfill divine plan just as their
grandparents Abraham and Sarah helping God. Though Isaac had known the Word of God
revealed to Rebekah that the elder would serve the younger, he was more interested to
follow the tradition rather than prophecy. He loved the game more than following the
revelation of God. Esau had already sold his birthright for a pot of stew. But now he wanted
to override it through the blessing route. Jacob had to pay a heavy price for the deception.
Bible does not record the death of Rebekah, but according to Jacob’s statement in Genesis
49:31, she was buried in the cave of Macphelah. We do not know if she died while Jacob was
in Haran. After meeting with Esau, Jacob returned to the place where God appeared to him in
a dream. He named the place, Bethel, meaning House of God. Here it is recorded that
Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse died and she was buried under the oak tree in Bethel. Probably
when Jacob came back, Rebekah had already died and was buried in Hebron, along with
Abraham and Sarah at the cave of Machphelah. So, Jacob took the nurse of Rebekah with him
in his return to Bethel. The Book of Hebrews, talked about Esau as a sexually immoral person
and godless, who sold his birthright for one single meal and could not redeem the situation
even though he pleaded with tears to change the blessing. The root of bitterness is possibly
connected to Esau’s relation with Jacob after the blessing was deceptively taken by Jacob. He
wanted to kill Jacob after the death of his father and mother.

Jacob with Laban in Haran (Genesis 28-33).

Jacob was persuaded by Rebekah to leave Canaan to go back to her brother Laban in Haran.
The reason cited here was that Esau needed some time to cool down his anger against Jacob
and that she did not want Jacob to marry the Hittite women like Esau. She was disgusted with
the Hittite women, her daughter-in-laws (27:46). Isaac agreed with the plan and send him
away to Laban with the idea of him taking a wife from the daughters of Laban, Rebekah’s
brother. He spent 20 years in Haran. Fourteen years he served Laban for Leah and Rachel (as
his dowry) and six years for the animal wealth he acquired in Haran. Laban was equally
cunning as Jacob. He deceived Jacob into marrying Leah, the older girl, knowing that Jacob
would work another seven years for marrying Rachel whom he loved. Under Jacob’s care,
Laban’s wealth also increased. Jacob was blessed by God and his flock also increased. He got
eleven sons during the period. But when he heard that Laban’s sons were complaining that
Jacob was made wealthy by Laban, he decided to leave. Laban pursued Jacob because Rachel
stole the family teraphim. It was like the land-deed according to Hittite Law. When he could
not find the item among the luggage of Jacob and his family, he made an alternative plan of
making a covenant of no return for Jacob and his family to claim the property. The heap of
stone is named, the “heap of witness”. Rachel’s lie that she cannot get up from the sack
because she had menstrual cycle at the time, she was pregnant with Benjamin. She died while
giving birth to Benjamin on the way to Bethlehem while returning to Canaan. Before entering
the promised land God prevented Jacob with a wrestling match at Jabbok. He needed to
change his habits before he could inherit the blessings of God. God made him lame as a
reminder to his changed nature from deceiver to be the prince of God (Israel). He was given
the special privilege of become the patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel and the nation is
named after him. He reconciled with Esau with a gift of animals. Why Esau came with 400
 18

men to meet with Jacob is not stated in the narrative. Just like Abraham, Jacob bought a piece
of property from Hamor, the father of Shechem for hundred pieces of silver. The city was
named after his famous son. Abraham had to pay 400 pieces of silver for a burial place.
Joseph asked the Israelites to bury his bones in this land, staking claim to the northern part
of Israel, where his sons settled.

Dinah and the Shechemites and the return to Bethel (Genesis 34-36)

Dinah the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit the women of land in Shechem. The ruler
of the land, Shechem took her and violated her. Afterwards he wanted to marry her. So he
spoke tenderly to her and asked his father Hamor to speak to Jacob and ask her in marriage.
But Simeon and Levi was angry that Shechem treated their sister like a prostitute. So they
plotted a plan and killed the men of Schechem. They used a sacred rite of circumcision in
their plan of violence. This violence greatly annoyed Jacob and knew the danger they brought
to the entire family. They had to move quickly out of the place. But God prevented the
Shechemites from pursuing Jacob and his family. Jacob never forgot this unnecessary
violence and jeopardizing the safety of the family by these two sons. When he blessed his
sons in Genesis 49:5-7, their anger and violence are the reasons cited for their tribes’
dispersal throughout the land of Israel. This also led to Jacob returning to Bethel, where God
appeared to him during his flight to Haran fearing the reprisal of Esau for his deception in
getting the birthright. They got rid of all foreign gods and signs of allegiance to them (ear
rings). He built and altar for God. And the Abrahamic covenant was repeated again to Israel.
He set up a stone pillar at the place where God talked with him and called the place “House of
God”.

The death of Rachel in Bethlehem is mentioned during the birth of her second son, the
ancient name of the place was Ephrath. The tomb of Rachel is in Bethlehem. Isaac also died at
this time in Hebron and Esau and Jacob buried him at the cave of Machphelah. Chapter 36
gives the genealogy of Esau. Eliphaz the Temanite is mentioned as one of the friends of Job.
Teman is one of the sons of Eliphaz (36:10-11).

The story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50).

The story of Joseph is starting at chapter 37. However, Genesis 38 gives the story of Judah
and Tamar. The prominence of Judah in the story of Joseph is significant. The purpose of
Genesis 38 is to show the reason for God removing Israel from Canaan for 400 years until
they became a nation. If they remained in Canaan, the children of Jacob would have
assimilated into Canaanite culture through intermarriage and cultural habits. The first is the
Hittite law concerning levirate marriage and the second is the choosing of Perez from Tamar
as the line of the Messiah. Tamar appears in the genealogy of Christ. Judah’s friendship with
Hira, a Canaanite was stronger than his relationship with his brothers at this time. He
married a Canaanite woman and had three sons. His older son was married to Tamar. His
sons were wicked in God’s sight. So they died leaving Tamar a widow. The unwillingness of
his second son, Onan in fulfilling the custom of levirate marriage, was wicked in the sight of
God. He also died. Judah refused to give his third son to Tamar. Judah also violated the moral
code by going to sheep shearing ceremony of the Canaanites in high place, where prostitution
was part of the celebrations. Tamar tricked Judah to believe she was a prostitute of the high
 19

place. The children born through this sexual contact was twins. One of the sons of Judah born
through this union was Perez in the genealogical line of Christ.

In this context, the story of Joseph gains more significance. In this story, Joseph shines as an
example of purity in a decadent society and through suffering God lifted him up to the
position of prime minister of Egypt. The life of Joseph is a type of Christ. Joseph was the
beloved son of his father. He was hated by his brethren, and sold for 20 pieces of silver. He
exemplified as a morally pure person and never fallen prey to temptation. After a period of
suffering, he married a gentile wife and rose to power as the ruler of Egypt. He helped his
brethren and did not punish them for their wickedness, knowing the will of God (just as
Christ prayed for his persecutors because they did not know what they were doing). He said
“you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good”.

