Old Testament in a Nutshell

I am taking a break from Genesis for now to prepare for my final in my Old Testament Survey class. I figure one good way to remember everything is to write about it and then anyone who's interested can read it as well.
So one thing we have learned is how the Old Testament is laid out. I think most people know it is not in chronological order. There are 39 books in the OT. The first five are known as the Pentateuch. They lay the foundation for our lives, and outline the typical pattern of our walk with God.
You have Genesis, the book of beginnings. What was your beginning with your walk in Christ? I was 21, living the life of a party girl and going down hill fast. God brought me to Him using my my future husband at the time.
The book of Exodus is about deliverance. What did God deliver you from when you began your new life in Him? He delivered me from an empty, pointless life of partying, drinking, drugs, and sexual relationships. He delivered me from bondage of a low self worth and anger of past hurts.
Leviticus is a book of worship and holiness. What is your praise to God? I praise God that despite my horrible lifestyle He loved me. Despite everything that I was and quite frankly, everything that I still am, He loves me. He provides for me. He is my strength, my refuge, and my security. I know that I have NOTHING to fear because He is in control. I can just rest and rely on Him. I have so much more to praise Him for. More than I could ever write down.
Then we have the book of Numbers. The book of wanderings. They are whining and complaining and doubting God's will in their lives. I am sure this sounds familiar to everyone. What are you whining about, worried about, and or doubting in your life right now? I have the ongoing complaint of all of my struggles with my children. I whine often about just being exhausted by the end of the day, and have honestly, at times, wished I didn't have children, or at least not all 3. It's ridiculous really. I use to whine about how God wouldn't let me have children and now He has blessed me with the huge honor of 3 beautiful children without even the aid of fertility treatment and I am complaining? I should have nothing but praise, but instead I often complain.
The 5th book of the Pentateuch is Deuteronomy, a book of reminders, or second law. There are 3 major sermons taught in this book:
1. What God has done.
2. What God is doing.
3. What God will do.
After reflecting on the first 4 areas of our walk with Him, we can read this book and apply the messages to our lives comparing our lives to those of the Israelites. It's an interesting pattern that we can all actually relate to quite well. There are many timeless messages in the OT that shouldn't be forgotten about.
Next we have the Historical Books covering the rise of the Hebrew Nation
Joshua- the book of conquest
Judges- the book of cycles
Ruth- the book of the kinsman redeemer
1 & 2 Samuel- judges to kings & David's reign
The Monarchy Books which overlap a bit as they include:
1 & 2 Samuel- judges to kings & David's reign
1 & 2 Kings- united/divided kingdom & Israel and Judah fall
1 & 2 Chronicles- God's view of the Judah's kings
Next we have the Post Exilic books
Ezra- Rebuild the Temple
Nehemiah- Rebuild the Walls
Esther- Providence & Preservation
Then there are the Poetical Books
Job- Suffering and Sovereignty
Psalms- Worship
Proverbs- Wisdom
Ecclessiastes- Vanity
Song of Solomon- Romance
Then we have the Prophets divided into two groups:
Major Prophets- (Simply because they are longer):
Isaiah- Salvation
Jeremiah- Warnings
Lamentations- written by Jeremiah, mourning
Ezekiel- Restoration
Daniel- Destiny- God's sovereign plan for Israel
The Minor Prophets- (shorter, not in height, =D LOL):
Hosea- Loyal love
Joel- The Day of the Lord
Obadiah- Judgment on Edom
Jonah- God's Mercy on the Repentant
Micah- The Justice of God
Nahum- Nineveh's Judgement
Habakkuk- Judgment on Judah
Zephaniah- Future Global Judgment
Haggai- Construct the Temple
Zechariah- Preparation for the Messiah
Malachi- True Worship

Many of the books in the OT cover the same time period as another. The book of Job takes place at the same time as the happenings in Genesis, toward the end. Genesis covers 4000 years. The poetry books were written by David during his reign, Job, and Solomon during his reign. They express what they were feeling while the Monarchy books state the facts all concerning the same time period. There are many other overlaps like this through out the Bible that are good to know so you understand where they are coming from. The light goes on and it makes so much more sense when you understand the background.

