I started The Bible Recap at the end of February after some of my close friends had been talking about it and felt the Lord nudge me to really dive into the Word in depth. The Bible Recap is a one-year-guide to reading and understanding the entire Bible. It comes with a short daily podcast (~8 minutes) hosted by Tara-Leigh Cobble. She highlights and summarizes that day’s Bible reading in a casual, easy to understand way. Each day you read the assigned reading (usually two-three chapters), then tune in to The Bible Recap podcast episode each day after you finish reading.

As I write this, I am currently reading Judges and each book I read further into the Bible, I recognize how much of a blessing it is to read the Bible freely and have access to it physically and as our life source. The Bible Recap has changed the game for me. What I love most about it is that is challenges you to find your “God shot” at the end of each reading, which is discovering how you saw God’s character on display in the scripture.

I hope these recaps point you to His Word and maybe teach you something you hadn’t learned about God before. By no means am I an expert in theology, but sharing the Gospel can change everything for even one person. That’s also one of the many beautiful things about the Bible, different things stand out from it to each of us and sharing what we learn with one another is an incredible way to learn even more about Him. I’d love to hear what you’ve learned lately in God’s Word in the comments below.

In Part 1, I will recap a few lessons from each of the books: Genesis, Exodus, Levitcus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Genesis

• In Genesis, we see the establishment of creation – the heavens and the earth. I learned just how much we are in need of a Savior and how since the very beginning of time, that has been so. But God doesn’t leave us alone to find Him, we learn through the books and pages of the Bible, He wants to be near to us, He wants to redeem His people.
• When Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, we learn about God’s character. After they had sinned and ate the bad fruit, God let them LIVE! He still pursues us in our sin out of love.
• We all start as God’s enemies based on what happened in the Garden and the sin condition in the hearts of humanity. But in God’s love for humanity, He clothes us in His righteousness and adopts us as children. There is truly no one like Him!
• We learn in chapter 46 about “manifest presence” which was adapted and is now the Holy Spirit.

Exodus

• This book is about God rescuing the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, where they were slaves to Pharaoh. God’s rescue & covenant with the Israelites shows His patience, grace and forgiveness. Everything He does for them provides grounds for them to recognize Him as their God.
• Moses is the main character in this book and serves as a leader, appointed by God, to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
• When God split the Red Sea for the Israelites to escape Egypt, it put his Glory on display once again so they would know He is God. Right after that in Chapter 15:11, they praised Him and said “Lord who is like you among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?”
• I love in this book how we learn that God commands us to rest. That it is a good thing! We learn when we rest, we let God continue working on our behalf and that we are recipients of His works. Praise!
• The building of the Tabernacle (in all of its descriptive details) reminds us of God’s plan all along – To dwell among us.
• There are many times in this book where the Israelites try to make it on their own, without God. We learn that God is not just a loving God but He is a just God. He punishes the guilty. There are many offerings in this book as well which represent man’s sin causing animal sacrifice and many other sacrifices. These all point back to God’s plan, restoring what was lost in the Garden of Eden and to remind us of His character when we lose sight of it.

Leviticus

• Moses also wrote this book to the Israelites entering the Promised Land after God brought them out of Egypt. This book is a lot of laws and instruction.
• We learn that God tells His people to come to Him when they sin, not run away. God knows we can’t fix ourselves!
• There are four offerings in this book that go into a lot of detail that are hard to follow. The sin offering is for atonement, to cover our sins. The burnt offering is for petitions and praise, and the peace offering is for communion and fellowship. God has all of these in place and part of His plan to be near to us.
• Through these sacrifices (as a result of sin), we find several foreshadowings (in a lot of the Old Testament) to the Fall and the Cross. We are reminded that because Jesus became the atonement for our sins, we have been wiped clean! He cleans us up to look more like Him.

Numbers

• Numbers covers the remaining years the Israelites’ (currently 12 tribes) stay in the wilderness, on their way to the Promised Land from God (the land God promised Abraham in Genesis).
• This book shows a lot of the unbelief of the Israelites and shows God response of grace and we learn about the importance of obedience in being a Christian.
• As we are learning about all the tribes and camps in the wilderness, we see God gives assignments to the greatest & the least of the Israelites. He treated both of them with honor and love!
• We see the one year celebration of escaping Egyptian slavery in the book of Numbers and look forward to a new season on the way to Canaan.
• God’s plan to bless Israel still continues, even through Moses and Aaron disobeying Him (yes, even these appointed leaders), the Israelites worshipping a bronze snake, sleeping around with Moab women and worshipping other gods. We learn that our need for Him is constant!

Deuteronomy

• Deuteronomy is the last book that was written by Moses and was the time period that Israel was preparing to enter Canaan. This book serves as guidelines to the generation of Israel entering the promised land that will enable them to live obediently before God. We learn more about the covenant relationship and the Israelites’ response to it.
• I love in the beginning of this book how it talks about that the Lord’s promises aren’t limited to just His children. Anyone can receive Him and His common grace!
• The Israelites are reminded that when they receive blessings from Him, to remember Who provided them. Pride and fear can make us forget God and become self-righteous.
• I love verse 30:20 “Love the Lord your God, obey him and remain faithful to Him.” Moses tells the Israelites many commands, and appoints Joshua to take over.
• Because of Moses’ sin in the wilderness that we learned about in Numbers, he was not allowed to enter the promised land. But in God’s love for Moses, He gave him a glimpse of the promised land for Israel by telling him to go up to the top of the mountain and view the land of Canaan, which is where he died. This shows such a beautiful picture of although his life was full of many highs and lows, God was still with him and near him, just as He said.