The Bible Themes

Improved Essays
Show More
There are several themes that run throughout the Bible. Covenants, love, grace, and mercy are just a few of them. Along with these, there are ones some that are on the other side of the spectrum like death, unfaithfulness, and alienation. Alienation is a key theme in Genesis and continues throughout the Old Testament. First found in Genesis, alienation started in the Garden of Eden and affects man’s relationship with God, the garden, the people, and the land. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, begins with God’s amazing creation of the world. The first two chapters are about God’s detailed creation of light, animals, plants, land, stars, and most importantly mankind. He found it all good like it says in Genesis 1:31a, “And God saw everything …show more content…
This was the biggest part of the alienation from the garden. Before they disobeyed, they took walks with God. Pause for a second. They took WALKS with God. How amazing would that be? But once they ate the fruit of the tree of good and evil they could no longer walk with God. They were sent away from the Garden, separated from God. Throughout the whole Old Testament man was separated from God and only communicated with Him through faithful people like Moses, Samuel, and Elijah. One key thing about our alienation from God is that it was brought on by man and not by God. As Andrew Hill and John Walton state, in their book A Survey of the Old Testaments, “It was this man and woman, not God who disturbed the equilibrium….” Even though God sent man out of the Garden, it was man’s actions that caused it. Through Adam and Eve’s actions in the Garden, mankind was permanently separated from …show more content…
Not only were they separated from God but they also were separated from each other. All throughout the old testament siblings are against one another. Cain and Abel, Joseph and his brothers, Jacob and Esau, and Rebecca and Lea are just a few names. But it was not just separation from family but also from the people in the surroundings lands. Noah was isolated from the people because he was faithful to God. The people around him were doing unrighteous things but Noah was faithful to God and so he was chosen to build an ark. Another example is in Genesis 11, the people wanted to be closer to the heavens so they built a huge tower. But soon God sent confusion among them by changing their language so they were alienated from one another. Once sin entered the world people were cut off from each

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Taker Culture
    • 1925 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Essay On Taker Culture

    ultures of human culture, those being “leavers” and “takers”. His first allusion, a biblical reference to the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden is actually the story of when the leaver and taker cultures separated historically. Ishmael explains that after eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, humans gained what they thought was “the knowledge of the gods”. This is where the leaver culture, which modern man descends from, developed an attitude that their way of life was the right way and that it should be spread. Takers began to believe that entire purpose of evolution was the arrival of mankind on the planet, and that we are here to dominate all, or that all resources on earth are ours to exploit.…

    • 1925 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Deuteronomy's Argument Essay: The Chosen People
    • 198 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Deuteronomy's Argument Essay: The Chosen People

    Being the "Chosen People", the Hebrews gave absolute obedience to God in accordance with the covenant's system of divine rewards and punishments. God contracted the Hebrews to the Covenant, where as long as they obeyed all his set commandments “blessings shall come upon you and overtake you” (Deuteronomy 28, line 2), they would be blessed in all of which they did and protected by his guiding hand. On the other hand, should they disobey his given commandments, “curses shall come upon you and overtake you” (Deuteronomy 28, line 15), they would be cursed and destroyed. Aware of God's’ true might displayed when he had annihilated the Egyptian army, they had reason to believe that blessings and punishment were absolute. Furthermore, in Deuteronomy…

    • 198 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Tanhuma Ivalarim 7 Analysis
    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Tanhuma Ivalarim 7 Analysis

    The covenant between God and his people is one of the most sacred agreements that have ever been made. Similar to John Locke’s ideas about the position of government in relationship to the people it oversees, there is a bipartisan relationship between God and his people. According to the covenant, God will protect his people in exchange for their promise to follow his commandments and worship him. In a perfect world a government is equal parts benevolent and punishing; the people know that if they do not abide by the established laws they will be reprimanded. For the Israelites in Jerusalem, they knew that this was equally true for their relationship to God.…

    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Just Law In Egypt
    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Just Law In Egypt

    Humanity faced an array of conflicts while evolving into a world with a diverse group of cultures and religions. This posed conditions in which freedom of expression seemed impossible. The formation of Israel and their right to religious freedom was risky to accomplish. Morality indicated in these situations what was just and unjust. As a result from the Israelites faith and perseverance, Judaism was born.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Human Suffering Part 2 Analysis
    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Human Suffering Part 2 Analysis

