Leviticus opens with the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai and the Lord speaking to Moses at the tent of meeting. God had given detailed instructions about the tabernacle, and skilled workmen followed them carefully to construct it. Once the tabernacle was built, a cloud covered the tent and God’s glory filled it. The book of Exodus ended here. Now, what were the people to do with this glory-filled place? The book of Leviticus answers this question. If the last half of Exodus regulates a place for people to worship, Leviticus presents at length the way to worship. To put this another way, Exodus emphasizes where to worship God, while Leviticus deals with how to worship Him (Arnold and Beyer, Encountering the Old Testament, p. 119).

A cursory glance at Leviticus might yield the conclusion that the book is all laws and regulations. But a closer look reveals that short narrative sections are included – especially in chapters 8-10 and again in 24:10-23, reminding us that the book is not merely law; it is law in real life.

Leviticus presents three areas of life in which people who are both human and sinful can be holy … three areas designed to help people be holy as God is holy.

First are sacrifices (Leviticus 1-7). Several types of sacrifices are described in great detail. In fact, the focus is on description and not on purpose or significance. The meaning of the sacrifices appears to be assumed for the most part, while the emphasis is on the proper procedures. Sacrifices helped people because they were the divinely sanctioned way for restoring covenant relationship with God. In short, Israelites could seek God’s forgiveness by offering a substitute to take the penalty of their sin (Longman & Beyer, p. 77).

The second part of Leviticus in which God was helping people be His people relates to priests (Leviticus 8-10). Priests spent much of their time in close proximity to God and thus were to be holy. Priests’ work was to help people with sacrifices and also to teach people the way of holiness: “to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and clean, and so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them through Moses” (10:10).

The third part of Leviticus in which God was helping people be His people pertains to purity (Leviticus 11-27). Since God was present with His people, the purity of the camp must be maintained. This brought holiness into everyday life. God’s people were to be “clean” regarding food, childbirth, skin diseases and mildew, and discharges, to name a few of the areas addressed.  The laws and rituals guided Israel and the priests in keeping the camp pure. People must respect the distinction between the holy and profane and between clean and unclean in all walks of life

Now let’s pause in our Route 66 journey to see where we’ve been and where we are. We saw in Genesis that God created everything and chose to have people of His own. He chose Abraham as the man through whom this would happen, but His promise to Abraham was a promise to the entire world (Genesis 12:1-3). God chose a people, formed them into a nation, delivered them from slavery, and set them on their way to a land which He promised them. He explained that they would be His people and He would be their God. This meant they would be a holy nation, because God is holy (Exodus 19:6). He would live among them (Exodus 29:45-46). He came in glory to be with them and stay with them (Exodus 40:34-37). But this relationship had implications and demands. How can human, sinful people be God’s people? The answer is twofold – by means of sacrifices and law.

With sacrifices and related rituals, God provided the means for sin, unholiness, and uncleanness to be addressed and the ramifications to be covered and reversed. By means of law God explained how people could live in the world and still be properly related to Him. The stipulations of the law preserved and protected people to live within a covenant relationship with God and to enjoy its blessings and benefits. The law explains who God is and what He is like, and calls people to bring all corners of their lives to conform to Him. Thus by law people were not called to earn a standing with God, but were guided to match their lives to God – thus the motto of Leviticus: “Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2).

PODCAST SUMMARY: Route 66: A Journey Through The Bible – Leviticus

FULL AUDIO: Route 66: A Journey Through The Bible – Leviticus

Exodus is the second book in the Old Testament. “Exodus” means “the way out” or “a going out.” The main event of the book of Exodus is the Israelites’ departure from Egypt.

Exodus, with Genesis, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, traditionally has been ascribed to Moses.

Exodus is theological history. It is a fusion of narrative and law, in which the focus is always on God and his relationship with his people.