Seventy people who went down to Egypt including the sons of Joseph became a nation of two
million in 400 years. Since shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians, they never
intermarried with the people of Israel. They were given the Nile delta of Goshen to be away
from the Egyptian community. The availability of good food, agriculture and raising of sheep
in the delta region, Israel multiplied. Their number had become a threat to the Egyptian
nation.

The future of the twelve tribes of Israel is given in the blessing of Jacob in Genesis 49.
Prominence was given to the tribe of Judah and Ephraim. These tribes became the largest in
the promised-land in later years.

The body of Jacob was taken to Hebron to be buried in the cave of Machphelah. But he told
his brethren to embalm his body and keep it in Egypt and to be taken to the promised-land
when they will return. He believed in the Abrahamic covenant and he knew that God would
take the people of Israel to Canaan at the appointed time.

a. Joseph was hated by his brothers (Genesis 37)

Jacob loved Joseph more than his brothers because he was the son of his old age and
he was different from his brothers in his nature. Jacob showed his favoritism by
making a varicolored coat for him. Also that he shared to his parents and brothers, a
dream that he had. The meaning of the dream was that his parents and brothers will
pay obeisance to him. Because of these reasons, his brothers hated him. When Joseph
was sent to enquire the welfare of his brothers who were tending the sheep in Dothan
(central part of Israel), they conspired to kill him. Reuben rescued him by putting him
in a dry well after stripping of his varicolored coat. Judah convinced his brothers to
sell him for 20 pieces of silver to Ishmaelite traders going from Arabia to Egypt.
Midianites were a subsect of the Ishmaelite tribe at this time. They sold Joseph to
Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the gurard. Brothers of Joseph killed a
goat and dipped the varicolored coat in it and sent to Jacob to convince him that some
wild animals killed him. The brothers did not know that the dream of Joseph is going
to be fulfilled through their evil deed.

b. Joseph is a man of purity and integrity (Genesis 39)

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Potiphar saw that YHWH is with Joseph and everything he did was prospered by God.
So, he gave him freedom in his house to manage the affairs of the household.
Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph. But he did not yield to the temptation. So, she
betrayed Joseph and accused him of molestation. He was sent to jail. Even before the
Law of Moses was given, Joseph knew the moral code. The jailor also knew that it was
a false accusation and he was given freedom in the jail to manage the affairs there.
c. Joseph the interpreter of dreams (Genesis 40)
It was a dream that brought trouble for him among his brothers. Again it was the
interpretation of a dream that brought him to Pharaoh’s presence. The cupbearer and
baker of Pharaoh was in the same prison with Joseph and they both had a dream the
same night. According Joseph’s interpretation, the cup bearer was restored to
Pharaoh and baker was hanged. Joseph requested the cup bearer to remember him
when he was restored. But he forgot about it for two years.
d. He interprets the dream of Pharaoh (Genesis 41)
Pharaoh had two dreams in one night indicating the surety of its fulfillment. Since the
magicians and sorcerers of Egypt could not interpret the dream, the cupbearer
remembered Joseph and brought him to Pharaoh to interpret it. The interpretation
went beyond the meaning to solution to the problem of 7 years of plenty followed by
7 years of famine and how to manage the situation. This pleased Pharaoh and
appointed him to be prime minister in charge of the agriculture, procurement,
storage, distribution and compensation. Pharaoh gave him his signet ring, changed the
name to Zaphneth-Paanea (The God who speaks and lives), indicating the respect for
the God of Joseph. He married Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On. But Joseph
raised his children, Ephraim and Manasseh in the knowledge of YHWH.
e. Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 42-45)
Three chapters are devoted to the drama of Joseph and his brothers. God needed to
bring unity among Jacob’s children. They were born of different mothers and with
varying temperament. There was jealousy among the brothers that led to the selling
of Joseph to Egypt. Reuben lacked leadership. Judah left the brothers and married a
Canaanite. Simeon also married a Canaanite woman. The anger of Levi and Simeon
was well known in the killing of the Shechemites. God had to tame them and bring
some civility in the home. Famine in Canaan led Jacob to request his children to go to
Egypt to buy some food for the family. Joseph used this opportunity to deal with the
internal feud. He wanted to make sure that they value the life of Benjamin. He knew
well what they were capable of doing. Finally Judah who took the leadership in selling
Joseph became the guarantee for Benjamin. This satisfied Joseph and then he revealed
himself to them as their brother Joseph whom they sold to Egypt. But he forgave them
and saw the Will of God in all this happenings.

f. Jacob in Egypt (46-49).

God appeared to Jacob and assured to Jacob that it was God’s Will that he is going to
Egypt. Since Egyptians loathed shepherds, Pharaoh settled them in Goshen. The initial
years of acceptance by the Egyptians because of Joseph helped them to settle well in
Egypt. He helped them to tide over the years of famine and beyond. Jacob adopted the
sons of Joseph as his own and them part of the tribes of Israel. Manasseh and Ephraim
are numbered among the sons of Jacob. The prominence of Ephraim over Manasseh is
foretold by Jacob in his blessings.
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In the blessings of Genesis 49, he singled out Judah and Ephraim as the prominent
tribes of Israel. Judah was given the chance to be forefather of the Messiah. Reuben
was rejected because of his lack of emotional stability. Levi and Simeon were rejected
because of their anger. Joseph was given double share, accepting him as the first born.

Conclusion (Genesis 50)

Jacob asked his sons to bury him in the cave Macphelah. After the death of Jacob,
Joseph’s brothers were worried if he would take revenge for the cruelty they have
shown towards him. Joseph assured them that he was not in the place of God, which
means that revenge is for God. He also told that they meant evil, but God meant it for
Good (Rom 8:28). Joseph told his brothers to mummify his body, when he died, and
take his bones along with them when God will take them back to promised land
according to the Abrahamic Covenant.

EXODUS (SUMMARY)

Chapter 1

The Book of Exodus starts with the number of Israelites who entered Egypt as seventy.
According Genesis 46:26, the direct descendants of Jacob, excluding his son’s wives were
sixty-six. According to Stephen, quoting from Septuagint, it was 75 people in all. Septuagint
added the 9 wives of the children of Jacob (Judah’s and Simeon’s wives died and Joseph’s
wife already in Egypt). This small group multiplied in Egypt to about 2 million (20 lakhs) in
400 years. Then a new dynasty, probably the Hyksos took control of Egypt, who were
shepherd kings of foreign origin and they made Avaris their capital. The new king saw the
group staying in Goshen in the Nile delta as a threat to his kingdom. So, they made Israelites
their slaves. They feared that this group would side with the natives in the event of a war and
wanted to control them and strictly monitor their growth. But the slavery only helped to
increase their number. They wanted to eliminate the male population, who would be a threat
in the event of war. They used several methods to control the population. But none worked.
The last resort was to ask the Israelites to throw their male babies to river Nile. These kinds
of child sacrifices to the river was a common practice in the ancient times (including India
where children were thrown to Ganges).

