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Maps and Illustrations
Abraham’s Journey
Proposed Routes of the Exodus and Desert Wanderings
Plan of the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:16–34) and Arrangement of Tribal Camps (Numbers
2)
The Tabernacle
in the Wilderness
The Conquest of Canaan
Israel—The Twelve Tribes
Israel’s Judges
The Divided Kingdom
Paul’s First Missionary Journey
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey
Paul’s Third Missionary Journey
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Introduction
F
INDING
S
CRIPTURE
’
S
S
TORY
T
oward the
end of his gospel, St. Luke recounts the greatest Bible study ever held.
Jesus joins two disciples as they travel the road to Emmaus. In response to their despair
over the events of Good Friday, Jesus says, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these
things and enter into his glory?” (Lk 24:25–26). In the midst of the tragic events and
details of the
previous days, these disciples had lost sight of all that God was doing in his
story of Scripture, and, as a result, they also lost sight of the narrative thread to their own
lives and were filled with sorrow and despair.
In response, Jesus takes the disciples back through Scripture’s story, showing them
God’s wonderful design and purpose. When Jesus wanted to teach these disciples the very
meaning of who he was and make sense of the events of life, he opened up for them
Scripture’s plot, the “big picture” that weaves together all the
individual events and
details. The disciples saw the whole breathtaking view of Scripture’s story and how it led
to Christ. It set their hearts on fire and changed their lives; their sorrow was turned to
joy, and they raced back to Jerusalem!
Our Father invites each of us to become immersed in the story of his Word, which
includes great deeds, adventure, love, betrayal, sacrifice, miracles, and much more. In the
Scriptures, we learn about faith in the Lord by seeing it lived out by
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Abraham. We
learn about obedience when Joshua follows God’s directions for defeating Jericho instead
of rushing in with his army. We learn about courage when David goes up against the giant
warrior Goliath. We learn about trust in the Lord when Mary gives her “yes” to God’s
plan. We learn about self-sacrificial love when Jesus gives his life on the cross for our
salvation. Most importantly, though, the Scriptures give us a story in which we
can meet
God himself, come to know his infinite love for each of us, and respond to his invitation
to enter into this epic tale.
The key to every good story is its plot, which brings together the many details, events,
and characters to give the story its meaning and power. Without a good plot, we just close
the book or turn off the movie. The story of Scripture
also has a plot, but it is precisely
this plot that many people have difficulty finding and making sense of. And if we cannot
understand the plot of Scripture, we get lost in endless genealogies, names, and battles;
we close the book and leave the Bible on the shelf, never learning God’s story and our
place in it.
Because the Bible is comprised of seventy-three different
books by nearly as many
authors, at first glance it is easy to see why finding Scripture’s plot might prove difficult.
Yet the Bible is no ordinary book. The Holy Spirit inspired the human writers, and so
the Bible is also authored by God. And because it has one divine Author, this collection
of books is unified by an incredible story. Indeed, the
Catechism of the Catholic Church
states that we must be especially attentive to the content and unity of the whole of
Scripture if we are to read it in accordance with the same Spirit who inspired God’s word:
“Different as the books which comprise it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the
unity of God’s plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart” (No. 112).
The
goal of
Walking with God is to imitate Jesus’ Emmaus Road Bible study by
shining a spotlight on the marvelous plot of Scripture’s story that results from the unity
of God’s plan. To accomplish that goal, this book follows
The Great Adventure Bible
Timeline learning system, which organizes the events of the Bible into twelve periods and
follows the basic storyline of God’s revelation by focusing on just fourteen “narrative
books” that together give the “big picture” of Scripture’s plot. (Once the plot of the story
comes into focus, the
remaining
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fifty-nine books, which
The Bible Timeline program
calls “supplemental books,” can be fit into their historical contexts.) Each chapter of this
book tells the story of a specific period, and the respective
Great Adventure period colors,
along with their significance, appear below each chapter heading.
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