The study of the Old Testament examines the beginnings of the big story of God’s plan of redemption. The creation of the universe and the disobedience of the first man and woman set the stage for God’s divine intervention. As God sets apart Abraham to be the father of many nations, we see how the special people of God are delivered, led, warned, and disciplined. The historic journey of the Jewish people is told in such a way that spiritual insights help us see how our own walk with God can be fortified. In addition, the Old Testament study is deeply enriched with marvellous Psalms of praise and wisdom from the Proverbs. For the student, anticipation builds as we read of the promised Messiah who will ultimately come in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Genocide in the Old Testament
In this course, Dr. Richard Hess provides an in-depth exploration of the seemingly most violent parts of the Old Testament through analysis of biblical texts and historical artifacts.
Reading the Psalms
In this course, Dr. Knut Heim seeks to excite and motivate students to learn more about the Psalms in ways that will transform their lives. He will examine four very different psalms, showing students how to read varying types of psalms for all they are worth.
Reading the Proverbs
What value is there in thinking, behaving, and living wisely? And how do we achieve biblical wisdom? In this study of the book of Proverbs, find answers to these questions and more.
Old Testament Basics
Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jonah, Samson, and David. Have you heard of these people? Their stories are part of the Old Testament and are important even today.
Genesis-Leviticus: God Builds a People for Himself
Genesis – Leviticus: God Builds a People for Himself tells the story of Israel’s roots. From the creation of all things to the creation of Israel as a nation at Sinai, this course studies God’s process of building a nation to represent Him on earth.
Numbers-Joshua: The Tragedy of Fear and the Glory of Faith
Numbers-Joshua: The Tragedy of Fear and the Glory of Faith is a study of contrasts. Israel’s fear prevented them from entering the land God promised to give them, resulting in the story of wandering and death recorded in Numbers.
Judges-1 Samuel: Israel’s Choice From God-Rule to Human-Rule
This course, Judges-1 Samuel: Israel’s Choice From God-Rule to Human-Rule, covers the books of Judges, Ruth and the book of 1 Samuel. These books contrast Israel as they rebelled against God’s rule in the period of Judges, but Ruth gives a snapshot of obedience during that same period.
2 Samuel-2 Kings: The Difference Leaders Make
2 Samuel-2 Kings: The Difference Leaders Make will guide students through a study of Israel’s kingdom era—as a united nation and as a nation divided into Israel and Judah.
1 Chronicles-Nehemiah: Grace Greater Than a Nation’s Sins
1 Chronicles – Nehemiah describes the fact that while Israel and Judah flaunted their disobedience in God’s face and persecuted His prophets, He kept His commitment to His covenant promises.
Lamentations-Job: God’s Path Through Pain
Pressure and pain are realities of life. One of the verifying realities of the Old Testament record is its openness about the difficulties God’s people often suffered—and were often confused by.
Proverbs-Psalms: Singing the Sounds of Real Life
Times change and life’s issues take new forms. Solomon never sat in a traffic jam on the freeway and we never fret over an attack by the Philistines, but human emotions remain the same.
Daniel-Micah: Studies of Integrity – Good Men in Bad Times
God’s prophets stood up and spoke out when it was very unpopular to do so. As men with a message from God, they were preachers with a message that God-rejecting Israel and Judah wanted no part of.
Ecclesiastes-Isaiah: God Guides His People through Poets and Prophets
This course, Ecclesiastes-Isaiah: God Guides His People Through Poets and Prophets, takes students through two of the Old Testament books of poetry and then introduces them to the writing prophets—who also used a great deal of poetry in their writings.
Jeremiah-Ezekiel: Human Failure and Divine Success – A Study in Contrast
In this course, Jeremiah-Ezekiel: Human Failure and Divine Success—A Study in Contrasts, students will learn about two prophets whose ministry related to Jerusalem’s fall to the Babylonians.
Jonah-Habakkuk: The God of Israel and the God of the Nations
Jonah-Habakkuk: The God of Israel and the God of the Nations is a course which demonstrates the fact that while God had chosen Israel as His covenant people, His compassion extended beyond Israel to all people.
Haggai-Malachi: No Substitute for Obedience
The prophets studied in this course, Haggai-Malachi: No Substitute for Obedience, ministered after Jerusalem’s destruction and, in Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, during the return and reconstruction of Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon.
The Prophecies of Daniel
Throughout the Old Testament, prophecy remained an important vehicle used by God to communicate with His people. Set during the Babylonian captivity, Daniel records one of the most difficult times in Israel’s history—her deportation and exile from the Promised Land.
The Prophecy of Habakkuk
How does one place absolute trust in God in the midst of uncertainty? The book of Habakkuk details the doubts and questions raised by Habakkuk, a man of God searching for answers.
