DEFINITION OF TERMS (For Serious Students)

COVENANT

LAW

LAW
I. In the Old Testament
II. In the New Testament

GRACE

GRACE, MEANS OF

KINGDOM OF GOD

KINGDOM OF GOD, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
I. In John the Baptist
II. In the teaching of Jesus
III. Kingdom and church
IV. In the rest of the New Testament
V. In theological thought

The role of Adam and Eve was to look after the Garden of Eden. This was designed by God to be a relatively easy task. No conflict, no weeds and perfect health! Everything in nature was in harmony.

Unfortunately they blew it! As a former farmer, I really understand the penalty in working the land. And all mothers know about childbirth!

Division came between them as a result of jealousy resulting in the first of many murders in the Bible. This continues today!

Society continued to degrade until, by the time of Noah, God had had enough and made a new start.

The flood came and went but man's nature did not improve. This was reflected in people's attempt to get to heaven in their own strength, through building the Tower of Babel. God once again had enough, instituting language barriers and spreading the people far and wide.

The Nomadic Age commenced. People lived a travelling lifestyle, very similar to that still found in a few places today.

By the time of Abraham, in the later stages of the Bronze Age, some settlements existed. But the primary emphasis remained upon seeking out and exploiting natural food sources, rather than producing crops through sustainable agricultural methods. Abraham however, would stop in an area over the winter period when there was sufficient rainfall to make the grass grow for his animals, to grow some basic crops, perhaps of barley.

Family groups had to split up as growth in the numbers of people and animals put too much pressure on the available food supplies in an area.

Abraham was unusual in his day, in that he was a monotheist, believing in one god, as opposed to the polytheism of his forbears. A relationship which was personal rather than formal, as we will see later.

As this form of society was mobile and without a written language, their ability to retain history was limited to the capacity of their memories. Similarly their experience of God had to be a personal one, for there was no practical way to codify a 'religious' system.

The secret of Abraham's success however was no different to that required today! He believed God in faith and acted upon God's instructions.

So throughout this Nomadic period there was little formal religious structure or organization, particularly in regard to the kingdom of Yahweh. God revealed Himself in a personal way to His limited, chosen people, the direct descendants of Abraham. A group of only 70 by the time the Jacobs family arrived in Egypt.

It was a kingdom based on personal revelation and faith, experienced by a small group of people, all the direct descendants of Abraham.

THE FIRST GAP in recorded Bible history followed as the separator between the first and second kingdom ages. God was about to do a new thing!

Abraham had had a taste of the more developed Egyptian society when he was forced to go there during a time of famine.

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. (Genesis 12:10)

Egypt had a settled agrarian society based upon the fertile river plains of the River Nile. Its year round water flows provided irrigation for growing crops during the long hot dry season. Hence why Abraham traveled there at the time. A foretaste of what was to come later.

Because of this ability to grow crops the Egyptians could stay in the one place and develop cities, a written language, cultural activities, formalized religious activities, etc. The pyramids are a classic example of what they were able to achieve.

These agricultural and community skills were absorbed by the Israelites during their time there. Now instead of just a single family of 70 people, all the extended families, cousins, uncles and aunts, were physically able to live in the one area, and together become God's chosen people. And breed! To grow to a likely population of around 2 million people at the time of the Exodus.

As we progress through the kingdom ages we see how God was able to reveal more of Himself to us. For we gradually developed a greater capacity to understand and the ability to disseminate God's revelations of Himself.

Now we have the internet! What will the future bring?

God has always approached us from our societal and personal level of understanding.

While we do not have much influence over our societal place, we do have control over our personal relationship with God. The more we give to Him, the more He will give of Himself to us!

God chose Abraham and Noah to reveal Himself to over others, because they were open to Him.

Nothing has changed today.

ANCIENT OLIVE TREES

Olive trees in the ancient world were extremely popular because of their rich produce of expensive olive oil. The olives on each tree were filled with oil, more than 50% of each olive. There was an abundance of olive trees in the land of Israel when the Hebrews entered the land, just as God had promised them. The land was thriving with olive trees and archaeology reveals that it was a center for oil in ancient times.

The olive tree was also valuable for its wood. Olive wood was strong and popular for carving.

The tree itself had a lifespan of hundreds of years, and the most productive years for oil were 40-50 years old. The branches spread out beautifully, and it was a symbol of peacefulness and reproduction. The Hebrew word for "Messiah" means "to smear" with olive oil.

It is interesting that after the great flood, Noah released a dove and it returned with an olive branch.

"For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass." (Deuteronomy 8:7-9)

"And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth." (Genesis 8:11)

"His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree" (Hosea 14:6)

Source: http://www.bible-history.com