Chapter 2

The miraculous nature of the increase in Israelite population and the election of Moses from
being thrown to the Nile to become a son of Pharaoh’s daughter are the key to understanding
the Exodus story. The Pharaoh of oppression could have been Thutmose III of the 18th
dynasty of Egypt. His son, Amenhotep II was the Pharaoh of Exodus. The daughter of Pharaoh
could be Hatshepsut, who adopted Moses as her son. God miraculously allowed Moses’ own
mother to become the Nurse so that Israelite stories could have been taught to the child
before returning to Pharaoh’s daughter.
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In Hebrew, Moses means “he who draws out”, thus giving the idea that God drew him out to
be the deliverer. Though Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, he was
familiar with his ancestry and he wanted to liberate them from slavery. But his method was
crude and has no way of succeeding the objective of liberating Israel from bondage. He ended
up as a run- away in Midian, where he tended the sheep of Jethro, the priest of Midian and
married his daughter Zipporah. At the age of 40 he went to Midian and lived there for
another 40 years. During this time, the Pharaoh of Egypt died and new king was enthroned.

Chapter 3 and 4

God appeared to Moses in a burning bush in one of the mountains of Midian and revealed to
him as YHWH. This name derives from the copulative verb “Hayyah” meaning “to be”. It
means, the eternal and independent, self-existent God who made the covenants with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He ordered him to return to Egypt and be the deliverer of His
people. He tried to be the deliverer in his own way 40 years earlier, now with the help of God
and according to His direction. Though Moses was reluctant, finally he agreed to return when
he had seen the miracles performed by God in changing the shepherd’s rod into an Egyptian
cobra (venerated as divine in Egypt) and making him leprous ( a dreaded disease) and curing
him instantly. God showed him that he would turn his feeble abilities into powerful weapons
of deliverance. God told Pharaoh “Let my son go, so he may worship me”, But you refused to
let him go; I will kill your first born son.”(Ex. 4:23) is the announcement of the last plague
that would force Pharaoh to let Israel free.

Chapter 5 to 12

Moses and Aaron were not able to impress Pharaoh with the miracles because the magicians
of Egypt were able to duplicate them. The request to free the people from slavery only made
the lives of Israelites more unbearable because it increased the hostility of the ruling class. So
God used 10 plagues on Egypt, which were aimed at the gods of Egypt. The Egyptian gods
designated to protect the Nile, the animals and humans from various calamities and diseases
were discredited through these plagues. Their gods were unable to stop these plagues. The
first-born of Pharaoh is also worshipped as a god. God hardened the heart of Pharaoh so that
he will not let the people go until the last plague, which he planned will fall upon them.
Killing of the first-born is also significant in bringing instability to the rule of Pharaoh in the
next 40 years when Israel will be vulnerable in the desert.

Passover became a permanent festival reminding Israel of their deliverance from bondage. It
has become a symbol of Christ as the Passover lamb. In the ritual of Passover a lamb is to be
brought to the house 4 days in advance and it became a pet of the family. On the Passover
day, the lamb is to be killed in front of the family between 3PM and 6 PM when the children
are all awake. The lamb is to be killed at the door of the house. The blood is to be smeared on
the lintels and doorposts of the front door. It is a symbol of the cross. The death angel would
Passover their house when they see the sign of the cross in blood, a reminder of Christ’s
crucifixion. Jesus being the first-born of God (proto-tokos) was sacrificed for the redemption
of his people who were in slavery to sin. The meat of the lamb is roasted and eaten in the
night while being dressed for the journey.
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Chapters 13-18

Israel was freed in the night and allowed them to go out of Egypt with all their belongings.
The Lord made the Egyptians generous and they were more than willing to part with their
gold and wealth to get rid of the people who are the cause of the plagues. God also led the
people to the Red sea with Egyptians chasing them. The crossing of the Red sea became a
huge event in the memory of the Israelites for generations to come. The mountain of God
where Moses witnessed the burning bush was in Arabia (Gal. 4:25). The Israelites came out
of Egyptian territory through this crossing of the Red sea. They crossed the Red sea at an
area where Israelites could pass through in one night and the Egyptian army could be
drowned with all their equipment. This helped Israel to be free from Egyptian threat during
the 40 years of wilderness wanderings. Amarana letters show that Egypt did not make any
military expeditions for the next two hundred years after this event. Israel reached the
mountain of Sinai on the third month of their departure from Egypt. Here Moses met Jethro,
the father-in-law of Moses and he brought his wife and children who may have returned to
him, after the episode at the inn on Moses’ way down to Egypt.

After two months and 15 days since they left Egypt, their supply of food ran out. They
grumbled about the food and God gave them food from heaven, which they explained as
round in shape, the color and size as the coriander seed, which could be made into powder
and make bread or boil and eat. Raw manna tasted like wafers that had been made with
honey. Baked cakes tasted like it was baked with oil. God also provided Quail for meat in the
evening. It was given as a test to the Israelites, if they would obey Him. They had to collect
the manna every day. The size and shape and color of manna made it difficult for them to
collect from the sand. Also, everyone should participate in the collection. They can collect it
only before sunrise. It will only be enough for one day and cannot be preserved for the next
day except for the day prior to the Sabbath. It taught them the value of dependence, hard
work and cooperation. It was a community effort to pick the manna and catch the Quail. The
term “manna” means “what is it?” referring to something that they have not seen before.
Also, the fact that manna kept in the ark of the covenant was never destroyed indicates that it
was not the characteristic of the manna that caused it to be perishable in a day, it was the
decision of God. God also gave them water from the rock, which was in front of the mountain
of God. Israelites stayed at this place 11 months and 6 days. This rock was revisited in
Numbers 20 after 38 years of wilderness wanderings that God told Moses to speak to the
rock to get the water. God preserved this rock as a symbol of Christ who will be stricken only
once, but can get the benefit of His death by speaking (I Cor. 10:4). God was angry with Moses
for destroying this well preserved type of Christ in the O.T.

Chapter 19 and 20

The Ten Commandments

Chapter 19 gives the preparation for the receiving of the ten commandments. God asked the
people to obey the commandments strictly. The people heartily responded by promising to
obey the laws. First, God audibly spoke the Ten Commandments. The purpose of the Law was
to make man aware of the holiness of God and the inability of man to keep it fully. It was
intended to be a child trainer (paidagoge) (Gal. 3:19-23), to lead one to maturity, that Christ
 24

will be revealed in the fullness of time. Salvation is always through faith and by the grace of
God. Justification is by faith and not by works of the law.

As Jesus interpreted these commandments in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), he
reiterated that motives of human heart is more important than external adherence to the
law. The first four laws pertain to man’s relation to God and the last six pertain to man’s
relation to his fellow humans. Jesus summarized these laws into two, “love your God with all
your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself”. The last commandment is
regarding covetousness. This is a sin of the heart, not punishable unless it is manifested in
adultery, murder, stealing and bearing false witness (lying). This is also the foundation of
human relationship. Paul says that through the law, he came to know that coveting is a sin. It
is not punishable in a court of law. But God is looking at your heart where covetousness
dwells. Belief in one God is central to Old Testament. The opposite of this is idol worship
(worship of other gods) and also exchanging the idea of God into material objects. Sabbath is
a day of humbling and repentance. Taking the name of God in vain relates to the honor one
gives to God. In earthly terms this is reflected in the fifth commandment relating to honoring
the parents. Those who do not know how to respect their parents may not know how to
respect God because He is our heavenly Father.

