Progress of Redemption #02 — David Shirley

Genesis 1–11 as the Foundation of Redemption

Once again, it is our desire to declare unto you the whole counsel of God and to rightly divide the word of truth. In Act 1, we're going to see God set the stage in Genesis 1 through 11. Then in Act 2, God will select the nation Israel in Genesis 12.

In Act 3, we will see God instruct the nation all the way to Malachi chapter 4. Then in the Gospels, we'll see Act 4, God sending his son. In the Acts, Act 5, God will establish his church. Then in Act 6, God will instruct his church from Romans to Jude.

And finally in Act 7, God culminates history in the revelation of Jesus Christ. As we begin Act 1, let's look at Genesis 1 through 11 before the drama begins. Genesis 1 through 11 gives a basic understanding apart from which the drama that follows would be meaningless.

As far as the subject material is concerned, there's probably not in all scripture a segment of God's holy word that's so incredibly selective in nature as Genesis 1 through 11. If brevity is the soul of wit, as Shakespeare said, then God has mastered it in Genesis 1 through 11.

Just notice the staggering brevity of God's record. In chapter 1 and 2, we have the origin of the universe. We have the creation of man. We have human sin in chapter 3 and the redemptive revelation of God in chapter 3.

Then the human family begins in chapter 4 and we see civilization develop. In chapter 10, we have the beginning of nations. And yet in chapter 11, after the Tower of Babel, we see the beginning of the Hebrew race.

When you look at Genesis 1 through 11, it seems disproportionate, but that very disproportion is the key to God's purpose in writing it because God is just setting the stage. He is starting the theme, His theme.

God has no intention of writing a universal history, but only a recording the development of the divine will and purpose for and through the seed to bless all mankind. So from the creation and fall of man and the destruction of man through the flood to the scattering of man at Babel, it's all connected by the genealogies of chapter 5, 10, and 11.

In Genesis, there are 10 complete histories or Toledoth generations because God's purpose of redemption is through a chosen line of people. Genesis 1 through 11 deals with the whole world and the universe and then shifts in chapter 12 down to one man.

And from chapter 12 to 50, 39 chapters are full of details concerning one man and his family. Once again, we observe that God's infinity, His energy, His design, and His personalness is seen in chapter 1.

We see male and female being created as man. We see the consequences of sin that it's inherited. We're given a genealogy from Adam to Noah. And then God judges the world because of its wickedness. And there's a universal flood because of this universal sin.

But Noah is protected because he loves and obeys God. And then the beginning of a new race, the Noahic Covenant, is announced. And it has three important points. One is there's a command to fill the earth and eating meat is allowed.

And then there's capital punishment, life for life. But then in chapter 10, we get a table of nations and then the Tower of Babel. The nations are scattered by God for the disobedience to God's command.

And then immediately, after given the genealogy from Shem to Terah, there's a transition down to one man. So it's gone from Adam, the head of the original race, to Noah, the head of the new race, to chapter 12 where Abraham is the head of a family, a chosen line for redemption.

Abraham and his family are the channel of redemption. So how would you sum up what God's doing in Genesis 1 -11? There are so many things there in Genesis 1 -11 that I wish God would have gone into more detail about.

He devoted to heaven and earth in general this material. And He only revealed to us things that were important to set the stage for what He begins to do in chapters 12 -50 when He shifts to one man. And from Genesis 12 to 1 Kings 10, God builds a nation through Abraham.

The Old Testament as Preparation for the Messiah

The heart of the history, prophecy, and poetry, and the whole drama of the 39 books of the Old Testament are about God's theme of redemption. The Old Testament is preparation for the Messiah. And the New Testament is the provision of the Messiah.

Now we know that whatsoever things were written the fourth time were written for our learning. Romans 15 -4, 1 Corinthians 10 -11. And I wish that the Lord would have revealed more things during those first 11 chapters.

I'd like to know more about the fall of Satan because so much stems from that. The time of His fall and how it happened. And yet Deuteronomy 29 -29 says that the secret things belong to the Lord. All we know is that it worked destruction upon the realm of creation.

