Bible Class

Monday, November 13th

 Warm Up
Mindset Monday
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not
on your own understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge him and he will make your paths
straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
1. In what area of your life are you struggling to trust
God?
2. How does your understanding differ from Gods?
How can you acknowledge Him throughout the day
today?
Overview of Ancient Cultures
What distances us from the original
authors and readers of the text?
How are we able to overcome these
barriers?
 Historical and Cultural
Context
We dont speak Hebrew or Greek
We dont live where the Bible was written
or events took place.
Our culture is vastly different from
Egyptian, Roman or Persian cultures.
 Ancient Mesopotamia
Between Two Rivers referring to the
Tigris and the Euphrates.
These rivers would flood unpredictably.
The area is also known as the Fertile
Crescent because of where civilization
began.
 Mesopotamia
This is where people began to gather into
cities and towns.
They developed methods to irrigate land
and grow crops.
They created governments and writing.
 Mesopotamia
Sumerians
Largely credited with inventing the
wheel.
They developed cuneiform to keep
accounts and records of business, but it
developed into a whole system.
They are credited with dividing a day
into hours, minutes and seconds.
 Mesopotamia
Sumerians
The people settled into city-states who
each had their own ruler and god and
would often war with other cities.
Ur, the city Abram was commanded to
leave in Genesis 11:31
Each city was based around a ziggurat
 Mesopotamia
Sumerian Religion
Polytheistic worshiping many gods.
They believed that if they kept the gods
happy, their lives would be easy and
predictable. The way they would do this
is through sacrifice or gifts of food,
animals and goods.
 Mesopotamia
Sumerian Religion
Because the rivers would flood
unpredictably during the rainy season,
followed by dry seasons of drought, the
Sumerians believed that the gods were
unpredictable and angry.
 Old Testament History
After Abraham left Ur, he went Canaan
and settled there with his family.
Abraham and Sarah had Isaac.
Isaac married Rebekah and had twins:
Jacob and Esau.
Jacob had 4 wives: Rachel and Leah, as
well as Bilhah and Zilpah, their maids.
 Old Testament History
Jacob had 12 sons:
Leah Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Zebulun, Issachar
Rachel Joseph and Benjamin
Bilhah Dan, Naphtali
Zilpah Gad, Asher
 Old Testament History
Joseph was sold into slavery by his
brothers and wound up in Egypt. He
became the second-in-command and
when his brothers showed up looking for
food, he was able to protect them and
provide for them in Egypt.
 Ancient Egypt
For almost 3000 years, Egypt was the
most power civilization in the world.
They had several dynasties of Pharaohs
who helped cultivate the culture and
civilization.
They lived close to the Nile River because
it provided water and agricultural land.
 Ancient Egypt
The people built pyramids as part of
their burial rites.
They used hieroglyphics for their written
communication.
 Old Testament History
After 400 years, the Israelites were forced
into slavery in Egypt.
Moses was called by God to lead His
people out of slavery and into the
Promised Land.
 Old Testament History
After the Israelites left Egypt, they
wandered in the desert for 40 years until
that conquered the Promised Land in
Canaan.
They lived as tribes under rulers called
judges and then as a monarchy for over
800 years.