Bible Story and Josephs Death - Essay Example

Bible Story In Genesis, god created the heavens and the earth, time and living things including humans which were created in his image. He gave Adam and Eve the Garden of Eden, a paradise for man and wife, except for one caveat: they should not eat the Fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In spite of the prohibition, Eve and Adam disobeyed God through the prodding of Satan, disguised as a serpent. As punishment, God banished them from paradise and they became mortals. They had two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain, being the envious one, killed Abel because God likes Abel more. God cursed Cain. The third son was Seth and they had more children that the Earth was populated. However, the people became decadent and sinful. God decided to wipe out the population of the Earth with the exception of Noah and his family, plus pairs of animals who were to be saved in the ark that was ordered by god. For 40 days and 40 nights, the flood cleansed the Earth. After that, god promised that there won’t be anymore floods and Noah thanked him. Noah’s children filled the Earth again and they, again, became decadent and sinful. They worshipped many gods and idols including the Tower of Babel. God punished them by confusing their languages and scattered them all over the Earth. Then God chose Abraham to start a people that would worship him including instructions to go to Canaan, promising Abraham that he would be leader of the Canaanites. He also told Abraham to circumcise himself and all of his male descendants as a sign of faith. Abraham had a son from his maid, Ishmael, who became the father of the Arabs. His son from his wife was Isaac, who had also two sons, Esau and Jacob (Israel). Jacob had 12 sons including his favorite, Joseph. Because of jealousy, Joseph was sold by his brothers to slave traders from Egypt. In Egypt, Joseph was imprisoned due to the charges of the wife of the Pharaoh. In prison, he correctly interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream about the 7-year famine and how to prepare for it. He became a powerful man in Egypt, second to the Pharaoh. His starving brothers came to Egypt to buy grain; Joseph forgave them and took them in. Four hundred years after Joseph’s death, Exodus took place. God chose Moses to lead the slave Israelites out of Egypt by producing miracles, plagues, parting the Red Sea, and sending manna from heaven. These miracles enable the Israelites to escape Egypt. Then God gave his 10 commandments in Mt. Sinai. In Leviticus, God gave detailed instruction on worship, nutrition, offerings and sacrifices, and other general guidelines for righteous living. In Numbers, the Israelites distrusted God regarding the Promised Land so God punished them with poisonous snakes, among others. In Deuteronomy, Moses reminded his people of the blessings of the Commandments and the corresponding punishments for disobedience. After 40 years, Joshua lead the Israelites to the Promised Land but first drove out the original inhabitants of the place with the help of God. The book of Judges reveals that the Israelites were led by judges who acted as God’s representatives. When threatened with hostility, God sends the Judges to help them. God sends hostile forces to enforce the Israelites’ faith in him. And God saw Ruth, even if she is not an Israelite. Samuel was the last judge and people asked for a king. God chose David and King David wrote Psalms. Solomon, David’s son was the next King and he was very wise. He wrote the Song of Songs, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Solomon made temples to worship God as well as the Gods for his foreign wives. Because of this, God made a separate kingdom from the North. The prophet Elijah proved to the Baals that there was one God by praying to God to send firestones from heaven. In the book of Jonah, he was sent by God to send a message to the Assyrians to prepare for death if they do not repent their sins. They repented and God forgave them. God instructed prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos and Micah to warn the Northern tribes as well, but they refused to follow the prophets. God sent the Assyrians to annihilate the Northern tribes. Like in Nahum’s prophecy, Nineveh was destroyed. In the South, God instructed prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk and Zephaniah to warn the people against worshipping idols. They refused so God sent the Babylonians to conquer them. The people cried through the book of Lamentations. In Babylon, God used Ezekiel to assure people that He was still in control. He used Daniel as a showcase of faith even in a den full of lions. He named Esther to be Queen of the Babylonians to deliver Israelites from the Babylonians. After 70 years, the Israelites returned to the Promised Land with Ezra rebuilding the temple, Nehemia building city walls. The prophets Haggai, Zecharia and Malachi were sent by God to encourage the workers. They never worshipped idols again. After 400 years, there were no messages from God and the Israelites were conquered by Greeks and Romans. So in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, it was told that a baby named Jesus born to Mary and Joseph (descendants of David) will be coming as the Savior. Jesus was baptized and began his public ministry after 30 years. He had his own disciples and 12 apostles traveling around Jerusalem, healing the sick performing miracles including raising the dead back to life. He preached love, righteousness, worship and lead his life as a humble man. . He was “the way, the truth and the life and no one can come to the Father except through me”. Many people followed him but many people of the old religions hated him and had him crucified for blasphemy. He died, rose from the dead and reappeared, telling his followers to spread the good news: he conquered death and sin and was now in Heaven beside God. In the book of Acts, Peter the apostle preached about the graveness of their sins, repentance for the death of Jesus and baptism for forgiveness of sin, and to receive the Holy Spirit. The church grew rapidly was but continually persecuted. The apostles were driven out to Jerusalem, as was also persecuted by Saul (Paul), who also converted to Christianity after Jesus appeared to him. Together with Barnabas, Mark, Silas, Luke, Titus and Timothy, they traveled to preach, converting the Gentiles, the people of Greece, Asia Minor and Cyprus. Paul wrote letters to the Paul wrote letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy and Titus, and to Philemon to strengthen their faiths. The book of Hebrews describes how Jesus is superior to everything. James wrote a book about Christian conduct. Peter wrote encouraging words to keep the faith; John wrote letters to maintain faith, and Jude wrote a letter against false prophets. Revelation is a book that prophesizes about the coming of Jesus Christ and everyone will be judged: either to go with Satan or to enter New Jerusalem where God dwells. And there would be no death and sorrow and they would live forever. Reference: Holy Bible: The New King James Version: Containing the Old and New Testaments. Ed Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982. Print. Read More