Salvation History
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Overview In this chapter you'll learn:
1. The "big picture" overview of Salvation History-which will
be explored step-by-step later in the course
2. The definition of "covenant" and how it is the key concept
that links the Old Testament stories to
(a)
(b)
the mission of Christ and
the continuing mission of the Catholic Church
3. How to understand the Genesis stories of creation
4. How fundamental Catholic doctrines on marriage and the
family are logically based on a proper understanding of the
covenant with Adam
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Why study Bible history from the perspective of
God's covenants with mankind?
1. With a better understanding of Scripture, today we
as Catholics can enter into more fully the liturgical
worship of the family of God, the Catholic Church.
2. The Old Testament can be understood as a
sequence or series of covenants that God
established down through the ages leading up the
coming of Christ.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
The Mind of the Church:
 The Old Testament is an indispensable part
of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely
inspired and retain a permanent value, for
the Old Covenant has never been revoked.
(CCC 121)
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
The Five Old Testament Covenants
Old Testament
Covenant
Made with: Covenant included:
Biblical
reference:
Number 1
Adam
Family – the
foundational covenant
which all others spring
Genesis 1:26 –
2:3
Number 2
Noah
Household
Genesis 9:8 - 17
Number 3
Abraham
Tribe
Genesis 12:1-3;
22:16 - 18
Number 4
Moses
Nation
Exodus 19:5-6;
3:4 - 10
Number 5
David
Kingdom
2 Samuel 7:8 - 19
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
How to understand "covenant"
"Covenant" is NOT interchangeable with the
word contract:
"Contracts" exchange property, goods, and
services; "covenants" exchange persons
In a covenant you say, “I am yours, and you are
mine."
* Covenant creates what type of bond? A
sacred family bond
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah

In ancient Israel, there was no word for
family. so it is suggested that the word used
was covenant.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
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What is God doing in the series of
covenants?
He is "fathering” His family.
He is trying to reunify this family, which has
been broken by sin.
When Jesus comes, He does NOT abolish the
Old Covenant law,
He completes and perfects it.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
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
The Greek word for international is
"Catholic.“
Jesus transforms David's national, political
kingdom into an international, spiritual
kingdom, which is the Catholic Church.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
The Catholic Church is the sacramental family of God.
It will accomplish what? The supernatural reunification of God's
family.
How the sacraments unite us in the Catholic family
1. Baptism gives us the family name of the Trinity which is the
eternal, original family.
2. The Eucharist perfects and strengthens the family bond by
feeding us the flesh and blood of Christ, the second Adam.
3. In the Church, we become adopted members of the Trinity as
our family
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Mind of the Church:
 God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness
freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason,
at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to
seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all
men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To
accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as
Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become,
in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.
(CCC 1)
 [God's] plan...unfolds in the work of creation, the whole history of salvation
after the fall, and the missions of the Son and the Spirit, which are continued
in the mission of the Church. (CCC 257)
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
The creation accounts—Genesis
What is the Catholic teaching regarding the Bible?
 The Bible is inspired by God, meaning God is
the principal author and the human authors are
instruments that God uses.
 The Bible has no error even in the history that it
teaches, but Hebrew/religious history is
expressed differently than we do today.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Differences between Biblical history and modern
Western history include:
 Western history is sequential or in chronological sequence.
 Hebrew (or "religious") history is elliptical, circular-not
always in the order events occurred.
 Religious history uses symbols and figures to express the
meaning behind historical events.
 Religious history uses different literary types (poetry, etc.).
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Mind of the Church:
"To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive
to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm and to
what God wanted to reveal to us by their words. In order to
discover the sacred authors' intention, the reader must take
into account the conditions of their time and culture, the
literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling,
speaking, and narrating then current." (CCC 109-110)
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
The Word of God:
John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all
things were made through him, and without him was not anything
made that was made." Col 1:16-17 [In Jesus Christ] "all things were
created, in heaven and on earth ... all things were created through
him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold
together."