So here's a walk through of the OT in 8 steps, coming from a reference guide compiled by Ron and Linda Sluder for the East Valley Bible Institute "Old Testament Survey" class.

1. 3 Cycles in Genesis:
Cycles of Sin, Judgment, Redemption, and Promise
1) Edenic- Sin was disobedience in eating the fruit, Judgment was the curse to follow, Redemption- Animal skin coverings, Promise was Gen 3:15 1st mention of Gospel and promised offspring of woman.
2) Noahic- Sin was continual disobedience and wickedness of man, Judgment was the flood, Redemption was the ark, and Promise was never to do it again Gen 9:27 rainbow reminder.
3) Abrahamic- Sin was the tower striving upward toward God (idea of self suficeincy), Judgment was confused languages, Redemption was tied together with Promise in the new nations of Israel and the line to the Messiah through Abraham.

2. Why did they end up in Egypt. Not just because of famine. They lost 3 things:
Purpose, to worship God and build altars.
Unity, sons of Jacob want to kill their own brother.
Seperation, intermarrying with the Canaanites, becoming of the world and not holy and separated for God.

3. God makes a nation with 3 ingredients: Exodus through Joshua
1) People - Jacob's family grows from 70 to 2 million in only 430 years.
2) Constitution - Law is given on Mount Sanai
3) Land - They divide and conquer Jericho under Joshua's leadership.

4. Problems: Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel
Judges: They didn't fully occupy the land and allowed the worldly Canaanites to remain and didn't listen to God. They did what was right in their own eyes instead. As a result they fall into 7 cycles of Sin, Servitude, Supplication and Salvation by way of a judge/leader.
Ruth: A bright spot in an otherwise terrible time. A redeemed pagan Moabite woman becomes Great Grandmother to David the future King and line to the Messiah.
Eli & Sons: Everything gets worse - Eli & sons die leaving no priest, the ark captured, no throne. Shiloh is burned leaving no capital, the Philistines are in control which means no land, and Israel rejects God leaving them no king. Then they cry out for a king for all the wrong reasons - to be like the other nations.

5.120 years of Monarchy: 1 Samuel - 1 Kings 11
Samuel: last judge and a prophet, transition from judges to kings.
1st: King Saul: people's choice, no heart for God, commits suicide after trying to kill David.
2nd: King David: God's choice, man after God's own heart, retrieves ark, conquers Jerusalem, loves God and wants to build a temple for Him. He sins big time with Bathsheba, but gives us Psalm 51 model of repentance.
3rd: King Solomon : Starts well. Asks for wisdom, writes most of Proverbs and Song of Solomon, but then gets out of hand w/ too many horses, wives, and too much money. All things God warned him against. He repents with Ecclesiastes but the nation still splits in 931 BC.
Each king reigns for 40 years.

6. Kingdom splits and prophets speak. 1 Kings 12- 2 Kings
10 tribes to Judah (south), and 2 tribes to Israel (North).
Israel has 19 bad kings and is captured by Assyria in 722 BC.
Judah has 20 kings, 8 good, and is captured by Babylon in 605BC
Prophets speak but no one listens causing them to end up in exile for 70 years.

7. Captivity/Exile End of 2 Kings, Ezekiel, Daniel
God uses their time in captivity to teach them through Ezekiel and Daniel about 5 points:
1) Man's sin.
2) God's righteousness
3) The need for repentance
4) Redemption for repentance
5) Consequences if no repentance

8. Return from Exile (prep for Messiah) (Ezra - Nehemiah)
Return happens in 3 groups. 1st group works on rebuilding the temple. 2nd group works on rebuilding the people, mass divorce from pagan wives. 3rd group works on rebuilding the walls in 52 days. (quite a feat)
Prophets: Haggai says build the temple, Zechariah says repent, Malachi says worship in truth. Haggai tells everyone that all that is going on will be better as this is all preparation for the Messiah to come.

Thus begins the 400 years of silence.