The biblical story that begins in Genesis continues in Exodus. The opening chapters of Genesis depict a serious problem: God made the world and human beings for blessing (Genesis 1:27-28), but the world fell under a curse due to human sin. Humanity became deeply corrupted (6:5), alienated from their Creator (3:23-24) and from one another (4:14). Death, violence, and confusion were rampant (4:8, 23-24; 11:9). According to Genesis 12 God initiated a plan to restore the world through Abraham. God chose Abraham and his descendants to be in a special covenant relationship with him, promising to make them into a great nation through which the entire world would be blessed (vs.1-3). A short time later God began to fulfill his promises (21:1-7). The rest of the book of Genesis traces God’s activities to preserve his chosen people. The book of Genesis ends with Abraham’s descendants settled safely in Egypt, greatly blessed, but far from the good land God promised Abraham his descendants would receive. Four hundred years pass between the events of Genesis and Exodus. Exodus opens by informing the reader that the generation of Joseph died “but the people of Israel increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7). The reader is also informed that, though the Israelites had increased in number, they had not increased in fortune.

Darkness and gloom hang over the Israelites in the initial chapters of Exodus. The deeds of Joseph, who saved Egypt from a devastating famine (Genesis 37-50), had largely been forgotten (Exodus 1:8), and the Egyptians had turned against the Israelites. Fearing the Israelites had become too large and mighty and that they might join with Egypt’s enemies to fight against Egypt, the Egyptians began to deal harshly with the Israelites, forcing them to build store cities for the Egyptian Pharaoh (1:11), make bricks, and work in the fields. The Egyptians ruthlessly enslaved the Israelites and made their lives bitter (1:14). The Pharaoh even attempted to control the Israelite population by having the midwives to the Israelite women kill all male newborns by throwing them into the Nile river (1:15-16, 22). The midwives feared God, however, and did not kill the children, and God caused the Israelites to multiply and grow very strong (1:17-22).

Into this context, the main human character of the book of Exodus is born. Genesis has many human protagonists; Exodus essentially has one. The reader is introduced to him in chapter 2. A Hebrew mother refuses to kill her newborn boy as the Pharaoh had commanded and hides him three months (2:2). When she could hide him no longer, she places him in a basket of bulrushes among the reeds by the river (2:3). The sister of the infant boy watches at a distance as the daughter of the Pharaoh comes to the river to bathe, discovers the child, adopts him, and names him Moses, which means “drawn out” (2:4-2:10). Moses grows up in the Pharaoh’s house, though he seems to be aware of his origin. Moses is disturbed by the injustices committed by the Egyptians against the Israelites and one day, seeing an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, rises up against the Egyptian, kills him, and hides his body (2:11-12). Fearing retribution, Moses flees from Egypt and becomes “a sojourner in a foreign land” (2:22) for many years.

The final three verses of chapter 2 interrupt our introduction to Moses. These verses tie together Genesis and Exodus and set the stage for the rest of the book. “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew” (Exodus 2:23–25, ESV). Though this passage says God “remembered” his covenant, it does not mean he had forgotten it. Rather, God had been making good on his promises to Abraham all along, even during those four hundred years of slavery. According to Genesis 15 God made clear to Abraham that the promises made to him and his descendants would not be fulfilled immediately. In fact, God predicts four hundred years of slavery for Abraham’s descendants before they would take possession of the Promised Land (cf. Genesis 15:13–14). God’s promises were being fulfilled each year the children of Israel were in slavery in Egypt. God’s providence was active in the interim between Genesis and Exodus. We can’t be sure to what extent the Israelites were aware that the four hundred years of slavery were part of God’s plan, but God clearly had not forgotten his plan. When the four hundred years of slavery were fulfilled, the time came for deliverance. The Israelites’ cries for salvation and redemption went up to God. The rest of the book of Exodus demonstrates God’s faithfulness to his covenant promises.

According to Exodus 3 Moses is commissioned to be God’s human partner in executing his plan of redemption. Though Moses is reluctant, and at first makes excuses not to do what God commanded, he eventually obeys and returns to Egypt to be God’s agent of deliverance for the children of Israel. Upon his return to Egypt, Moses rendezvous with his brother, Aaron, and confronts Pharaoh with words from the Lord: “Let my people go…” (5:1).

Pharaoh initially refuses and orders that the Israelites be given more work. This discourages the people and discourages Moses, who becomes somewhat agitated with God (cf. 5:22-23). But God remains steadfast and true to his promises and delivers the descendants of Abraham from slavery in Egypt. He sends plagues to harden the heart of Pharaoh, who finally lets the people go. God also parts the Red Sea so the children of Israel can walk out of Egypt on dry ground.

