1. This period begins with the Creation of Man (not the creation of the world), at some unknown time which scholars have not been able to fix; and it ends with the Call of A´bra-ham, also at a date uncertain, though given with some doubt at about B. C. 2280. With this event Bible history properly begins.
2. Through this period it would appear that God dealt with each person directly, without mediation or organized institutions. We read of neither priest nor ruler, but we find God speaking individually with men. (See Gen. 3. 9; 4. 6; 5. 22; 6. 13; and let the class find other instances.) We call this, therefore, the period of Direct Administration.
3. All the events of this period may be connected with three epochs:
1.) The Fall (Gen. 3. 6), which brought sin into the world (Rom. 5. 12), and resulted in universal wickedness (Gen. 6. 5).
2.) The Deluge (Gen. 7. 11, 12). By this destruction the entire population of the world, probably confined to the Eu-phra´tes valley, was swept away (Gen. 7. 23), and opportunity was given for a new race under better conditions (Gen. 9. 18, 19).
3.) The Dispersion (Gen. 10. 25). Hitherto the race had massed itself in one region, and hence the righteous families were overwhelmed by their evil surroundings. But after the deluge an instinct of migration took possession of families, and soon the whole earth was overspread.
4. In this period we call attention to three of its most important Persons:
1.) Ad´am, the first man (Gen. 5. 1, 2). His creation, fall, and history are briefly narrated.
2.) E´noch, who walked with God (Gen. 5. 24), and was translated without dying.
3.) No´ah, the builder of the ark (Gen. 6. 9), and the father of a new race.
Hints to the Teacher
Let the teacher place the outline of the period on the blackboard, point by point, as the lesson proceeds, and let the class do the same on paper or in notebooks. Let every Scripture text be read in the class by a student, and let its bearing be shown. Call upon members of the class to give more complete account of the events and the persons named, and for this purpose let the first eleven chapters of Genesis be assigned in advance as a reading lesson.
Blackboard Outline
| I. Per. Hu .Ra. | II. Per. Ch. Fam. | III. Per. Is. Peo. | IV. Per. Is. Kin. | V. Per. Je. Prov. |
| C. M. C. A. | ||||
| Dir. Adm. | ||||
| Fa. Del. Dis. | ||||
| A. E. N. |
Review Questions
What is the central theme of the Bible? How is this theme presented in the Bible? Why should we study the history in the Bible? What are the five periods of Old Testament history? What is the subject of the history during the first period? With what events does the first period begin and end? What is said concerning the dates of early events? What kind of divine government in relation to men is shown in the first period? Into what epochs is the first period subdivided? What results followed the first man's falling into sin? Where was the population of the world confined up to the time of the flood? How did the flood become a benefit to the world? What new instinct came to the human family after the flood? Name three important persons in the first period? State a fact for which each of these three men is celebrated.
Part Two
II. A new chapter in Bible history opens at Gen. 12. 1. Here we find one family of the race is selected and made the subject of the divine revelation. This was not because God loved one family more than others, but because the world's salvation was to be wrought through that family (Gen. 12. 2, 3). Hence we call this the Period of the Chosen Family.
1. This period extends from the Call of A´bra-ham (Gen. 12. 1), B. C. 2280?, to the Exodus from E´gypt, B. C. 1270?.
2. In this period we notice the recognition of the family. God deals with each family or clan through its head, who is at once the priest and the ruler (Gen. 17. 7; 18. 19; 35. 2). We call this period, therefore, that of the Patriarchal Administration.
3. We subdivide this period into three epochs:
1.) The Journeyings of the Patriarchs (Gen. 12. 5; 13. 17, 18; 20. 1, etc.). As yet the chosen family had no dwelling place, but lived in tents, moving throughout the land of promise.
2.) The Sojourn in E´gypt. In the lifetime of the patriarch Ja´cob, but at a date unknown, the Is´ra-el-ite family went down to E´gypt, not for a permanent home, but a "sojourn," which lasted, however, many centuries (Gen. 46. 5-7; 50. 24).
3.) The Oppression of the Is´ra-el-ites. Toward the close of the sojourn the Is´ra-el-ite family, now grown into a multitude (Exod. 1. 7), endured cruel bondage from the E-gyp´tians (Exod. 1.13, 14). This was overruled to promote God's design, and led to their departure from E´gypt, which is known as "the exodus," or going out.
4. From the names of men in this period we select the following:
1.) A´bra-ham, the friend of God (James 2. 23).
2.) Ja´cob, the prince of God (Gen. 32. 28).
3.) Jo´seph, the preserver of his people (Gen. 45. 5).
Blackboard Outline
| I. Per. Hu. Ra. | II. Per. Ch. Fam. | III. Per. Is. Peo. | IV. Per. Is. Kin. | V. Per. Je. Prov. |
| C. M. C. A. | C. A. E. E. | |||
| Dir. Adm. | Patr. Adm. | |||
| Fa. Del. Dis. | Jou. Pat. Soj. Eg. Opp. Isr. | |||
| A. E. N. | A. J. J. |
Review Questions
What is the name of the second period? Why is it so named? With what events does the second period begin and end? What kind of divine administration do we notice in the second period? Into what three epochs is the second period divided? What were the beneficial results of the bondage in E´gypt upon the Is´ra-el-ites? Name three persons of the second period? For what fact or trait is each of these three persons distinguished?
Part Three
III. When the Is´ra-el-ites went out of E´gypt a nation was born, and the family became a state, with all the institutions of government. Therefore we call this the Period of the Is´ra-el-ite People.