The Book of Job
Is God too weak to stop suffering? Does God not care about my situation? In a world full of sin, pain and hardship remain daily realities. Throughout history, humanity has wrestled with the problems of suffering and has often questioned the goodness of God.
He Gave Us Prophets
This course gives an introductory perspective for the study of the prophets of the Old Testament. It dispels common misunderstandings about the prophets, provides guidelines for interpreting prophecy, and gives the student confidence to begin studying prophetic literature.
Kingdom, Covenants, and Canon of the Old Testament
This course gives a brief survey of the Old Testament, examining the themes of “Kingdom, Covenants and Canon.”
The Primeval History
This course provides an analysis of Genesis 1-11, looking at the background, the literary structure, the original meaning, the theological purpose, and modern applications. Why did Moses choose to tell the history of the Creation, the Fall, the Great Flood, and the Tower of Babel in the way that he did?
Father Abraham
Why did Moses choose to tell the story of Abraham the way he did? What does it mean for us today? This course provides an analysis of Genesis 11:10-25:18, the life of Abraham, from a Christian perspective.
The Pentateuch: Genesis – Deuteronomy
The first five books of the Old Testament are commonly called the Pentateuch. They tell the story of the nation of Israel from creation to preparation for the conquest of the Promised Land.
The Book of Joshua
The book of Joshua covers the period of Israel’s history from the conquest of Canaan to just after Joshua’s death. Although certain events in the book can leave modern audiences feeling more than a little uncomfortable, it helps to remember that God promised to be with Joshua in all that he did, especially in leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, establishing Israel’s tribal inheritances, and calling God’s people to remain faithful to the terms of God’s covenant.
The Pentateuch
Understanding the Pentateuch is essential to understanding the Bible. In this course, learners will study the contents of the the Pentateuch and consider the particular Pentateuchal problems of evolution and higher criticism in light of its archaeological background.
Conquest and Settlement
Few nations have experienced such blessing as has Israel, and few have experienced such failure. This course follows the journey of the people of Israel in Joshua, Judges, and Ruth as they cross the Jordan River, overtake and divide the land of Palestine, and fall into a repeated cycle of sin and repentance.
United Monarchy
Why did Israel, the people of God, desire a human king? Why did God grant that desire? This course answers these and other important questions raised in Israel’s united monarchy as recorded in I and II Samuel and I Kings 1–11. Special emphasis is placed on archaeology, history, and theology.
Divided Monarchy
Success or failure starts at the top, and Israel learned the hard way that human kings were no substitute for the rule of God. This course covers the history of Israel from the beginning of Solomon’s apostasy (I Kings 11) to the Babylonian captivity (II Kings 25).
The Book of Psalms
How important are songs in the life of Israel and the church? In this course, learners study the Book of Psalms, giving attention to the various forms of the Psalms and their function within the historical experience of Israel.
Understanding the Old Testament
The Old Testament is sometimes viewed as antiquated, mysterious, and even irrelevant. In this course, Waltke examines how Old Testament theology is pivotal to the universal goal of redemptive history: the rule of God and the establishment of God’s kingdom in all the earth. The course tracks salvation history as it appears in nearly every book of the Old Testament, and it shows the vital relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament.
The Book of Proverbs
Students discover the role of wisdom in the book of Proverbs by doing an exegetical study of the book itself in its cultural, historical, and literary settings. The course begins with an analysis of the book’s structure and purpose, focusing on the forms of wisdom literature as seen in the literary structure of Proverbs. Waltke then moves to poetic analysis and finally to the prominent theme of wisdom that permeates the book.
Post-Exilic Prophets
Even when His people fail, God remains faithful. This course explores God’s relationship with Israel after the exile as recorded in the historical and biblical contexts of the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
The Christian and Old Testament Theology
This course examines the foundational theology of the Old Testament as applied to the New Testament and the church. It also identifies the focal point for the Old and New Testaments and discusses the continuity and discontinuity between the Testaments concerning: saving faith, the people of God, the Law, worship, atonement, the kingdom of God, the Messiah, and the New Covenant.
The Book of Isaiah
Few Old Testament books are as theologically rich and literarily compelling as Isaiah. Learners discover those dynamics as they complete an exegetical study of the Book of Isaiah.
Old Testament Theology I: Pentateuch and Former Prophets
In order to understand and apply any passage of Scripture faithfully, one must begin with the foundational concepts and theology that precede and inform it. Averbeck introduces the content and theology of the books of Genesis through Kings, identifying the foundational themes that emerge and tracing them through the rest of the Bible.
Old Testament Theology II: Latter Prophets and Writings
In order to understand and apply any passage of Scripture faithfully, one must begin with the foundational concepts and theology that precede and inform it. In biblical theology, the foundation is developed in the Latter Prophets and Writings (Job–Malachi).