The Summary of The Bible

By Joy Morgan

The Bible in story. A summary of each book.

I initially created this work for my family to encourage the understanding of the Word of God that was written by various authors throughout the history of God's chosen people.

I encourage all people, young and old, to see what God has done for His people and all people, i

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Feb 6, 2024
• ISBN: 9798890414724

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A Summary of

THE BIBLE

by:

Joy Morgan

The Bible

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2024 by Joy Morgan

Scripture marked ICB taken from the International Children’s Bible®. Copyright © 1986, 1988, 1999 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.TM Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 979-8-89041-471-7

E-ISBN: 979-8-89041-472-4

July 1995

I have finally finished this project. It was, by far, the largest project that I have ever undertaken. I could not have finished it without the help of my friends Frances Shisk and Reba Anglin. I will be forever grateful to them.

I have studied the 1189 chapters of the Bible and thousands and thousands of pages of Bibles, commentaries, and study books for this summary of 334 pages and 105,543 words. I hope you enjoy it.

Joy McLendon Morgan

Foreword

About five years ago, our minister, Ed Skidmore, of Castle Hills Christian Church, announced a three-year program of reading the Bible through. He invited all members to join in. We were to read two books a month, one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament.

About six months into the program, I decided to do a more indepth study. I read different Bibles, commentaries, and study books to help me understand and apply the specific message of every book and every chapter of the Bible. Later, I decided to summarize each book and include insight on Bible customs, key Bible truths, and personal applications.

This is my interpretation of the Bible…hope this will help me and members of my family to better understand and enjoy the Bible, encourage daily Bible reading, and apply its teachings in our daily lives.

I express my special gratitude to my lifelong friend and retired teacher Reba Farrow Anglin, who edited this book, and also to Frances Shisk, my dear telephone company friend, who typed this study on her new computer—what an awesome task.

I dedicate this book to my twin sister, Bonnie Jean.

Joy McLendon Morgan

First printing—January 1995

Second printing—July 1995

Third printing—December 1995

Fourth printing—July 1996

Fifth printing—September 1996

Sixth printing—July 1997

Seventh printing—December 1998

Eighth printing—April 2002

I would also like to express my gratitude to my friend Jim Walker, who thought of publishing my work. I had never thought of this, but Jim decided that this work was good enough for the world to see what the Word of God has to offer mankind.

He has been the inspiration and manager who handled all the communications, editing, and creativity details that were required to accomplish the production efforts between us and the publisher, Trilogy Christian Publishing. They also thought it was a good idea to present this to the world.

Old Testament: Content/Outline

Genesis:

The Creation of Heaven and Earth

Adam and Eve, the first family

Methuselah, the longest-living man

The flood, Noah’s Ark

The Rainbow

Abraham and Sarah, proud parents in old age

Isaac and Rebekah and their twin boys

Jacob and Rachel and their sons

Joseph sold by his brothers, Joseph’s coat

Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s family

Exodus:

Drowning of all boy babies

Moses, the baby found in Nile River

Passover instituted

Death of all firstborns

The Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land

Parting the Red Sea by Moses

The Ten Commandments, God’s Law given to Moses

Ark of the Covenant

Leviticus:

Rules for Sacrifice (Offerings)

Rules for Holy Living

Worship festivals

Numbers:

The first census

Journey toward Canaan

Wilderness wandering—forty years

Deuteronomy:

Ten Commandments (restated)

The great commandment

Moses denied entrance into the promised land

Moses’ death, Joshua is his replacement

Joshua:

Conquest of Canaan

Distribution of land

Fall of Jericho

Sun stood still

Joshua’s farewell and death

Judges:

Judges as spiritual and political leaders

First female judge, Deborah

Judge Samson and Delilah

Ruth:

Story of love and devotion

First and Second Samuel:

The last judge

Saul, the first King of Israel

David kills Goliath, the giant

David becomes king

David and Bathsheba

First and Second Kings:

Solomon becomes King

Solomon’s temple

Prophets Elijah and Elisha

Wicked Queen Jezebel

Kings of Israel and Judah

Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem

First and Second Chronicles (same period as Kings):

Life and reign of David

Solomon is crowned king and builds temple

Solomon’s wealth, wives, and wisdom

Jerusalem burned, temple destroyed

Joash and Josiah—boy kings

Ezra:

Persian king allows Jews’ return to Jerusalem

Temple rebuilt; worship restored

Nehemiah:

Jerusalem wall rebuilt

First lottery

Esther:

Jewish orphan, Esther, becomes queen

Jews saved from extermination

Job:

Satan challenged

Meaning of suffering

Psalm:

Lyric poems and songs

Comfort and inspiration

Praise and practical counsel

Guide to worship

Proverbs:

Advice and counsel

God’s blueprint for Christian living

Key to happiness

Women’s rights

Ecclesiastes:

Vanity

Song of Solomon:

A love song

Relating Married Love to God’s Love

Prophets: Isaiah—Malachi

Voices of God predicted future events

Evangelists of their day

Isaiah:

Oldest manuscript of the Old Testament

Predicted the birth of Jesus

Predicted Jesus’ betrayal and death in detail

Jeremiah:

Warnings of judgment—repent or perish

Predicted Jerusalem’s fall

Jerusalem destroyed

Jeremiah imprisoned, saved by a eunuch

Lamentations:

Diary of Jeremiah

Ezekiel:

A captive ministering to captives

A watchman

Daniel introduced

Announced invasion by Nebuchadnezzar

Daniel:

Daniel, the captive—Daniel, the Prime Minister

Interpreter of dreams and visions

The ninety-by-nine statue

The fiery furnace

Revelation of seventy weeks

Writing on the wall

Daniel in the lion’s den

Hosea:

Kingdom divided, north and south

The human heart

Unfaithful wife, unfaithful people

Joel:

Plague of the locusts

Amos:

The plight of the poor

The plumb line

Obadiah:

The Day of the Lord

A feuding family, Brother’s keeper

Jonah:

Jonah and the great fish

Micah:

Predicted Jerusalem’s destruction, a remnant would be saved

Predicted Jesus’ birthplace

Poverty class created

Nahum:

Nineveh destroyed

A jealous and avenging God

The great library

Habakkuk:

The eternal Why

One day a 1,000 years, a 1,000 years one day

Zephaniah:

Pride, arrogance versus humility and righteousness

The great day of the Lord—the end of the world

Haggai:

Completion of the temple encouraged

Zechariah:

Prophet of hope

Visions of end times

Predicted Jesus’ advent, rejection, suffering, and acceptance

Malachi:

The Tithe

New Testament: Content/Outline

The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

The good news. The Plan of Salvation

The life and ministry of Jesus—birth to death

Mary and Joseph’s engagement

Mary pregnant out of wedlock

Jesus’ birth, the wise men, the star in the east

Genealogy of Jesus

Children of Joseph and Mary

Parables and Miracles

The Lord’s Prayer

Sermon on the Mount

Eye for an eye principle

The Golden Rule

The unpardonable sin

Faith/Mustard seed

Forgiveness seventy by seven?

Choosing the disciples

Jesus walking on water

The Last Supper, Judas’ betrayal, the kiss, Peter’s denial

John the Baptist beheaded

Feeding of the 5,000

Widow’s mite

Arrest, Crucifixion, Resurrection—First Easter

Holy Spirit

Road to Emmaus

Doubting Thomas

Acts:

The beginning of Christianity, the first church

What Christ bid through the Holy Spirit and the disciples

Judas commits suicide

Stephen, the first Christian martyr

Saul, the antagonist, transformed to Paul, the Missionary

Paul’s missionary career

Lydia, a prominent businesswoman, converted and baptized

Paul imprisoned and taken to Rome by ship

Ship hit sandbank at Malta Islas, wrecked, and sank

Paul acquitted, set free, rearrested, and beheaded

Epistles:

Romans through Jude

Paul’s letters to all the churches

Romans:

Foundation for living Christian life

Gentiles/Jews relationship

First and Second Corinthians:

Paul’s thorn in the flesh

Problem-solving principles

Christian stewardship

Galatians:

Magna Carta of Christian Liberty

Ephesians:

God’s special gift of Grace

Philippians:

Encouragement

Colossians:

False teachings

Thessalonians:

Lord’s second coming like a thief in the night

The Antichrist

Timothy:

Encouragement and counsel

Qualifications of church leaders

Titus:

Practical guide for church administration and organization

Philemon:

Letter of sympathy

Hebrews:

The fifth gospel—Christ’s ministry in Heaven

James:

Practical guide to Christian life and conduct

Peter:

Persecution and oppression of Jews

John:

Basic doctrines about Christ and Christian lifestyle

Assurance of Eternal Life

Jude:

Warning against false teachers

Revelation:

Vision of future events

Rise of a world ruler, the Antichrist

Battle at Armageddon

I am the Alpha and the Omega

Final letter to the seven churches

Antichrist taken alive, cast in lake of fire

End of the world

The Bright and Morning Star, come before it is too late

The Bible—Introduction

The Bible is the world’s best-selling book. It has been translated into more languages than any other book in history. It is a unique book containing a timeless message for all human beings everywhere. It is a collection of sixty-six books by forty different authors, written and compiled over a span of 1,600 years. It is the only book that can support a claim to have been inspired by God Himself. The prophets and writers were convinced of one thing: their message was not of their own invention. They communicated the very Word of God. It does reflect the personalities of the writers and the literary styles of their times.

The Bible is one book, one history, one story. It is, in its entirety, the Word of God. It is an account of God’s effort to reveal Himself to man. The Bible contains historical narrative that relates to Israel’s history, practical advice for godly living, poetry, predictions, and visions concerning the future. It reports God’s interventions in history. It explains the origin of the universe, affirms the uniqueness of mankind, accounts for the presence of evil and suffering in our world, and unveils the future.

The central theme of the Bible is salvation—through Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is the foundation, and the New Testament is the superstructure. The Old Testament is the covenant God made with man about his salvation before Christ came. The New Testament is the agreement God made with man about his salvation after Christ came (Henrietta C. Mears). From Adam to Abraham, 2,000-plus years, we have the history of the human race. From Abraham to Christ, 2,000-plus years, we have the history of the chosen race. From Christ on, we have the history of the church—the Christian era.

The Old Testament is the story of God’s dealing with the Hebrew nation for the purpose of bringing into the world a messiah for all nations. (God created man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, in Southwest Asia, approximately in the center of the largest land portion of the earth’s surface. Man sinned and fell from what God designed him to be. Then God inaugurated a plan for man’s ultimate redemption by calling Abraham to found a nation through which this would be accomplished.)

Canon, the name of the list of books recognized as the genuine, original, inspired, authoritative Word of God, was the rule of faith—the Ten Commandments, Moses’ law, etc. Joshua, Samuel, and the prophets added to the book in Jesus’ day; this book was called the Scriptures—Word of God, later called Old Testament to differentiate the two.

The Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek. Greek was the language of the world at that time. This version was in common use in the days of Christ. The New Testament was written in Greek. Aramaic was the common language of Palestine in Jesus’ day (from the nation of Aram, known as Syria in the New Testament).

It is believed that the Old Testament books were written originally on skins (from calf, sheep, or goat). They were copied by hand. Until the captivity, official copies were kept in the temple. Afterward, many copies were made for synagogues. All original copies of Bible books have been lost. Our Bible was made from copies of copies, all by hand, until the invention of the printing press in AD 1454. (The first printed Bible was Guttenberg. A copy is in UT [University of Texas] Library in Austin, Texas; also, there is one in the Library of Congress.) Bible scholars agree that our present Bible text is essentially the same as that in the original books. For hundreds of years, the earliest text of the Old Testament available was copied in AD 1100. Then, with the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, texts of Old Testament books dated as early as 200 BC—some 1,300 years older—were found. When compared, scholars discovered that these texts were virtually identical. (God not only gave us His Word but has guarded it so that today we, too, can read the Bible and hear His living voice.)

Bible books are in seven groups—the Old Testament has thirty-nine books, and the New Testament has twenty-seven books:

The first seventeen books are the historical group—Genesis through Esther. It covers the rise and fall of the Hebrew nation.

The next five books are the poetical group—Job through Song of Solomon. This was the golden age, the era of David and Solomon.

The next seventeen books are the prophecy group—Isaiah through Malachi. This is the dark age—visions of the future.

The first four books of the New Testament are the gospels, Matthew through John. This is the life of Jesus, when and how He came—the good news.

Acts stands alone. It tells the story of the early church from Christ’s resurrection to about AD 63. It shows the trials and triumphs of the missionary life, like Paul.

The next twenty-one books are the epistles. They start with the book of Romans, the theological cornerstone of the New Testament. It is the book on righteousness. It follows with the letters of instructions to new churches—Christ’s teachings and principles.

