An Epic Journey through the Holy Bible with Jesus

Volume 2: Patriarchs, Prophets, Kings and Jesus's Genealogy

Karen Marie Parker

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781098057602
• eBook ISBN: 9781098057619
• Topic: Theology & Religion

Have you ever wondered how Christianity began? Why do we have churches and how do priests know what to do in mass? In this hectic world, it is easy to take this for granted and value Christianity too lightly, in some ways without thanksgiving or recognition for the thousands of years of fighting for it.

The Old Testament is an accurate record of Israel's history. An Epic Journey through the Holy Bible with Jesus: Volume Two explores the holy lands with the patriarchs, prophets, and kings. Meet some heroes and villains while uncovering incredible stories about amazing leaders whose sole faith in God alone saved thousands, brave prophets who were victorious in battle, visionaries who could see the rise and fall of a kingdom, in vivid color, all by the hand of God, kings with a heart of gold and kings with a heart of stone. The Old Testament leads us to Jesus Christ, who ministers through his miracles and parables. He teaches us that through humility, kindness, and submission, we become survivors of affliction.

These events are written with a perspective of topology and include evidence that archeologists, professors, and scholars have uncovered, backing up and supporting the existence of these amazing stories in Sacred Scripture that shaped Christianity today.

This book will fill your curiosity with just enough facts about Israel's history that you will recognize the power and struggles it took for God's heroic believers. May you be more thankful for God's never-ending pursuit for justice, peace, and the love that He has for everyone. May your faith be more enlightened as you journey with Jesus, uncovering your roots, finding your true identity as a child of God, and may your soul be as courageous as the patriarchs, prophets, and kings.

Chapter 1

Patriarchs

Paradise Begins

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

—Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)

Genesis is the first book written by Moses. In Greek, the word Genesis means beginning or origin. By just reading the first sentence, you must think creatively yourself. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1 NKJV). The heavens, or the universe, are infinite, and just a few years ago, NASA was able to capture amazing photographs of this extraordinary cosmos. We should be perplexed—not to mention how long did it take for God to create it? Earth began some 4.54 billion years ago, and as we now know, through science and the study of paleontology, that dinosaurs roamed the Earth some 245 million years ago. It was long before God decided to create man. And for those of you who still believe that we evolved from apes, consider this: dinosaurs were dinosaurs, birds are still birds, bugs are still bugs, fish are still fish, animals are still animals. Any one of them may have evolved some over the years, but they were still of the same species. They did not have and never will have an intellect, like humans. God created humans in the likeness of Himself. We are humans, not animals, and we are meant to create, invent, survive, have dominion, and evolve our brain with intellectual stimulation. In the Bible, God calls it a revelation, which means that He puts all the ideas in our head—like a father teaches his children.

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.” (Genesis 1:26 NKJV)

Paradise, for us Christians, began some ten thousand years ago, as it is written in the Bible, in the first book of Genesis, when God said to Jesus, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” The garden of Eden was a place of bliss, extreme joy, and the beginning of a human process of having purified intellectual pleasure. Jesus, being the Word of God that became flesh, was able to communicate with Adam and Eve. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (the Trinity) continue to communicate to all humans. With God, it has always been about people, companionship, fellowship, sharing, and being joyful for God’s glory. Amen.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1–3 NIV).

The First Generation

Life went on after the fall of man. Adam and Eve had a family, the first generation of God’s people. We all know too well the story of Cain and Able, but God blessed them with another son, Seth.

Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” (Genesis 4:25 NIV)

Seth would in turn become the first, pre-patriarch father of generations to come. He was the first of Jesus’s descendants. Enoch was Seth’s fifth generation, who walked faithfully with God. “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5:24 NIV). Enoch was a righteous man—blameless in God’s eye. He was one of the only two men mentioned in the Bible who God had taken up to heaven, escaping death. The other man was the prophet Elijah. Methuselah was Enoch’s son, a righteous man like his father. He was the oldest man who ever lived.

When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died. (Genesis 5:25–27 NIV)

Noah was Methuselah’s grandson. God took favor with him because he was also a righteous example to his generation. God gave Noah a great task that carried a heavy burden. He knew that He could trust in Noah’s faith in Him.

God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So, God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So, make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.” (Genesis 6:12–14, 17–19 NIV)

The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” Noah did everything just as God commanded him. (Genesis 7:1,4, 22 NIV)

After the flood waters resided, Noah wanted to thank the Lord for saving his family, who were now the beginning of a new generation of God’s people. So Noah built an altar and sacrificed burnt offerings that were like sweet incense to God.

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” (Genesis 8:20–21 NIV)

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” (Genesis 9:12–13 NIV)

Humility

For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11 NIV)

What I’m saying is, if you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself. (Luke 14:11 MSG)

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. (Psalm 51:16–17 NIV)

Going through the motions doesn’t please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice. (Psalm 51:16–17 MSG)

Sister Regina helped me to understand what humility is. She said that it is not diminishing ourselves at a lower level than others or being less confident either. What God desires us to have is an accurate estimate of our own worth and to be free from arrogance and pride as the scripture above says, a humble spirit will recognize its own sinfulness before Christ and does not look down on others for their sinful behavior.

When someone treats us with disrespect while boasting out all their accomplishment and at the same time denying their own selfish behavior, humility teaches us to not take it personal. Arrogant people do not see their weaknesses that they are not able to face. Ignorant people are not capable of seeing their own faults or true self because they are too busy puffing out their chest and steeling all the glory. Like a parasite, these people feed off others’ knowledge and accomplishments and walk around with their nose in the air blindfolded. The Scriptures say we have the responsibility to inform the person, but if they don’t listen to us, then we are not held accountable.

Humble people are mindful of God and Christ’s teachings. When inflicted or injured by others, accept them as they are with love and patience, not anger and vengeance. Heart-shattered lives do not escape God’s attention. Have compassion like Christ does and do not grow weary or give up. Humility is truth. Our true reality is being ourselves before God and others in the grace that the spirit teaches us. Humble people hold the foundation of peace.

But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those...

Table of contents

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4