Introduction

A survey of the Bible through the use of themes is helpful to acquire an overview of the purpose and development of the Old Testament. It soon becomes apparent that even though the Bible was written over a period of ca. 3000 years by many diverse authors, it is a coherent message about the condition of humanity and the need for a divine redeemer. We began with four chapters dealing with the Bible itself because what we know about God is revealed through the Bible.

Summary

Chapter One provided an overview of the history of the English Bible. It addressed the questions of how we got the Bible, what languages are used in the Bible, and the need for translating the Bible into the language of the people. Chapter Two laid out the need for God to reveal himself to us if we are ever going to know anything about him, and we saw the importance of God revealing himself understandably to man in the Bible. We are not left groping in the dark, hopelessly trying to discover God. His revelation in creation, in his Son, and in the Bible provide us with everything we need to know about him for life and salvation. In this chapter, we examined some principles for interpreting the various types of literature found in the Bible, as not every part of the Bible should be treated the same. Some principles for interpreting the Bible were given to help provide some guidelines for understanding the text. Chapter Four explains how the scriptures were collected and how the biblical text was formed and transmitted into a canon. This chapter also examined the criteria the church used in the formation of the canon and understood that it was more of a process of recognition than a selection. Now that it has been established that the Bible has been securely delivered to the church, the content can be examined. Chapter Five dealt with the first book of the Bible and the theme of creation. As mentioned in this chapter, the author of Genesis assumes that God exists. The Bible begins with God creating the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). The book of Genesis is not conveyed as a science textbook but rather as an ancient Near Eastern creation epic understood in the context of the surrounding nations, but with a striking difference. Yahweh creates with the power of his word and out of nothing. He is described as being separate from his creation, unlike the deities in other ancient Near Eastern cosmologies. Chapter Six examines the terrible depravity of the human condition. Humans were created in perfection, but shortly after succumbed to the temptation of Satan under their own volition and disobeyed God, falling out of favor with him. The Bible portrays humanity as having a serious sin problem right from the beginning of creation. This problem will persist throughout the coming generations and demands punishment by a holy God. Chapter Seven introduces the first glimpse of good news for humanity in what theologians call the protoevangelium in Genesis 3:15. God will take the initiative to deal with the sin problem. He will put hostility between the seed of the woman, which talks about the coming Jesus Christ, and the seed of the serpent, which refers to sinful humanity. The male son of the woman will crush the head of the serpent but, in the process, will suffer a non-lethal bruised heel—a possible veiled reference to the cross. The sovereignty of God was presented in Chapter 8. One might think that things are out of God’s control now that sin has entered the world, but the theme of the sovereignty of God puts things back into perspective. The sovereignty of God is illustrated at work in the remainder of the Book of Genesis. Chapter Nine introduced the all-important theme of the covenant. God enters into a personal relationship with humanity identified by the phrase "I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people" (Lev 26:12; Jer 7:23). The covenant will become the ground of the relationship and the context in which his law will be applied. God spoke to his people in similar ancient Near Eastern terms, using a structure similar to the Hittite suzerainty treaties. Chapter Ten focuses on the various dimensions of biblical law as a theme. The legal stipulations are set out in biblical laws and summarized in the Ten Commandments. This lays out how the people are to live with their God in a covenant relationship. Chapter Eleven explores the theme of Israelite worship. Now that Israel has been given certain laws to obey, how is God to be treated in this covenant relationship? The answer is the subject of this chapter: through worship and adoration.

The last theme in Chapter Twelve examines the role of the prophetic office. Due to disobedience, God’s people broke the covenant, and the prophets were raised up by God to warn them to repent. The prophets act as a type of ancient legal attorney who delivers the subpoena to the disobedient Israelites.

Conclusion

The overview and broader survey of OT theological themes allow the biblical material to be viewed cohesively. The drama of redemption can now clearly be seen as the various themes interconnect and set the stage for the coming of the Messiah, mentioned in the beginning as the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15).