God’s purposes in delivering the people are many. Prior to the plagues, God explains what he will do for the Israelites and why. “Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD’ ”” (Exodus 6:6–8, ESV). God’s purposes include deliverance, redemption, judgment against the Egyptians, proof of his power as God, and the initiation of intimate relationship with the Israelites. He promises to take the children of Israel as his people, to be their God, and to take them to the Promised Land. The Israelites’ entrance into the Promised Land would come with time, but God first establishes, seals, and confirms covenant relationship with his people.

The two major themes of Exodus are deliverance and covenant, or redemption and relationship. Some form of the word “deliver” is used 9 times. Exodus describes the need for deliverance, the might of the Deliverer, the character of deliverance, the duty of the delivered, and the provision for the failure of the delivered. God’s purposes went beyond deliverance to include covenant. The theme of covenant is introduced in Genesis and developed in Exodus. What began in Genesis as a covenant with one man, Abraham, is in Exodus confirmed to an entire nation.

The development of the covenant occurs at Mount Sinai, en route to the Promised Land. Exodus 19 records the seal of the covenant. Exodus 20-23 contains the initial regulations for covenant relationship, including the Ten Commandments, laws about altars, laws about slaves, laws about restitution, and laws about social justice. Each of these laws sits upon the foundation of loving God and loving people. Exodus 20-23 begins to develop the concept of community. Covenant relationship with God involves corporate relationships with others who are in covenant relationship with God. Just as those in covenant relationship with God have duties to him, they also have duties to one another. Following the presentation of the basic laws in Exodus 20-23, the covenant is sealed in Exodus 24 though burnt offerings, the reading of the Book of the Covenant, and the purification of the people.

Chapter 32 details a great failure on the part God’s covenant people – the worship of another god. God is furious with the betrayal, and the people are punished, yet God is gracious and faithful and, according to chapter 34, renews his covenant with the Israelites, even after their disloyalty.

The instructions concerning, and the preparation of, the tabernacle occupy about one-third of the book of Exodus (chs.25-31, 35-39). The tabernacle is designed to be the representation of God’s presence with his covenant people. Exodus focuses on the presence of God. God reveals himself – his nature, his character, his power – throughout the book, blessing his people with his presence. His continual presence is at first represented by pillars of cloud and fire but, in the end, his presence comes to rest on the tabernacle, indicating God’s presence was to be a permanent fixture in the Israelites’ camp. The book of Exodus ends with the glory of the Lord filling the tabernacle.

Exodus takes the reader from the groaning of the Israelites in the first chapters, to the glory of God in the final chapter. In between, God, the main character of the book, is portrayed as active, powerful, providential, faithful, and covenantial. He is presented as a God of redemption and relationship.

PODCAST SUMMARY: Route 66: A Journey Through The Bible – Exodus

FULL AUDIO: Route 66: A Journey Through The Bible – Exodus

Our first stop on Route 66: A Journey Through The Bible is the book of Genesis.

The English title of the book of Genesis comes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament and means “origin.” The Hebrew title is translated “in the beginning,” using the first phrase of the book. Genesis is a book of beginnings. It speaks of the origin of the world, of humanity, of sin and its catastrophic effects, and of God’s plan to restore blessing to the world through his chosen people.

Traditionally Genesis has been ascribed to Moses. Modern critical scholarship does not hold with tradition, but for our purposes we will assume Genesis was written, at least in large part, by Moses. Mosaic authorship implies a specific cultural context into which Genesis was written. The NLT study Bible elaborates:

“When Genesis was written, the children of Israel had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years…

“While enslaved in Egypt, the Israelites had adopted many pagan ideas and customs from their Egyptian masters (e.g. Exodus 32:1-4). They were influenced by false concepts of God, the world, and human nature (e.g., Exodus 32), and were reduced to being slaves rather than owners and managers of the land. Perhaps they had forgotten the great promises that God had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or perhaps they had concluded that the promises would never be fulfilled.

“Before entering the Promised Land, the Israelites needed to understand the nature of God, his world, and their place in it more clearly. They needed to embrace their identity as descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Genesis provided the needed understanding.”¹

The message of Genesis is as relevant now as it was when it was written. Genesis orients the reader to the rest of the Old Testament, and thus to the rest of the Bible. It explains in story form the nature and character of God, the place of man in God’s creation, and how God relates to his creation. Genesis provides a context for cosmic themes of creation, light and darkness, good and evil, fullness and emptiness, and knowledge. Genesis introduces readers to a personal, generous, gracious, just, merciful, covenential, providential God, who intimately relates to his creation. Genesis introduces readers to the nature of humanity, the devastating consequences of sin, and the desperation of life without God. Genesis traces the beginning of God’s work to overcome with blessing the curse that came on the world because of sin. Genesis lies at the heart of the Christian worldview and lifeview.

