It's
About Time--Biblical Chronology Made Easy!
Lesson 4: Abraham
SIMPLIFIED BIBLE TIME LINE
Because the first chapter of Genesis goes right
back to "the beginning" of recorded history, people sometimes get the erroneous
impression that the Bible attempts to offer "the history of the Earth." If that
were so, it fails miserably! In the chapters of Genesis, whole periods of
hundreds of years are passed over in a few sentences--and at times, totally
ignored. And yet later in the same book, whole chapters are devoted to the
events of just one day. Some Old Testament individuals are mentioned only once,
and even then, only in passing. Yet others are named over and over again--not
only in the Old Testament, but numerous times in the New Testament also.
This is because the Bible isn't intended to be a comprehensive history of the
existence of Mankind on the earth. It is rather, in particular, a chronicle of
the relationship of one man's family with the Creator of the Universe. And it is
the record of that Creator's intention to bless all of Mankind through the
descendants of that man. People are introduced in the early chapters of Genesis
not primarily for the details of their own history, but as preludes to the
history of the family of that one man--his
ancestors, and the
ancestors of those who would inter-react some day with his descendants.
That one man is Abraham. The early chapters in Genesis establish his lineage
from Adam. After Abraham himself is introduced, the later chapters in Genesis
follow his children, his grandchildren, and their descendants for a period of
about 500 years, leading up to the time of Moses.
The nation of Israel, which is the main focus of the rest of the Old
Testament, is made up of direct descendants of Abraham through his grandson
Jacob (whose name was changed by God later in his life to the name "Israel").
Many blessings and promises were made to the people of that nation, not because
of their own standing before God, but because they inherited a promise that God
made to their forefather Abraham. Later, the "Jews" are introduced, who are the
descendants of Judah, one of the sons of Israel. Jesus Himself was born a Jew,
and thus was a descendant of Abraham.
But what of those who are not one of the physical descendants of Abraham? Why
should they care about his story and the story of his family? In the New
Testament, we are told:
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed [descendants], and
heirs according to the promise. (Gal 3:29 NIV)
This applies to those who are not descended by blood from Abraham, but are
rather "spiritual" descendants because they believe in Christ.
Thus the story of Abraham is relevant to Christians and Jews alike.
And thus we start the main section of our time-line of Biblical history with
the life of Abraham, who lived in approximately 2000 BC. That is, about 2,000
years before the time of Christ.
Before the time of Abraham, the scriptures are somewhat vague on when certain
events happened. Although there is some dispute among scholars, Halley's
Bible Handbook gives an approximate date for the creation of Adam of about
4,000 BC. The Flood of Noah's time may have happened about 1,500 years later, in
about 2500 B.C. Thus, the time of Abraham is approximately 500 years after the
Flood.
Once you have committed to memory that Abraham's lifetime centers generally
around the time period of 2000 BC, you can pinpoint the general time-frame of a
number of Biblical events and characters. Abraham's son by his wife Sarah was
Isaac. Isaac's son by his wife Rebekah was Jacob. You can read about the lives
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in chapters 11 through 50 of Genesis. Thus any Bible
stories which include these characters can be positioned shortly after 2000
A.D., long before Moses--who is the next person we will be discussing on our
time-line, and who lived around the time of 1500 BC.
Go to Lesson
5
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Lesson 6
Lesson 7
Lesson 8
Go to the Introduction to It's About Time