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
The Mind of the Church:
 The New Testament reveals that God created everything by the eternal
Word, his beloved Son. (CCC 291)
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
The 6 Days of Creation
Formless
Empty
Day 1
Day 4
Separate
Light/Dark
Create
Sun, Moon, Stars
Day 2
Separate
Waters Above/
Waters Below
Day 5
Create
Flying Creatures &
Sea Creatures
Day 3
Separate
Water/Land
(Plants)
Day 6
Create
Land Animals & Humans
(Plants for Food)
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
DIGGING DEEPER - Church Doctrines that come from Genesis
1 . The Doctrine of Creation
2. The Doctrine of Man
3. The Doctrine of Marriage
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
I. The Doctrine of Creation
 Evolution vs. creation
 Can a Catholic believe in evolution? Yes
 Why? Because creation tells us where matter came from and evolution
tells us how it developed to become what it is today.
 The "evolutionary" theories can't tell us the origin of matter, just how
matter developed after it was created.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Mind of the Church:
 Wherefore, the magisterium of the Church does not forbid that the
teaching of evolution be treated in accord with the present status of
human disciplines and of theology, by investigations and disputations by
learned men in both fields; insofar, of course, as the inquiry is concerned
with the origin of the human body arising from already existing and
living matter...
(Pius XII, encyclical Humani generis (1950): DS 3896)
 God declares that all creation is very good.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Word of God:
 Genesis 1:31 "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it
was very good."
 Therefore, it is wrong to believe that flesh is evil and just the spirit is
good.
 In fact, God through Jesus Christ used our body to redeem us and restore
us to relationship with Himself.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Mind of the Church:
 The human body shares in the dignity of "the image of God": it is a
human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is
the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of
Christ, a temple of the Spirit: Man, though made of body and soul, is a
unity... For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is
obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has
created it and will raise it up on the last day. (CCC 364)
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Word of God:
 Genesis 1:26-28 God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness....So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he
created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them...
 Genesis 5:3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own
likeness, in his own image and he named him Seth.
 Therefore, when God created us, He created us in a father-son
relationship so we are truly children of God.
 What does "image and likeness" mean in Gen 5:3? To father a son.
 Therefore, when God created us, he created us in a father-son
relationship, so we are truly children of God.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
 Why are there two creation stories?
 The two stories — Gen 1 and Gen 2 — are complementary
 First, God transforms the cosmos into a home and the creatures into His
children (Genesis 1)
 Then, God fashions man into a married couple (Genesis 2)
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Four truths the creation accounts in Genesis teach us
1. We learn that all human life has sacred dignity from pre-born to the
natural end of life, because each person is formed in the image of God.
Mind of the Church:
 Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred
because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image
and likeness of the living and holy God. (CCC 2319)
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
2. We learn that human labor has a certain value, because work is not a curse
but a blessing. We work in imitation of God for six days and rest on the
seventh.
Mind of the Church;
 The sign of man's familiarity with God is that God places him in the
garden. There he lives "to till it and keep it." Work is not yet a burden,
but rather the collaboration of man and woman with God in perfecting
the visible creation. (CCC 378)
 God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was
refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let
others, especially the poor, "be refreshed." (CCC 2172).
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
3. We learn the centrality of worship as a part of human nature.
Mind of the Church:
 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed
by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible,
public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all."
(CCC 2176)
4. We learn that all mankind is one family of God.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
III. The Doctrine of Marriage
How many of the world's religions require "strict monogamy" (just 1 husband and 1
wife)? One -Christianity
Marriage is divinely instituted — strict monogamy is rooted in the nature of man at the
moment of our creation.
Word of God:
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them. (28) And God blessed them, and God said
to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living
thing that moves upon the earth." Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man leaves his father
and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
 Jesus was asked by the Pharisees about divorce and He made clear that marriage is
indissoluble.
Word of God;
 Matthew 19:3-6 And Pharisees came up to Him [Jesus] and tested Him by asking,
"Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?" He answered, "Have you not read
that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said,
'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What
therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
 Marriage becomes indissoluble — meaning, permanent — when consummated
with sexual intercourse.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Mind of the Church;
 The married couple forms "the intimate partnership of life and love established by
the Creator and governed by his laws; it is rooted in the conjugal covenant, that is,
in their irrevocable personal consent." Both give themselves definitively and totally
to one another. They are no longer two; from now on they form one flesh. The
covenant they freely contracted imposes on the spouses the obligation to preserve it
as unique and indissoluble. (CCC 2364)
Marriage has two purposes:
 1. We are in a sense co-creators with God in the act of marriage, helping build up
God's family.