Genesis naturally divides into eleven sections. Each section but the first has the heading, “These are the generations of…” or “This is the account of…” and explains the history of a line of descent, usually focusing on the activities of one or a few individuals in each line. Genesis may be outlined as follows:

• Creation (1:1-2:3)
• The Generations of the Heavens and the Earth (2:4-4:26)
• The Generations of Adam (5:1-6:8)
• The Generations of Noah (6:9-9:26)
• The Generations of Noah’s Sons (10:1-11:9)
• The Generations of Shem (11:10-26)
• The Generations of Terah (11:27-25:11)
• The Generations of Ishmael (25:12-18)
• The Generations of Isaac (25:19-35:29)
• The Generations of Esau (36:1-37:1)
• The Generations of Jacob (37:2-50:26)

Genesis begins with the account of creation “in the beginning” (1:1). God is featured as the creative force behind the heavens and the earth; the one who gives form to that which was without form, and creates inhabitants for that which was void (1:2). The word of God is the impetus for creation. God speaks and the earth reacts (1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14-15, 20, 24, 26). God is depicted as a personal God who interacts with and communicates with his creation (1:22, 28-30; 2:16-17). The work of creation is wrapped in God’s approval and blessing. God repeatedly sees that his creation is “good” (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31).

Genesis 1-2 is our introduction to the relationship between God and people. Male and female are created in God’s image (1:26-27) and animated by his breath (2:7). God gives people dominion over the other inhabitants of the earth (1:28), plants for food (1:29), a place to live (2:8), work to do (2:15), and moral responsibility (2:16-17).

Genesis 3:7-6:8 details the downward drift of humanity. Though God deals with Adam and Eve generously, they rebel against God, reject his expectations, and sin against him. Upon succumbing to the craftiness of the serpent, Adam and Eve’s eyes are opened to the knowledge of good and evil (3:7). Their initial reaction is shame and they begin to create barriers to intimacy by retreating behind fig leaves (3:7). These barriers extend to their relationship with God; they hide from him (3:8), deliberately separating themselves from him. When questioned about their behavior, Adam blames Eve for his sin, demonstrating the instantaneous decay of human intimacy (3:12). As a result of their sin, God casts Adam and Eve out of their home (3:24), curses the earth (3:17), and subjects Adam and Eve and, by extension, all humankind to hardship and death (3:16-19). God created a perfect world, characterized by light, life, and order. But the devastating effects of sin replaced light with darkness, life with death, and peace and order with confusion and pain.

As humanity drifts downward, the reader witnesses increasingly troubling moral behavior on the part of individuals. The reader meets Cain, whose jealousy and anger (4:5) leads him to murder his brother, Abel (4:8). Lamech is acknowledged by the author for corrupting the design of marriage (4:19; cf. 2:24) and displaying a disturbing arrogance and pursuit of power and vengeance (4:23-24). The devastating effects of evil are seen in the sharp decrease in the lifespan of people during the generations of Adam (5:1-6:8). The most dramatic decline is seen between Methuselah and Lamech – a 20 percent decrease. Soon after, God designates a lifespan limitation (6:3). The decline of humanity culminates in God’s seeing that “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (6:5-6)

There are glimmers of hope for humanity scattered throughout the detail of its initial decline. God anticipates the defeat of the serpent, which tempted Eve (3:15). God extends his grace by clothing Adam and Eve after their sin (3:21). God encourages Cain to overcome temptation (4:7) and, even after Cain kills Abel, God protects Cain from danger (4:15). In the days of Enosh, people begin to call on the name of the Lord (4:26). Enoch walks with God (5:24).

Though God is gracious as humanity declines, he is also just. In response to the wickedness of humanity, God determines to destroy the inhabitants of the earth (6:7) and sends a flood. Even in justice, however, God shows grace to Noah, who finds favor in the eyes of the Lord (6:8). Through Noah, God saves a remnant of humanity, as well as the other inhabitants of the earth, from the destructive force of the flood, and promises to Noah that he will never again curse the ground because of humanity or strike down every living creature as he had done (8:20-9:17).

