Bible for Beginners – Week 4

January 25th – March 1st, 2011Dave Ujifusa

Eras of the BibleEra Description

Creation The creation of the world and man, and early events

Patriarch The birth of the Hebrew people through a family of patriarchs, covering a period of two hundred years

Exodus The exodus of the Hebrew people as they are delivered out of four hundred years of slavery in Egypt

Conquest The conquest of the Promised Land by the Hebrew people upon their return from Egypt

Judges A four-hundred-year period during which Israel is governed by rulers called judgesKingdom An additional four-hundred-year period during which Israel becomes a full-fledged

nation ruled by a monarchyExile A seventy-year period during which Israel’s leaders live in exile, having been

conquered by foreign countriesReturn The return of exiled Jews to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and the templeSilence A final four-hundred-year period between the close of the Old Testament and the

opening of the New TestamentGospels The life of Jesus of Nazareth as told in the GospelsChurch The formation of the Christian ChurchMissions The expansion of the Church into the Roman Empire through missions

Eras of the Bible – Main FiguresEra Figure Description

Creation Adam The first manPatriarch Abraham The first patriarchExodus Moses The leader of the exodusConquest Joshua The leader of Israel’s armyJudges Samson The most famous judgeKingdom David The most well-known Israelite kingExile Daniel The major exile prophetReturn Ezra The central return leaderSilence Pharisees The religious leadersGospels Jesus The predicted MessiahChurch Peter The leader of the early ChurchMissions Paul The first Christian missionary

The Judges Era

Judges: Political-Military Leaders

Figure: SamsonLocation: CanaanStory-line: Samson and others were chosen as

judges to govern the people for four hundred rebellious years

Major themes: Judges – Deborah, Gideon, Samson, Samuel Rebellion Cycles Ruth

The Judges Era

Judges 2:16-19: "Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them.

Judges 10:15: “But the Israelites said to the LORD, 'We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.'”

Judges 21:25: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.”

The Judges Era

The Kingdom Era

The Kingdom Era

2 Samuel 11Psalm 51

Figure: DavidLocation: IsraelStory-line: David, the greatest king in the new

monarchy, is followed by a succession of mostly unrighteous kings, and God eventually judges Israel for her sin, sending her into exile in Babylon

Major themes: United Kingdom: Saul, David, Solomon Divided Kingdom: Civil War Northern Kingdom Southern Kingdom

The Kingdom Era

Author of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Son of David and Bathsheba Third King following King Saul and King

David Had 700 wives and the richest man in the

world Wise Ruling: I Kings 3:16-28

The Kingdom Era - Solomon

The Kingdom Era: Northern Kingdom and Southern Kingdom

The Exile Era

Figure: DanielLocation: BabyloniaStory-line: Daniel gives leadership and

encourages faithfulness among the exiles for the next seventy years

Major themes: Prophecy Prophets Exiles: Daniel 9:4-19 Power Change

The Exile Era

The Exile Era

The Exile Era

The Return Era

Figure: EzraLocation: JerusalemStory-line: Ezra leads the people back from

exile to rebuild JerusalemMajor themes: Disrepair Temple - Zerubbabel People - Ezra Walls - Nehemiah

The Return Era

The Silence Era

Figure: PhariseesLocation: JerusalemStory-line: Pharisees and others entomb the

Israelites in legalism for the next four hundred years.

Major themes: The Changing Guard Political Sects – the Maccabeans and Zealots Religious Sects – Pharisees and Sadducees Messianic Hope

The Silence Era

The assignment for week 4 is to recite the books of the New Testament to one other person and read “The Story of the Bible in 1000 Words”.

Weekly updates posted on www.ujifusa.com◦ Powerpoint◦ Era Details

I’ll email you with a reminder each week

Between classes

Isaiah 9:6