Last is Revelation, the ultimate triumph of Christ. This is the book on the final judgment and eternity.

Man was on earth for some 1,600-plus years before it was totally destroyed by the flood. It is believed that Abraham received the story of the creation and the fall of man and the flood from Shem (Noah’s oldest son who survived the flood in the ark).

Abraham himself had a direct call from God. He lived in a period of great literary activity in a society of culture, books, and libraries. He was a man of leadership and conviction, so he made careful and accurate records, which he had received from his ancestors, to which he added his own life and God’s promises to him—on clay tablets.

The earliest alphabet dates back to about 1800 BC. An alphabetic inscription was found in Sinai in 1905. This was in the country where Moses spent forty years, and this inscription was made 400 years before Moses. Thus, it is certain that writing was in common use in Palestine centuries before Moses’ day.

Records were written on papyrus (writing material made from the papyrus plant) and leather rolls, which were perishable, so they had to be recopied as older copies wore out. Even so, most of the Egyptians’ records perished. (The Ten Commandments were engraved on stone tablets.)

From all writings, the most important statement in the Bible is that Christ rose from the dead. This is the one thing for which the whole Bible was written. It is the thing that gives meaning to life—the basis of our hope of eternal life.

From the end of the Old Testament to the beginning of the New Testament, a period of 400 years passed. During that period, no biblical prophet spoke or wrote. The period was from about 430 BC to the time Christ was born. Judea was a Persian province. It had been a world power for about a hundred years and remained for another hundred years. Years 331 to 167 BC were considered the Greek period. Alexander the Great came into power and conquered virtually the whole world. He invaded Palestine in 332 BC. He showed great consideration for the Jews and spared Jerusalem. His reign was brief. He died in 323 BC. On his death, his empire was divided between his four generals since he had no heirs. Palestine, lying between Syria and Egypt, went to Syria but shortly passed to Egypt. Palestine remained under Egypt’s control till 198 BC. The Jews were, for the most part, peaceful and happy. They built synagogues in all the settlements, spreading the knowledge of God and their hope of a messiah.

Then the Syrian king, Antiochus the Great, reconquered Palestine. He persecuted the Jews and forbade them to worship. He made a furious and determined effort to exterminate them. He devastated Jerusalem in 168 BC. He defiled the temple and prohibited temple worship. He sold thousands of Jewish families into slavery. He destroyed all copies of Scripture that could be found, then slaughtered everyone who had those copies. All this led to the Maccabean revolt under the leadership of Mattathias, a priest. He was infuriated at the attempt of Antiochus to destroy the Jews and their religion. He died in 166 BC. His son, Judas, a warrior and military genius, took his place and won battle after battle against unbelievable and impossible odds. They were inspired by their faith in God.

Judas reconquered Jerusalem in 165 BC and rededicated the temple. He united the priestly and civil authority in himself and established the line of priest-rulers who governed an independent Judea until 63 BC. Palestine was then conquered by the Romans. Antipater was appointed ruler of Judea. He was succeeded by his son Herod the Great, who was king from 37 to 4 BC. To obtain the favor of the Jews, he rebuilt the temple. This is the brutal and cruel man who ruled Judah when Jesus was born.

The New Testament begins with the gospels—there is really but one gospel with four presentations. The gospels portray Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell the same story, but each in his own way. The first three may be viewed together, although they are striking in similarities—and their differences. They narrate Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, His miracles, parables, and addresses to the multitudes. They portray Christ in action. John tells of Christ’s ministry in Judea. He presents His conversations and prayers. He portrays Him in meditation and Communion. Each has recorded that which is relevant and pertinent to his particular theme. All gospels omit Christ’s life between ages twelve and thirty.

Matthew presents Jesus as king and is written primarily for the Jew. The Jew was steeped in Old Testament scripture. His teacher must be a man versed in the Old Testament and in the customs of the Jews. They were not interested in prophecy being filled, but they were concerned over a remarkable leader who had appeared in Palestine. They wanted to hear more about Jesus. They were not concerned at first about the genealogy of a king but with a God who is as able, a God who can meet man’s every need. Matthew begins with Jesus’ royal genealogy. Matthew is concerned with the coming of the promised savior. Mark depicts Jesus as a servant and writes to the Romans. There is no genealogy in Mark, but more miracles are found here than in any other Gospel. Mark is concerned with the life of a powerful savior.