Chapters 21-24
Personal Laws

Bible does not prohibit slavery but gives instruction to treat the slaves in a humane way,
reminding them that they were once slaves in Egypt. The slavery of a Hebrew should end at
the sabbatical year (7th year). If voluntarily serving the master, it could be for life- time.
Polygamy was also permitted and Hebrew female slaves are to be given the status of a
daughter, if married to the son. If a female Hebrew slave is divorced, she should go free. For
involuntary manslaughter, the maximum punishment should be time away from home and to
live in the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest.
For premeditated murder, capital punishment was ordered. For personal injury inflicted
through quarrel, not amounting to death shall be made responsible for his treatment and loss
of pay. The injury to a pregnant mother in which serious injury happens, then equivalent
punishment should be given to the offender. The commandment with regard to eye for eye or
tooth for tooth is given to help people to be just and not overdo in revenge. Normally the
tendency is to give more than the injury received. The English legal system has borrowed
heavily from these biblical laws. The laws regarding animals are significant in an agrarian
society. The laws of property are explanations of the law concerning stealing (8th
commandment). The Sabbath regulation is extended to the land and for the title to the land
(year of jubilee). The Festivals are intended to remember what God has done in terms of
redemption from Egypt, the provision of God in giving them good harvest (first fruits) and
also how God provided for them in the wilderness wanderings (festival of booth). The section
ends with God’s direction to take possession of the land in an orderly manner and they
should not be polluted by the idolatry and abominable practices of the Canaanites. Chapter
24 is covenant ratification ceremony and oath that they would obey the commandments
strictly and fully. God gave the instruction regarding the tabernacle during a period of 40
days and 40 nights. This long absence of Moses behind the veil of darkness alone with God in
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the mountain gave rise to suspicion that Moses died and they needed another leader and a
visible god. This is the cause of the sin of chapter 32.

Chapters 25-31

The Tabernacle of God

God gave Moses specific instruction regarding the construction of the tabernacle during the
40 days and nights being with God on Mt. Horeb. During the wilderness wandering the
tabernacle will be at the center of the Israelite camp with three tribes on each side and
Levites forming the lead group resembling a cross. When they marched, the pillar of fire
leading in the night and pillar of cloud in the daytime, they marched from place to place for
40 years. It was a cross moving through the wilderness with tabernacle in the center. It was
as if God being in their midst. Tabernacle was meant to be a mobile tent and the temple was a
permanent building, both having the same pattern and furnishings. This section starts with
voluntary contribution of materials for the making of the tabernacle and the articles. God told
Moses to make the tabernacle for Him to dwell in their midst and the furnishings were to be
exactly according to the pattern showed to him on the mountain (Ex. 25:8). The tabernacle
has an outer court, a place for the altar of offering, laver for washing, a lamp to light the Holy
place, a table of showbread, and holy of holies for the ark of the covenant and the altar of
incense behind the veil. The daily offering of incense may have been done from the holy place
through a hole in the curtain to put the fire from the altar. The ark was a chest to keep the
tablets with the 10 commandments written on it, the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod, which
budded. The laver with clean water was kept for the purification of the priest and the
sacrificial meat to be offered on the altar. Continual fire will be burned at the altar signifying
that the worship is a continual thing before God. The fire from the altar is to be taken to the
altar of incense daily. The incense was to cover the presence of God and symbolical of
prayers of the saints rising up to God. The lampstand is symbolical of Israel as a light to the
nations and table of showbread, a symbol of fellowship (priests as mediators participating in
the eating of the show bread). The lamp is to be burning through out the night and olive oil is
to be used.

Chapter 28

Priestly Garments

Aaron and his sons were designated as priests. The chief priest has special garments made
for dignity and honor. The skilled workers who are given special wisdom by God should
weave the items of the garments, a breast piece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban
and a sash made with five types of yarns, gold, blue, purple and scarlet and fine linen.
Ephod: made of gold, blue, purple and scarlet yarns and linen yarns and the shoulder piece
should have two onyx stones engraved with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. The priest
carries the 12 tribes on his shoulders representing responsibility for their spiritual welfare.
Breastpiece : made of the same material as ephod, in-laid with 12 precious stones, three in a
row and each one inscribed with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. This represents the
twelve tribes being carried in the heart of the High Priest.
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Urim and Thummim: are two stones kept inside the breastplate pocket representing the
priest’s responsibility to obtain the message from God and given to the people.
The robe: was made of fine linen to be worn inside, with bells at the bottom, to be heard by
others as the priest performs his duties.
Turban and Gold plates: was head gears to add beauty and honor to the High Priest as a king.

Chapter 29
Consecration of Priests
The fact that the High Priest and the priests appointed by God have their personal sins and
they are to be atoned for by sacrifices before they could serve in the tabernacle. This is in
contrast to Christ who was sinless.

Chapter 30

The altar of incense was made of acacia wood and covered with gold and made portable with
poles at the bottom for carrying similar to the Ark of the Covenant.
Every Israelite irrespective of their financial position, each one has to give half a shekel
annually as ransom money for the upkeep and maintenance of the tabernacle. This is the
amount that Jesus had to pay for which he had to get it from the mouth of the fish. Jesus paid
one shekel for Peter and Himself.

Chapter 31

God gave special wisdom to Bezalel of the tribe of Judah and Oholiab of the tribe of Dan to
make the things for the tabernacle. When God demands something from us, he also makes
provisions for it.
He concluded this session of the law with special instruction to observe the Sabbath, the
foundation of Israelite worship. It is a day of reflection, repentance and renewal for the life
ahead.

Chapter 32-34

The making of the golden calf

The mixed multitude that started from Egypt caused much of the problem with regard to
grumbling and idolatry. They were used to the Apis (bull) worship in Egypt. Therefore, the
making of the golden calf was a natural process for the community looking for a god to lead
them forward. As Moses did not return for 40 days, they naturally feared that Moses died in
the mountain. Since they attributed their coming out of Egypt to this god, the golden calf
would have been a visible object representing YHWH. The worship also included revelry and
immorality (I Cor. 10:7). Later, Jeroboam made similar idol and established them in Dan and
Bethel, for the northern kingdom, when they separated from YHWH worship at Jerusalem
temple. Jeroboam was in Egypt before he became king.
This was a clear violation of the second commandment, which was just given by God.
 27

When Moses returned with the tablets, the commandments written by the hand of God, the
people already violated it. God was angry to wipe out the entire nation. But Moses interceded
for the people. His statement here, asking God “to blot out his name from the book of life” is a
statement similar to Paul’s in Romans 9:3 “I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off
from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel”. It is an
emotionally charged statement seeking their own death instead of the eternal consequences
to a whole nation. They were not asking for hell, but physical death as an atonement for the
sins of the people of Israel (substitution). In Genesis 49, Levi was cursed by Jacob that his
descendants will be scattered in Israel because of his sin against the Shechemites. Here God
changed that curse into a blessing as the Levites were given special status as the priestly
class and their scattering a blessing for others as they ministered to the entire nation and
provided shelter for the people who commit involuntary manslaughter to take refuge in the
cities of refuge. Three thousand died in the judgment that followed the sin. The contrast of
the Old Covenant referred as a covenant of death (3000 died) versus the New Covenant, a
covenant of life (3000 were saved and added to the church on the Day of Pentecost).
Moses in his anger destroyed the stone tablets containing the 10 Commandments, that they
are not worthy to receive the hand-written laws of God. So he had to make a new set written
by Moses himself. Then God made a covenant with Moses saying that He will cast out the idol
worshipping groups inhabiting the land of Canaan and give it to the people of Israel, provided
that they will not follow the idolatry and immorality of the inhabitants of Canaan. They were
to destroy the idols and their shrines. These idols were symbols of the fertility cults involving
sexual immorality.