    In Part II, I wrote about the purpose and part which human suffering plays (or should be playing) in the world. Instead, if we are able, we shut our eyes and remove ourselves far from human suffering or we revel in it vicariously. We take the pastoral or prurient path, whenever we can. The first is a form of fantasy infantilism, whete we pretend the Problem doesn't exist. No need to take any action other than insulating ourselves from that “non-existent” threat.…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Israelites Vs Exodus
    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Israelites Vs Exodus

    Yet, it is not enough to convince the Israelites to continue to do the right thing and God sometimes have to do seemingly violent things in order to relate to the Israelites. In Exodus Chapter 32, the Israelites break God’s commandments by worshiping the golden calf. Though God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through several trials and tribulations, this was still not enough for them to follow his commandments. As a result, God condones Moses’ decision to let the Levites kill 3,000 Israelites.…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Discernment On Exodus In The Book Of The Bible
    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Discernment On Exodus In The Book Of The Bible

    Discernment on Exodus Being that this book is the second of the Old Testament, following Genesis, one would expect consistency in the story telling theme. Although all characters in Genesis were related through family ties, they all made part of varying stories that supported ultimately the same message. In the other hand, the book of Exodus is one that elaborates on one single character whose story extends to different events, which I feel concurred with Genesis’ message; loyalty to God that is rewarded and penalizations due to disobedience. It can be assumed/understood that God in both books elected an individual to represent him and carry out his decrees, at the same time in both stories, God reveals himself and tests the faith of the people,…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Yahweh
    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Yahweh

    Throughout the history of the Judeans, many groups have claimed to be the “true” followers of Yahweh. There is much debate as to who is right in these claims, and this debate has caused animosity and conflict. The main groups who try to justify themselves are those who were exiled and returned, the Samaritans, those whose ancestors were not exiled, and the Elephantine Colony. According to the Deuteronomic theory (Lecture 2), the people: could only worship Yahweh, could only worship Him in Jerusalem, and worship Him only as priests instructed. None of these groups perfectly match these descriptions.…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Old Testament Themes
    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Old Testament Themes

    When reading books from the Old Testaments it is easy to want to skip over them. They are full of turmoil and judgement. But when taking a closer look there are some major themes that emerge. Even today these themes are noticeable. We see the themes of Idolatry, social injustices, and religious ritualism.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Exegetical Essay: The Themes Of God
    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Exegetical Essay: The Themes Of God

    In the bible there are a number of different themes to try and help us understand more of what God is trying to tell us. In the paper I am going into depth for three of them. The three are, The teaching with pictures, stories, and emotional appeals that succeeds with at least some listeners, The choosing and training of key followers as disciples who will carry on the work after the leader is gone, The importance of a sacrifice whereby the action of one satisfies the debt of another. The first one I chose was the teaching with pictures, stories, and emotional appeals that succeeds with at least some listeners.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Culture And Religion Essay
    • 1737 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Culture And Religion Essay

    Throughout this class, I learned how to analyze cultures and compare them to what our culture is now. Going through the four different cultures, they have many similarities as well as differences. After forty years of wandering throughout Moab, the Israelites finally made it to their promise land. There were many battles to be fought to gain control over their land. They would regroup for more assaults on fortresses and cities.…

    • 1737 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Israelites Religion
    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Israelites Religion

    God is teaching the Israelites a lesson through allowing them to go against his wishes and having a king of his choice. This lesson can be seen through the two kings in the books, Saul and David. These kings are very different and their lives teach a lesson about Israel’s relation with God. God knows his people are rejecting him as their ruler, therefore he decides to teach them a lesson through allowing them to have a secular king.…

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Gospel In The Bible
    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Gospel In The Bible

    The good news of the Gospel is found throughout the Old and New Testaments. It tells the story of God’s redemptive love for His highest creation – man. The Bible describes God, tells how mankind was created to live, the way they became separated from God, and God’s plan for restoration through His Son, Jesus Christ. God: God is infinite in all ways; meaning He is infinite in knowledge, time, space, and power.…

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Exile In James Joyce
    • 1589 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Exile In James Joyce

    One of the hypothesis refers to the origin of the theme of exile to the story of Adam and Eve when they were displaced from Garden of Eden as it is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible: “The Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Gen 3:23-24). In the first part of my work, I will examine the definition of the concept of exile, and then I will investigate the origin of the concept of exile.…

    • 1589 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Symbolism Of Water
    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Symbolism Of Water

    Even when the His bond with the Hebrews seems as distant and invisible as the water vapor in the air, God’s love endures. He constantly extends forgiveness through covenantal relationship to His…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings