+ Genesis (Click for Description)

Looking to study the Bible from cover-to-cover? Let’s start here! Genesis speaks of beginnings: creation; the beginning of humanity; the beginning of sin; the beginning of salvation; and the beginning of our story. Genesis is a literary tour de force that makes all other creation stories pale in comparison . . . and no one tells the story like Dr. C.

You’re in for a fantastic, in-depth study!

+ Leviticus (Click for Description)

Among Christians, Leviticus is probably the most neglected book in the Bible. Most people think of it—if they think of it at all—as an antiquated collection of laws and rituals for worship that have little relevance today: few people have actually read it; fewer still have studied it.

Yet, Leviticus is a book of tremendous depth and beauty. For a Jewish reader, Leviticus rests at the very heart of Torah, God’s most precious gift to his people; for a Christian reader, Leviticus presents two great pathways to God: the first is the approach to God through sacrifice; the second is the walk with God through sanctification.

And surprisingly, if we read Leviticus in the context of the Christian canon of Scripture, we find the most perfect portrait of Christ in the entire Bible! One might say that in the Gospels, we see Christ through human eyes; in Leviticus, we see him through God’s eyes.

Trust Dr. C. on this: Leviticus will surprise you!

+ Deuteronomy

Moses is the towering figure of the Hebrew Scriptures, the prophet par excellence “whom the Lord knew face to face” (34: 10). The Hebrew Scriptures mention his name 718 times; the New Testament, 85 times. In the Gospels Moses appears with Elijah as the two heavenly witnesses at the Transfiguration, validating Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, the Son of God (Matthew 17: 1-5), and he appears again with Elijah as the two witnesses in Revelation 11.

When Moses speaks, people listen.

Deuteronomy draws the Torah to a fitting close, its words spoken in the very voice (the ipsissima vox) of Moses, a voice that speaks through millennia, to our very day.

This is really good stuff!

+ Joshua, Judges and Ruth

Joshua, Judges and Ruth take us into a tumultuous time in Israel’s history. After four hundred years of slavery, the Exodus and a grueling forty years in the wilderness, a new generation, born into and hardened by the wilderness experience, is poised to invade and conquer the Promised Land, the land of Canaan. The job requires strict obedience to God’s command and a ruthless determination to follow God’s lead. In Joshua, the Israelites begin the conquest at Jericho, totally destroying everything and everyone in the city, and they spread the invasion into the central mountain range, and then to the north, south and coastal plain. By the end of the book, the land is subdued (at least in part) and allocated to its new inhabitants. Joshua is a book of conquest.

Judges is a book of settlement. At this point in our story, Israel is simply a loose confederation of twelve tribes, each living life in rather isolated tribal territories bounded by mountains, rivers and valleys, having little to do with one another. When outside forces threaten, the tribes coalesce and a leader—or judge—emerges to fight off the threat. Once it is subdued, the tribes revert back to being a loose confederation. All the while, however, as one generation succeeds another, the leaders become weaker and the people more corrupt, until the final, terrible story of the Levite from the hill country of Ephraim and his concubine triggers the slaughter—and near-extermination—of the entire tribe of Benjamin by their brother Israelites. Indeed, “in those days Israel had no king, and everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.” In a time of political, economic and religious chaos, the Israelites have become worse that the people who were in the land to begin with, and as readers we can only ask: “What happened to the theme of redemption introduced in Genesis 12?”

Ruth answers the question . . . with the greatest love story in the Bible!

+ The Story of King David

In King David, the Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel, Jonathan Kirsch observes:

At the heart of the Book of Samuel, where the story of David is first told, we find a work of genius that anticipates the romantic lyricism and tragic grandeur of Shakespeare, the political wile of Machiavelli, and the modern psychological insight of Freud. And, just as much as Shakespeare or Machiavelli or Freud, the frank depiction of David in the pages of the Bible has defined what it means to be a human being: King David is “a symbol of the complexity and ambiguity of human experience itself."

No two-dimensional pious character, David “played exquisitely, he fought heroically, he loved titanically,” as historian Abram Leon Sachar notes. “Withal he was a profoundly simple being, cheerful, despondent, selfish, generous, sinning one moment, repenting the next, the most human character of the Bible.” Like everyone else, from Samuel to Saul to Jonathan—to God himself—when we encounter David we are charmed by him, and we fall under his spell.

As a work of literature, the David story is one of the most complex and subtle narratives in the Bible, and it is among the greatest stories in all of world literature. When we approach it, we do well to bring all of our critical reading skills, sharply honed.

David’s story is told in 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-2; 1 Chronicles 9: 35 – 29: 30; and the seventy-three psalms attributed to David, many of which illuminate specific events in David’s life.

This is Dr. C.’s favorite biblical story to teach. This is a fabulous course!

+ The Kings of Israel and Judah

Kingship in Israel began after the era of the Judges, military leaders who would emerge in a time of crisis, and once the crisis ended, a Judge would return to his or her (in the case of Deborah) home, farm or field. We studied thirteen Judges in the book of Judges. Sadly, though, when one is given power, one is loath to give it up, and very quickly the Judges became corrupt. In response, the people demanded a king—like all the other nations have—a king to lead them and fight their battles. God relented, and the people chose Saul . . . because he looked like a king, a head taller than others with long flowing hair, a regal character right out of Central Casting!

But Saul lacked the heart of a king and he failed miserably. In response, God anointed David king, a man after God’s own heart. David was a prodigy at warfare and a tremendous king . . . but he was also a deeply flawed man, the most human character in all of Scripture. The Story of King David is not only the greatest narrative in Scripture, but one of the greatest stories in all of world literature.

Upon David’s death, his son Solomon became king over the united monarchy that David had forged. Although Solomon vastly extended Israel’s power and influence, generating mind-boggling wealth in the process, ultimately Solomon was the greatest failure in all of Scripture. Upon Solomon’s death in 930 B.C., civil war erupts, with the ten northern tribes becoming the nation of Israel, with its capital at Samaria, and the lone southern tribe of Judah—the house of David—becoming the nation of Judah, with its capital at Jerusalem. Civil war rages for nearly a century: in the north, Israel sees nineteen kings; in the south, Judah sees twenty.

Political and economic crises naturally followed, and the surrounding nations attack. In 722 B.C. the northern kingdom of Israel falls to the Assyrian Empire; in 586 B.C. the southern kingdom of Judah falls to the Babylonian Empire. What began at Mount Sinai as a covenant people serving God, groomed for a unique role in the plan of redemption, ends with Jerusalem a pile of rubble, with God’s covenant people captive in a foreign land.

Ultimately, the story of the kings of Israel and Judah is one of abject failure. But it is also a gripping narrative of political intrigue, clashing egos, brutal warfare—and murder. In the midst of it all we meet some of Scripture’s greatest heroes, the Prophets: Elijah, Elisha and the writing prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others. In Israel’s and Judah’s darkest hours, the Prophets stand boldly in the gap, speaking on behalf of God, excoriating, condemning . . . and encouraging God’s covenant people to “man up” and be the people God intended them to be.

The Kings of Israel and Judah is a great story, an essential story if we are to become educated readers of Scripture.

+ The Return from Captivity (Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther)

In 722 B.C. the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian Empire and its population was dispersed into Assyria; in 586 B.C. the southern kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonian Empire, and its population went into captivity in Babylon. By 586 B.C. Israel and Judah ceased to exist, Jerusalem lay in a pile of burnt rubble and the Jews—those from both the north and the south—were all “strangers in a strange land,” exiles in Assyria and Babylon. It looked to all the world that God had rejected his people, had written them off as irredeemable, and had left them to their own devices.

But that’s not what God does, for when God makes a promise, he keeps it.

Isaiah worked as a prophet from 740-686 B.C., during the reigns of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, and in the book of Isaiah (2nd Isaiah, to be precise, chapters 40-54), we read a remarkable statement:

Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,

who formed you from the womb;

I am the Lord, who made all things,

who alone stretched out the heavens,

I spread out the earth by myself . . .

