Returning To The Story

On August 18 we will resume our 2013 adventure in The Story. My sermons and our classes and Bible studies will pick up on that Sunday with chapter 19 in the book, and will continue to the conclusion of The Story at the end of November.

Where has The Story taken us so far? Let me review:

The Story begins, as you might expect, “in the beginning” when God created the world and then the first couple, Adam and Eve. Then sin came as Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree God had forbidden them to eat from, and the declining condition of the world due to sin led to God’s destroying the world with a flood and starting over with Noah and his family.

God then chose a people that God began to reveal himself through. God called Abraham and promised him that he would raise up a great nation through him. The promise was reinforced to his son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob and then carried further through Joseph and his ordeal and leadership in Egypt.

Through Joseph, God began building a nation in Egypt only to result in their becoming slaves there. So God sent Moses to deliver his people. Through the night of Passover, he rescued Israel from Egypt and as they wandered in the Sinai wilderness he gave them the Law to live by and a system of sacrifice to keep them holy before God.

Israel would make wrong choice after wrong choice in the wilderness, until Moses presented them with an opportunity to trust God as they never had before and to enter the Promised Land. Joshua would lead them into the land of Canaan and, under his leadership, they would conquer the land. Then for 300 years, the people of Israel would turn away from God time and time again, only to have God raise up a “judge” who would deliver them and bring them back to God. During that time, God would demonstrate in the story of Ruth his desire for people of every nation to come to him.

Israel, however, still did not trust God and they asked for a king. The first king, Saul, stood tall at first, but them turned away from God, so God raised up David as the greatest of the kings and promised that a son of his would reign on David’s throne forever. Subsequent kings, instead of holding to that promise, turned away from God and the kingdom was divided into two kingdoms.

God raised up prophets during the period of the kings who repeatedly called the people of Israel to return to God, promising they would be judged if they did not return. Even in the midst of their difficulties, they refused to listen to the prophets. First the Northern Kingdom of Israel and then the Southern Kingdom of Judah were taken captive by foreign powers. The people were led away into captivity and even the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. You might have thought The Story with all its promises had ended.

Even in their captivity, God did not abandon his people or his promises, though. Daniel, the last person we met in The Story, demonstrated how they could trust God and walk with him even in a foreign land.

So now, we will watch God continue to fulfill his promises and carry out his purpose. Israel will return from captivity and events will move toward the coming of Christ and the greatest part of The Story. Don’t miss the next chapters.