I’ve been taking seminary classes by dribs and drabs at Indy’s extension site for Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. One exercise that I found really valuable was an assignment in three of my Old Testament classes. My professor for those classes wanted us to get a sense of the flow of scripture, so he had us read large portions at one sitting and write a short journal entry on our personal reactions to each one. He encouraged us to read the passages aloud, because that’s how the original audiences most often heard them; he also allowed us to listen to audio bibles for the same reason.
This may sound intimidating, but it was actually quite enjoyable. Like most of us, I usually read the Bible in smaller bite-sized pieces that range from a paragraph to a couple of chapters. But in these exercises I looked at scripture from a bird’s eye view, and in the process noticed connections I’d never observed before. I began to see the Bible as one story, with the smaller stories, poems, and discourses all contributing to the whole.
Since my journals were written for public consumption (i.e., my professor), I thought I would share them on my blog. I’ll start with the first of the three classes, Introduction to the Old Testament. Here is a list of the reading assignments/journal entries and when I plan to post them:
- Genesis, Exodus – February 25, 2013
- Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy – March 4, 2013
- Joshua, Judges, Ruth – March 11, 2013
- I-II Samuel, I-II Kings – March 18, 2013
- I-II Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther – March 25, 2013
- Job, Psalms – April 1, 2013
- Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs – April 8, 2013
- Isaiah – April 15, 2013
- Jeremiah, Lamentations – April 22, 2013
- Ezekiel, Daniel – April 29, 2013
- Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah – May 6, 2013
- Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi – May 13, 2013
I hope you’ll join me on this journey through the Old Testament!