I say of Cyrus, My shepherd!

He carries out my every wish,

Saying of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’

and of the temple, ‘Lay its foundations . . .

(Isaiah 44: 24-28)

Cyrus the Great, king of Persia (c. 600-530 B.C.) conquers Babylon in 539 B.C. and he promptly issues a decree (see the photo above) allowing the Jews (and all others taken captive by Assyria and Babylon) to return to their homes and rebuild their cities, temples and infrastructures . . . and Cyrus foots the bill!

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell of the Jews’ return to Jerusalem and their rebuilding the city and the temple, while the book of Esther tells the story of those who stay behind. Indeed, many of the Jews deported to Assyria and Babylon did quite will for themselves: Nehemiah was an important official in the Persian court of Artaxerxes I (465-424 B.C.); Ezra (fl. 480-440 B.C.) was a priest and a highly-educated Scripture scholar in Persia; and Esther married the Persian king Xerxes I (485-465 B.C.) and became queen of Persia!

These are all great stories . . . and they put the Jews back in play!

+ The Poetical Books (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs)

In the Christian canon of Scripture, the books of the Old Testament (or better, the Hebrew Scriptures) are classified into four categories: 1) the Torah (or the Pentateuch); 2) the Historical books; 3) the Poetical books; and 4) the Prophets. In this course, we will study Scripture’s poetical books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs.

Reading poetry is very different from reading other genres of biblical literature, such as mythopoeic, historical and prophetic literature in the Hebrew Scriptures or gospels, epistles, letters or apocalyptic literature in the New Testament.

In this course, we’ll explore Scripture’s poetical literature and we’ll learn how to engage it, acquiring some new reading skills along the way.

This is great material!

+ Isaiah and Jeremiah

The Hebrew Scriptures (or the Old Testament) feature three main characters: king, priest and prophet. Of course, God is to be Israel’s king, but after the dark period of the Judges (c. 1380-1050 B.C.) the people demand a human king, like all the other nations have, to lead them and fight their battles. The people choose Saul of the tribe of Benjamin to be Israel’s first king (1050-1010 B.C.). David then follows Saul (1010-970 B.C.) and David’s son Solomon follows David (970-930 B.C.). But with Solomon’s death, civil war erupts, and the ten northern tribes become the nation Israel with its capital at Samaria and the lone southern tribe of Judah (the House of David) becomes the nation Judah with its capital at Jerusalem. Between the two, Israel will see nineteen kings, Judah twenty.

God appointed Israel’s first priests at Mount Sinai shortly after the Exodus from Egypt, c. 1446 B.C. God appointed Moses’ brother Aaron as High Priest and Aaron’s four sons—Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar— to assist Aaron in his priestly duties. All priests were from the tribe of Levi, and their role was to speak to God on behalf of the people, ministering at the Tabernacle and later at the Temple, offering the peoples’ prayers and sacrifices to God.

The prophet served the exact opposite role: the prophet spoke to the people on behalf of God. Because the king and his entourage controlled the reins of political and economic power, the priests more often than not fell under the influence of the monarchy: typically, a corrupt priesthood fit hand in glove with a corrupt kingship. Thus, the prophet spoke truth to power, God’s voice in a corrupt and sinful world. The prophet’s role was inherently confrontational . . . and it frequently drew the wrath of both king and priests. Prophets were shunned, beaten, imprisoned and sometimes killed. In the Hebrew Scriptures we have oral prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, and we have writing prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelve minor writing prophets.

In this course we will study the first two of the major prophets: Isaiah (the “thundering” prophet) and Jeremiah (the “weeping” prophet), as Dr. C. calls them!