 2. Marriage also has a "unitive" purpose, so the two become one flesh.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Summary
 The "Doctrine of Creation" teaches us that our bodies are good and that
our sexual instincts can be harnessed to serve glorious ends.
 The "Doctrine of Marriage" teaches that we are created to be in an
indissoluble covenant with our spouse and that the covenant is made by
God to be fruitful.
 Contraception - violates God's blessing to "be fruitful and multiply"
(Genesis 1:28 - above)
 All the Protestant denominations taught that contraception was wrong
until only the last 70 years.
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
Mind of the Church;
 The regulation of births represents one of the aspects of responsible
fatherhood and motherhood. Legitimate intentions on the part of the
spouses do not justify recourse to morally unacceptable means (for
example, direct sterilization or contraception). (CCC 2399)
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
The Church is also the family of God in the eternal, everlasting sense.
 Mary - our Mother
 Pope - our Holy Father
 Priests - sacramental father
 Saints - older brothers and sisters
 Eucharist - family table
One Holy Family: From Adam to
Noah
 Satan doesn't directly lie, but uses the truth in a deceptive
way
 Satan emphasizes the negative in God's prohibition
 Satan twists meaning of the word “die” to refer to
“physical” death when God meant “spiritual” death
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Chapter Two - One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
In this chapter you'll learn:
 How the scope of the covenants gradually expands from Adam
through Noah to Abraham
 The repercussions of repeated infidelity to the first (marital)
covenant which continue to plague the Jews even today
 How the three promises made to Abraham will be fulfilled in the
remaining covenants
 A thorough explanation of how the first 22 chapters of Genesis
all fit together and are fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
God's response to the Fall of Adam and Eve
Word of God
Genesis Chapter 3 - (14) The LORD God said to the
serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you
above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your
belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of
your life. (15) I will put enmity between you and the
woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall
bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
The hinge on which the rest of salvation history will turn
What are the two "seeds"?
- The line of Satan is the line of Cain
- The line of the woman is Seth
Eve's firstborn is named Cain, who is the first Old
Testament example of a "wicked firstborn" who
succumbs to pride of place in the family.
God will have to pass over the firstborn in order to get to
the righteous son who will live out God's righteousness.
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Cain kills Abel due to envy.
- Jealousy is trying to get for yourself the same
advantage someone else has;
- Envy is trying to destroy the other person's
advantage
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
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Word of God
Genesis Chapter 4 – (23) Lamech said to his wives:
"Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech,
hearken to what I say: I have slain a man for wounding
me, a young man for striking me. (24) If Cain is
avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold."
(23) This is the first example of bigamy in the Bible
(24) Satan's family reaches its (a)completeness in Lamech.
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
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(25) And Adam knew his wife again, and she
bore a son and called his name Seth, for she
said, "God has appointed for me another child
instead of Abel, for Cain slew him." (26) To
Seth also a son was born, and he called his name
Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the
name of the LORD.
(26) "to call upon the name" means worship..
The Hebrew word for name: "Shem."
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
The lines of Seth and Cain before the Flood
Word of God
Genesis Chapter 6 (1) When men began to multiply on the face
of the ground, and daughters were born to them, (2) the
sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and
they took to wife such of them as they chose. (3) Then the
LORD said, "My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for
he is flesh, but his days shall be a hundred and twenty
years." (4) The Nephilim were on the earth in those days,
and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the
daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These
were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.
(4) In Hebrew, these are "men of Shem" (who are trying to
make a "name" for themselves)
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
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Who are the sons of God in Genesis 5? The
Sethites
The men of the line of Seth were marrying with
the women of the line of Cain.
The text also implies these marriages were
polygamous.
Marital infidelity in the Old Testament is what
always brings God's curse
God's judgment in this case is the flood.