And we know that man is supposed to subdue all and to serve God. And, of course, as we go through the Bible we'll see that the God-man, the Theanthropos, Jesus Christ does do that in Revelation 21 and 22.

And so Genesis 1 -11 is different than the rest of the Bible in that it's so fragmentary and selective in its nature but yet God has clearly shown us there that He alone is God. And without Him, we're dead in the waters.

With Him, we live. We learn that He's a God to be feared and respected. He's able to create and to destroy. He's patient with sinners but His patience does have a limit. He's not only loving and kind, that He is, but He's also a God of righteousness and justice and wrath.

He's concerned about what's happening in His world. He has complete control over all of His creation. He has power to interrupt history. He is the God of new beginnings. He rescues those who really trust in Him.

And He makes and He keeps promises. We learn these things from what God did. The way He acted in Genesis 1 -11. And now we look at God's shift down to that one man Abraham and in Act 1, as Matthew 1 -17 makes so clear as well, that Act 1 is from Abraham to David.

There are 14 generations. And then we'll move on and go from David to Babylon and from Babylon to Christ. But God gives a covenant promise in Genesis 12 -2. God says to Abraham, I will make of thee a great nation.

And in these seeds here, these promises, we see five things. God's going to make a great nation. He says, I'm going to bless you. And I'm going to make you a blessing. And I'm going to bless them that bless you.

And I'm going to curse those who curse you. In other words, God's not going to let anything interfere with His plans. He will protect Abraham and his family. And in you, all the nations shall be blessed.

God has a plan and He's going somewhere. He's going to build a nation. And through that channel, He's going to bring redemption. You may want to take a moment and look at Matthew 28 -18 -20 and discuss how the phrase, all the families of the earth will be blessed is interpreted in light of what Jesus commanded in Matthew 28.

God Builds a Nation Through Abraham

But going on, there are three elements to be found if a nation is to become an official entity. Any nation on earth has to have these three elements. So God's going to make a nation out of Abraham. And so that nation will have these three things.

There must be a people with a language. There must be government. There must be, you know, constitution, laws, and leadership. We call that government. And there must be a homeland. So let's begin to study and see how God creates and establishes this nation by providing all three of these elements.

God is first going to start a nation by developing a people. Now, notice what God does. Would you do it this way? The first thing God does is He picks a man, Abraham, whose wife, Sarah, is a barren woman.

Why did God pick a barren woman to start His nation? Perhaps a better way to question it would be what does this tell you about the nation? It tells you exactly what God wants you to know. And that's this.

Only God can do it. God said, I am going to do it. And so that's why God picks a barren woman to start His nation. Now, you know the story. After God promised Abraham that He would do it, that Abraham waited about ten years, and then he took things into his own hands.

He tried to do what God said He would do. I have certainly made that same mistake. It's a common mistake, trying to do what God said He would do. Personally, I thought that ten years was a pretty good wait.

At least it would be for me. Now, does God work this way in your life? He tells you He's going to do something, and you believe Him, and then you kind of wait. It doesn't look like God's actually doing what He said He was going to do.

You think, you've waited long enough, and you start thinking, well, maybe He's going to do it this way. And this is something I can see and figure out just how it might work. And then you get involved in that.

You get all frustrated with it. Until finally, you just, after a while, you just almost give up on it. And sometimes I just forget God ever said He was going to do it. And then about that time, God will come along later and just do it.

And it's God that's done it. And I'll go, oh yeah. You know, God said He was going to do that. Well, Abraham has waited, and it says in Genesis 17, when Abraham was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram.

That was his name then. Which is interesting, because Abram means exalted father. Kind of a strange name for a guy that doesn't have any kids. And God said to him, I am God Almighty. El Shaddai. Walk before me and be blameless.

