It has been translated into 18 languages (10+ videos) and watched in over 200 countries so far.
The day my Bible study co-leader introduced me to The BibleProject videos I was blown away. This non-profit computer animation
video production company is about books of the Bible, Word studies, Biblical themes and so
on. It is purely crowd funded and intends to always teach about the Bible for free. It uses fairly simple animation and
illustrations that are able to be translated into other languages. In fact it
has been translated so far into 18 languages (with 10+ videos per language) and viewed in 200+ countries.
Tim Mackie, the theologian, is an excellent verbal
communicator. His friend, Jonathan Collins, is the communications and animation
specialist. These two guys roomed together at Multnomah Bible College and
several years later decided to share their passion for the Bible to create this powerful
vehicle of Bible education. Their videos can mesmerize young children and bring
joy and profound understanding to adults. Launched in
2014 in Portland, Oregon, they have gathered a very skillful team around
them.
WHAT THEY OFFER:
Videos: Book
overviews, Bible themes, Word studies and the How to Read the Bible series.
Podcasts: They
spend about 50 minutes with deeper explanations. Tim Mackie also has posted
some of his sermons and teaching sessions in a blog called "Exploring my
Strange Bible."
AChurch at Home Series, especially helpful during the COVID 19 period, but also great for small group Bible studies and home schoolers.
Classroom: (NEW
in Beta form) Graduate level Bible Classes Free.
Currently 2 courses available. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (18 hours) and Heaven and Earth (19 hours).
Shop: Coffee
Table book of each of the books of the Bible and another of the informational
posters. The individual posters on each book of the Bible are also available
for download on their website. They also have a couple t-shirts, and a stick
drive with all their Bible Videos.
WHAT IS MY FAVORITE
THING?
That is hard. I love their videos that give an overview of each
book of the Bible. If I start studying a new book I always go to that first. We
bought the coffee table book of all their charts.
I am very excited about their How to Read the Bible Series. These are uncommonly excellent in
explaining the various genres and themes of the Bible, weaving together the
basic theme and brilliant ways it is put together to express this basic theme
about God and His partnership with us.
They have videos like:
How to Read Ancient Jewish Meditational Literature
How to Read Metaphor in Biblical Poetry
Spiritual Beings focus Angels and Cherubim
Theme: The Tree of Life
Theme: Day of the Lord
I refer to these videos and show them every chance I get! I currently teach a Sunday School class of an Overview of the Bible and I use
one or two in each session. You always see light bulbs going on in people's
heads as they watch them.
Check them out!
One last resource I just discovered… Top 75 Bible Study Blogs. I recently
checked into it and submitted my blog, and it was chosen to be featured as part of their list! How
exciting! And if you go to this site you will find so many ideas from an
amazing variety of sources. You can
check out the list of each blog's last five posts and it will give you so many
wonderful ideas. It includes blogs from Bible Gateway, Bible Publishing
companies like American Bible Society and author Liz Curtis Higgs.
Wow! I am passionate about the Bible and I hope it rubs off
on you too! What an amazing God we have who has made a way to communicate with
us in the written word, the spoken word and You Tube also! Join me on this
fabulous journey!
The Big Idea: The Old Testament is the background for God's hope to bring us into partnership with Him.
The Backstory for Salvation History
This is the last in a
5 week series on studying the Old Testament. It is not everything there is to
say, but it gets you started on principles to apply it. Check out the previous
blogs for more!
I have been married twenty years. Recently my husband heard
something about me he never knew. When we got engaged, he told me he wanted knowing me to
be a lifelong study. There is always a new layer of history, something new we
learn about each other still today. Our past builds into who we are.
KNOW GOD. LEARN HOW HE'S PLANNED FOR YOU
So it is with Salvation History in the Bible. You can know
God. In fact He wants to partner with you. He has always intended to be part of our life since He walked with Adam in the garden and had Adam help him name the animals. He wants a relationship with you. He loves you can save you
from the worst parts of your stubborn nasty self. It is a bit scary and yet wonderful
at the same time. He knows you and still loves you. Do you strive to know Him more and more too? It
is spiritually healthy to continually discover more about Him. To know Him
allows us to dive deeper in love with Him, deeper into His strength for our
life.
The Old Testament is a great place to learn about God and
His history to know and love you. Woven into its layers is His love for humans,
desiring a personal, deep friendship with each individual who wants that too.
When we learn He is holy it ought to fill us with awe and wonder. Get to know the
lengths He went through to make a way for that relationship. It is all there in
the first Testament of the Bible. The Old Testament.
