Learning God

God's Word

Old Testament

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking the Old Testament has been replaced by the New Testament and, therefor, you don’t need to read it.  The Old Testament has a lot to offer the modern-day Christian.  The Old Testament, in particular, the five books of the law, or the Torah, lay the foundation for God’s plan of redemption.  

The twelve books of history cover the successes and failures of God’s chosen people, the Israelites.  These stories help us understand our own shortcomings, as God sees them.  They also show how God continues with them, as he does with us, to show mercy and forgiveness, as well as how He eventually does provide justice for those who do not repent.

The five books of poetry are filled with praise and glory for the creator of our universe, as well as deep insights into His nature.  These books help us understand our relationship with Him and each other and deal with deep questions we often have about life.  “Relationship” is the key theme of these books.

The five books of the major prophets, along with the 12 books of the minor prophets all focus on different aspects of what God is doing as result of the peoples  behaviors.  That applies to us today!   These prophets tell of things that were to come and already have, as well as future things not yet come.  Understanding what God said He was going to do and then seeing that it actually came to pass exactly as He said, helps us wrap our heads around those prophecies still future.  We can rely on God’s Word.  God means what He says and says what He means. What He says will come to pass as He said it would.

We are just getting started to provide the detailed content for these books.  Please check back regularly for new content.

Why Read It?

Understand God’s creation of the physical universe, humanity, and His plan of redemption.

To show God’s faithfulness to the covenant and provide Israel with guidelines for holy living

To instruct Israel on how to be holy and be a blessing to others

To remind the people of the consequences of rebelling against God

To remind those who would enter the Promised Land what God expects from them

Why Read It?

To assure the people that obedience to God is rewarded

To stress the importance of remaining loyal to God

To demonstrate the faithfulness and kindness that God desire from us

To record how Israel got a king

To record David’s victories and also his failures

To demonstrate the value of obeying God and the danger of disobeying

To demonstrate the value of obeying God and the danger of disobeying

To encourage the exiles who returned to Judah

To encourage the exiles who returned to Judah

To provide an account of the exiles return and restoration

To provide an account of the exiles return and restoration

To demonstrate that in all circumstances God is in control

Why Read It?

To show the sovereignty of God and to illustrate faithfulness in the midst of suffering

To communicate with God and worship Him

To gain wisdom and instruction for prudent behavior and doing what is right

To examine what a meaningful life is

To illustrate the joy of authentic love found in marriage

Why Read It?

To convince the people that salvation is possible through repentance and hope in the coming messiah

To warn the people of destruction and remind them of their sin in hopes of bringing them to repentance

To express the despair of the people of Judah over the loss of their land, city, and temple

To call God’s people in exile to be faithful to God who is still among them

To convince the exiles that God is soveriegn and to provide them with a vision of future redemption

Why Read It?

To illustrate Israel’s spiritual adultery and warn of destruction

To call Judah to repentance in order to avoid judgement

To accuse and judge Israel for injustice and lack of mercy

To prophecy against Edom

To show that God loves all people

To warn people of God’s judgement and to offer hope

To pronounce judgement on Nineveh

To affirm that the wicked will not prevail in the end

To motivate Judah to repentance

To urge the people to complete the rebuilding of the temple

To give hope to the remnant in Israel

To examine Judah’s actions and make sure God has priority