Luke sets forth Jesus as the perfect man. Written to the Greeks, his genealogy goes back to Adam, the first man, instead of Abraham. Luke is concerned with the grace of a perfect savior. John portrays Jesus as the Son of God and writes to all who will believe with the purpose of leading men to Christ. John is concerned with the possession of a personal savior.

Every Old Testament prophet assured God’s chosen people again and again that a messiah should come who would be king of the Jews. All the Gospel books portray Jesus as more beautiful in person than any prophet’s vision of Him. He Himself became a man to give mankind a concrete, definite, tangible idea of what kind of person to think of when we think of God. Jesus’ appearance on the earth is the central event of all history.

As a man, Jesus lived the most strangely beautiful life ever known. He was the kindest, tenderest, gentlest, most patient, most sympathetic man that ever lived. He loved people. He hated to see people in trouble. He loved to forgive. He loved to help. He wrought marvelous miracles to feed hungry people. For relieving suffering, he forgot to take food for himself. Multitudes, weary, painridden and heartsick came to him for healing and relief.

Henry H. Halley

Then, He died on the cross to take away the sins of the world—to become the redeemer and savior of men. Then, He rose from the dead and is alive now—the most important fact of history and the most vital force in the world today.

The whole Bible is built around this beautiful story of Christ and His promise of eternal life—to those who accept Him. The Bible was written only so that men might believe, understand, know, love, and follow Christ! Over and over Jesus is spoken of throughout the Bible as a king, the Messiah, the Christ, the branch, the prince, the anointed one, wonderful, mighty, everlasting, prince of peace…the prewritten story of Jesus, recorded centuries before Jesus came, is so astonishing in detail that it reads like an eye-witness account of His life and work.

Jesus is our friend, our companion—invisible but there—now, tonight, tomorrow, next week, next year. He is shadowing us through life, walking by our side, watching every detail of life’s pitiful struggle, trying so patiently to lead us to a place of immortal happiness in heaven. Although it seems like a beautiful dream, it is the fundamental fact of our existence.

Christ is the center and heart of the Bible, history, and our lives. Our eternal destiny is in His hand. Our acceptance or rejection of Him determines for each of us eternal glory or eternal ruin, i.e., heaven or hell. The most important decision anyone is ever called on to make is his attitude toward Christ. It is glorious to be a Christian—the most exalted privilege of all mankind. To accept Christ as Savior—to follow His way—is the most reasonable way to live. It means peace, peace of mind, contentment, forgiveness, happiness, hope, life abundant on earth, and life that shall never end.

Jesus came to bring us the priceless gift of everlasting life, but He will not force it on us. The prime condition is that we love Him more than we love anything or anyone else. He must have first place in our hearts.

The person whose life is shaped by Jesus’ teaching is on a secure foundation. We must take Jesus’ teachings seriously as standards of our lives to be good Christians.

A good Christian is a person who depends completely on God, is hungry for God’s presence and blessings, loves people who do not like him/her, and is not judgmental, harsh, or critical in his attitude toward others. In humility, he seeks to help his brother/sister in need—conscious always that he needs God’s grace more than does his brother—seeks to develop a good, generous, loving character from which will flow genuinely good deeds…becoming a Christian is not making a new start in life; it is receiving a new life to start with…

The Old Testament

Genesis

Author: Moses

Place: Eden to Ur, Eastward, Canaan to Egypt, Westward

Time frame: 4000–1885 BC

Hebrew and Christian tradition is that Moses, guided by God, composed Genesis out of ancient documents existing in his day, revelations he received from God, and stories told and retold by Israelites in Egypt.

The thrust of the Genesis message is that to understand who we are and where we came from, we must begin with God. It traces the creation of the universe to a personal God. It portrays human beings as unique, special creatures of this God. It explains the origin of sin and evil. It affirms man’s moral responsibility and lays a foundation for a doctrine of redemption.

Genesis explains the origin of the Hebrews, a people chosen by God to serve as a channel of blessing for the whole world. Special promises given to Abraham, the father of the chosen race, are evidence that God has a continuing purpose for human beings and is working out this purpose in history. Genesis lays the foundation for understanding all Scripture, for the whole Bible speaks from the context defined in this first book. God cares about human beings. God must and will judge sin, but God also has set in motion a process that brings even sinners back to Him. In a grand plan for the benefit of our race, He set in motion the call of Abraham. God has revealed the wonder of His endless, redeeming love.