COVENANT HISTORY
The word "Testament" can be a synonym of
"Covenant." "Marriage" is also a synonym of
"Covenant." A branch of Theology, the study of God, is called
"Covenant Theology." It is a very beautiful concept to study through
the Bible because it is about God pursuing us, desiring a relationship with us.
It is also a little like someone who pursues a love relationship.
The entire Bible, from the book of Genesis, builds on the
idea of the relationship between God and mankind. It usually involves an
agreement from both sides to respect the covenant, though usually God promises
more and agrees to more than He expects of man.
There are four main covenants in the Old Testament, though
the concept of covenant occurs over and over again, explaining more and more of
how this partnership with God works.
The Covenant with Noah
The Covenant with Abraham
The Covenant with Israel/Moses
The Covenant with
King David
The final covenant that encompasses and fulfills them all is
the New Covenant with Jesus in the New Testament. In fact if you are in a
communion service in a church you will often hear Luke 22:20, part of the Last
Supper.
"After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is
the new covenant between God and his
people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice
for you." Luke 22: 20 NLT
A very helpful five minute video explains the 4 Old
Testament Covenants. This is from the Bible Project.
Download a timeline of mine that inserts thoughts about the
different eras of Old Testament History, with the four Old Testament Covenants
made in their place in time along with comments about Salvation History.
SALVATION HISTORY
"Salvation History." This is another beautiful
name for another category of theological study. Theology, as I wrote earlier,
is the study of God. Salvation History is about following throughout the entire
Bible how God has been reaching out to man, explaining and foreshadowing Jesus
the Messiah, who would make perfect the necessary work to save us from
ourselves and bring us into that amazing relationship with God.
This is a great reason to study the Old Testament. It points
us to Christ!
“The
day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah."
Jeremiah 31:31 NLT
Here is a link to a webpage on how every book of the Old
Testament points us to the right relationship with God through Jesus Christ in all of Scripture. It is
like a big puzzle putting together what is the epitome of God's merciful and
gracious plan. This is included in the introduction to a Study Bible for the
English Standard Version of the Bible.
EMBRACE THE MYSTERY
REVEALED
This week I met a woman for the first time at a
conference at my church. We were both wearing masks. As we talked we reflected that someday
we will see each other without masks. Will we recognize each other? Wearing
masks during this COVID 19 period has made me think a little about mystery. This
fits in perfectly when talking about Jesus in the Old Testament. There are a
lot of verses in the Bible about the mysteries of God. Here is a sample.
“Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty? Job 11:7 NLT
Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you
work in mysterious ways.Isaiah 45:15 NLT
He reveals deep and mysterious thingsand knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. Daniel 2:22 NLT
The New Testament talks more about the fulfillment of those
mysteries. Again a sample of verses.
When I first came to you, dear brothers and
sisters,I didn’t use lofty words and
impressive wisdom to tell you God’s
secret plan.For
I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory
before the world began… But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his
Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s
own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.And we have received God’s Spirit (not the
world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.1 Corinthians 2: 1-2, 7, 10-12 NLT
And pray for me, too. Ask
God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles
alike. Ephesians 6: 19 NLT
Without question, this is
the great mystery of our faith:Christ was
revealed in a human bodyand vindicated by the Spirit.He was seen by angelsand announced to the nations.He was believed in throughout the worldand taken to heaven in
glory. I Timothy 3:16 NLT
The Bible talks about mysteries in the
plural sometimes. God is so much bigger than we are and we won't fully
understand until we are face to face with Him and can ask Him our questions. We
don't know everything (we are not God LOL). But we do know a lot about Him and
we know we can trust Him. We know He knows better than we do.
My
thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are far
beyond anything you could imagine.
Isaiah 55:8 NLT
Now
we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we
will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial
and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now
knows me completely. I Corinthians 13:12 NLT
UNLOCKING THE MYSTERIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
You may have noticed in the I Corinthians 2 passage that a
key feature we have available to unlocking the mysteries is the Holy Spirit. I
have just touched the tip of the iceberg about God's communication to us in the
Old and New Testament.
In previous blogs I wrote about Jesus' love for the Old
Testament while He lived on earth. Next I explained how God has a purpose in
everything in the Old Testament including the boring parts of the Bible. I
showed the different styles of writing in the Bible, and said knowing what we
are reading helps us understand it better. I gave tips on studying the OldTestament. In that blog I mentioned the importance of knowing Salvation History
and Covenants, and that you should ask yourself where the passage you are
reading falls in the overall plan. That is why I added this blog to explain
what Salvation History is.