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
The covenant with Noah
Word of God
Genesis Chapter 9 (8) Then God said to Noah and to his sons
with him, (9) "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and
your descendants after you, (10) and with every living creature
that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the
earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. (11) I establish
my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off
by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood
to destroy the earth.
(8-10) Covenant made with Noah and the family under his authority
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob

Genesis Chapter 9 (20) Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He
planted a vineyard; (21) and he drank of the wine, and became
drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent. (22) And Ham, the father
of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two
brothers outside. (23) Then Shem and Japheth took a garment,
laid it upon both their shoulders, and walked backward and
covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned
away, and they did not see their father's nakedness. (24) When
Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had
done to him, (25) he said, "Cursed be Canaan; a slave of slaves
shall he be to his brothers."
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
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(22) "to look upon the nakedness" is a Hebrew idiom for incest
(25) Canaan is the son resulting from Ham's incestuous union with
his own mother
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This sort of incest was common as part of Canaanite religious
worship and fertility cults.
See Leviticus 18:7..." You shall not uncover the nakedness of
your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your
mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness."
Why did Ham do this? He was trying to overthrow his father.
Throughout the Old Testament, if you want to topple your
father, you sleep with his wife or his concubines.
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
The Land of Canaan
 Shem was Noah's righteous first-born son.
 The Promised Land that the Jews were supposed to
enter was not supposed to be known as "Canaan." It
was supposed to be Shem’s land.
 That's why God gives the Jews the order to take it back
from the Canaanites.
 The sons of Ham are the nations that are the worst
enemies of Israel: Egypt, Canaan, Assyria, Babylon,
and the Philistines.
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
The Tower of Babel
Word of God
Genesis Chapter 11 (1) Now the whole earth had one language and
few words. (2) And as men migrated from the east, they found a
plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. (3) And they said to
one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them
thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for
mortar. (4) Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city,
and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name
for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the
whole earth."
(4) "make a 'Shem'" in Hebrew - meaning they are repudiating the crown
prince, Noah's firstborn Shem
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
God's response to Babel: the "rescue mission" for
the world
Word of God
Genesis Chapter 12 (1) Now the LORD said to Abram,
"Go from your country and your kindred and your
father's house to the land that I will show you. (2) And
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you,
and make your name great, so that you will be a
blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and him
who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families
of the earth shall bless themselves."
(2) "make your 'Shem' great" in Hebrew
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Three promises:
(a) I will give you this land.
(b) I will make your name great- in Hebrew means
give you a dynasty.
(c) I will make you a blessing for the whole world.
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Next three covenants given to seal these promises:
(a) Land given with the first covenant.
(b) Great name, dynasty, or kingdom given with
the second covenant.
(c) Blessing of the entire world given with the
third covenant.
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Genesis 12: Abram's journeys of faith
- Called from UR of the Chaldeans
- Travels to Canaan - but famine forces him to
leave
- Goes down to Egypt.
- Leaves Egypt enriched.
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Genesis 13-14; Abram and Lot
- Abram splits the land with Lot (Abraham's
nephew) --- Lot takes the richest land
- Lot is captured in a war, and Abram rescues him
- Abram gives one-tenth of the booty to the
priest-king of Salem, Melchizedek
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Genesis 16: Abram's first offspring
- Sarai's maid Hagar made pregnant by Abram
- Son named Ishmael
- This act - although Sarai encouraged it - violates
the marriage covenant
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Genesis 17: 2nd covenant and name change
- 13 years later: God changes Abram's name to
Abraham meaning "father of a vast multitude"
and Sarai's name to Sarah meaning "Queen
Mother"
- God promises a son - Isaac, which means
laughter
- God gives Abraham the sign of the covenant:
circumcision of all males
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Genesis 18-19; Destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah
- Abraham negotiates to save the towns if he can
find ten righteous people
- Only Lot and his two daughters survive
- Daughters then commit incest with him,
resulting in sons, Ammon and Moab
- They become the fathers of two more antiJewish ethnic groups
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Genesis 21: Isaac
- Isaac is born, and this finally divides Sarah and Hagar.
Genesis 22: The test before the 3rd covenant
Word of God
Genesis 22 (1) After these things God tested Abraham,
and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I."
