A Brief Walk through the Books of the Old Testament by Tony Smith

A Brief Walk through the Books of the Old Testament by Tony Smith

The Old Testament is a formidable book, a historic journey moving from creation, through the time of Noah and the flood to Abraham and his descendants, Moses and the children of Israel, high priests, judges, kings, and the spoken words of God through the prophets. In my studies of the books of the Old Testament, I find that God's purpose and revelations are obscured with pages and pages of detail that makes for cumbersome reading and a somewhat distant grasp of its inspirations. I wrote this book to summarize the main points, from Genesis to Malachi, and to provide the historical elements such as dates to tie the story to historical settings and events. I have also pointed out along the way the presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit in these Old Testament writings. Most of the books of the Old Testament are prophetic. There were approximately eight hundred prophesies in the Old Testament; and a large portion, approximately six hundred, have been fulfilled. There is not a single biblical prophecy that pertains to a time that has now passed that is not fulfilled.

My goal is for this writing to serve as an easy and comfortable format for the reader to get to know God, who we are to Him, why we are here, and to discover His wonderful pathway leading to eternal life. I want to reach those who are led to the Word of God and, upon opening up a Bible and reading a few pages, become discouraged by its vastness and disconnect of such long-ago times. The Old Testament truly has a long but remarkable timeline of history, and I have endeavored to tie its writings accordingly, in a brief walk through these inspired books of the Word of God.

Tony Smith teaches philosophy at Iowa State University of Science and Technology as an associate professor. He also wrote The Logic of Marx's Capital, which was published by SUNY Press.