And I will establish my covenant between me and you. And I will multiply you exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face. God talked with him. He said, as for me, behold, my covenant's with you. And you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

No longer shall your name be called Abram, exalted father. But your name shall be called Abraham. Which is really father of a multitude. And so his name change has Yah right in the middle of it. God says, for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.

And I will make you exceedingly fruitful. And I will make nations of you. And kings shall come forth from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants. And after you throughout the generations.

For an everlasting covenant to be God to you. And to your descendants after you. And I will give to you and your descendants after you. The land of your sojournings. All the land of Canaan. For an everlasting possession.

And I will be their God. And so seven times God says, I will. He's complete in himself. As El Shaddai. And so the strange name of Abraham, exalted father. And Abraham, father of a multitude. Is really not that strange.

Even though he has a barren woman for a wife. Because God is insisting that it's something that only God can do. And the barren woman presents no problem to God. In Genesis 21, 1 -6. 25 years after the promise.

We read of the birth of Isaac. And what's the point? It's God, not Abraham. Who's going to build the nation. Isaac becomes the key to the fulfillment of God's promise. And so if you compare Genesis 22.

Where Abraham had his test of faith. With Hebrews chapter 11, verses 17 -19. You see the reason why Abraham could do as God said. It says, by faith, Abraham when he was tested. Offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son.

It was he to whom it was said, in Isaac your descendant shall be called. He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead. From which he also received him back as a type. So Abraham was counting on God's ability.

The one who had promised. And because of it, he received a fuller revelation. Of God's plan and where God was going. And received him back as a type. Which points forward to Mount Moriah, to Mount Calvary.

Where God received back his son, Jesus Christ, from the dead. Through the resurrection. And so, it's the ability of the one doing the work. And God's doing the work. He's building the nation. I guess you could say, or use the old phrase here, like father like son.

Because Isaac receives a wife. Rebekah. And we notice that Rebekah also was barren. And so in Genesis 25 -21 it says,. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer.

This is now 85 years from the original promise that God made to Abraham. And Isaac and Rebekah have Jacob and Esau. And you can read the story of that in Romans chapter 9. Where God chose Jacob. And then through Rebekah's suggestion, Jacob goes to Paddan Aram, to Laban.

And he gets Leah. Well he wanted Rachel, he got Leah. And then he also received Rachel. You know that story. Somebody said he didn't want to break in a new mother-in-law. Then we find out that Jacob is in the same situation.

Jacob's wife, the one he loved, Rachel, was barren. But before it's all over, Jacob has Leah. And Leah bears him Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judas, Car and Zebulun. And he has Zilpah bears him Gad and Asher.

And Bilhah bears him Dan and Naphtali. And Rachel bears him Joseph and Benjamin. And so Jacob had 12 sons. Which become the 12 tribes that were developed from these 4 wives of Jacob. Now, the Bible honors these 3 men.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as his founders of the nation. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But you know, what was their most common ground? It was that Sarah was barren. Rebekah was barren. Rachel was barren.

They were not able to produce the promise of God. And yet, in chapter 17 of Genesis, we see that all the man-made attempts at producing God's promises turn out to be what is coined an Ishmael. But God keeps saying, No, I know you want Ishmael to live, but that's not what's happening.

I'm going to do things the way that only I can do things. Because I'm the one building this nation. And so that's our first scene in Act 1. In scene 2, there's a tribal framework formed by the 12 sons of Jacob.

Joseph, Egypt, and the Formation of Israel

You must have a foundation or structure on which to build a nation. In Genesis 49 -28, we see that the state framework for the nation was the 12 sons of Jacob. Genesis 46 -27 says,. And all the persons of the house of Jacob that came into Egypt were 70.

We've got a patriarchal family tree, but there's no nation yet. Joseph is the preserver of God's people as God prepares a place for them and then sends them down into Egypt. And God creates the nation by first obtaining a people and then he's going to give them leadership.

One of the interesting things about Joseph is that though he was Jacob's 11th son, he was Rachel's firstborn. And so because Rachel was Jacob's best loved or favorite wife, Joseph was his favorite son, it says in chapter 37 verse 3.

