The Bible is the story of Jesus. But the flow of his story is often interrupted with detours. A detour is supposed to temporarily take you off the main road you were traveling on, not get you permanently lost. But unfortunately, this is exactly what happens to many people when they read the Bible – a detour comes and they get permanently lost so they stop reading their Bible all together.
Well in this post I’m going to tell you about three main detours in the Old Testament. These detours will temporarily take us off the main story of Jesus. But as soon as they are over, the storyline picks right back up. Ok. Here we go.
DETOUR #1: 400 years in Egypt
In Phase 1 of God’s plan of salvation he is turning Abram into a great nation (the nation of Israel). In Phase 2 God will bring this great nation into a great big chunk of land (the Promised Land). However, between phases 1 and 2 the nation becomes enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. This is detour #1.
DETOUR #2: 40 years in the Wilderness
In Phase 2 of God’s plan of salvation he is working to bring the great nation he’s created (the nation of Israel) into a great big chunk of land (the Promised Land). However, because of a lack of faith (Numbers 13) God punishes the Israelites and they end up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years instead of taking the 11 day journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. This is detour #2.
DETOUR #3: 70 years in Babylon
In Phase 3 of God’s plan of salvation he will bring his promised Savior from the great nation (the nation of Israel) and out of the land (the Promised Land). But between Phases 2 and 3 some of the Israelites (from the southern kingdom of Judah) are exiled to Babylon for 70 years. This is detour #3.
God couldn’t bring his promised Savior into the world while the Israelites were in Egypt. The Savior needed to come from the Promised Land. God couldn’t bring his promise Savior into the world while the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness. The Savior needed to come from the Promised Land. And God couldn’t bring his promised Savior into the world while the Israelites were in Babylon. The Savior needed to come from the Promised Land.
These detours threaten to get us lost in the story of Jesus. But knowing where they are and what they’re about will help us stay on track with the story of Jesus (After all, the Bible is nothing more and nothing less than the story of Jesus).