Scripture and Tradition Bible Studies

The situation couldn't be bleaker for the Jews in Bethulia. They're hungry, thirsty, and desperate. It's precisely at this moment that God will use Judith, a wise, beautiful, and brave widow, to deliver his people. Her actions are not only significant for her city, but point to the greatest act of salvation for all of humanity. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 3, "Judith Delivers the Jews," from...

Judith 1-7 forms the first half of the book which focuses on painting a portrait of the enemy, who by all accounts is overwhelmingly powerful and unstoppable. Nebuchadnezzar sends his commander-in-chief Holofernes to subdue all peoples who oppose him. Everyone submits quickly to this juggernaut, except for the Jews. They pray and work hard to defend themselves, but things have become desperate and...

Judith is an epic account of how God delivers his people from conquest through the wisdom and resourcefulness of Judith, a wise and beautiful heroine. However, before diving into the text, it's very important to lay the foundation for the book of Judith in terms of its title, authorship, dating, literary genre, main themes, typology, etc.  Enjoy this sample from Lesson 1, "An Introductio...

Tobit's epic saga began in lesson 2 with "God's faithful suffering in exile." We've come full circle now and see "God's faithful rejoicing in exile." Sorrow has turned to joy, misery to praise. Hidden in the story are phenomenal typological connections as Tobit represents Israel and Tobias represents Jesus. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 4, "God's Faithful Rejoicing in Exile," from Dr. Ni...

Confident that God will hear his prayer for a quick death, Tobit prepares his son Tobias for a journey to retrieve a silver deposit he made years prior. Though blind, Tobit sees far clearer than anyone on what true wealth is and isn't. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 3, "Raphael Heals God's Faithful in Exile," from Dr. Nick's course, "Tobit: God's Faithful Remnant in Exile." Anyone can joi...

Tobit was a righteous man his entire life, both before and after he was exiled from the Northern Kingdom. He is faithful to God, the Temple, the law, and his kinsmen. He is the model Israelite.  Enjoy this sample from Lesson 2, "God's Faithful Suffering in Exile," from Dr. Nick's course, "Tobit: God's Faithful Remnant in Exile." Anyone can join our community of students and stream t...

Tobit is a fantastic book. It's a true historical account filled with powerful religious truths about how God provides for those who are faithful to Him, his law, and each other. Indeed, Tobit's very name points to God's goodness! Enjoy this sample from Lesson 1, "An Introduction to the Book of Tobit," from Dr. Nick's course, "Tobit: God's Faithful Remnant in Exile." Anyone can join our...

The Southern Kingdom of Judah continued to exist for approximately 150 years after Israel fell to Assyria in 722 BC. During that time there were some terrific highs and terrifying lows for the Davidic Kingdom. We see some phenomenal efforts at reform in the reigns of Hezekiah and Josiah, but it's too little too late for a people who seem hell-bent on rejecting God's call for repentance. Babylon wi...

God was patient and gentle with Israel for 200 years. Over and over again he  called Israel  to repent of their sins and come to him with open arms. Yet, they never did. The consequences of such impenitent, hard hearts was exile, just as Moses had foretold in the Book of Deuteronomy. Thus, the Kingdom of Israel in the North fell to the mighty Assyrian Empire in the war 722 B.C. Even in t...

After the ministries of God's prophets Elijah and Elisha, Israel still persists in sin. As a consequence, further curses of the Deuteronomic covenant are unleashed resulting in war, famine, draught, and general unrest. God purges the House of Ahab through King Jehu, but the house of David is nearly wiped out as a consequence. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 8, "Approaching Exile" (2 Kings...

If Elijah is "the father of the prophets," as we saw in Lesson 6, then his firstborn son will be his young protégée Elisha, who faithfully proclaims repentance and mercy to Israel. Elisha's ministry further develops the themes of the New Exodus begun by Elijah. The typological connections with Jesus abound as Elisha is an amazing prefigurement of Jesus Christ.  Enjoy this sample from&nbs...

Elijah is the first of the great prophets in the Old Testament. In fact, he is called "the father of prophets" and for good reason. All of his miracles and deeds look backward to Moses and the Exodus on the one hand and on the other hand they point forward to Jesus Christ, the one who accomplishes the true and definitive Exodus! Enjoy this sample from Lesson 6, "Elijah: The Father of Prophets...