(2) He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac,
whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and
offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the
mountains of which I shall tell you."
 (2) Isaac was probably in his teens'
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
(3) So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his
ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his
son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering,
and arose and went to the place of which God had told
him. (4) On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes
and saw the place afar off. (5) Then Abraham said to
his young men, "Stay here with the ass; I and the lad
will go yonder and worship, and come again to you."
(5) This indicates Abraham may have had a trace of faith in his
son's safety
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
(3) So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his
ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his
son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering,
and arose and went to the place of which God had told
him. (4) On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes
and saw the place afar off. (5) Then Abraham said to
his young men, "Stay here with the ass; I and the lad
will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.“
(5) This indicates Abraham may have had a trace of faith in his
son's safety
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
(6) And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering,
and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the
fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.
(7) And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!"
And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold,
the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt
offering?" (8) Abraham said, "God will provide
himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they
went both of them together.
(8) In Hebrew “Yahweh jaera”
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
(9) When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built
an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid
him on the altar, upon the wood. (10) Then Abraham put forth his hand, and
took the knife to slay his son. (11) But the angel of the LORD called to him
from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." (12)
He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I
know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only
son, from me." (13) And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold,
behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went
and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. (14)
So Abraham called the name of that place The LORD will provide; as it is
said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."
(14) Moriah is in Jerusalem – the new name formed by the combination of “jaera” and
Salem:” 2 Chronicles 3:1: “Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in
Jerusalem on Mount Moriah…”
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
15) And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a
second time from heaven, (16) and said, "By myself I
have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done
this, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
(17) I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your
descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand
which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall
possess the gate of their enemies, (18) and by your
descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless
themselves, because you have obeyed my voice."
(16-18) God raises the 3rd promise to the level of covenant
One Holy Tribe: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
Why would God do this - ask Abraham to
sacrifice his only beloved son?
Because He is blessing us in a way that the world
will never recognize
- Jesus was crucified in the same mountain range
as Isaac was offered
- Jesus took upon himself the curse of the oath in
order to unleash the blessing for the whole
world which God promised
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
In this chapter you'll learn:
1. How the Israelites wound up in Egypt in slavery
2. The significance of the plagues God sent upon
Egypt
3. The parallels between the life of Moses and the
life of Jesus-and why Jesus is the "new Moses"
How did the children of Israel become slaves
in the land of Egypt?
Had this exile been foretold?
Gen 15:13
13Then the LORD said to Abram, ‘Know
this for certain, that your offspring
shall be aliens in a land that is not
theirs, and shall be slaves there, and
they shall be oppressed for four
hundred years;
What had God promised Abram?
Gen 17:8
8And I will give to you, and to your
offspring after you, the land where
you are now an alien, all the land of
Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and
I will be their God.’
What did God promise Abram
concerning his descendants?
14but
I will bring judgement on the
nation that they serve, and
afterwards they shall come out with
great possessions. 15As for yourself,
you shall go to your ancestors in
peace; you shall be buried in a good
old age. 16And they shall come back
here in the fourth generation; for the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet
complete.’
Did Abraham’s great-grandson Joseph
expect the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt?
Hebrew 11:22
22By faith Joseph, at the end of his life,
made mention of the exodus of the
Israelites and gave instructions
about his burial.
Where did the Israelites live in
Egypt?
Gen 47:27
27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the
region of Goshen; and they gained possessions in
it, and were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly.
Ex 8:22
22But on that day I will set apart the land of
Goshen, where my people live, so that no swarms
of flies shall be there, that you may know that I
the LORD am in this land.
What was the condition of the
Hebrews in Egypt?
Ex 1:8-14
8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9He
said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous
and more powerful than we. 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with
them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our
enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.’
11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with
forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for
Pharaoh. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they
multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the
Israelites. 13The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on
the Israelites, 14and made their lives bitter with hard service in
mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were
ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.
What did the Pharaoh, the king of
Egypt, decree about the birth of baby
boys?