The section ends with a description of Moses’ face radiant because of his proximity to God.
Paul describes this as fading glory. First he had to put a veil over his face, because of the
glory. But he continued to keep it in spite of the fact that the glory faded gradually. In
contrast, the New Testament glory is increasing day by day as we grow in His grace and
become like Christ through sanctification.

Chapters 35-40

Construction of the Tabernacle

God appointed Bezelel and Oholiab to construct the tent and the various furnishings of the
tabernacle as prescribed earlier. They also supervised the making of priestly garments. The
materials were provided by the people as an offering and the skilled workers made the items
in accordance with the pattern provided by God. This is a good example of the building of
church buildings. God provides the materials through His people. He also gives the wisdom to
the workers to execute the plan. The plan is provided by God.

THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS

INTRODUCTION

One of the obstacles of reading through the Bible is that some parts are difficult to
understand and either we skip that portion or stop reading further. The Book of Leviticus is
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one such book. With all its priestly rituals, sacrifices, dietary regulations and so on. But this is
a key book to understand the Old Testament worship. The main theme is Holiness to the
Lord. “Be ye holy for I am holy says the Lord”. In order to understand God’s plan of salvation
in the OT, we must understand the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). The five sacrifices, Whole
Burnt Offering, Meal Offering, Peace Offering are thanksgiving offerings. The Sin Offering and
Trespass Offering are for unwilful sins of the believer. The New Testament equivalent is I
John 2:2, confession of sins for forgiveness. These sacrifices are meant for restoration of
fellowship for an OT believer. It was not for salvation. Justification by faith is the teaching of
the OT and NT.

Since the Holy God is in their midst in the tabernacle, if the believer is to approach Him, they
must maintain the practical holiness. It was given in the context of the Heathen practice of
human sacrifices, child sacrifices to Molech, drinking of blood, immoral life and oppression.
Blood was used for worship of demon, called Satyr. The menstrual blood is used for
witchcraft in the ritual of fertility cults. Therefore, the Book of Leviticus prescribes killing of
animals only at the altar, so that all meals become a worship of God. Regarding the immoral
practices, God said “Egypt where they lived and Canaan where they are going are practicing
all things prohibited by God” (Lev. 18:1-5; 24-29). The Book of Leviticus was written to
correct the people from following the rituals of the heathens surrounding them.

Meaning of Sacrificial System in OT (Chapter 1-7)

Leviticus 1-7 details five sacrifices, Burnt Offering, Meal (Grain) Offering, Peace Offering
(fellowship), Sin Offering and Trespass Offering. Even before Mosaic Law, Noah, Abraham
and other patriarchs offered burnt offerings. We are not told if Cain’s Offering was a Meal
Offering and Abel’s Offering was a Burnt Offering. These offerings can be classified as
worship, fellowship and confession of sins.
1. Whole Burnt Offering (voluntary sacrifice)
a. It can be a bull, male goat or dove or pigeon (all without defect) according to the economic
capacity of the offerer.
b. The offerer has to lay hands on the sacrificial animal to identify with the offerer. The animals
are to be killed near the altar before the priest, skin it, and wash the entrails for the priest to
put the pieces on the fire at the altar.
c. The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar and the meat and fat to be fully burned at the
altar.
2. Grain Offering
a. It can be offered in three different ways, part to be burned and the rest to be given to the
priest for their use, or as baked cakes in the oven mixed with oil or crushed grain seasoned
with salt.
b. Peace Offering (Fellowship Offering)
The procedure is the same as that of the Burnt Offering, except that only fat and kidneys are
burned at the altar, part of the meat is given to the priest for their meal and rest eaten by the
offerer and his family members. Here, God, the priest and the offerer shares the sacrifice.

c. Sin Offering
The offering is for unintentional sins. The animals selected on the basis of the standing of the
offerer. For priest, it shall be a bull, for the nation, it shall be a young bull, the elders lay
 29

hands on the sacrificial animal and the meat burned outside the camp. For leaders of people,
it shall be male goat and for any citizen, it shall be female goat or lamb (female). The
procedure is the same. The idea is that the sin is to be dealt outside the temple (tabernacle)
precincts.

d. Trespass (Guilt Offering)

The kind of sins dealt with here are minor in nature, such as deceiving the neighbor about
things entrusted to him was stolen by some others or cheating, lost property and lies about
it, swears falsely etc. Full restitution is to be made and in addition 20% penalty is given to the
one offended and then bring the offering to God for forgiveness.

Inauguration of the priesthood and sacrificial system (chs.8-10)

The Israelite worshipper needed the mediation of a priest to approach God. He was not
allowed to offer a sacrifice on his own. The priests themselves needed sacrifices and special
rituals to be the mediator. Only Aaron and his sons were given the status of priests in Israel
(Ex. 29:9). The elaborate rituals of cleansing and ordination of Aaron described in chapter 8
indicated the seriousness of being a priest of God. The anointing of the High Priest with oil by
Moses, the covenant mediator, is indicating the divine approval and Holy Spirit’s work in the
life of the Priest. The sin offering on behalf of the priests indicates the sinfulness of the priest
and he is one among the people. Chapter 9 describes the actual inauguration of the sacrifices,
to give Aaron and his sons the needed practice to perform the duties at the tabernacle. The
section concludes with the death of Nadab and Abihu for offering strange fire at the altar of
incense. We are not told exactly what this violation involved. Since the altar of incense
located at the holy of holies inside the veil, they must have gone inside the holy of holies and
put the fire, instead of doing it from the holy place using a shovel.

Clean and Unclean (Chs. 11-15)

The restrictions were to serve as a perpetual reminder of the holiness of God and His grace in
choosing Israel (11:45). Deuteronomy 14:3-20 contains the same dietary regulations. In
order to understand these restrictions, one needs to be aware of the context of the Israelite
community living in camps for 40 years as they travelled and living in close quarters and
quarantine was not possible to prevent the spread of diseases. Any breaking out of diseases
would have wiped out the entire community. Some of the animals restricted are undoubtedly
unclean. The meat that they eat are to be ceremonially killed at the altar and anything that is
not good for sacrifice are also not good for them for food. Animals that are vegetarian and
chewing the cud and hoofs split are only chosen for food. The vegetarian animals who chew
the cud has four stomachs and the digestion is much better. Pigs eats and digest food directly
making the chances of worms to get into the blood stream. Tape worms are common in pig
meat. Animals that have soft hoof and not split has more chance of worms getting through
the skin. The bottom feeders are the sea- food that were restricted. Among the birds, non-
vegetarians are prohibited.
Postnatal discharges are considered unclean as all blood flows. Menstrual blood was
considered by the heathen as sacred and used for fertility rituals. Therefore, severe
restrictions were imposed on Israelites even touching menstrual blood. In the camp of the
Israelites any contagious diseases would have created havoc and skin diseases and mildew
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were visible health hazards and they were to watch them and proper quarantine must be in
place.
Paul writes in I Timothy 4:3-5 “ They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from
certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and
who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is
received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayers”.
Hindus restricted killing of the cows as an economic decision in the beginning and now it has
gone to the other extreme and become an economic disaster. Old Testament was given to
make the people of God mature to understand the inner purposes of God and thereby apply
self-control and discipline. The restrictions led to more restrictions and finally a legalistic
error.

