Some Christian leaders believe we should cast off the Old Testament now that we have the New. Carmen Joy Imes disagrees. In this warm, accessible volume, Imes takes readers back to Sinai, the ancient mountain where Israel met their God, and explains the meaning of events there. She argues that we've misunderstood the command about "taking the Lord's name in vain." Instead, Imes says that this command is about "bearing God's name," a theme that continues throughout the rest of Scripture. Readers will revisit the story of Israel as they trudge through the wilderness from a grueling past to a promising future. The story of Israel turns out to be our story too, and you'll discover why Sinai still matters as you follow Jesus today.

    See how their struggles, successes, and failures still resonate today. If you've ever asked yourself the question, "Who was she?" while reading the Bible, you need only to open this amazing book to find out. A devotional study of the women who taught us love and compassion, this comprehensive guide presents the successes and shortcomings of all of the key characters in the Good Book. As you review the lives of these classic matriarchs, you'll find that most of these biblical women have joys and follies that align with your own.All the Women of the Bible is divided into two sections: The Book of Names and The Book of Stories.The Book of Names: With over 400 entries, this well-researched and easy-to-follow biographical dictionary and "thesaurus" lists each woman, along with a short description of her life, citations where her story can be found, and cross references to other dictionary entries.The Book of Stories: Taking a different, more narrative tone, this second part retells in rich detail the stories of 56 very important women—women whose lives were changed by crisis and challenge; women who learned, shared, or shunned faith in the Lord.Complete with scripture passages and citations, this book is an ideal study aid for those deeply interested to the Bible.

    Akin, and Tony Merida, this new commentary series, projected to be 48 volumes, takes a Christ-centered approach to expositing each book of the Bible. Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. Readers will learn to see Christ in all aspects of Scripture, and they will be encouraged by the devotional nature of each exposition. Exalting Jesus in Ezra-Nehemiah is written by Jim Hamilton.

    Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. For example:When Western readers hear Paul exhorting women to "dress modestly," we automatically think in terms of sexual modesty. But most women in that culture would never wear racy clothing. The context suggests that Paul is likely more concerned about economic modesty--that Christian women not flaunt their wealth through expensive clothes, braided hair and gold jewelry.Some readers might assume that Moses married "below himself" because his wife was a dark-skinned Cushite. Actually, Hebrews were the slave race, not the Cushites, who were highly respected. Aaron and Miriam probably thought Moses was being presumptuous by marrying "above himselfWestern individualism leads us to assume that Mary and Joseph traveled alone to Bethlehem. What went without saying was that they were likely accompanied by a large entourage of extended family.Biblical scholars Brandon O'Brien and Randy Richards shed light on the ways that Western readers often misunderstand the cultural dynamics of the Bible. They identify nine key areas where modern Westerners have significantly different assumptions about what might be going on in a text. Drawing on their own crosscultural experience in global mission, O'Brien and Richards show how better self-awareness and understanding of cultural differences in language, time and social mores allow us to see the Bible in fresh and unexpected ways. Getting beyond our own cultural assumptions is increasingly important for being Christians in our interconnected and globalized world. Learn to read Scripture as a member of the global body of Christ.

    Appropriate for personal study and as a college and seminary text, this volume provides both in-depth notes and lay-oriented exposition for use by scholars, students, pastors, and laypeople. An ever-increasing interest in the prophecies of the Apocalypse has resulted in deeper understandings which are introduced in this updated edition.

    Sandra Richter gives an overview of the Old Testament, organizing our disorderly knowledge of the Old Testament people, facts and stories into a memorable and manageable story of redemption that climaxes in the New Testament.

    Michael Heiser examines the ancient context of Scripture, explaining how its supernatural worldview can help us grow in our understanding of God. He illuminates intriguing and amazing passages of the Bible that have been hiding in plain sight. You'll find yourself engaged in an enthusiastic pursuit of the truth, resulting in a new appreciation for God's Word. Why wasn't Eve surprised when the serpent spoke to her? How did descendants of the Nephilim survive the flood? Why did Jacob fuse Yahweh and his Angel together in his prayer? Who are the assembly of divine beings that God presides over? In what way do those beings participate in God's decisions? Why do Peter and Jude promote belief in imprisoned spirits? Why does Paul describe evil spirits in terms of geographical rulership? Who are the glorious ones that even angels dare not rebuke? After reading this book, you may never read your Bible the same way again

    But is this the whole message of Ecclesiastes? With imagination and clarity, Derek Kidner introduces this Old Testament book which speaks so powerfully to our generation. His love of Hebrew poetry and his understanding of biblical mind shine through in his careful passage-by-passage exposition. The full biblical text is included.

    It is the only single-volume introductory textbook that places each book of the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and the New Testament fully in its historical and cultural context. Understanding the Bible acquaints readers with the content as well as the major themes of each biblical book, and familiarizes them with the goals and methods of important scholarship.

    Helps people read the Bible as a whole; and even when the whole is narrowed to whole books, helps readers to see how each book fits into the grand Story of the Bible.

    Book by Green, Ruth Hurmence

    Its literary, exegetical, and theological analyses will enrich any exposition of Genesis.The author's purpose is to "help the reader appreciate the major literary and theological motifs that form the theological ideas in the narratives, and to demonstrate how these theological ideas can be developed into clear and accurate expository ideas." To accomplish this goal, he divides Genesis into more than sixty units, discussing each unit's theological ideas, describing its structure, and synthesizing its message, as well as providing an exegetical outline, an expository outline, and a bibliography.

    Here he discusses the seeming scientific naiveté behind the creation story, God’s love and goodness, and humanity’s creation, its free will, and its blessedness. Bonhoeffer also tackles difficult questions that are raised from the first book of the Bible, questions about the seemingly redundant second story of creation, about God’s own beginning, about the source of the light that was created the first day. The author then expounds upon Adam and Eve’s fall from grace: How could they, creatures made in God’s image, have thought to oppose God so foully? Where did the first evil come from? How did humanity lose its right to live in paradise?In “Temptation,” Bonhoeffer questions how temptation appeared in the midst of Eden’s innocence, and he explores the very nature of evil. Bonhoeffer explains that Jesus Christ helps us to understand and conquer physical and spiritual temptation through His grace and goodness.

    He points out that the Psalms are poems, intended to be sung, not doctrinal treatises or sermons. Proceeding with his characteristic grace, he guides readers through both the form and the meaning of these beloved passages in the Bible.

    But when a chance encounter forces her to the palace of Xerxes, she becomes a concubine to the richest man in the world. She alone, of all Xerxes' wives, loves the man beneath the crown. She alone, of all his wives, holds the heart of the king of kings. Traveling with Xerxes through Europe as he mounts a war against Greece, Kasia knows enemies surround her, but they re not the Spartans or Athenians. The threat lies with those close to the king who hate her people. She determines to put her trust in Jehovah even if it costs her her marriage. Years of prayers are answered when Kasia's childhood friend arrives at the palace after the war, but even as she determines to see Esther crowned in place of the bloodthirsty former queen, she knows the true battle is far from over. How far will her enemies go to see her undone? Combining the biblical account of Esther with Herodotus's Histories, Jewel of Persia is the story of a love that nearly destroys an empire . . . and the friendship that saves a nation.