2.  The Single Thread #3 Let’s start with a quick review of the two previous lessons… In Lesson #1, we learned from Heb.11:6 that biblical “faith” has 3 parts: 1.Knowledge in the Mind; 2.Trust in the Heart; and 3.Obedience in the Life. We also learned that to have biblical “faith” in God, we must first have “faith” in 3 aspects of His Word: 1.Its Inspiration (that it came from God); 2.Its Completeness (that everything we need for salvation is included); and 3.Its Authority (that we have to do what it says to please God).

3.  The Single Thread #3 Let’s start with a quick review of the two previous lessons… In Lesson #2, we learned that there are 3 major Periods of Bible History through which The Single Thread runs: 1.Patriarchal (God spoke through the fathers; began at Creation and ended at Mt. Sinai; Family Religion) 2.Mosaical (God spoke through Moses/Prophets; began at Mt. Sinai and ended at the Cross/Acts 2; National Religion) and, 3.Christian (God spoke through Christ/Inspired N.T. Writers; began at Cross/Acts 2 and continues to the End of Time; Universal Religion).

4.  The Single Thread #3 Let’s start with a quick review of the two previous lessons… In Lesson #2, we also traced the Single Thread through 4 significant events of the Patriarchal Period: 1.Creation- the begin of all things including man, sin, and the beginning of the Single Thread, Gen.1-3; 3:15; 2.Great Flood- showed that God was willing to destroy the disobedient, but also willing to show grace and save the obedient, Gen.6-9; 3.Abraham received 3 promises- Land (of Canaan), Nation (of Israel), and Seed (salvation for all through Jesus Christ), Gen.12:1-3; (the Single Thread follows the first two promises through the O.T., and the third one through the N.T.)

5.  The Single Thread #3 Let’s start with a quick review of the two previous lessons… In Lesson #2, we also traced the Single Thread through 4 significant events of the Patriarchal Period: 4.Development of the Nation of Israel through Abraham, Gen.12 – 50; which included, Eventual birth of Isaac; Isaac and Rebekah have two sons: Esau & Jacob; God chooses to fulfill His promises through Jacob; Jacob had 12 sons; One of them, Joseph, winds up in Egypt as 2 nd in command; and, Jacob’s family moves to Egypt because of famine. Now, we’re ready to continue with the Mosaical Period…

6.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period If you think about it, there are 3 things necessary to have a “nation”: 1.People of such a number as could comprise a nation; 2.Precept (or Law) to bind them together; and a 3.Place (or Land) for the people united by precept to live. Without these 3 essential elements, you just can’t have a “nation.” We’ve seen the family of Abraham begin to grow into a people so far in our study- but at the end of the last lesson, they were in Egypt (which was not the land God promised), and did not yet have a Law to unite them. But that is all about to change…

7.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 1. Blessing and Multiplication of Jacob’s Family in Egypt by God. With the family of Jacob (Abraham’s grandson) all moved to Egypt, and God blessing and multiplying them there, Ex.1:1- 7, God has begun to fulfill His original promise to Abraham to make of him a great nation, Gen.12:2. But their multiplication also meant that they basically became a nation within a nation, which would become problematic following our next significant event in the Single Thread of salvation through Jesus Christ…

8.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 2. Enslavement of Israel. After Joseph’s death, Ex.1:6, a dynastic change in Egypt meant that Jacob’s family became feared as potential enemies rather than revered as honored guests, Ex.1:8-10. These things (multiplication, dynastic change, fear) led to their enslavement by the new Egyptian leaders, Ex.1:11. But God was still with this family, and continued to bless and prosper them, Ex.1:12.

9.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 3. God delivers Israel through Moses, Ex.1 - 12. When the harsh treatment of the Israelites did not reduce their numbers, cf. Ex.1:13-14, the Egyptians resorted to killing all the males born to them, vv.15-22. One couple, Amram and Jochebed, hid their son in a basket by the river where Pharaoh’s (king of Egypt) daughter was likely to find him. She did find and adopt him, so that Moses was raised as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Ex.2:1-10. Moses’ education in the culture, language, and ways of Egypt would later become very useful in the progression of our Single Thread story, cf. Acts 7:22.