The Meaning and Application of the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16)

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is one of the annual feasts stipulated in the Old Testament to
deal with the willful sins of the Jewish nation. Kippur means covering, referring to the blood
covering the Mercy-Seat, which is the lid above the Ark of the Covenant. The blood of the bull
to cover the sin of the High Priest and the blood of the atonement goat to cover the nation’s
sin, to be sprinkled on the mercy-seat. The High Priest shall lay the hands on the scape goat
and sending it away with a person entrusted to make sure that it will not return to the camp.
The man is called Azazel, who will take this goat and push backward from a cliff to make sure
that it will be dead. The Day of Atonement, unlike other festivals, a day of humbling, fasting
and mourning, seeking God’s forgiveness for their willful sins of the past year. This provision
of forgiveness is available to them throughout the year because of the blood covering the
mercy seat from previous year. Romans 3:24-26 states that Christ has become our
atonement and God in His perseverance, covered over the sins committed in the Old
Testament, with a view to finally deal with sin through the death of His son on the cross.
Hebrews 10:19-25 gives the practical application of the Atonement which Christ provided
through His death.

Restrictions on Eating blood and Unlawful Sexual Relations (17-22)

The reason for prohibition to eat blood was to prevent people from following the heathen
practice of offering the blood of animals to the demon-god called Satyr. God said, “They must
no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves”
(17:7). All their sacrifices are to be brought to the tabernacle and blood poured at the altar,
so that all meat will be ceremonially clean and worship of the demon-god will be stopped.
Apostle James wrote, “You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat
of strangled animals and from sexual immorality” (Acts 15:29).

The reason for prohibiting certain sexual practices was to prevent the Israelites from
following the practices of Egypt and Canaan. God said, “You must not do as they do in Egypt,
where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am
bringing you. Do not follow their practices” (Lev. 18:3). The sexual sins, such as, incest (sex
with close relatives), bestiality and homosexuality were practiced by the heathens. God said,
“Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going
to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled, so I punished it for its sin,
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and the land vomited out its inhabitants, for all these things were done by people who lived
in the land before you and the land became defiled” (Lev. 18:24-27).

The golden rule, “Thou shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18), is quoted by Jesus
in the New Testament. This chapter is giving guidelines as to how they should love and show
compassion to the poor and needy in the society. They are to be helping the people who are
physically challenged. They should not harvest the corners of the field and glean a second
time. It is to be gathered by the poor and alien. Ruth was gleaning the field of Boaz as a
foreigner and a poor widow. Mixed breeding of animals were practiced by the heathen and
therefore, God forbid them from cross breeding of different species. God created them as
distinct species and keeping purity is essential to the holiness God.

Prostitution and worship of Molech were interconnected. The virgins are encouraged to be
part of the ritual sex to please the fertility cults and the children born through such relations
were sacrificed to Molech. Also, witchcraft, turning to mediums and spirits were forbidden.
Adultery is punishable by death. Homosexuality is considered even worse and termed
“detestable”.

The priests are to keep a very high standard of holiness. The priests of heathens shaved their
heads, and shaved the edges of their beards and cut their bodies. In contrast, Israel’s priests
should not disfigure themselves. He should not marry a prostitute or a divorced woman. So,
also the daughters of priests should maintain the standard of purity. He must not tear his
clothes as a mark of mourning. At Jesus trial the high priest rent his clothes (Mathew 26:65).
The priest should be physically without defect so also the offerings should be without
blemish.

The Festivals of Israel (Chapter 23)

There are seven festivals ordered by God, Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Weeks,
Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacle. Israel added, Purim (commemorating
the salvation of Jews from Haman’s plot to kill Jews in Persia) and Hanukkah
(commemorating the dedication of the temple after it was desecrated by Antiochus
Epiphanes). All the festivals were communal and commemorative as well as theological and
typological. They were communal in that they drew the nation together for celebration and
worship, as they recalled the common origin and experience of the people. They were
commemorative that they kept alive the story of what God had done in the Exodus and
during the sojourn. They were theological in that the observance of the festivals presented
the participants lessons on the reality of sin, judgment and forgiveness, on the need of
thanksgiving to God, and on the importance of trusting God rather than hoarding
possessions. They were typological in that they anticipated a greater fulfillment of the
symbolism of the feasts.

Four feasts are in Spring, Passover, Unleavened Bread, First fruits and Weeks and they have
been already fulfilled by Christ in His First Coming and the last three are
Fall festivals, Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles will be fulfilled at His Second
Coming.
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I Corinthians 5:7, Jesus our Passover lamb, was crucified exactly on the same hour when
Jewish nation was killing their Passover lambs (John 19:14). The feast of the unleavened
bread immediately following Passover signified sinless life of the Messiah. Jesus came to the
temple four days in advance and presented Himself as the sinless lamb of God. His body was
in the grave during the last three days of the feast. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread is for 7
days. The feast of the First Fruits signified the resurrection of Christ as the First Fruit of
Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20).
The Feast of Pentecost occurred 50 days after the Passover and the two barley loaves
presented at the feast representing Jew and Gentile becoming one body in Christ, the
formation of the church on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).

The sounding of the trumpets (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:52) shall
precede the rapture of the church. It will be immediately be followed by the period of Great
Tribulation, and during that time Jews will repent of their sins (Day of Atonement) Zechariah
12:10 and Romans 11:25-36. The Second Coming of Christ will occur at the end of the
Tribulation and a period of rejoicing of 1000 years on earth will be followed with Messiah
living with His people on earth (Feast of the Tabernacles). Living in the booths without walls
and rejoicing together as one family is symbolical of the life in the millennium. They do not
have to worry about the vagaries of nature as the world will have uniform weather and
abundance of produce. Even the nature of animals will be changed.

The Sabbatical Year and Year of Jubilee (Chapter 25)

God’s concern for the poor is manifested in the regulations concerning Sabbatical Year. The
reason for the 70 years Babylonian captivity was Israel’s failure to keep the Sabbatical Year
(Jeremiah 25:11 and 2 Chronicles 36:21). Israel was forcefully vacated from Promised-land
so that the land will enjoy Sabbath rest and foreigners and poor can cultivate it and use its
produce.

The Year of Jubilee is the 50th year (the year following the 7th Sabbatical Year) and was meant
to keep the land to its original owners whom God distributed at the beginning. This also
helped to keep the people free from debt and slavery. At the fiftieth year all the land, which
was leased out or sold will be returned to the original owner without payment. The value of
the land is determined on the basis of the number of years the land could be in possession of
the buyer until the year of Jubilee. This debt release was the key to the success of Israelite
economic system.

