Williams - They Spoke from God: A Survey of the Old Testament

They Spoke from God

A Survey of the Old Testament

For prophecy never had its origin in the
will of man, but men spoke from God as they
were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:21

Compiled and Edited by

William C. Williams, Ph.D.

Stanley M. Horton, Th.D.

General Editor

Gospel Publishing House

Springfield, Missouri

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION; NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

2003 by Gospel Publishing House, Springfield, Missouri 65802-1894. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of the copyright owner, except brief quotations used in connection with reviews in magazines or newspapers.

Logion Press books are published by Gospel Publishing House.

A Test Bank containing suggested questions covering the entire book is available for instructors. Submit a request on your official school letterhead to the address below. Include the name of this text and your e-mail address. A PDF file will be sent to you.

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1445 N. Boonville Ave.

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Photographs

William C. Williams: 167, 397, 427, 430, 441

Dwayne Braddy: 655, 680

Library of Congress Control Number: 2003113799

Contents

Ronald Wright

William C. Williams

William C. Williams

Robert Mullins

Robert Stallman

Larry McQueen

Roger Cotton

April Westbrook

William Barnes

William Raccah

Dale Brueggeman

Dale Brueggeman

Andrew Davies

Robert Stallman

Dwaine Braddy

Richard Israel/Steve Fettke

Malcolm Brubaker

Malcolm Brubaker

Maps

Charts

Illustrations

The Old Testament is not just a Jewish Bible as some choose to call it. It is really a Christian book. From beginning to end it has a forward look. It gives us a chosen line that leads to Christ. Its laws, lessons, and history prepare us to understand the New Testament. Its sacrifices help us to understand the Cross. Its history helps us to understand Christian theology. When the apostle Paul describes the faith Christians must have, he goes back to Abraham. When he talks about grace, he reminds us of how God restored David. Over 350 times the New Testament quotes or refers to the Old Testament. No wonder Christians need the Old Testament in order to understand the New!

During forty-six years of teaching Old Testament I enjoyed seeing the light come on in students who had probably avoided the Old Testament. It became truly Gods Word to them.

I tried a number of different textbooks. Some were simple summaries of the Old Testament books. Some were in story form. Some were dull. Some were over the heads of my students. I often wished for a textbook such as this.

The writers our Logion Press team has selected to collaborate in this work are all excellent Bible scholars and teachers. Dr. William C. Williams is the editor of this work, the author of two chapters, and a contributor to footnotes and sidebars. He was one of my best students. He holds the Ph.D. in Hebrew Language and Literature from New York University with postdoctoral studies at the Hebrew University and the Institute of Holy Land Studies, both in Jerusalem. Since 1969 he has been Professor of Old Testament at Vanguard University (formerly Southern California College) and has taught Old Testament for many years on both college and graduate levels. He is an outstanding biblical scholar, writer, and Bible translator. At the same time he knows how to make the Bible relevant and alive to his students. He has pastored in Maryland and New Jersey and has taught in several overseas colleges and seminaries.

Stanley M. Horton, Th.D.

Distinguished Professor of Bible and Theology Emeritus

Assemblies of God Theological Seminary

William Barnes is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministries at North Central University. He holds the Th.D. in Hebrew Bible from Harvard Divinity School. He formerly taught at South-eastern College of the Assemblies of God.

Dwaine Braddy was Professor of Pastoral Ministries and Bible at Northwest College until 2003; he is currently on staff at Renton (Washington) Assembly of God. He holds the D.Min. from Drew University.

Malcolm Brubaker is Professor of Church Ministries at Valley Forge Christian College. He holds the Th.M. from Westminster Theological Seminary.

Dale Brueggemann is Director, Eurasia Education Services, Assemblies of God World Missions. He holds the Ph.D. from Westminster Theological Seminary.

Roger Cotton is Professor of Old Testament at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. He holds the Th.D. from Concordia Seminary.

Andrew Davies is professor at the Assemblies of God Bible College at Mattersey, United Kingdom. He holds the Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield, England.

Steven M. Fettke is Professor of Religion at Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God. He holds the D.Min. from Columbia Theological Seminary.

Richard Israel is Vice President for Academic Affairs at Bethany College of the Assemblies of God. He holds the Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University.

Larry McQueen is associate pastor of the Cottonwood Church of God, Brookston, Texas. He has taught at Lee University. He holds the M.Th. in Biblical Studies, Old Testament Concentration from Columbia Theological Seminary.

Robert A. Mullins was Educational and Cultural Affairs Fellow at the W. F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem. He holds the Ph.D. in Archaeology from Hebrew University. He has been an instructor in Biblical Archaeology, history, and geography, and a research associate in the Tel Beth Shean Project, Hebrew University Institute of Archaeology. He has also taught Old Testament and Hebrew.

William Raccah, formerly Dean and President of College Biblique in Quebec, is now Director, Calgary Leadership Training Center (an extension of Northwest Bible College, Edmonton) Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He holds the Ph.D. in Old Testament Ethics from Universit Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

Robert C. Stallman is Associate Professor of Bible and Hebrew at Northwest College of the Assemblies of God. He holds the Ph.D. in Hermeneutics and Biblical Interpretation from Westminster Theological Seminary. He has taught at Central Bible College and has pastored churches in Pennsylvania and Washington.

April Westbrook is Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Vanguard University. She holds the M.A. from Vanguard University and is pursuing doctoral studies at Claremont Graduate University.

The late Ronald E. Wright was Professor Emeritus of Theology at Vanguard University, where he taught from 1975 to 2000. He held the M.R.E. from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto and the B.D. from Northwest Baptist Theological College in Vancouver, Canada.

The inspiration for writing this book came from teaching students on Borneo in 1985. The only evangelical survey of the Old Testament available at that time was tedious and dry. My students were excellent, intelligent, and highly motivated, but English was their third language! They agonized over the reading level required by the material.