The story of creation is rightfully two stories. The first section, Genesis 1:1-2:4, is the one we are most familiar with.

There is a rhythm to this story – a sort of back and forth, found in the repetition of each day and in God’s declaration of the goodness of creation. It is likely that this was a text that was written for, and used in, the worship of ancient Israel. The central theme in this story is how God creates order out of disorder.

In the midst of the crazy, unpredictability of life, we can know and trust that God is in control, bringing order where it seems impossible. And as God creates, God declares every inch of this created world to be good, beautiful, and holy.

Want to read more? The second section of the creation story begins at Genesis 2:4, and goes through the rest of the chapter. This story – much older – gives a vision of God walking in the Garden with humankind, lovingly forming us from the dust of the earth.

Once you move past the 11th chapter, the book of Genesis becomes a family story. And that story begins with Abraham and Sarah. In chapter 12 of Genesis, we hear how Abraham and Sarah (called Abram and Sarai at that point) are called away from their home and into a foreign land. What follows from that point are their adventures as they find their way in this new place, and then their struggles in creating a family together.

Family is a big theme in the Old Testament – in particular, male heirs. In the ancient world, having a son (or even better, many sons) was how you ensured the future of your family. A son could carry on your name, build his own wealth, and ensure that your name would be remembered for generations to come. Dying without a son not only meant that you did not have anyone to care for you in your old age, it meant that your name and memory would die with you. We pick up the Abraham and Sarah story here, at the re-assurance of God’s promise (Genesis 17:1-22).

To be clear: we no longer share these same values around only valuing male heirs, or of procreation being the most important part of a life well-lived. We know that eternal life does not come from male heirs, but from the gift of God’s grace offered through Jesus.

However, still in this story we discover the power of God to do the things we consider impossible. A child, at 99 years old! We discover the faithfulness of God – that God will deliver on the promise that has been made, even when it seems hopeless. We discover that God will continue to surprise us, again and again.

In the middle of the Abraham and Sarah story is the story of Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 16).

Impatient and tired of waiting for God to fulfill the promise of an heir, Abraham has a child with his slave. Slavery was a part of the ancient world. Unlike the hereditary chattel slavery of North America, in the ancient world slavery was often temporary and did not pass on to children. In this case, Abraham had decided that the child of his slave would become his heir.

In this powerful story, the slave Hagar is the first person to give God a name – she calls God “El-Roi,” or The God Who Sees. We are reminded that God sees those who are suffering and mistreated in this world.

Most of the rest of Genesis focuses on Abraham’s second son, Isaac, and his children. But Genesis 16 reminds us that there are others outside of the main story (in this case, the children of Ishmael) who are blessed by God.

As we come into Genesis 32, the family story continues. Jacob and his brother Esau had been fighting. Not your usual sibling spat, Jacob (Abraham and Sarah’s grandson) feared that his fraternal twin Esau would kill him. And so Jacob had left and gone to another country.

We pick up the story at Genesis 32:22, when Jacob is on his way home – preparing to make amends with his brother. As he prepares himself and waits, he has a divine encounter during the night. It is in this moment that God gives Jacob a new name: Israel. This new name translates to “one who wrestles with God,” and all of Jacob’s descendants would be known by this name – the nation and people of Israel.

This story reminds us that faith is not easy. Faith has ups and downs, and the most faithful among us will wrestle with God and with our faith.

Siblings have the hardest time getting along in Scripture! How true it is – the most painful struggles and disagreements are with the people we love the most.

Joseph was the youngest of Jacob’s sons – and the apple of his father’s eye. Jacob was not shy in playing favorites, and his other children quickly came to resent Joseph for it.

The first section of this story (Genesis 37:12-34) is the culmination of this resentment. The other sons of Jacob do what siblings have threatened to do for generations – they sell off their little brother to strangers traveling through the area. In the following chapters of Genesis, Joseph rises from being a slave to being one of the most powerful people in all of Egypt. He was in this position of power when his brothers showed up in Egypt. They were destitute, looking for help from the most powerful nation in the region (a sort of ancient welfare payment).

