Essay on Old Testament Books

Submitted By stephabarry
Words: 1015
Pages: 5

Summary of the books of the Old Testament Books

Exodus

The book of Exodus is largely narrative and historic material. Some of the key themes that came out of the book of Exodus are; the fact that Moses was hid for three months from certain death as “Pharaoh had made an order to all his people: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.” (Exodus 1:22), and sent down the river in a basket to only be found by Pharaoh’s daughter who took him as her own son; growing up Moses saw and felt the pains of his people and even killed an Egyptian for beating up a Hebrew man, which caused Moses to flee; during this time of fleeing the Pharaoh, Moses came upon a burning bush for which the LORD said to him, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5) , Moses also led the Hebrews from the exile from Pharaoh’s grasp by crossing the Red Sea with a clear path, while Pharaoh’s army was swallowed up and drowned in the Red Sea ;Moses also was known for going to Mount Sinai and receiving the Ten Commandments from God.

Leviticus

The book of Leviticus was written as a book of Law. Leviticus is also the third of five books pertaining to the Torah, or the Pentateuch. “Leviticus rests in two crucial beliefs: the first, that the world was created "very good" and retains the capacity to achieve that state although it is vulnerable to sin and defilement; the second, that the faithful enactment of ritual makes God's presence available, while ignoring or breaching it compromises the harmony between God and the world.” (Book of Leviticus-Wikipedia, 2012) “The traditional view is that Leviticus was compiled by Moses, or that the material in it goes back to his time.” (Book of Leviticus-Wikipedia, 2012) When we talk about Leviticus being a book of law, we are talking about “God’s law” and it is an expression of God’s sovereign will and character. According to Leviticus 24:22, which states: “You are to have the same law for the foreigner and the native-born. I am the LORD your God.”
Ruth

The book of Ruth is a romance novel. Ruth was a Moab woman who we find out is the great-grandmother of King David. Ruth marries a Moabite man who is later killed and she is left a widow with her sister-in-law. Orpah, and her mother-in-law, Naomi. After the death of their husbands, Naomi sends her daughters-in-law back home to their people and their gods, but Ruth stays by her mother-in-law’s side, quoting Ruth 1:16, which states “But Ruth replied, Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” This had to be a huge thing for Ruth to say to her mother-in-law, especially forsaking her own people and her own gods.

Proverbs

The book of Proverbs carries a wisdom genre. Solomon, who was quoted as the wisest king to ever live, mainly wrote the book of Proverbs. Even though, Lemuel and Agar wrote some of the later sections. The main purpose of the book of Proverbs was to teach wisdom to God’s people. Proverbs was written as short, clever explanations, and they are easy to remember. Throughout the book of Proverbs, there are some little known facts; the words “my Son” is mentioned some 20 times, while the role of mother is mentioned some 10 times throughout the book of Proverbs. According to Proverbs 1:2 “For gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight.” It seems to be self-explanatory what the book of Proverbs is all about. Proverbs focuses on practical living and common sense.

Jeremiah

The book of Jeremiah is a prophecy, but not completely in chronological order. Some of the key personalities in the book of Jeremiah are many kings, including; Judah, Baruch,