I hope this series has been helpful and given you some
concrete ways to look at the Old Testament and study it. If you don't already,
I hope you fall in love with it like I have, as you walk with Jesus.
Up Next:
Previous Post:
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For Reflection:
What do you think a partnership with God looks like? Do you have a relationship with God? Do you feel like it is a partnership?
What do you struggle
with as a mystery of the Bible or about God? What do you want to ask Him about
when you are face to face with Him?
Have you ever asked
the Holy Spirit to help you study the Bible?
Has this series on the
Old Testament given you a better understand of the Old Testament and more
confidence to study it?
If you don't
understand what I am talking about having a relationship with Almighty God or
asking the Holy Spirit to guide you. I would also invite you to talk to a
pastor or friend who knows Jesus well, or email me at
dianewido@scripturespy.com.
The Big Idea: Literary styles of the Old Testament writers is useful to understand they are saying.
So what are you in the mood for tonight?
On movie night at our house my husband will ask, so what
kind of movie interests you tonight? On Netflix or movies at the library there
are categories to choose from. Action/Adventure, Comedy, Romance,
Fantasy/Science Fiction, Historical Docu-Drama… It depends on what you are
looking for. These are called Movie Genres, which are categories of stylistic categories of theme and presentation.
The Bible likewise has a number of writing genres. Categorizing the Scriptures goes way back to the Old Testament (OT) times. They were categorized as the Teachings (Torah - Law of Moses), the Prophets (Former Prophets and Latter Prophets), and the Writings (Psalms and Wisdom Literature). Jesus referred to these categories too (Luke 24:44). It helps us to understand what we are
reading better if we understand the intention and style of the book. So
let's look at the typical literary styles of the Old Testament.
LIKE A LIBRARY
The Bible is like a huge library. There are 66 books in two
separate parts. The Old Testament, the books about the calling and forming of
the Hebrew people before the time of Christ, and the New Testament, with books
about Christ and the early church. All the books have one central theme. God
who created mankind loves each one of us and wants a dynamic ongoing
relationship with us. We are His creatures and He has great love for us. He wants to be part of our life. But He won't force us to love Him.
Each book of the Bible has to do with this theme. Just like
a library, there are different types of literature. There are stories. There
are poems. There are legal sounding laws. There are prophecies and
declarations. These different categories of writing present God's ideas in a
variety of manners. People are different. I'm sure you've noticed that. Even
within one culture, even within one family, people have different
personalities. And the variety of ways that God communicates resonates more
with different people. Additionally, the stories and the sub themes weave
together to give us the bigger picture of God's message to us. God likes it
that we can know Him and His love. He also likes it that we need to continually
seek Him and learn more about the mysteries of who He is. Loving God is never
boring.
One of my favorite online Bible resources is The Bible
Project. They have wonderful videos that explain the Bible. Here is their
introduction to the styles of books in the Bible. It is helpful to watch this 5 minute video first.
As the Bible Project explained, 43% of the Bible is
Narrative, stories, characters introduced, history, and so on. Poetry makes up
a whopping 33%. But if you don't like poetry, like "Mary had a little
lamb," Don't write it off. Bible
poetry is ancient literature filled with imagery, metaphors and analogies about
life, not cute little rhymes. And 24% of the Bible is discourse. A discussion
type of conversation about life. Useful information.
Old Testament Genres are often put into these categories. It
is common for a couple of styles tend to blend together in a book, but most
books are predominately one type. Also you will find some teachers who change a few of the category names but it follows the same principles. The categories are:
Law
History
Poetry
Wisdom
Prophecy
Apocalypse
LAW
These sections of the Bible read a little more wooden than
others sometimes. They sound like legal binding contracts, or how-to
instruction manuals. Background studies of the nations in the world
at that time, had contracts and guidelines similar in form to Biblical passages. The format was familiar to its time, though foreign to us. This includes things like the
various covenants God made with man, the Ten Commandments, and guiding rules for
the people. This falls into the discourse category. They generally cover:
Moral laws on how to live
Ceremonial laws on tabernacle and
sacrificial worship
Civil law that governed and
protected the people of God
The first five books of the Bible are considered books of the Law. They are interspersed with some history, poetry, and even prophecy.