The second section of this story shows Joseph’s amazing act of forgiveness Genesis 50:15-26). Those who are powerful today may be vulnerable tomorrow. And those who are vulnerable today may be powerful tomorrow. God is in the business of turning the world upside down! If we find ourselves in positions of power let us wield it gently, knowing that it may be gone tomorrow.

Following the story of Joseph, the children of Israel find themselves in Egypt. Remember the bit about God turning the world upside down? From the powerful position of Joseph, his descendants had become slaves in Egypt.

Here we find the call of an unexpected hero (Exodus 3). Moses was a murderer and a collaborator with the Egyptian rulers – he was hated by both the Israelites and the Egyptians. And yet he is the one that God chooses for this special job – for bringing the Israelites out of slavery. While we often think about eternal life when we hear the word “redemption,” this is is what is originally meant – to free someone from slavery. The story of God redeeming Israel begins with Moses, and this call at the burning bush.

Here God gives Moses a name to call God “I am that I am” – sometimes transliterated as YHWH, Yahweh, or Jehovah. This name is literally the verb “to be,” meaning I am who I am, or I was who I was. The name is considered so holy that it is never spoken by faithful Jews, and even when it appears in our Christian English language Bibles, the translators substitute the word “Lord” with the “ord” in small caps.

The call of Moses is a reminder that God does amazing things in this world THROUGH us. It does not depend on our character, talent, or ability. It all depends on God.

The story of the Exodus comes to a roaring exclamation point in the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14).

Here at the Red Sea, the army of the most powerful nation in the world is defeated by a community of slaves. God does the mighty work of literally casting down the mighty, while the lowly are kept safe and secure.

This event (and those leading up to) are central to the story of Israel. Who are the people of God? They are the ones saved by God’s mighty hand – the ones who once were slaves and immigrants in a foreign land and who were redeemed by God. The Passover celebrated by Jesus and his disciples is a remembrance of this event, over a thousand years later.

Sometimes called the Decalogue, these “ten words” echo through the centuries (Exodus 20:1-21).

At Mount Sinai while leaving Egypt, God gave the people these laws. Of course, it is not just these ten laws – the Law given at Sinai includes all of the law given in the rest of the book of Exodus and also in Deuteronomy. But these ten are a good starting place.

At their heart, the Ten Commandments are a reminder of the God who turns the world upside down. Beginning with a reminder that it is God who brought us out of slavery, the Ten Commandments teach us to hold our blessings gently. As former slaves gain power and form their own nation, they are reminded to especially take care of the most vulnerable among them – laborers, immigrants, and the poor.

After escaping slavery in Egypt, the Israelites lived as a loose confederation of tribes in the land of Palestine. Looking around, they saw powerful kings leading armies that protected the great empires around them. And they wanted that.

Repeatedly they asked God for a king. Repeatedly, God said no. A king would require a divided allegiance – would God’s people remain faithful to God, or would they follow the leadership of their king? In 1 Samuel 8, we hear the culmination of these requests – God finally relents but tells the Prophet Samuel to warn the people about the dangers of a king. We then get a glimpse of Samuel choosing the first of these kings – Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Too often we forget that earthly authority is temporary. We forget that our allegiance belongs to God. As God sets aside the first King of Israel, we are reminded of these warnings.

God had warned that any human king would take advantage of the people, and would abuse the power entrusted to him. King David proves the point.

Overcome with lust, David violates all of the laws and principles laid out in Exodus. He uses his power to command a married woman to share his bed, and then he kills her husband.

The Prophet Nathan comes in at this point, showing us the important work of speaking hard truths to people with power and authority. Nathan has the difficult job of confronting a king, but he does. And sure enough – David shows remorse for his terrible actions.

But remorse is not enough. David learns the hard lesson – actions have consequences. You can’t unring the bell or put the toothpaste back in the tube. To really repent is to confront the truth, to see the better path that God calls us to, and then to make amends for the errors we have made.

The Psalms are songs of praise and lament, joy and sadness. The 150 Psalms run the gamut of human emotion – from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.

Countless generations have committed these words to memory, an arsenal of comfort to have ready and at hand for the trials of life. Psalm 22 is quoted by Jesus from the cross. It begins with a cry of despair, but ends with trust in God’s faithfulness and promise. Similarly, Psalm 23 places the hardship of life – the valley of the shadow of death – in the context of a God who provides for us.

