A Snapshot of the Old Testament

The entire Bible is one large narrative that contains four major themes: 1) Creation 2) Fall 3) Redemption 4) The Eschaton (or the fulfillment of all things.  It is within this larger story that the Old Testament with its hefty piece of narrative fits.  Given the way that I've laid out the story (the four points above) the Old Testament does not come to a clean finish.  Instead the Old Testament ends in the middle of the story of redemption and looks towards the completion of this redemption.  What follows is a quick sketch of the central story of the Old Testament and God's set up for the New Testament and the fulfillment of the larger story. 

1) Creation.  The Old Testament begins with the story of creation and God's purposes for the world and mankind.  I this world that God has created, he has also created man to be in relationship with him, which is to share in the love relationship of his trinitarian being.  Mankind was created for the mutual delight of relationship with God.  Human beings were also given tasks: to populate the earth as a race and to be architectural, caretaker kings over it. 

2) Fall.  Right away though, things run sour.  Mankind as a vassal (lower) king to the Great (suzerain) Servant King decides to revolt and to be a king on his own terms, to be his own king.  Deciding not to trust in God's words to him and to depend on his own wisdom, man takes the one thing that was commanded of him not to be partaken - the fruit form the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  As a result of this decision towards disobedience, self-sufficiency and autonomy, cursing and alienation occur.  Adam and Eve and all their posterity now posses the knowledge of good and evil, but they have learned it through disobedience rather that learning it through obedience as God desired.  From this point onwards, the fall has an ongoing effect on the hearts of people towards God and towards other people.  Mankind follows its own desires, creates its own history and attempts to be its own race of kings apart from God. 

3) Redemption.  Beginning in the curse account in Genesis, there is a glimpse of hope.  God promises that he will crush the head of the serpent, the one who has led his people astray.  The rest of the Old Testament from that event onwards is concerned with the work of God calling a people into existence to be his people.  In this story we see ththough his people have not been faithful to him, he himself, despite this, will be faithful to them and work the redemption of an unfaithful people.  As the story progresses we see that it is God himself who will accomplish this.  He will be the one to redeem them, forgive their sins, defeat their enemies, free the captives, dwell amongst them, return them to the land of promise, put his spirit in them, write his law on their hearts and cause their hearts to return to him.  With the close of the Old Testament we see that the people of God, still dwelling under the curse, have continued to be unfaithful to him and as a result are sent into exile, still waiting the promised redemption.  In the New Testament we see the long awaited redemption come.