Ex 1:15-22
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom
was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16‘When you act as
midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool,
if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.’ 17But the
midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt
commanded them, but they let the boys live. 18So the king of
Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you
done this, and allowed the boys to live?’ 19The midwives said to
Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian
women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife
comes to them.’ 20So God dealt well with the midwives; and the
people multiplied and became very strong. 21And because the
midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22Then Pharaoh
commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the
Hebrews* you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl
live.’
What did one set of courageous parents
do? How was their baby saved?
Hebrews 11:23
 23 By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months
after his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and
they were not afraid of the king’s edict.*
Ex 2:5-9
 5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while
her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among
the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. 6When she opened it, she
saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must
be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. 7Then his sister said to
Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the
Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ 8Pharaoh’s daughter
said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother.
9Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for
me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child
and nursed it.
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
God fathers his family through covenants
1. The three stages of Biblical history
Stage Name
Comments
Stage 1:Natural Stage
Religion built upon Nature:
* The father is priest, prophet, & king
* First-born is successor* Family is both church and state
Stage 2: "Levitical" or
Starts with the Mosaic Covenantsometimes called legal phase * Priesthood stripped away from fathers and sons and given to
the tribe of Levi
* Lasts over a thousand years
* A "bureaucratic" interim arrangement
Stage 3: "Age of Grace" or
sometimes called
"Evangelical" Age
Not dependent on Sacrifices Dietary restrictions
* Instead, the sacraments binds God’s family
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Continuation of Covenant with Abraham
 Isaac married Rebekah and had two sons.
 The oldest named Esau and the other Jacob.
 At the very moment they are conceived, God says, "Two nations
are in your womb, and two peoples, born of you, shall be
divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall
serve the younger." (Genesis 25:23)
 The power of the blessing: Whoever has the blessing will stand
in relation to his brothers like a father.
 With Rebekah's help Jacob tricks Isaac and gets the blessing but was it so treacherous?
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Word of God
Genesis Chapter 25 (29) Once when Jacob was boiling pottage,
Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. (30) And
Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red pottage, for I
am famished!"... (31) Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."
(32) Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to
me?" (33) Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to him,
and sold his birthright to Jacob. (34) Then Jacob gave Esau bread
and pottage of lentils and he ate and drank, and rose and went
his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Esau had already legally sold his birthright-the blessing—to Jacob!
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi



Jacob escapes from his brother's wrath up to the
North
Jacob is tricked by Uncle Laban in which bride
he gets on his wedding night.
Finally, Jacob marries the woman he wants named Rachel - and returns and reconciles with
Esau
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Joseph
 Up to the time they returned to Israel, Rachel
had been barren, unable to bear children.
 In Israel, Rachel gives birth to Joseph.
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
The "coat of many colors"
 Jacob gives Joseph a coat, which shows his favouritism towards
this first-born son of Rachel, the wife he truly wanted, it's a
mantle of the father's authority
 Joseph's older brothers scheme to kill him, but instead sell him
as a slave.
 Joseph ends up the slave of Potiphar - one of the most powerful
men in Egypt - and he impresses Potiphar
 Unfortunately, Potiphar's wife accuses Joseph of rape.
 Joseph is thrown in prison - but is released when he interprets
the Pharaoh's dream.
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Joseph-powerful in Egypt
 Joseph is made prime minister, and he stores up grain
in preparation for famine
 His ten half-brothers come to Egypt to get food from
the prime minister and don't recognize him.
 Eventually, Joseph gets his entire family down to Egypt
- and the pharaoh gives them Goshen, the best real
estate
 Joseph gets more land by trading food for land
throughout the famine!
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
The Book of EXODUS
Word of God
Exodus Chapter 1 (6) Then Joseph died, and all his
brothers, and all that generation. (7) But the
descendants of Israel were fruitful and increased
greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong; so
that the land was filled with them. (8) Now there arose
a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
(8) "Know" is a covenant term -- "Yadah" in Hebrew, meaning he
refuses family relations with the Jews
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
(9) And he said to his people, "Behold, the
people of Israel are too many and too mighty
for us. (10) Come, let us deal shrewdly with
them, lest they multiply, and, if war befall us,
they join our enemies and fight against us and
escape from the land." (15) Then the king of
Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of
whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
(16) "When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew
women, and see them upon the birth-stool, if it is a
son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, she
shall live." (17) But the midwives feared God, and
did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them,
but let the male children live.
