The One Year Chronological Study Bible - Flipbook - Page 16
JANUARY 2
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page 12
the beauty and bounty, to reign with him in the Garden over all the earth and its created
order, and to extend God’s Kingdom.
God’s goodness in creation lays the foundation for the prohibition He gives regarding the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the midst of abundant provision, He delineates
one prohibition: “If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die” (Genesis 2:17). Though Adam has
never seen death, God makes the word understandable and promises that death would
follow eating from the forbidden tree. The prohibition is for their good, as are all the boundaries established in creation. Would His image bearers trust His goodness and exercise rule
over their appetites?
Sadly, they listen to God’s enemy—the serpent, who seeks to be the dominating voice that
humanity hears—and they question God’s goodness, doubt His word, and eat the forbidden
fruit. Sin enters their hearts. They feel shame at their nakedness, fear that causes them to hide
from God, and guilt that leads them to blame others for their own faults.
But God, in His goodness, seeks them in their hiding. His questions expose their sin, but
His mercy provides both a promise of future restoration (Genesis 3:15) and a picture of that
restoration (Genesis 3:21). God promises that an offspring of the woman would crush the
head of the serpent.
The rest of the biblical story tracks God’s goodness displayed against the backdrop of
humanity’s rebellion. The refrain “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!” (Psalm 136:1)
could be applied to each era of the Bible. God’s goodness is displayed in the Patriarch Era
when He chooses a man from an idolatrous family to found a nation. The Exodus Era narrates the goodness of God as He liberates His people from slavery and cares for them in the
wilderness despite their frequent rebellion. God’s goodness is celebrated in the Conquest
Era as He splits the Jordan River for His people and gives them the land promised to
Abraham and his descendants. In the Judges Era, God works behind the scenes and raises
up a family from Judah through whom the redemption story continues. The goodness of
God is paraded in the Kingdom Era through a king after God’s own heart and through His
glory settling on the Temple built by Solomon. God’s goodness disciplines His people and
calls them to repentance in the Divided Kingdom Era. His goodness sustains His people during the seventy years of Babylonian captivity, and then He brings His people back to their
land and prepares them for the coming of the Messiah. In the Silent Era, God’s goodness is
displayed as He preserves both His people and His written Word.
Finally, God’s goodness is on ultimate display in Christ Jesus, who bears guilty humanity’s
penalty in His death on the cross and then bursts out of death’s tomb and ascends to heaven,
where “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!” plays on gloriously for all eternity.
DIVIDED
KINGDOM
KINGDOM
JUDGES
24
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
listen to me, you wives of Lamech.
I have killed a man who attacked me,
a young man who wounded me.
If someone who kills Cain is punished
seven times,
then the one who kills me will be
punished seventy-seven times!”
CONQUEST
EXODUS
PATRIARCH
CREATION
CREATION
20Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the first of
those who raise livestock and live in tents. 21 His
brother’s name was Jubal, the first of all who
play the harp and flute. 22 Lamech’s other wife,
Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain. He
became an expert in forging tools of bronze and
iron. Tubal-cain had a sister named Naamah.
23 One day Lamech said to his wives,