Genesis begins in the beginning and traces the inception of the universe, man, woman, marriage, worship, sin, judgment, civilization, and redemption. Chapters 1–11 present a wide view: God’s dealing from creation to Babel. It focuses on foundation events—creation of the universe, fall of man, flood of Noah, and the tower of Babel.

Chapters 12–50 focus on the foundation of people—Abraham’s faith; God’s relationship with one man and his descendants over the next four centuries, during which a nation is founded and salvation is promised for the fallen race of man; Isaac’s family; Jacob’s conflicts; and Joseph’s calamity. The family records of God’s chosen line, Adam to Jacob, which compose the book of Genesis, cover the first 2,000 years of man’s history, from the creation to the settlement of God’s chosen people in Egypt.

Who made God? No one can answer that. There are some things beyond us. We cannot conceive the beginning of time or the end of time or the boundaries of space. The highest of all things within reach of our thinking are personality, mind, and intelligence. Freedom is God’s gift to man—freedom to think, freedom of conscience—even though man uses that same freedom to disobey God.

Genesis 1 and 2 give a concise overview of the progress of the creation of the universe. God exercises His creative power and, by merely speaking, brings the universe into being. He focuses His attention on planet Earth and carefully shapes it to support life. After creating the heavens, earth, sky, and light to separate day and night, He created sea and earth creatures suited for each environment. Climaxing in the creation of man from the dust to rule over every living thing. Chapter 1 emphasizes the awesome power of our Creator. God’s revelation of Himself is the heart of this chapter. He speaks, makes, separates, sets the sun and stars in heaven, and blesses. He demonstrates His trustworthiness in the regularity of day following night and season succeeding season. He displays His love and unselfishness by sharing His likeness with human beings. From the beginning, God has known and, indeed, controlled history—and its flow toward an intended end.

God carefully shaped a garden called Eden (believed to be at Babylonia, near the mouth of the Euphrates) to permit Adam to use those capabilities the Lord shared with him, such as love of beauty, delight in meaningful work, moral responsibility, and even capacity for invention. Yet, despite these fulfilling gifts, Adam gradually realized something was lacking. God said, It is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). He caused Adam to sleep very deeply and took one of his ribs and made Eve. God’s method, taking a rib from Adam, teaches that man and woman share a common identity. They are equals, each fully participating in God’s gift of His image and likeness. Yet, they are different so that they can bond together as husband and wife to meet each other’s deepest needs for intimacy, lifelong commitment, and mutual support. The creation of man was about 4000 BC, but the creation of the universe may have been countless ages earlier. Of all God’s creatures, man alone wears clothing—a badge of our sinful nature.

Then sin entered this perfect environment—the innocence and harmony of the original creation were shattered when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, with the consequences that affected the entire human race. Tempted by Satan (speaking through a snake), Adam and Eve ate fruit from the forbidden tree, the tree of life, and were expelled from the garden of Eden. Adam tried to blame God, who put the woman there. Eve blamed the snake. Eve relied on what seemed desirable to her human understanding and what seemed pleasurable to her physical senses. This sin alienated Adam from God and introduced hostility between Adam and Eve. He placed a curse on the woman that she would have great pain at childbirth and her husband would rule over her. He placed a curse on the ground that man would have to work hard for food all his life and later return to dust when he died. The curse God placed on the snake was that it would crawl on its stomach and always be an enemy to man.

The first family began. After the bliss at Eden, life went on for Adam and Eve. Eve gave birth to a son, Cain, who became a farmer, then another son, Abel, who cared for the sheep. Cain became jealous when God accepted Abel’s gift of sheep but did not accept his gift of food from the ground. Cain became angry and invited Abel into the fields and killed him. Cain and Abel’s disagreement concerned how God should be worshiped. Cain did not bring his best produce; Abel brought his best sheep. Cain’s gift expressed his gratitude to God for helping him have a good crop. Abel expressed total dependence upon God. Cain was age 129 when he murdered Abel. God cursed the ground for Cain so it would not grow good crops again.

When Adam was 130 years old, they had another son named Seth. They had other sons, thirty-three in all, and twenty-seven daughters. He