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS

Introduction

The Book of Numbers begins with a census of all men 20 years and above. The total was
603550. This census was taken while they were still in Mt. Sinai before they set out for the
Promised-land. The pivotal chapters are 13 and 14, when they committed the sin of unbelief
and believed the words of the 10 spies than the words of God. So, God said that all those who
are 20 years and above who witnessed the great miracles in Egypt and participated in the
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crossing of the red sea as adults, will die in the wilderness and a new generation, whom they
said would become victims of war, would enter the Promised-land. The second census was
taken in the 40th year prior to the entry into the land, in the land of Moab. In this census, the
number was 601,730, a reduction of 1820 people. In the 40 years, there was no growth of
Israelites. This is a reminder also that God would have the same amount of people who will
enter the Promised-land even after the first group fully died out except Joshua and Caleb, the
two spies who differed from the ten. Chapters 1-14 deals with the generation that started off
from Egypt and Chapters 15-36 deal with the new generation. People were dying almost 80
people average for the next 38 years. Psalm 90 was the prayer of Moses in the context of
these deaths. The Israelite community was organized as a marching band with tabernacle in
the middle and 3 tribes each on all the four sides. The Levites were to be in front of the
tabernacle carrying the ark and other articles when they marched. Also, the pillar of fire in
the night and the pillar of cloud in the day led them in their journeys. Looking from above, it
resembled a cross with tabernacle in the middle. The book is a sad picture of rebellion and
judgment. The mixed multitude, indicates that some Egyptians joined the bandwagon
seeking greener pastures became the cause of grumbling and intense craving for spices and
meat. The book also records the sin of Moses that prevented him from entering the
Promised- land. The story of Balaam is important for the future of Israel. Israel sinned at the
Baal of Peor, the Moabite god by prostituting themselves. This is a sin, which they continued
to commit in the land of Canaan.

Census

The census and the organization of Israel as a marching band is the subject of chapters 1 and
2. God was anticipating the events of chapters 13&14 in this first numbering. Census was
usually taken for taxation or military draft. Half a shekel is required to pay by every Israelite
for the upkeep of tabernacle and later, temple by every adult male irrespective of economic
status. Census is never viewed as good by Israel. When the Ark of the Covenant was not in
use and tabernacle was not in operation, David made a census, which was unacceptable to
God. This finally led to the buying of the field of Ornan for the construction of the temple by
David to stop the plague, started off with the census. Here, God ordered the census with a
view that in few months time, these men are going to die and would be replaced by another
group of new generation who will finally enter the Promised-land.
The numbering of the Levites separately for every male from a month old and above was
different from the other census. These are the men who would eventually serve at the
tabernacle on various duties other than priestly work, which was designated only for Aaron
and His descendants. All the firstborn of Israel belonged to God. Since they cannot all serve
God, every Levite is considered in the place of the firstborn of all Israel. The redemption price
of the firstborn was 5 shekels for all the firstborns more than the number of Levites.
Kohathites and Gershonites, census was for men in the age group of 30-50, who could work
in the tabernacle technical services.

Instruction Regarding Unfaithful Wife

This ritual of making the woman drink the bitter water with dust from the floor of the
tabernacle and scrapings of the bill of indictment is a psychological game to scare the woman
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and make her tell the truth. The fact is that jealousy is a hurtful thing in the family and there
should be mutual trust to have successful family life.

Nazirite Vow

John the Baptist was Nazirite from birth and also Samson. But Jesus drank wine and was in
contact with dead bodies as he raised the dead and has no indication that he had long hair.
Jesus was from a place called Nazareth and therefore he was called a Nazarene. Unlike
Jerusalem, Nazareth was considered Gentile territory and was not famous or suitable place
for Christ to come from.
Nazirite vow is taken by some (parents or individuals themselves) to show special devotion
to God, by abstaining from wine, by not cutting the hair and not having any contact with dead
body.
As a preparation to the march, Moses appointed seventy elders to have spiritual oversight of
the assembly. During the time of Christ, this group was called the Sanhedrin.

Departure From Sinai

On the 20th day of the second month in the second year, pillar of cloud lifted, showing that
the time had come for their march towards the Promised-land. They came to Kadesh Barnea
after 19 months, since they started from Egypt.
It took five months for them to reach Kadesh from Mt. Sinai. During this period two sinful
events were recorded. The dissatisfaction of the mixed multitude with the manna and the
intense craving for spices, fish and meat caused a near riot. They recollected the tasty food
they had in Egypt. It is natural for them to compare and crave for food they were used to. In
answer to their cravings God brought quail flying 3 feet above ground and the people could
easily catch them and eat as much as they wanted. This over eating resulted in sickness and
death.
Also, Miriam and Aaron questioned Moses for marrying an Ethiopian (Cushite) woman. It
was not clear if it was a reference to Zipporah, a Midianite or a new wife. God was displeased
with the jealousy in the family and Miriam was punished with leprosy. At the pleading of
Aaron and Moses, God healed her after a quarantine period of seven days. Because the
Israelite community had great respect for Miriam as a prophetess, the journey was halted
until Miriam was healed. It is possible that this was a second marriage and the woman was
dark skinned and the complaint of Miriam was regarding her color, that God made Miriam
white with leprosy, to show that color prejudice was not tolerated by God. (?) Here, the
humility of Moses is mentioned. If someone comments on their own humility, they have no
humility. But in this context, marrying the Ethiopian woman may have been to show that he
was not discriminating against anyone, including a woman from another race. Thus, the
marriage was a proof of Moses’ humility.

Israel at Kadesh-Barnea

Chapters 13&14 are the pivotal ones in the Book of Numbers. According to Deuteronomy
1:21-23, the idea of sending spies to the land of Canaan before they enter was that of the
people, which Moses agreed. The spies went all the way to Rehob at the entrance to Hamath,
north of Damascus and travelled through the length and breadth of the land. All the 12 spies
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agreed that the land was as God said, a land flowing with milk and honey. They also brought
the produce from the land to show the fertility. A cluster of grape from the valley of Eshcol
was so big that two people were to carry on a pole. Probably the Anakim were practicing
some kind of genetic modification of the fruits. Also they saw fortified cities and people who
were huge in size (Anakim). They were afraid of the nephilim which inhabited many of the
cities. The conclusion of Joshua and Caleb was that they could invade the land with the help
of God. But the ten described the situation as formidable and that they could not succeed in a
battle and their children will become victims of war. This was the sin of unbelief.
God pronounced a judgment that the generation which started off from Egypt who were 20
and above (603,550 according to the census) minus Joshua and Caleb will die in the
wilderness and a new generation consisting of 601,730 (according to the second census in
the 40th year) will enter the promised land along with their wives and children. They spent
40 days spying out the land and they will wander 40 years until they die in the wilderness.
The 10 spies died of a plague immediately. Then they made a futile attempt to enter the land
against God’s commandment and they were defeated.