+ Ezekiel and Daniel

The Hebrew Scriptures (or the Old Testament) feature three main characters: king, priest and prophet. Of course, God is to be Israel’s king, but after the dark period of the Judges (c. 1380-1050 B.C.) the people demand a human king, like all the other nations have, to lead them and fight their battles. The people choose Saul of the tribe of Benjamin to be Israel’s first king (1050-1010 B.C.). David then follows Saul (1010-970 B.C.) and David’s son Solomon follows David (970-930 B.C.). But with Solomon’s death, civil war erupts, and the ten northern tribes become the nation Israel with its capital at Samaria and the lone southern tribe of Judah (the House of David) becomes the nation Judah with its capital at Jerusalem. Between the two, Israel will see nineteen kings, Judah twenty.

God appointed Israel’s first priests at Mount Sinai shortly after the Exodus from Egypt, c. 1446 B.C. God appointed Moses’ brother Aaron as High Priest and Aaron’s four sons—Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar— to assist Aaron in his priestly duties. All priests were from the tribe of Levi, and their role was to speak to God on behalf of the people, ministering at the Tabernacle and later at the Temple, offering the peoples’ prayers and sacrifices to God.

The prophet served the exact opposite role: the prophet spoke to the people on behalf of God. Because the king and his entourage controlled the reins of political and economic power, the priests more often than not fell under the influence of the monarchy: typically, a corrupt priesthood fit hand in glove with a corrupt kingship. Thus, the prophet spoke truth to power, God’s voice in a corrupt and sinful world. The prophet’s role was inherently confrontational . . . and it frequently drew the wrath of both king and priests. Prophets were shunned, beaten, imprisoned and sometimes killed. In the Hebrew Scriptures we have oral prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, and we have writing prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelve minor writing prophets.

In this course we will study the last two of the major prophets: Ezekiel (the “weird” prophet, as Dr. C. calls him) and Daniel.

+ The Minor Prophets

In this course, we’ll be studying the “Minor Prophets”: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. St. Augustine dubbed them the “minor” prophets, from the Latin minor, meaning “shorter” (City of God, XVIII, 29). Thus, the minor prophets are “minor,” not because they are less important than the four major prophets, but because they are significantly shorter in length: Isaiah consists of sixty-six chapters, Jonah, four; Jeremiah consists of fifty-two chapters, Obadiah, one.

Although our bibles follow the standard canonical order of the minor prophets, we will study them in three groups: 1) those prophets who speak into the historical context of the Assyrian threat to Israel and Judah: Amos, Hosea, Micah and Jonah; 2) those who speak into the historical context of the Babylonian threat to Judah: Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Joel and Obadiah; and 3) those who speak into the historical context of the return from Babylonian captivity: Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

+ The Deuterocanonical Books, or “Apocrypha”

The Deuterocanonical books are those books of Scripture written (for the most part) in Greek that are accepted by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches as inspired, but they are not among the 39 books written in Hebrew accepted by Jews, nor are they accepted as Scripture by most Protestant denominations. The deuterocanonical books include:

• Tobit • Judith • 1 Maccabees • 2 Maccabees • Wisdom (also called the Wisdom of Solomon) • Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus) • Baruch, (including the Letter of Jeremiah) • Additions to Daniel • “Prayer of Azariah” and the “Song of the Three Holy Children” (Vulgate: Daniel 3: 24-90) • Suzanna (Daniel 13) • Bel and the Dragon (Daniel 14) • Additions to Esther

Eastern Orthodox churches also include: 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, Odes (which include the “Prayer of Manasseh”) and Psalm 151. Thus, in the Jewish and Protestant “Old Testament” there are 39 books; in the Roman Catholic, 46 books; and in the Eastern Orthodox, 51 books.

The word “deuterocanonical” means “belonging to the second canon,” the “protocanonical” books being the 39 books written in Hebrew and accepted by Jews and Protestants. Protestants often follow Martin Luther, calling the Deuterocanonical books “Apocrypha” [Greek = ἀπόκρυφος], which means “hidden” or “obscure.”

This course completes our verse-by-verse study of the Hebrew Scriptures, or the “Old Testament.”

Congratulations, friends!