But once again, we see God's doing what only he can do and through Joseph being sold into slavery into Egypt, God is going to work. Joseph's imprisoned. God brings him out and makes him the ruler of Egypt.

And so because of a famine and because of the relationship they have with Joseph, Jacob and his family end up coming and settling in Egypt. Up to this point, they're just a tribal framework and so they don't have the necessary ingredients for a nation.

They're not really a people with a language. They don't have their own government leadership. They don't have their own homeland. But in scene 3, we see that God takes these people and multiplies them while they're in Egypt.

Seventy people go down into Egypt and well over a million come out of Egypt. And so for 400 years, they're basically just making bricks and babies. God's at work through procreation. God is building a nation by developing a people.

The Egyptians tried to eliminate the Jewish problem. They tried oppression. They tried infanticide. But nothing works. Why? Because God's at work building his nation. And so now after hundreds of years in slavery in Egypt making bricks and babies, we have a people with a language.

Besides a people with a language, what other ingredients do we need for a nation? We need a leader and we need government. Scene 4 is found in Exodus chapters 2 through 4. God is going to give them a leader.

He's going to provide Israel with Moses who is raised in Pharaoh's house. God does it in such a way that there's no doubt that it is the sovereign hand of God who places Moses into Pharaoh's palace. God gives him his initial training, his education, probably included everything from athletics to art and writing and music, geometry and literature, astronomy and medicine and philosophy.

He could have chosen a career in official life or literary life or he could have been a soldier. And yet God was working through Moses training his leader and using a pagan nation to do it. Now in Exodus chapter 2, Moses tries to take leadership of the nation but it's not God's time and he doesn't try to do it in God's way.

If you read Acts chapter 7 verses 23 -29 you find out when Moses was approaching the age of 40 it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel and when he saw one of them being treated unjustly he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian and he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him but they did not understand.

And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together and he tried to reconcile them in peace saying, men, you are brethren why do you injure one another? But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away saying, who made you a ruler and a judge over us and you do not mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?

And at this remark Moses fled became an alien in the land of Midian where he became the father of two sons and those two sons we know were Gershon which means a stranger here and Eleazar, God is my help.

And verse 30 says and after 40 years had passed that's when God through an angel appeared to Moses 40 years later God's going to deliver his people but he first must have a man who will cooperate that's always the key to obey, to submit and will rule for God and yet Moses probably thought he was ready he had good intentions and he tries to take the leadership there in Exodus 2 but as has often happened in my own life and I'm sure in your life we think we're ready sometimes and that might be just a good indication that we're not quite ready yet and God has a plan for us but he will reveal very clearly when it's his time to use us now after spending this time and learning much from God in quietness on the back side of the desert we get to Exodus 3 and God's ready for Moses to lead.

We see that Moses is a very reluctant leader. He says who am I? And what shall I say? They're not going to believe me and I'm not eloquent and so the self confidence that Moses once had is gone. He's reluctant to go now but he makes all kind of excuses.

But when God assures him that he'll be with him and give him his power to work the miracles then Moses goes and as many people like to do we divide Moses' life up into 40 years as a dignitarian Egypt 40 years as a desert shepherd in Midian and 40 years as the deliverer of Israel.

And so now we've got a people with a language but we also have a leader. We have God's leader and a very unique leader in that he was a deliverer, a lawgiver a builder, a commander in chief a judge, an author and was the intermediator between God and Israel for so long.

The Exodus and the Passover

But what's going to happen next? We know that to be a nation you've got to have a people with a language and you've got to have leadership and government. Well you also have to have a land and so they must get out of the land.

Why? You can't have a nation within a nation. So the people must be brought out to function as an entity on their own and that probably has a lot to do with why we read in the New Testament that we're not to be unequally yoked together because God wants to be the Lord the ruler, the sovereign director of all the functions of our life.