(16) Why kill the male children - why not the females, too?*
Because the Hebrew women will marry Egyptians - and then the
land will pass back to the Egyptians
(17) Hebrew midwives don't cooperate and Moses is successfully
hidden
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Covenant with Moses
 Moses has to escape Egypt after killing an
Egyptian taskmaster
 He settles down to be a shepherd, marrying
Zipporah, a Midianite woman (Midianites are
relatives of Abraham)
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
The Burning Bush
God narrows down the family line:
Word of God
Exodus Chapter 3 (1) Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law,
Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the
wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (2) And the angel of
the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and
he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. (3) And
Moses said, "I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not
burnt." (4) When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to
him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here am I." (5) Then he
said, "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on
which you are standing is holy ground."
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
(6) And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob." (12) He said, "But I will be with you; and this
shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when
you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you
shall serve God upon this mountain." (13) Then
Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel
and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me
to you,' and they ask me, "What is his name? What shall
I say to them?" (14) God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I
AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, "I
AM has sent me to you.'"
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
(18) And they will hearken to your voice; and you and
the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and
say to him, "The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has
met with us; and now, we pray you, let us go a three
days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice
to the LORD our God.' (19) I know that the king of
Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty
hand. (20) So I will stretch out my hand and smite
Egypt with all the wonders which I will do in it; after
that he will let you go.
(18) Initial request is: A three day journey into the
wilderness. NOT to be freed from slavery!
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Exodus 4: (2) The LORD said to him, "What is that in
your hand?" He said, "A rod." (3) And he said, "Cast it
on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it
became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.
(3) The rod or staff is a symbol of authority The serpent is a
symbol of evil.
(4) But the LORD said to Moses, "Put out your hand,
and take it by the tail" — so he put out his hand and
caught it, and it became a rod in his hand —
(4) This shows that Moses has dominion over evil .
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
(5) "that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, has appeared to you." (6) Again, the LORD said to him,
"Put your hand into your bosom." And he put his hand into his
bosom; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous,
as white as snow. (7) Then God said, "Put your hand back into
your bosom." So he put his hand back into his bosom; and when
he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.
(5-7) Sin is constantly being compared to leprosy; when the Israelites come out
of Egypt, they will no longer be in sin, but will be the children of God
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
(8) "If they will not believe you," God said, "or heed
the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. (10) But
Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not
eloquent, either heretofore or since thou hast spoken to
thy servant; but I am slow of speech and of tongue."
(11) Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made
man's mouth? Who makes him dumb, or deaf, or
seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? (12) Now
therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach
you what you shall speak." (13) But he said, "Oh, my
Lord, send, I pray, some other person." (14) Then the
anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
he said, "Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know
that he can speak well; and behold, he is coming out to meet you,
and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart. (15) And you
shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be
with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what
you shall do. (16) He shall speak for you to the people; and he
shall be a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. (22)
And you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the LORD, Israel is my
first-born son 23) and I say to you, "Let my son go that he is to
be a role-model, a priest like the first-may serve me"; if you refuse
to let him go, born behold, I will slay your firstborn son.
(22) This means that other nations are like God's younger children –
Israel is to be a role-model, a priest like the firstborn
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Exodus 4:24: God tries to kill Moses - why?
4:24 At a lodging place on the way the LORD met
him and sought to kill him.
 Because Moses is a covenant breaker
 The Midianites and Arab Muslims today practice
circumcision - but at puberty (13 years), not
when God specified for the Jews: at 8 days
 Moses' son had not been circumcised, so
Zipporah did it quickly
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Exodus 7: What is the meaning behind the
plagues?
 God is slaying the gods of Egypt.
 The people in Goshen (the Israelites) are
completely protected from all the plagues
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Exodus 8:25: Pharaoh offers to let Israel go to sacrifice
8:25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said,
"Go, sacrifice to your God within the land."
 Why is this unacceptable? Because they have to sacrifice
three animals (cattle, goats and sheep), all three of
which were were revered and worshipped as
divinities in the Egyptian religion.
