Just BibleThe Story of Israel in 14 Days
The Old Testament is one long story, and the New Testament assumes you know it. In two weeks these readings follow that story: God makes a people, keeps a promise, gives them a land and a king, sends them prophets, lets them fall, and brings them home. Then Jesus opens the Scriptures and shows that it was all about Him.
- Day 1: Made for God, Broken by Sin
People are made in the image of God, and everything is very good. Then the serpent, the fruit, and the first hiding. Watch for the promise in the middle of the curse: the woman's offspring will crush the serpent's head.
- Day 2: A Promise to Bless the Nations
God calls one man out of one city and promises him a land, a people, and a blessing for every family on earth. Abram has no children and no land. He believes God anyway, and God counts it as righteousness.
- Day 3: God Meant It for Good
Joseph was sold by his brothers and ended up ruling Egypt. When they stand before him, he tells them God sent him ahead to save lives. The story of Israel is full of this: people mean harm, and God means good.
- Day 4: I Am Who I Am
Four hundred years later, Abraham's family are slaves in Egypt. God speaks to Moses from a burning bush, gives His name, and says He has heard His people. Notice that He introduces Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: the promise is still on.
- Day 5: Passover and the Sea
A lamb's blood on the doorposts, and death passes over. Then the sea opens and Israel walks out of slavery. These two nights are the center of Israel's memory, and the Gospels tell the story of Jesus in their light.
- Day 6: A Covenant at Sinai
At the mountain God tells Israel what they are for: a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Then He gives the Ten Commandments. Notice the order: He rescued them first, then told them how to live.
- Day 7: Love the Lord Your God
On the edge of the land, Moses sums up the whole law: love the LORD your God with all your heart. Then Moses is gone, and God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous, because He goes with him. Jesus later called the first of these the greatest commandment.
- Day 8: Everyone Did What Was Right in His Own Eyes
The generation that knew Joshua dies, and the next one forgets. This chapter gives the pattern of the whole book of Judges: Israel turns away, is oppressed, cries out, and is rescued, again and again. Watch how patient God is.
- Day 9: A King After God's Heart
Israel asked for a king, and after Saul God chose a shepherd boy no one had thought to bring in. Then God makes David a promise: a son whose throne will last forever. The Gospels open by calling Jesus the son of David.
- Day 10: A Temple and a Divided Kingdom
Solomon builds the temple and prays that God would hear from heaven. Then his heart turns, and the kingdom is torn in two. Notice that even in judgment God keeps a lamp burning for David's sake.
- Day 11: The Prophets' Call
Isaiah sees the LORD on His throne and is sent. The prophets warned both kingdoms for two hundred years. Then the northern kingdom falls to Assyria, and the writer explains why in one long sentence: they would not listen.
- Day 12: Exile
Jerusalem falls, the temple burns, and the people are carried to Babylon. It looks like the end of the story. But through Jeremiah God tells the exiles His plans for them, and promises they will seek Him and find Him.
- Day 13: A New Covenant and a Coming King
In the darkest years the prophets say the most about the future: a new covenant written on hearts, a child born who will reign on David's throne, and a servant pierced for our transgressions. Read these three slowly. The New Testament quotes all of them.
- Day 14: Home Again, and the Story Fulfilled
A pagan king sends the exiles home, just as Jeremiah said. Centuries later, on the road to Emmaus and in a locked room, the risen Jesus explains that Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms were all about Him. The story you have read is His story.