So in scene 5 from Exodus 5 -15 they're going to get out so that they can get into the land. God told Abraham that they would be in Egypt for 400 years and now God begins to deliver them from Egypt. Pharaoh increases the pressure and yet God's still going to deliver them.

Moses repeatedly asked Pharaoh to let his people go. Pharaoh repeatedly agrees but then he refuses. God shows his power in turning the water into blood with the frogs and the lice the flies, the death of the cows the boils and sores the hell and fire the locusts, three days of darkness and finally the death of the first born.

In each of these God is attacking the objects of Egyptian worship showing how powerless they really are. And so God accomplishes their deliverance through the Passover in Exodus 12 and we notice how the details of this Passover parallel the events that surround the death of Christ.

The sacrifice must be a lamb. Christ was the lamb. The lamb must be without spot. Christ without spot or blemish. The lamb's blood was shed so Israel could have life. Christ's blood was shed so that men might have life.

And so when I see the blood and it's God's estimate of that blood that really counts. God says I see the blood then I pass over and so they're delivered out of Egypt. But in scene 6 they're going to get the constitution for the nation.

In Exodus 19 and 20 God gives the law. No nation has ever had a constitution like this one. They have a great people, they have a leader and of course God's been unifying the tribes around worship and that he gave them the tabernacle to focus on.

But God's going to give them this constitution this law and since the law primarily deals with what God said rather than with what God did we're going to cover the law later and so we have people with a language and we've got leadership and we've got law.

Israel’s Failure to Enter the Land

And now what do we have left. We need a homeland and so in scene 7 we're going to see the land. God brings them to the land but they fail to enter the land. Moses sends out the spies and you know the story they come back and the spies report simply for the most part the majority of them we can't do it.

Was that a true report. Of course it was. They spoke the truth. They were untrained, they were unequipped. They were going to go against a walled city. They couldn't do it. They couldn't figure out how to make it work for themselves.

But they must trust in God. And it was their unwillingness to trust God that was their sin not the fact that they didn't have the ability to do it. How often we do the same thing and even in our prayers we express how that we don't see how it could be done and so the people end up murmuring against Moses and Aaron and actually God was going to destroy the people except for the fact that Moses prayed, Moses and Aaron prayed and Joshua and Caleb tried to persuade the people to go into the land, still they didn't have the faith or the trust in God's ability to do it.

So in Numbers 14 God sets them aside and they are defeated because God's really not with them and yet what's implied here in this principle is that if you won't do it God will find somebody else who will do it.

The summary perhaps of what was going on in their hearts is found in Psalm 106 verses 24 to 27 it says. And they despised the pleasant land, they did not believe in his word but grumbled in their tents.

They did not listen to the voice of the Lord, therefore he swore to them that he would cast them down in the wilderness and that he would cast their seed among the nations and scatter them in the lands.

So we have this great nation of people and we have leadership, we have law and we're right at the land, we're at the front door, we're at the gate, we're almost in the driveway to getting into the land and God sets them aside and chooses another generation to do it.

And so in the book of Joshua we see the victory. Joshua was a servant before he was a leader and God's told him to be strong and courageous. So they begin to go into the land and who goes first? The priest go out carrying the ark and the people follow at a distance because like God said you've not gone this way before so they let the ark get out in front.

God parts the waters at the Jordan for them God has parted the Red Sea. He performed a miracle to get them out of Egypt but now God's going to part the Jordan and perform a miracle to get them in to the land.

And so if you read in Micah chapter 6 in verse 5 they remembered that there were 12 stones placed in the Jordan when they ended their pilgrimage and there were 12 stones placed over the Jordan as they began their possession of the land.

Now there were two things that were necessary before they began engaging the enemy in the land. They needed to be purified which they were by circumcision. It spoke of the covenant relationship and their responsibility to God and the Passover was observed which reminded them of their deliverance from bondage.

And when they got to Gilgal the manna that had been supporting them all along their journey through the desert and the wilderness. There the manna ceased and the people began to eat the corn of the land.