 God wants Israel to make a clear break with Egyptian
idolatry, like a drunk must make a break with drinking
by smashing a bottle of booze
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
The tenth plague: the death of the political gods of Egypt





Pharaoh was considered to be divine and his first-born son was
divinized in a ceremony
The first-born represented, in a sense, the political gods of
Egypt
Therefore, the death of the first-born created a power vacuum.
Moses gives instruction for the Passover to protect the Israelite
When the Israelites leave, the Egyptians are pressured into
giving up all the gold and silver in exchange of the years of
slavery.
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Exodus 19:4-6 A nation of priests
Word of God
Exodus 19 (4) You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how
I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5) Now
therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you
shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is
mine, (6) and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation.
 To prepare themselves, God asks that they abstain from sex for
3 days.
 But, they didn't do this, so they send Moses up the mountain
alone.
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Exodus 24: Moses and the elders "eat and drink with God"
 Every family was to be a church and every father a priest - if
only they would trust and obey and forsake the gods of Egypt
Exodus 32 tells us that they did not forsake these gods
 While Moses is on the mountain, Aaron has them make a golden
calf. The Apis cult in Egypt worshipped a calf!
 Afterward, they got up to indulge in revelry, which is a Hebrew
cliche for a sexual orgy, just like the Egyptians after
worshipping Apis
 This was an utter renunciation of true religion and faith in God
 Moses mediates with God so the people are not destroyed
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Word of God
Exodus 32: (19) And as soon as he came near the camp
and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned
hot, and he threw the tables out of his hands and broke
them at the foot of the mountain. (20) And he took the
calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and
ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water,
and made the people of Israel drink it…(26) then
Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Who is
on the LORD'S side?
(26) The first-born sons - who would not be alive if not for the
Passover - are silent
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves
together to him. (27) And he said to them, "Thus says the
LORD God of Israel, 'Put every man his sword on his side, and
go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay
every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every
man his neighbor.'" (28) And the sons of Levi did according to
the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about
three thousand men. (29) And Moses said, "Today you have
ordained yourselves for the service of the LORD, each one at
the cost of his son and of his brother, that he may bestow a
blessing upon you this day."
(29) All twelve tribes were systematically and instantly defrocked and laicized,
dispensed from the priesthood
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Before the Golden Calf:
 All the animal sacrifices and all of the dietary
regulations seem not to have been required.
After the Golden Calf:
 Every day they have to be sacrificing sheep,
cattle, and goats because they had to continually
renounce the gods of Egypt
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi







Two laws now exist for Israel:
Leviticus - which is the priestly code which requires all kinds
of purification and strict morality.
Deuteronomy - which is given to the twelve tribes.
God allows the 12 tribes, but not the Levites, to divorce.
Deuteronomy contains all kinds of concessions and
compromises
The original purpose of God was delayed until New Testament
times when the priesthood of all believers was again proclaimed
(see 1 Peter 2:9, Rev 1:6, and Rev 5:10)
Catholics believe in the priesthood of all believers through
Baptism.
One Holy Nation: Moses, Aaron,
Levi
Jesus as the New Moses
Jesus' life follows the pattern we see for Moses and Israel:
Moses & Israel
Jesus
Moses—Almost killed at birth
Herod almost killed at birth
Israel-enslaved in Egypt
Escapes to Egypt
Israel-God's first-born son
God's first-born Son
Israel-brought through Red Sea
Baptized in Jordan
Israel-40 years in the desert;Moses-40 days
fasting on Mt Sinai
Fasted 40 days in the wilderness
Moses-took 12 chiefs for 12 tribes & 70 Elders
Took 12 apostles to rule the 12 tribes & 70
other disciples (Luke 10)
Passover lamb must be eaten
His body must be eaten
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
In this chapter you'll learn:
1. The Biblical foundations for the Catholic
Doctrine of the Kingdom of Christ
2. How and why the Kingdom of Israel arose and the three prohibitions Solomon violated to
cause its downfall
3. The key components of the Davidic Covenant
and how they apply today as God fathers his
family through covenants
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Kingdom: David and
Solomon
One Holy Church: Jesus and the
Apostles