The Bible did not fall to earth from heaven complete and leather-bound. The Old Testament alone was written over a period of a thousand years by different men, all of whom were inspired by the Holy Spirit. But each one lived in his own time and place; each one reflected and addressed the specific issues of his own history. The truths of the Bible are universally and timelessly relevant, but they were given to a specific people at specific times to meet specific needs.
The ultimate objective of our study of the Bible is to understand those timeless and universal truths and to apply them to our own specific times and needs. The distance between the “then” of the Old Testament and the “now” of today sometimes obscures the meaning and relevance of the text. An important part of Bible study is to learn what we can about the author, his times, and his particular circumstances.
In this special lecture series we will survey the world of the Old Testament. We will highlight significant contributions of archaeology and contemporary secular historical records that will help us discover the background of the Old Testament and narrow the distance between the “then” and “now.” The Old Testament is an ancient text with a timeless message.