They began to feed themselves and the Lord is revealed as the captain of the Lord of hosts. And the symbol now is the sword the word of God and Jericho was taken in chapter 6 tremendous victory. But very soon in the next chapter chapter 7 we see that there is sin in Achan's tent.

And in Joshua 7 verses 20 and 21 it says I saw, I coveted I took, I hid. And it's an interesting comparison here with Adam and Eve's sin. These are Achan's words of confession and they show and expose how terrible sin is and we've all experienced it at some point in our life.

But once the sin is dealt with then in chapter 8 we begin to move forward and we see the strategy for holy warfare. And we learn that the spiritual soldier's first building is not a fortress but it's an altar.

And things go well for a while. But once again in chapter 9 the Gibeonites out with the Israelites because they didn't ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord. They learned their lesson. And in chapter 11 we have the battle of Beth-haran where the sun stands still at Joshua's request.

And again God is doing things that only God can do. And so when you get to chapter 12 of Joshua you get the final score. The kings that are destroyed. Joshua scores 31. The kings 0. So are they a nation yet?

Well not totally because they don't really possess the land and they don't have unity. Matter of fact in Joshua 13 -21 we see the division of the land and into the east you have the half tribe Joshua, Manasseh, Reuben and Gad and the west the rest of the tribes.

And there's no unity. There's an east and a west. Joshua gives his farewell address. And then from Judges chapter 1 up to 1 Samuel chapter 7 the tribes are taking their inheritance but they're incomplete.

They're lacking the unity that is needed. They're not a nation but they're 12 separate states. And you can see that because of this they're constantly hounded by the other nations around them. The whole book of Judges portrays clearly the disunity and how everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes.

Judges, Samuel, and the Need for a King

Moses had given the people three commands for the time when they entered the land. He first said destroy all the inhabitants of the land. You can read in Judges chapter 1 what they did. They didn't do it.

Moses secondly said shun all the false gods. You can read in Judges 2 that they didn't do that. And then he said don't intermarry with your pagan neighbors don't be unequally yoked. And in Judges 3 you can see they disobeyed that too.

And so the whole book of Judges is just a time of rebellion and disregard for any authority. And so what's the need? The need is for deliverers. And so God uses these nations surrounding them to discipline the people.

And then he raises up a judge during a time of crisis and after raising up many judges to deal with their sin and like Othniel and Ehud and Shemgar and Deborah and Gideon and Tola and Jair and Jephthah and Esban and Elan and Abdon and Samson.

And finally the last judge is Samuel. And we read in Judges 21 -25 that in those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did what was right in his own eyes. And so they haven't really possessed their land and become established as a nation.

And the need is unity, we have 12 separate states but we don't have a nation, they need a king they need a leader. And so we see one of those interesting transitions in scripture toward a monarchy. At this point Eli had been a priest who judged and now we're going to have Samuel who is a prophet who judges or a judge who was a prophet and I'm sure you're familiar with Here We Go Again there's a woman named Hannah and Hannah's problem is that she's barren and so she prays to the Lord and says if you give me a son I'll commit him to you.

And she did when he was born. And so God speaks directly to Samuel, he was the first of the prophets and the last of the judges. Well what's God doing? God is establishing a channel through which he can speak to his people.

And so Samuel did something that hasn't been done up to this point, he united Israel for the first time since of course Joshua died and he rebuilt the nation both politically and spiritually. And so God has a channel through which he can speak and he can work.

God's building a great nation through which he's going to provide salvation to the whole world. And so in scene 10 in 1 Samuel 8 through 31 we see the reign of Saul. Israel's demanding a king. They want a monarch like all the surrounding nations.

Saul, David, and the Theocratic Kingdom

And immediately you want to ask what's wrong with this demand. The answer is that simply this a monarchy leaves God out. A monarchy is when man does it, God wants a theocracy. A theocracy is where God does it.

The only real difference in the setup structure is that there is no real difference in the setup structure. So where's the difference? The difference is in the leader's relationship to God. Now God's going to give him a king.