LIFE’S FOUR BIGGEST QUESTIONS ARE:
Who am I - a
1.where did I come from?
2.who am I?
3.why am I here?
4.where am I going?
Once you realize you were created by God and that we weren’t an accident or just a biological creation, we must then ask who am I?
We covered question #1 in the above study. Next study we will cover question #2
2.who am I?
The answer to this question is found in the study on “where did I come from? We discovered in that study that we are a direct descendant of the eternal God.
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image (“selem” a representative figure”); in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
(Genesis 1:26-27)
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
(Genesis 2:7-10)
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
(Genesis 2:21-24)
They stood before each other pure and sinless and unashamed.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
(Genesis 2:25)
God was so pleased with His children that He blessed, provided for them and instructed them to be fruitful and multiply.
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.
(Genesis 1:28-30)
God gave His children provisions, instructions, and restrictions with consequence.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
(Genesis 2:16-17)
God promised that disobedience of His instructions would cause the forfeiture of the eternal life that He had breathed into them.
"but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
(Genesis 2:17)
God tested the faithfulness of His children with the temptation of the devil.
And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "And the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
(Genesis 3:2-5)
The woman failed the test and sinned against God and the man willingly followed her example.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
(Genesis 3:6)
Because of their sin of disobedience to God they lost the sinless purity of Gods breath of life and their nakedness was revealed to them.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"
(Genesis 3:7-11)
God in His omniscience was totally aware of what had taken place and paid His children a visit in the garden.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
(Genesis 3:8-10)
God tests their honesty once again.
And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"
(Genesis 3:11)
The blame game and finger pointing begins,
Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
(Genesis 3:12-13)
It was judgment time. God always keeps His promises. In this case it was a very high price to pay.
So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."
And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" -
therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
(Genesis 3:14-24)
Adam and Eve obeyed the Lord in His command to be fruitful and multiply.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have gotten a man from the LORD." Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
(Genesis 4:1-2)
Sin, disobedience, finger pointing and violence is the natural lifestyle of mankind. (Compare current evens)
And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it." Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.
(Genesis 4:3-10)
Cain was captured by sin and became astringed from the Lord. He was doomed to live by the ways of disobedience to God. And Cain received his judgment from God.
"So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth." And Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear! "Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me." And the LORD said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.
(Genesis 4:11-16)
The following Scripture teaches that sin continued to be inherited from one generation to another as the price of the disobedience of the original parents.
LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.'
(Numbers 14:18)
For generation God kept His Promises of Judgment for those who disobeyed Him.
- Examples of the penalty and rewards for the faithful and the rebellious of Gods people.
Then the LORD said: "I have pardoned, according to your word; "but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD -- "because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, "they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. "But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
(Numbers 14:20-38)
Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, "Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!" Then Moses said, "Now why do you transgress the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed. "Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the LORD is not among you. "For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the LORD, the LORD will not be with you." But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop; nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed from the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.
(Numbers 14:39-45)
"And the LORD heard the sound of your words, and was angry, and took an oath, saying, 'Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers, 'except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because he wholly followed the LORD.' "The LORD was also angry with me for your sakes, saying, 'Even you shall not go in there; 'but Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 'Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it and they shall possess it. 'But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea. "Then you answered and said to me, 'We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.' And when everyone of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain. "And the LORD said to me, 'Tell them, "Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies." 'So I spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but rebelled against the command of the LORD, and presumptuously went up into the mountain. "And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you as bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah. "Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you. "So you remained in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you spent there.
(Deuteronomy 1:34-46)
- And so on down through the generations of the Old Testament history recorded in the Scriptures. God rewarded the obedient and brought judgment on the rebellious.
The LORD's Love for His children.
The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. "I have loved you," says the LORD. "Yet you say, 'In what way have You loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" says the LORD. "Yet Jacob I have loved; but Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness." Even though Edom has said, "We have been impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places," Thus says the LORD of hosts: "They may build, but I will throw down; they shall be called the Territory of Wickedness, and the people against whom the LORD will have indignation forever. Your eyes shall see, and you shall say, 'The LORD is magnified beyond the border of Israel.'
(Malachi 1:1-5)
The Priests' dishonor their God. “If then I am the Father, where is My honor?” “If I am a Master, where is My reverence?”
"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, 'In what way have we despised Your name?' "You offer defiled food on My altar. But you say, 'In what way have we defiled You?' By saying, 'The table of the LORD is contemptible.' And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?" says the LORD of hosts. "But now entreat God's favor, that He may be gracious to us. While this is being done by your hands, will He accept you favorably?" says the LORD of hosts.
"Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, So that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you," Says the LORD of hosts, "Nor will I accept an offering from your hands. For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations," says the LORD of hosts. "But you profane it, in that you say, 'The table of the LORD is defiled; and its fruit, its food, is contemptible.' You also say, 'Oh, what a weariness!' and you sneer at it," says the LORD of hosts. "And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?" says the LORD. "But cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male, and makes a vow, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished -- for I am a great King," says the LORD of hosts, "And My name is to be feared among the nations.
(Malachi 1:6-14)
The LORD's Love for His children persuaded Him to offer on more opportunity to conform to His commands. In Exodus chapter 20 Scripture teaches.
The Ten Commandments
And God spoke all these words, saying:
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. "You shall have no other gods before Me. "You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. "You shall not murder. "You shall not commit adultery. "You shall not steal. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
(Deuteronomy 5:1-21 - Exodus 20:1-17)
The people witnessed the presence of God but did not acknowledge His message to them.
Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; [The presence of God] and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
They preferred to hear from Moses than from God.
Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
(Exodus 20:1-21)
The Old Testament covers approximately 4,000 years of history in its traditional narrative timeline, stretching from the creation of the world (or from Adam) up to the events of the Minor Prophets and Malachi around 400–350 BC. For approximately 4,000 years of history God extended His patients and loving tolerance to His rebellious created family.
The Minor Prophets (also known as “The Twelve or the Book of the Twelve”) are the twelve final books of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible and the final book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) in the Hebrew Bible.
The term "minor" refers strictly to the shorter length of their writings compared to the major prophetic books (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel), not to the importance or spiritual weight of their messages. In Jewish tradition, all twelve were historically written on a single scroll.
The 39 books of the Old Testament were written or compiled over a period of roughly 1,000 years, generally ranging from around 1500 BC to 400 BC.
Following the completion of the final Old Testament books, the timeline is followed by roughly 400 years of history not recorded in Scripture (see “the gap” under Bible Studies at scriptureteaches.org) before the New Testament begins with the birth of Jesus.
So far in this portion of our study we have learned the answer to question #2 “Who am I” as it pertains to the Old Testament people. Who they were depended entirely on their own personal choice; some chose to follow God while others chose to follow the deceiver.
Review Malachi 1:6-14, this passage of Scripture God defines “who they are”
Pastor Stan