10.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 3. God delivers Israel through Moses, Ex.1 – 12 (continued). Moses eventually saw an Egyptian beating a fellow Israelite, killed him, and hid the body. When his deed became known, Moses feared for his life and fled to Midian, Ex.2:11-15. After Moses had remained in Midian 40 years, God was ready to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian slavery through him, Ex.2:23-25; chps.3 - 4. So, Moses returned to Egypt. And, after Pharaoh refused to set the Israelites free, God sent a series of 10 Plagues upon the Egyptians through Moses, Ex.5 – 13.

11.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 3. God delivers Israel through Moses, Ex.1 – 12 (continued). After these 10 Plagues (Nile to blood, frogs, gnats/lice, flies, pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, death of 1 st born), Pharaoh relented and released the Israelites, Ex.12:31-33. But God also caused the Egyptians to look favorably upon their former slaves in that they sent them away with silver, gold, and clothing, Ex.12:35-36. Although the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came to Egypt as 70 persons in all, they left 430 years later as a people of some 2.5 million*, Ex.12:37-38,40. Now we have 2 of the 3 requirements for a “nation”- people!

12.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 4. Israel gets a Law (precept), Ex.1 – 12. After Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued Israel, God destroyed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea after Israel passed through on dry ground, Ex.14. God provided manna, quail, and water to the Israelites in the wilderness, Ex.15-16. When they came to Mt. Sinai, God gave them the 2 nd essential requirement of nationhood- a Law* (or Precept), Ex.19:1 – Num.10:10. This would be Israel’s moral, civil, and religious code until it was replaced by Christ’s law, the gospel, Heb.9:15ff.

13.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 5. Israel gets a Country (place), Num.10:11 – Josh.24:33. From Mt. Sinai, Israel moves toward Canaan, the land promised to Abraham for his descendants, Gen.12:1; Num.10:11-13. However, when they reached the southern borders of the land, and spies were sent in to survey it, Israel’s faith (except for Joshua and Caleb) failed, Num.13. Because they doubted God’s promises, they were made to wander in the wilderness for 40 years* until all those from 20 years old and upward died, Num.14:26-35. These wanderings comprise the rest of the book of Numbers.

14.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 5. Israel gets a Country (place), Num.10:11 – Josh.24:33 (cont.) After the 40 years pass, and all that generation with them, God gives the Law again to Israel, Deuteronomy*. Then the conquest of Canaan begins in the book of Joshua. All the seven nations of the Canaanites were to be utterly destroyed because of their idolatrous practices, and to keep them from leading Israel into idolatry, Deut.7:1-16. So, with God’s help and under the leadership of Joshua, Israel conquered and settled the land of Canaan. Josh.1 - 21. But, they did not do all that God said, and it would mark the beginning of their end as a nation, Josh.23:12-16.

15.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 6. Israel’s unfaithfulness and their subsequent destruction. Abraham’s family is now fully a “nation”- they have a numerous People, a Precept (the Law of Moses), and a Place (Canaan) just as God promised. The nation was ruled by Judges (appointed by God) for ~400 years, before rejecting God’s plan for a monarchy, Judges. After Saul, David, and Solomon ruled the united kingdom, 1Sam. – 1Kings 11, the nation was split into 10 tribes in the northern kingdom, and 2 in the southern, 1Kings 12. The northern kingdom was called “Israel,” and the southern kingdom was called “Judah.”

16.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 6. Israel’s unfaithfulness and their subsequent destruction. (cont.) When Israel’s king, Jeroboam, set up alternate* places of worship, the faithful remaining priests moved southward into Judah, 2Chron.11:13-16. This created a spiritual vacuum in the northern kingdom of Israel that furthered their progress into idolatry, and God eventually sent the Assyrians to destroy them in 722 B.C. Thus, the 10 northern tribes were either taken captive to Assyria, or intermarried with imported people brought in to settle the land (and became the Samaritans), 2Kings 17:1-18. The southern kingdom of Judah remained for a while, but…

17.  The Single Thread #3 Mosaical Period Significant Events in the Mosaical Period, Exodus 1 – Malachi 4 6. Israel’s unfaithfulness and their subsequent destruction. (cont.) Judah eventually fell into rampant idolatry also. God predicted, then allowed them to be taken captive by the Babylonian nation for 70 years, 2Chron.36:9-21*. However, A remnant of Judah was eventually brought back to Jerusalem to resettle the land of Canaan (or at least a part of it), 2Chron.36:22-23; because there remained one promise to Abraham that was to be fulfilled… The nation promise had been fulfilled, and the land promise had been fulfilled, but the Seed promise was yet to come! The Single Thread will be completely revealed next time.