HISTORY
History writings are narrative in nature. They tell us what
happened. They include various components such as background, location,
political conditions, even weather conditions and crop factors that influence
normal human life.We see character
development of key Biblical figures. We observe conversations and life choices.
Sometimes there is a very evident spiritual lesson. Other times it gives
background and flesh to the whole of the Biblical journey of God's people. These
are the books from Joshua to Nehemiah.
POETRY and WISDOM
Often these two categories are combined when grouping books
of the Bible. Poetry is all the Psalms, and sections of other books. Wisdom
literature and the Prophets intersperse poetry.
Poetry from ancient Middle Eastern
Literature is a whole different meter and flow than the way we read poetry. The
Bible Project devotes several informative videos to explaining poetry of this
period. What we do know is poetry expresses the gamut of human emotions and the
human experience. They can be teaching aids. Imagery and metaphors play a part
in this genre.
Wisdom literature, which often uses poetry, is a collection
of wise sayings and advice to shape the quality of life and moral values of its
readers. These are true principles with guidelines for life such as how to live and how not to behave. They are not as direct in terms of doctrine and the promises of God.
The books of Wisdom are considered to be Proverbs, Job and
Ecclesiastes.
PROPHECY
Many see prophecy as a prediction of the future. More accurately a human being speaks on God's behalf what He wants people to know. Often in the context God states He sees what they are doing and tells what will happen if they obey or disobey. A blessing or curse forward may be conditional. Often it forshadows into the future but the future is not the only aspect of it.
There are four major prophetic books and 12 minor prophetic books in the Old Testament. The
only difference is the volume, not how great the prophet was.
These prophets emerged when the Hebrew people seriously
strayed from God. God wanted the prophets to make clear His covenant love for
His people; the consequences of straying and the blessing to return. God assured the people no matter how angry they made Him and no
matter how far they strayed, He would be faithful, and there would be faithful
people (a remnant) who would emerge. The promise of the
coming Kingdom of the Messiah abounds.
Biblical prophecy is often telescopic. When one looks through a telescope or a zoom camera lens they can pull into focus several points along a spectrum. Prophecy has a current application to the people and a future application as well. It may fulfill an aspect at a future time and may apply much futher down the road too. I call this the telescopic layers of prophecy. This would probably be a good blog subject someday.
APOCALYPSE
Apocalyptic literature is similar to Prophetic books in that prophets speak God's urgent message to the people of both warnings and comfort. It
is about the Last Days. Daniel is the primary apocalyptic book in the Old
Testament, though it occurs in some of the other Prophetic books too. It is
important to not take any one piece of Apocalyptic literature as a stand-alone
text. Part of its beauty is the message intertwining and verifying future events with other passages in the Bible, both Old Testament and New
Testament. It has a lot of metaphorical, symbolic language.
WHY THIS MATTERS
When you read the Bible, especially in the Old Testament,
you might find some books seem a little obscure or difficult to read. It helps
to ask yourself, what type of literature might this be? You might find the
answer in a study Bible in the introduction of the book. It will help you to
place why the book may have been written. It will also steer your focus. Is it
background to God's codes of conduct, worship guidelines, or life illustrations
of key characters on what not to do? How does it fit with the rest of the Bible
and other books that are similar to it or in the same time period? Why might
God have included this in our Bible?
I am drawn to quiet classical or soft jazz music. I like to
read classic mystery novels and classic devotional literature. In a similar
fashion I have my favorite books of the Bible. I love the Psalms and could read
them every day. However it is
important for me, and for all of us, to not just stay in the same books of the Bible all the time.
A WELL ROUNDED CHRISTIAN
In college I was a nursing major. But the university
required courses from several areas of study. My
Nursing program included what, at first glance, I thought were some rather odd courses. Statistics. I really hate math
classes, but its importance was toward understanding nursing
research. Communication Theory helped nurses integrate our ability to connect
with patients, coordinate with patient teams and to organize and lead support
groups. There were subjects
I would not have chosen for my dream class list, but they made me a well-rounded nurse
and a better human being.
To apply this analogy, we may gravitate to our favorite go-to books
of the Bible. We may choose the same type of Sunday
School class or read/listen often to favorite authors or
preachers on a favored subject. But to have a well rounded understanding of the
Bible and a Christian walk, have some familiarity with the Bible as a
whole. Read different genres and ask God what He has for you. Become a well rounded Christian, rather than one
fixated only on their favorite subjects. This is how we will grow to maturity
in Christ.
So
let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us
go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to
start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.
