Old Testament

The Old Testament has been studied and analyzed for thousands of years. Even archeological finds, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, confirm not only written scrolls of the biblical text, but textual commentaries dating back centuries before Christ...but understanding the Old Testament requires investigating cultures far removed from our own and examining challenging belief systems and practices. Ancient Near Eastern and African cultures feature prominently in the Old Testament, as the people of God experience both triumph and tragedy, clinging to eternal promises even in exile. Three primary sections comprise the Old Testament: The Law, The Prophets, and The Historical Books. Filled with complex symbolism and seemingly strange cultural practices, as well as overwhelming violence in the Old Testament can make us hesitant to dive in, but the New Testament cannot be fully understood without the Old. The last prophetic word of the Old Testament marks the beginning of a four-hundred-year stretch of silence, only broken by John the Baptist in the New Testament, inextricably linking the two and giving us a glimpse of a God who is omnipresent.