Because of Solomon's sins, the kingdom was to be torn away from him as the prophet Ahijah foretold. However, this tearing away should be understood as a "divorce" between the Davidic king and the tribes of Israel. This terrible split was brought about by the abusive and violent words of Rehoboam, Solomon's very unwise heir, and won't be remedied until the new son of David, Jesus Christ,...

Solomon was given an abundance of grace, blessings, and wisdom to bless not only Israel, but all the gentile nations surrounding him. And that is exactly what we see happening at the high point of his life right before his tragic fall from grace. Because Solomon is a type of Jesus we will see these high points of his reign perfectly fulfilled by Jesus, who will bring salvation to th...

The construction of the Temple is arguably the high point of the entire Old Testament. It marks the occasion when Israel finally has "rest" from her enemies all around her in order to enter into the "Sabbath Rest" of covenantal communion with God in holy worship. The Temple is not just for Jews, however, but also for all the nations who will hear of God's holy name and come to worship hi...

The beginning Solomon's reign was marked by some key dramatic problems , but he proved to be both humble and wise to establish the kingdom that was destined for him. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 2, "Solomon the Wise (1 Kings 1-4)," from Dr. Nick's course, "1-2 Kings: The Glory and Exile of the Davidic Kingdom." Anyone can join our community of students and stream the entire audio l...

It is always helpful and productive to spend some time looking at the introductory topics of a new book. We'll quickly cover issues like the title, dating, authorship, etc. of 1-2 Kings, but spend more time understanding the crucial key themes and typological connections that we'll study in various parts of this course. The connections between the overarching structure of...

David's return to Jerusalem was not the triumphant victory and relief many thought it should be. He regained his throne but at the cost of his Absalom's life. Fully aware that such violence was the temporal consequences of his own sins, David must carry on to preserve the peace and unity of his kingdom. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 10, "David's Final Y...

David's sins are infamous, but how could he have committed such crimes after all that God had done for him throughout his life and sworn to him through the covenant just a few chapters prior? David's fall teaches us a lot about how to avoid similar grave sins by being occupied with good things and weeding our gardens. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 9, "David's Fall From Gra...

The theological highpoint of both books of Samuel, and arguably even of the entire Old Testament, is the Davidic Covenant found in 2 Sam 7. God has been establishing covenants with his people going all the way back to Adam. Now, in the final covenant of the Old Testament, God is doing something truly spectacular with David and his progeny that will only be perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ....

David trusted in God with heroic patience for many years while running from Saul before he became king, but when he did it was only over the tribe of Judah from Hebron. He had to wait many more years before he could become king over all 12 tribes. Once that happened, he made Jerusalem his political and religious capital, fulfilling many significant passages of Mosaic Law. Enjoy this...

David's many years in  exile were undoubtedly very  painful, stressful, and confusing. His king and father-in-law relentlessly pursues  David  all over the country to kill him for no reason at all . Yet, David never lifts a hand against Saul and thereby proves that David is faithful and loyal whereas Saul is not. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 6, "David in Exile (...

David, unlike Saul, is a king unlike all others. His heart belongs to God and therefore God is with him in all that he does. He is anointed king and goes to fight Israel's enemies, most famously the giant Goliath. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 5, "David: A King Unlike All Others (1 Sam 16-20)," from Dr. Nick's course, "1-2 Samuel: The Rise of the Davidic Kingdom." Anyone can join our communit...

In between Saul's anointing in 1 Sam 9-11 and Saul's fall from grace in 1 Sam 13-15, Samuel gives his farewell speech that sounds awfully familiar. Indeed, as a New Moses, Samuel's echoes the words of Moses' farewell speech in Deuteronomy. The gist of both men's words are be faithful, love God, or things won't go well for you! Enjoy this sample from Lesson 4, "The Fall of King Saul (1 Sam 12-...

The transition between the era of the Judges and the era of the Monarchy isn't a smooth one. Israel sinfully asks for a king to "be like all the other nations," which is a rejection of both God and their unique vocation to be God's special possession. Saul is "the one asked for," and he'll demonstrate it in various ways throughout his reign.  Enjoy this sample from Lesson 3, "Saul: A Kin...