God’s grace to Noah introduces the concept of covenant, which is central to the message of the Old Testament. From Genesis onward, the covenant becomes the most persistent metaphor for God’s relationship with his people. A covenant is a relationship that gives promises and imposes obligations. The term covenant describes the relationships God established with humanity and all creation through Noah (8:20-9:17), with Abraham and his descendants (12:1-9; 15:1-21;17:1-14; 26:1-5; 28:1-22), and later with Israel in the days of Moses (Exodus 19:3-42:11), with David and his offspring (2 Samuel 7:8-16). God’s relationship with Adam also has the character of a covenant, complete with commands, promises, and warnings. Through his covenants, God establishes special relationships with people. All of God’s covenants are gracious. He invites his human partners into a special relationship and calls on them to respond with faithfulness to him. The prophet Jeremiah anticipates a new covenant of heart and mind which God would one day establish with his people (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Christians believe this covenant was established through Jesus Christ.

Following the flood, humanity multiplies, and returns to deliberate rebellion against God. Having made his covenant with Noah not to destroy his creation as he had previously, God instead initiates a plan of redemption and blessing for all humanity through the line of Terah. God develops a covenant with Abram (who is later renamed Abraham) to bring blessing to all. The rest of the book (11:27-50:26) tells of God blessing Abram and his descendants and providentially preserving the line of blessing (cf. 50:15-21). The stories of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph – explain in story form the nature and character of God, the place of man in God’s creation, and how God relates to his creation.

Genesis demonstrates God’s faithfulness to his covenant of blessing, though individuals are inconsistent, at best, and, at worst, unfaithful to him. This dynamic is seen throughout the Bible.

Let us identify with Genesis and allow it to instruct, encourage, and admonish us as we begin this journey down Route 66.

¹NLT Study Bible. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2008. Print.

PODCAST SUMMARY: Route 66: A Journey Through The Bible – Genesis

FULL AUDIO: Route 66: A Journey Through The Bible – Genesis

United States Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System from November 11, 1926 to June 27, 1985. It covered a total of 2,448 miles and ran from Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA. It served as a major path for adventurers and those who migrated west, especially during the 1930s and 1940s. Part of the allure of Route 66 was that it allowed adventurers to experience much of the landscape and many of the attractions of America without having to change roads. To migrants after World War 2, it offered hope and a fresh start away from the eastern industrial machine. The romance of Route 66, and its promise for adventure, continues to captivate people around the world. A taxi driver in London, England once told my wife, Katie, and me he wants to visit America so he can just get in a car and drive. Route 66 first created the opportunity to just get in a car and drive across America. This is its legacy. It first allowed travelers to conveniently experience a cross-section of the beauty and adventure America has to offer.

We are inviting you to take with us a spiritual journey down another Route 66 – the 66 books of our English Bible. Over the next two years, we will be presenting essentially one message from each of the 66 books of the Bible, allowing us to experience a cross-section of the beauty and adventure the Bible has to offer.

Our Route 66 series has several objectives. I’d like to share two of them with you.

One objective of this series is to present a “big picture” view of the Bible. The “big picture” view of the Bible helps one see how the various parts of the Bible fit together. The Bible is an anthology, a library, of 66 books. It was written by about 40 different authors over a period of more than 1,500 years. The most recent books were written almost 2,000 years ago; the oldest as many as 3,500 years ago. The Bible contains many different literary genres and writing styles. Each book of the Bible was written first to a specific audience. These factors sometimes make it difficult to see how the various parts of the Bible fit together. Some parts of the Bible are especially hard to understand, impossible, perhaps, without context, without the “big picture.” Understanding the “big picture” of the Bible can help one fit together all its various pieces into a cohesive whole. Fundamentally, the Bible tells one great story. It is the story of God’s first making, then redeeming and restoring the world. It is the story of God’s rescuing, forgiving, and restoring a relationship with his creation. The central idea of the Bible is the often repeated promise, “I will be your God and you will be my people” (Genesis 17:7-8; Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 31:33; Revelation 21:3).