Forty Years of Wilderness Wandering

Korah, Dathan and Abiram and 250 leaders of the congregation rose up to question the
special powers of Moses and Aaron. They said that all Levites should be able to do priestly
duties. So, Moses and Aaron told them to offer incense at the altar of incense if God would
accept it, they can do priestly duties. Earlier in Leviticus 10, it was told that Aaron’s two sons
,Nadab and Abihu were struck down by God for offering the incense using strange fire. Earth
opened up (earth-quake) and swallowed the families of Dathan and Abiram. Korah alone
died along with them. The Sons of Korah did not die with their father, as they did not join in
the rebellion (Numbers 26:11). Sons of Korah became the musical guild at the tablernacle
and several psalms are attributed to them. The 250 leaders who joined the rebellion died
also, being consumed by fire from God. In order to establish Aaronic priestly order, God
asked Moses to instruct the elders of the 12 tribes to bring an almond rod to the tabernacle
with their name on it. The rod that buds and blossoms overnight will be the one God chooses
to be the High Priest. Aaron’s rod budded and it was kept in the Ark of the Covenant as a
perpetual memorial.

The saddest event in the Book of Numbers was the sin of Moses. God carefully planned the
rock from which they drank as a type of Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). After 38 years they came back to
Kadesh. Miriam died there. God told Moses only to speak to the rock to get the water. But he
was angry with the people and struck the rock twice. This was a serious offense because
Christ was to die once and afterwards only to speak to obtain the benefits of Christ’s death.
Moses destroyed this well- preserved type through his action. So, God said that he also will
not enter the promised-land just as the rest of the Israelites who sinned at Kadesh-Barnea.
Though he cried and requested God to change the verdict, but He did not change.

Then Israel defeated the Amorite King Sihon and Og, the King of Bashan and taken the trans-
Jordanian territory and settled the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half tribe of Manasseh. Og was a
giant (Rephaim) (Deut. 3;11).
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The defeat of Sihon and Og, prompted King Balak of Moab to invite Balaam from Pethor
(Mesopotamia) to come and curse the people of Israel. Balaam had the reputation as a
prophet of God and had powers to bless or curse. He came because of the lure of money that
Balak offered.
Instead of cursing, he blessed Israel and reminded Balak of the Abrahamic Covenant and how
they will occupy the land of Canaan through the star coming out of Jacob, and a scepter that
rise out of Israel (Messiah) that will subjugate, Edom, Moab and the surrounding nations.
When he was unable to curse Israel, he advised Balak to seduce the men of Israel using their
women to invite them for idol feasts and ritual prostitution. This caused Israel to suffer
greatly from the hand of God. This was called the sin of Baal-Peor.

The Books ends with instructions regarding issues that they would face as they enter the
promised-land. It also gave instruction on the division of the trans-Jordanian territory.

BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

Introduction

This is one of the most important books of the Old Testament. It is quoted more than 80
times in the New Testament. Jesus, when he was faced with the temptation, he quoted Book
of Deuteronomy three times to the devil. Deuteronomy means second Law. It is a repetition
of the Laws already given in the Book of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers in a new format. It
was written in the format of Suzerain-Vassal Treaty Covenant of the Hittites. Here God was
the Suzerain (Great King) and the people of Israel were the Vassal. Moses is the Covenant
Mediator. The Book has five parts. Chapter 1-4 is the historical prologue, the Suzerain
reminding the Vassal about the things He had done for the Vassal. Chapters 5-26 are the
Covenant Stipulations, Chapter 27-28, the Covenant ratification, chapters 29-33, the farewell
discourses of the Covenant Mediator and chapter 34, the death of the Covenant Mediator.
Moses could not have written about his own death. Joshua added this chapter to make the
treaty permanent. According to the Hittite Treaty, if the death of the mediator is added to the
covenant, it will become permanent and cannot be altered.
This is also a restatement of the Law of God to a new generation who are poised to enter
Canaan. These laws have now come to be part of a covenant format that was familiar to the
people of Canaan.

The Historical Prologue

The setting and the time of the writing of the book is set forth in the preample (1:1-5). In the
historical prologue (1:6-4:43), the new generation was reminded of their wilderness sojourn,
their journey to and stay at Kadesh Barnea, their journey to Moab and their stay at the plains
of Moab. The failure of Israel and the faithfulness of God, despite Israel’s shortcomings is the
main emphasis of this section. The section closes with an exhortation and the warning of
dispersion as the consequence of sin.
The main point of this section is that Israel was afraid of the nephilim and they are the very
ones, Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites defeated in the trans-Jordan area. God gave these
lands to these people from the giants (see 2:10, 2:20). Even Og, whom Israel defeated in
Bashan was a nephilim a descendant of the Anakim (3:11). Since God helped him to defeat
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Sihon and Og, Moses thought that he will be allowed to enter the promised-land. But his
request was denied.

Covenant Stipulations (5-26)

The 10 commandments were reviewed first. Then the shema (hear) statement regarding the
unity of God is stated in chapter 6. This statement is about God as a unity. This is not against
the concept of trinity in the Bible. The same word for “one” is used in Genesis 2:24
concerning man and woman becoming “one” flesh.

In chapter 8 Moses asks the people to remember why God had made them wander in the
wilderness for 40 years. It was to humble them and to test them and to know what was in
their hearts, if they would keep His commandments or not. God gave them manna, to teach
them that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the
mouth of God. God chastened them as a father chastens his sons. Chapter 9 reviewed the
rebellions and stated that they should not think that, Lord cast out the Anakim from the land,
“ not because of your righteousness, but because of the wickedness of these nations” (9:4-5).
He reminded them of the sin of making the golden calf and how Moses had to destroy the
first tablets of the Law. The essence of the Law is stated in 10:12-22. The succeeding chapters
are a restatement of the Levitical Laws. Chapter 17:14-20, Moses gave the principles with
regard to a king whom they would appoint when they were in the land. It is interesting to
note that none of the kings followed those principles. The king Messiah will ultimately fulfill
the guidelines set forth here. Also, the prediction of a prophet like Moses would also be
fulfilled in Christ (18:15-22). Chapters 27-29 is the covenant ratification which Israel should
observe in the land, one group on Mt Ebal and the other on Mt. Gerizim and the Levites to
read the curses and blessings standing in the valley between. The group on Mt. Ebal would
respond with Amen on the curses for disobedience and the group on Mt. Gerizim to respond
with Amen to the blessings for obedience.

Farewell Message of Moses and the Death of Moses (32-34)

The Book of Deuteronomy should have ended with the farewell messages of Moses. Since
Moses is the author, that would have been a fitting conclusion if it was not written in the
format of the Suzerain-Vassal Treaty Covenant of the Hittites. Since Joshua and Moses
wanted it to be a permanent treaty, which cannot be altered, the death of Moses was added.
Moses climbed the Mount of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which was across Jericho. There,
Moses died and he was buried by God. In the Book of the Assumption of Moses, quoted by
Jude, it is stated that angel Michael was deputed by God for the burial of Moses. Satan
disputed with the angel regarding the body of Moses. Though we do not know the exact
dispute, but Satan was not happy that God gave special honors to Moses. He was the only one,
whom God personally buried. God did not want people to make the burial place of Moses, a
place of worship. Only God knows the place of Moses’ burial. Though Moses could not enter
the promised land, he appeared with Jesus and Elijah on the Mt. of Transfiguration, which
was in the land of Canaan. So, Joshua was appointed as the leader to take the people forward
into the land.