God's Plan in The Pentateuch
Our first sermon in this new series summarized the Bible in a few ways:
- Say it like a seminarian – God’s plan is to manifest the fullness of His Glory to His creation by establishing His Kingdom upon the earth in which God dwells through Jesus Christ with His people as the King for eternity.
- Say it in Three Words – Jesus Revealed in Scripture
- Say it In One Word – Jesus.
I. The Story God and His People Starts in the Pentateuch
a. The Pentateuch is the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
b. A man named Moses is the author of these first five books
c. “Genesis” literally means “the beginning”
d. Important points to remember particularly about the early story of humanity in Genesis 1-11
i. The earth before the Genesis flood was drastically different than it is today
ii. The people before the flood and the Tower of Babel were also very different from us today
e. The Pentateuch answers life’s fundamental questions
II. What does the Pentateuch Consistently Teach About?
a. God
i. There is only one God—“Holy”
ii. He is the Sovereign Creator
iii. He is the Sovereign Re-creator (Redeemer)
b. Humans
i. History—created by God and not evolved (Genesis 1–2)
ii. Nature—made out of dust animated by the very breath of God (Genesis 2:7—body and soul//material and immaterial)
iii. Identity or Purpose—to be the image bearer of God representing and reflecting His Glory (Genesis 1:26; Exodus 19:6)
iv. Classification—divided into only two categories (two races) after the Fall—God’s chosen lineage, believers, and unbelievers
v. Characteristics of God’s children—those who possess Abrahamic-type faith
c. God’s Plan with Man
i. To dwell intimately with man on earth
1. Paradise with God in Garden of Eden (Genesis 2)
2. Paradise lost with God (Genesis 3)
3. The Tabernacle Presence of God re-established with His people (Exodus 19-Numbers)
ii. To have His people established on the earth spreading His rule and glory over all creation
The Pentateuch ends with the people of God on the verge of inheriting a permanent home (the Promised Land) where God will dwell in their midst. They were to be a righteous and holy nation reflecting God’s glory to the rest of the nations around them. (Deuteronomy)
III. How does the Pentateuch point to Jesus Christ?
The Pentateuch establishes…
a. The need for a “perfect second” Adam to fulfill God’s creation purpose for mankind (Romans 5:12-21; John 1:18; Hebrews 1:3)
b. The need for a way for mankind to dwell with God after the Fall (John 14:7, Hebrews 9:11-14; 10:1–4)
Garden of Eden - Genesis 3:24 - God drove the man out and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
Tabernacle Presence of God - Exodus 32:8 - They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them, they have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshipped it and have sacrificed to it?
Hebrews 9:11-14 - But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
c. The qualities of faith and righteousness that God desires in His people and are fully found in Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17)
d. The path of suffering for God’s people that brings redemption to others—The story of Joseph and Moses (Acts 8:32–35)
Additional Resources