Another objective of this series is to give attention to the often neglected books of the Bible. Some books of the Bible tend to receive more attention than others. Readers gravitate toward the books that are most relevant and most easily understood and applied. And yet, if we believe the entire Bible comes from God, we must also believe the entire Bible is important and relevant. Our journey through the Bible will allow us to give attention to the more neglected books of the Bible. We need a word here about the Old Testament, in particular. The Old Testament was the Bible of Jesus, the apostles, and the earliest Christians. The apostles, specifically the apostle Paul, recommend to Christians the study of the Old Testament. Christians believe Jesus fulfilled the old law of commandments when he died on the cross (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14) and instituted a new covenant (Hebrews 10:9). But the Old Testament, as we commonly think of it, and the old law of commandments, are not one in the same. The Old Testament contains the law of commandments, but the Old Testament is not only law. It is narrative, poetry, philosophy, and prophecy. Christians should believe portions of the Old Testament were fulfilled and superseded by the revelation of Christ, but should not believe the Old Testament, as a whole, holds no value to us today. Rather, the Old Testament introduces us to God and prepares us for Christ. Jesus himself testifies to the value of the Old Testament. In his encounter with two individuals on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection, Jesus uses the Old Testament to teach about himself. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27, ESV) Giving attention to the often neglected books of the Bible allows us to capitalize on all the Bible has to offer – its riveting stories, its beautiful poetry, and its thought-provoking philosophy. Different books of the Bible, and different sections within books, have different purposes. No two carry exactly the same emphases or lend themselves toward exactly the same applications. Yet every book of the Bible fits into the one great story of God and his people. Understanding this basic general rule will help us appreciate every part of the Bible.

With our objectives before us, allow me quickly to enumerate a few expectations for our journey. From 1926-1985 travelers embarked down Route 66 with a number of expectations. Adventurers embarked expecting a cross-section of American scenes, from the golden sands and sunshine of Los Angeles, past the Grand Canyon and the Native American communities of the desert Southwest, to the gritty streets of Saint Louis and Chicago. Hopefuls embarked expecting to find jobs, freedom, and a fresh start at the end of their journey. As we embark on our journey down our Route 66 – the 66 books of the Bible – what can we expect to see?

First, we can expect to see God, his work, his nature and character, and his various roles. In the Old Testament we will see God the Father, preparing his people for the coming of his Messiah. In the Gospels, we will see God the Son, conducting his saving ministry. In the book of Acts, the New Testament letters, and Revelation, we will see God the Spirit, working to spread the gospel and working in the hearts and lives of people. The Bible reveals the nature and character of God – his power, majesty, wisdom, love, grace, justice, wrath, goodness, severity, and more. The Bible reveals the various roles of God – creator, provider, sustainer, father, mother, shepherd, husband, king, and others. God once said to his people, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13, ESV). In the Bible God is waiting to be found in all his glory.

Secondly, on our journey down Route 66, we can expect to see people. The Bible teaches people were created in the image of God, animated by the breath of God. The Bible reveals roles of people – to seek God, to obey God, to glorify God because he is the greatest good, to be sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, children, workers, and more. The Bible also speaks of the moral responsibility of people. The Bible reveals people were created good and innocent, in the image of God, and yet have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The wise man wrote, “See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29, ESV). The Bible shows people to be weak, sinful, and needy on their own, yet having the potential for great good when in relationship with God. The Bible speaks about people in general, but also tells stories of fascinating individuals. In them we see ourselves – our desires, our failures, our successes, our hopes.

Additionally, on our journey down Route 66 we can expect to see great theological themes – sin, salvation, justification, redemption, restoration, sanctification, and many more. We can expect to see the wonderful opportunity of man to be in relationship with God and the great lengths to which God has consistently gone to make this possible, to the point of subjecting his own son to death. The Bible has much to recommend.

With our objectives and expectations before us, let me conclude by introducing three crucial questions we intend to ask at the end of each of our Route 66 messages. After hearing a message on Leviticus, Chronicles, or Malachi, you may shrug your shoulders and ask “so what?” That’s exactly the question you should be asking! We will address the “so what?” question by use of three questions of our own. These questions are: 1) What are the keys to understanding this book? 2) What does this book say about God and how he deals with people? 3) How can a Christian apply this book to life?

Our Route 66: A Journey through the Bible promises to be a major undertaking, but one that instructs and builds up. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

PODCAST SUMMARY: Route 66: A Journey Through The Bible – Introduction

FULL AUDIO: Route 66: A Journey Through The Bible – Introduction