If Psalms 22 & 23 speak to the struggles of life, Psalms 149 & 150 speak to the joy.

These two songs were likely use in worship, a reminder that God is to be praised in every circumstance, and by every means.

The nation of Israel was in crisis.

There had been a civil war, dividing North (called Israel) from South (called Judah). Various Kings did what kings do – forgetting the warning of 1 Samuel 8 they demanded absolute allegiance from the people, and abused the power entrusted to them. Powerful neighbors and their armies threatened the people.

And into this situation, God calls Isaiah to be a Prophet. Like the call of Moses, the Call of Isaiah (Isaiah 6) gives us a peek into that holy moment when God sets someone aside for important work in the world. We are once again reminded that it is not Isaiah, but rather God working and speaking through Isaiah.

Maybe we don’t have a burning bush or singing Seraphim, but we all have these moments. God desires to work and speak through us too. The call of Isaiah invites us to consider our own call, and the task that God has given to us.

The second half of Isaiah was written after the crisis – the Empire of Assyria had attacked and destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the Empire of Babylon had attacked and destroyed the Southern Empire of Judah.

Captives from Judah were living in exile in Babylon, and it is to these exiles that Isaiah writes. The former slaves had become a great nation, and then in a moment it was all gone and they were once again captives in a foreign land.

This section of Isaiah begins (Isaiah 40:1-11, 26-31) with a heart-wrenchingly beautiful reminder of the faithfulness of God. “Comfort, comfort my people!” cries God through the prophet. The words that follow can be found on the lips of John the Baptist as a comfort to the people living under the Roman Empire, they can be found in countless hymns, songs, and poems.

These words of comfort speak to a deep need in the human soul – a God who is always faithful and a promise that never fails.

Like the second half of Isaiah, the Prophet Ezekiel speaks to the people of Judah who are in captivity in Babylon.

The promise of God feels far away. The victory of God seems impossible.

God shows to Ezekiel a vision of the impossible (Ezekiel 37:1-14) – a vision of the dead coming back to life. Even after all the flesh is gone from those who lie in the Valley of Dry Bones, God is able to call them back to life.

What a promise! God is in the business of the impossible. God loves a lost cause.

The Book of Daniel recounts more events that took place during that same Babylonian exile. (Side note, it was in Babylon (590-530 BC) that the community of exiled Judeans became known as Jews. The word Jew means Judean – one from the Kingdom or region of Judah).

However, the Book of Daniel was probably written in the second century BC, when the Jewish people in Palestine were living under the rule of another tyrannical king.

And so, Daniel tells of three faithful people resisting the unjust laws of an abusive ruler (Daniel 3). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stand as examples of how God stands beside those who stand up for justice – like the angel in the fiery furnace. Christians have often understood that 4th person in the furnace to be Jesus, who walks beside us all through the fires of life.

The story of the Fiery Furnace reminds us that there are times when we have to stand tall and resist injustice in the world.

One of the longer readings on this list, the book of Jonah is one of the shortest books in the whole Bible.

Jonah tells the story of a reluctant prophet. Jonah does not want to do the task God has given to him. What was the task? To proclaim God’s word to in the capital city of the Assyrian Empire (the same Assyrians who destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel).

While we are all familiar with the amazing story of the fish that swallows Jonah, we often miss the rest of this story. That Jonah did not want God to be gracious and merciful with the Assyrians.

Read the whole story. Jonah represents us all – we all have people that we love to hate. But God reminds Jonah (and us!) that God loves even the people we hate. And so maybe we should too.

The Prophets Micah and Amos were facing very similar situations.

The people of God were convinced they were right. They did all the right things. Practiced their faith the right ways. Said the right prayers. Knew the Bible.

But something was off. And Micah and Amos went about showing the people what was off. Saying the right prayers was meaningless without caring for the vulnerable. Having the right beliefs was empty without compassion and mercy.

In Micah 6:1-8 and Amos 5:21-24 the two prophets summarize both the problem and the solution. Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. Let justice flow down like waters.

In these two short passages, the Prophets summarize the message of the Old Testament. Their words will be picked up and lived out in the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and prophets for centuries to come will use these words to call us back to God’s vision of a beloved community.