Understanding the Bible: Patriarchal Period

         The Bible is a wonderful book that God has given us. It teaches us who God is, what He desires, and how we can be saved. Everyone can understand the Bible. However, there are aspects of the Bible that causes people confusion. In this article, we will begin to examine the different divisions in the Bible.

         The Bible is written over a period of about 1,500 years. God used about 40 different men to give us the Bible. It contains 66 different and unique books. In order to better understand it, we need to break the Bible down into simpler and smaller parts. When we examine the smaller parts of the Bible in the larger context of God's purpose of the Bible, then we can gain a greater understanding of the Bible.

          Our Bible has two main divisions in it: The Old Testament and The New Testament. It may be easy to understand this division if we use different names: The Old Covenant and The New Covenant. A simple definition of the word covenant in the Bible is an agreement that God is making with mankind. In a covenant, God is promising to do something and man is promising to faithfully follow God. The covenants in the Bible have the understanding that God is the great king and the people are His servants.

         The Old Covenant was given to the Israelite people. The period of the Old Covenant is actually divided into two other divisions. The first division is sometimes called the Patriarchal Period. It is called this because God is mainly dealing with the heads of the household. The major people are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. This time period is recorded in the book of Genesis. Some believe that the book of Job took place during this period as well, but that is open for debate. This period is unique and different from the rest of the Bible.

          There is no known written word from God mentioned during this period. The first book of the Bible is Genesis, which is written by Moses. Moses lives about 400 years after the time of Abraham. Since there is no known religious writing, we do not have a written law during this time. For example, when God led the Israelites out of Egypt, He gave Moses a written law to explain what sin is, how to atone for sin, the design of the Jewish religion, and the every day behavior of the Jewish people. When we read the book of Genesis, we should keep this in mind. The Bible is recording how men behaved without a written Word. The accounts of Noah, the tower of Babel, and Sodom and Gomorrah teach us how wicked the world can be without the Word of God restraining evil. This time period also teaches us that man cannot save himself.

         Even without the written Word, God did implant into man an understanding of right and wrong. Throughout the book of Genesis there is an understanding that murder, rape, drunkenness, lying, stealing, and idol worship is wrong. However, the conscience of people during this time was warped and ignored what God had implanted in them. God made them accountable for breaking His moral code. While God overlooked some foolishness, He did not completely ignore sin. People were punished for their wickedness.

         The fathers, or head of the household, were seen as priests of the family. They made sacrifices and offered prayers to God during this time. It was something that was passed down from Adam to his children. Unfortunately, not everyone learned it. Even after the time of Noah, false worship arose and led many astray.

         During this time period, God is focused on beginning His plan to bring the Savior into the world. God makes a promise to Adam and Eve that through them would come a Savior. Genesis 3:¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. ¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” This is the first prophecy about Jesus Christ.

         The book of Genesis shows how God was bringing this promise into the world. He continues this promise when He kept Noah and his family alive during the time of the flood. Without Noah and his family, the world would have died with no hope of salvation and all men/women who lived before the flood would have been lost in an eternity in hell. After Noah, God choose a man named Abraham to continue this promise. God gave Abraham this promise: Genesis 12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ² “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” The rest of the book of Genesis shows how God fulfilled the promise to Abraham and how He protected that promise in a hostile world.

         When we study the Patriarchal Period (book of Genesis), there are some things that we need to remember that will help us understand the Bible clearer:

1. Read Genesis in its moral, religious, and ethical context. The rest of the Bible contains laws and commandments that these people did not appear to have access to. Therefore, the followers of God during this time period may do some things that we are forbidden to do. Their lives are not a complete example for us to follow. We must follow their example while examining the commandments given to us to day. For example, they did practice polygamy but that does not mean we should. God clearly forbid it in the commandments in the Bible. Follow the commandments of God.

2. Read Genesis with its purpose. The purpose of Genesis is to inform us how we go from Adam to the time of Moses. We see why the Jewish people are important. The purpose is to show us how God's plan came together. It also shows us how wicked man is without the written Word of God.

3. Read Genesis in its timeframe. Some want to make the Bible look hypocritical or point to inconsistencies by reading Genesis out of its timeframe. Genesis, and the Patriarchal Period, occurred before the law and before the commandments of the New Testament. These people did not live under those laws and requirements. We should not hold a standard against them that God did not.

4. God's moral standard is consistent. Even without a law, God's moral standards are consistent throughout the Bible. His stance on human life, human sexuality, and human behavior is the same. This shows us that God does not change. It also shows us that He requires us to follow that moral code no matter what. There is no excuse for us since we have access to that moral code.

         The Patriarchal Period is just one section of the Bible. Another section is the Mosaic section and we will examine that next.