Intro to video 1

Have you ever wondered why there are so many ancient biblical laws in the first books of the Bible? What are modern readers supposed to do with them, and why are some of them so odd? In this video, we explore why the laws were given to ancient Israel and how they fit into the overall storyline of the Bible.

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Discuss

1. The Bible is not a behaviour manual, it an… (Epic narrative)

2. In the story, though, God does tell people what to do, starting with: The command not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil. This foreshadows the laws given to Israel.

3. What is the part of the story in which God gives the laws? (Israel is enslaved in Egypt, God establishes a covenant with them and sets out the terms of this covenant - the Law)

4. Do we find all of Israel’s laws in the Bible? (No, we only get examples that highlight the author’s intent in the different parts of the story)

5. So we see a few laws, followed by examples of Israel breaking these laws, followed by bad consequences.

6. What is the meaning of the animal sacrifices we find throughout the law? (They were ritual symbols: the animal went up to heaven, covering the person’s failures, making them acceptable to God)