God asks us to study our Bibles, but do we?

Do we read it?

Do we know “what it’s all about”?

Can you imagine doing a “bare-bones” summary of a great literary classic, a radical condensation of War and Peace, Ben-Hur, or Roots? So that we can get “up to speed,” let’s do that with the Bible.

This "Bible readers' digest" highlights just a few of the men and women of the 77 generations from Adam to Jesus. 

• Adam and Eve were the first people 
• Methuselah, whose life was the longest recorded in scriptures: 969 years
• Noah, who built the ark and was saved with his family from the great flood
• Abraham, who received wonderful promises from God and whose descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore
• Joseph, whose father Jacob made him a coat of many colors, was Abraham’s great grandson
• Moses, who obeyed God and told King Pharaoh of ten impending plagues. After the tenth plague, Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage and across the Red Sea, on dry land! Forty years later, Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land.

After Joshua’s death, judges led the people for about 400 years while they went through many dark times of unfaithfulness to God. The strong man Samson was a judge. Ruth, who promised her mother-in-law,  “Whither thou goest, I will go,” lived during the years of the judges. 

The period of kings began. King David, who had killed Goliath the giant, and David’s wise and wealthy son King Solomon were born about the 33rd and 34th generations after Adam. 

Included in the Old Testament narrative are prophets who pleaded with the people to live righteous lives. Some are often quoted: Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah.

Job is the story of a man who patiently endured horrible suffering. The book of Proverbs is a collection of wise reminders. The long book of Psalms is well-known for its brief 23rd chapter that begins, “The Lord is my shepherd…”

In time, the kingdom of Israel divided and idolatry prevailed with wicked kings on both sides, but a few remained faithful to God. Eventually, both kingdoms were taken into captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar is a familiar name of that time as well as the accounts of Daniel in the lion’s den and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. The Lord enabled Daniel to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which gave insight to the time that the world could anticipate the coming of the promised redeemer.

The promises God made to Abraham were restated to others of his descendants. Those promises were for the family to be a large nation of people with a large land and to be the ancestors of the wonderful redeemer who God would send to the world at His chosen time.

God gave laws to the new nation of Israel. The Old Testament includes those laws. However, the prophets told the people that in future times God would give a better law (the New Testament) to guide those whom Jesus would redeem (Christians). The scriptures teach that while the New Testament is our law, we benefit from Old Testament examples of God’s interaction with men and women.

Seventy-seven generations from Adam to Jesus

Our summary comes to the New Testament. It records the birth of Jesus, our promised redeemer; His perfect life; the calling of His apostles; His teaching in beatitudes and parables; His death on the cross, resurrection and ascension; the coming of the kingdom (see Bible Stories, #25)  and the apostles fulfilling their mission to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ..." ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28:19‬ ‭

The apostles traveled great distances to set up congregations of Jesus’ church. They instructed the new Christians and taught them how they and the church should function.