The Chronicler wrote as a pastoral theologian. The congregation he addressed was an Israel separated from its former days of blessing by a season of judgment. The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles bring a divine word of healing and reaffirm the hope of restoration to a nation that needed to regain its footing in God's promises and to reshape its life before Go… Read more…
The book of Kings is a unique source for understanding the history of Israel from the last days of the united kingdom under David to the eventual fall of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Presenting Israel's national history from a divine viewpoint, these narratives measure the kings of Israel and Judah not by the mark they leave on secular history, but … Read more…
Recipient of a 1990 Christianity Today Critics' Choice Award!
The stories of Samuel, Saul and David are among the most memorable in the Old Testament. Yet the lives of these individuals are wound up in the larger story of God's purpose for his people. Looking beyond the well-known surface of these stories Joyce Baldwin explores the… Read more…
The book of Judges presents Israel's human frailty, the nation's need for both spiritual and political deliverance, and God's use of flawed human leaders to guide and preserve his chosen people through a dark period of their history. The book of Ruth tells a smaller story within this larger narrative, showing God quietly at work in the lives of a… Read more…
The book of Joshua memorializes a transitional episode in Israel's national history. The heroic figure Joshua, imbued with strength, courage and faith, leads the new generation of Israel across the Jordan and into the land of promise, conquering Canaanites and overseeing the allotment of the inheritance among the tribes.
But the book o… Read more…
A dramatic address delivered on the verge of Israel’s entry into the land of Canaan, Deuteronomy has been described as a book "on the boundary." Ted Woods expounds its all-encompassing vision and shows how the Israelites were exhorted to make its words the interpreter of their life's story within the land "beyond the Jordan."
This co… Read more…
"Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah" is one of the best-known hymns in the world. Yet the book of numbers, whose story that hymn summarizes, is seldom read. Why?
"Its very title puts the modern reader off," writes Gordon Wenham. "In ancient time numbers were seen as mysterious and symbolic, a key to reality and the mind of God himself. Today t… Read more…
Levitical rules and regulations can at first appear irrelevant to contemporary Christians--but they provide important Old Testament background for understanding large portions of the New Testament. Leviticus describes a point in human history when God came and dwelt in the midst of the ancient Israelites and taught them what their purpose in life really was.… Read more…
Exodus, Cole says, is "the centre of the Old Testament." It recounts the supreme Old Testament example of the saving acts of God, narrates the instituting of Passover and enshrines the giving of God's law. It portrays Moses, the prototype of all Israel's prophets, and Aaron, the first high priest.
The book of Exodus is especially i… Read more…
Genesis--the Bible's account of human origins and the harbinger of human destiny--is a book teeming with critical problems. Who wrote it? When? Does the account of creation square with modern science? What about Adam and Eve? Derek Kidner not only provides a running exegetical commentary, but lucidly handles the tough issues that Genesis raises. His clea… Read more…
The Book of Acts, John Stott believes, is important not only for its vivid historical record. It is also vital for the inspiration which it brings to us now. Today's church can seek to recapture something of the early confidence, enthusiasm, vision and power of the church of the first century. Despite all its imperfections and troubles, the young church … Read more…
Times were hard for the first readers of the letter to the Hebrews. Many had been exposed to fierce persecution. They had been assaulted, their homes had been plundered, and some had been cast into prison.
To such people this letter came as an encouragement. The writer of the letter turns their eyes to Christ, and shows how he fulfils the … Read more…