Scripture and Tradition Bible Studies

As the deer seeks living waters, so too does my soul seek for you, my God . Such beautiful language and imagery begins the second book of the psalter, which focuses on the glory of the Kingdom of David, where God himself dwells from Zion. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 6, "Psalms 42-49," from Dr. Nick's course, "Psalms: Lift Up Your Hearts." Anyone can join our community of students and s...

  The Psalms proclaim that the man who confesses his sins is freed from guilt and truly blessed. To hold onto our sins causes us terrible suffering that affects our entire person. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 5, "Psalms 31-41," from Dr. Nick's course, "Psalms: Lift Up Your Hearts." Anyone can join our community of students and stream the entire audio lesson and full course (and other courses...

Psalm 22 is one of the most famous christological prophecies in the Old Testament. Jesus quotes it from the cross intentionally to show that his passion and glorification was graphically foretold and is now fulfilled.  Enjoy this sample from Lesson 4, "Psalms 22-31," from Dr. Nick's course, "Psalms: Lift Up Your Hearts." Anyone can join our community of students and stream the entire aud...

Psalms 11-21  continue to develop the main themes of Psalms 1-2, which are the way of the righteous vs. the way of the wicked, and the suffering, yet righteous king who cries out to God for deliverance from his enemies.  These psalms beautifully  depict how we are to trust in God and praise him no matter the situation. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 3, "Psalms 11-21," from Dr. N...

Psalms 1-2 form  the introduction for the entire Psalter and are incredibly important for understanding its major themes and lessons . Indeed, Psalm 2 is so crucial that it is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 2, "Psalms 1-10," from Dr. Nick's course, "Psalms: Lift Up Your Hearts." Anyone can join our community of students and stream the entire...

The Psalms are arguably the most popular book of the Old Testament. Indeed, St. Thomas Aquinas says that they contain the whole of Theology within them and St. Anthanasius says they are a mirror for the soul! It's worth our time to study them! Enjoy this sample from Lesson 1, "Introducing the Psalms," from Dr. Nick's course, "Psalms: Lift Up Your Hearts." Anyone can join our community of stud...

2 Maccabees closes on a very high note with the story of how God's great mercy is poured out upon his people because of the faithful prayers of the Jewish martyrs. God's wrath turned to mercy. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 5, "Wrath Turns to Mercy (2 Mac 8-15)," from Dr. Nick's course, "1-2 Maccabees: Zealous For The Faith." Anyone can join our community of students and stream the entire audio les...

2 Maccabees zooms in on the story of the rededication of the Temple and the crushing Hellenistic persecution with some pretty gruesome and yet inspiring details missing in 1 Maccabees. The book opens by connecting the events of Hanukkah with past stories of Israel's temple.  Enjoy this sample from Lesson 4, "Faithful Saints and Martyrs (2 Mac 1-7)," from Dr. Nick's course, "1-2 Macc...

After the death of Judas Maccabeus, his brothers Jonathan and Simon carry the torch to further free Judea from the Greek tyranny. As they  make great strides towards freedom, even forming what became known as the Hasmonean Dynasty, proverbial cracks begin to form in the foundation which will ultimately lead many argue whether or not their rule is legitimate.  Enjoy this sample from Lesso...

The persecutions leveled by Antiochus IV against the Jewish people lead to the courageous resistance movement  under the leadership of  Judas Maccabeus. For the first time in salvation history  we see serious religious persecution and martyrdom of God's people. Many suffer and die willingly for the faith, but just war is also an option to defend God and country. Enjoy this samp...

The era of Hellenization was fierce, both in terms of the oppression against the Jews, and with respect to the zealous faith of God's people who chose to fight for God, the law, and the Temple! Enjoy this sample from Lesson 1, "Introducing the Maccabees," from Dr. Nick's course, "1-2 Maccabees: Zealous For The Faith." Anyone can join our community of students and stream the entire audio lesson and...

Queen Esther proves to be incredibly brave and heroic by approaching King Ahasuerus on her own. She is  risking her life by doing so, but it is worth the risk to save the lives of her people. Yet, we see once again how God listens to the heartfelt prayers of his saints and governs all things according to his purposes.  Enjoy this sample from Lesson 3, "Esther Intercedes for the Jews...

God reveals the upcoming days of persecution and battle in an apocalyptic dream to a faithful Jew named Mordecai. In this dream, two dragons will battle each other and the righteous people will overcome the wrath of the nations. Such is the plot for the rest of the book of Esther, where God will providentially care for his people even when they face imminent genocide. Enjoy this sample from&n...

The Book of Esther records another epic story of how God delivers his people from disaster through an unlikely source. However, reading Esther can be very confusing in English Bibles because of the manuscript tradition that mixes up many of the chapters and verses. Let's examine why that is. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 1, "Introducing the Book of Esther," from Dr. Nick's course, "Esther: Th...

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...