Old Testament

Old Testament offers Bible-based articles that help readers understand the foundations of Scripture and the story that leads to Christ. Explore resources on the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings—covering historical context, covenant themes, God’s character, wisdom literature, and how Old Testament teaching shapes faith and discipleship today. You’ll find guidance for reading difficult passages, tracing biblical theology, and connecting Old Testament truths to the gospel without losing the original meaning. This hub equips readers to study the Old Testament with clarity, confidence, and reverence for God’s Word.

June 5, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for June 11, 2017: Gideon (Judges 6-8)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the June 4, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Damon Runyan said, “The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but that”s the way to bet.” That is, unless you are God. When God is in the equation, swiftness and strength are not necessary. He can make up what anyone lacks. Gideon”s self-confession was neither swift nor strong.

May 29, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for June 4, 2017: Deborah and Barak (Judges 4, 5)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the May 28, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  The book of Judges is one of the darker books of the Bible. It covers a time frame from 1370 to 1040 BC. God called several leaders to help Israel during those dark days, but none of them achieved the status that Joshua or Samuel enjoyed (the leaders who bookend this period). We associate judges

May 22, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for May 28, 2017: Pervasive Love (Jonah 4)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the May 21, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  God”s love is pervasive (expanding, spreading, and permeating). Jonah”s love was narrow, miserly, and shrunken. The angry prophet desperately needed to get on the same page with the Lord when it came to his wide embrace of all people. That is the story of Jonah 4. Last week”s lesson dealt with forgiveness. Jonah could announce

May 15, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for May 21, 2017: Forgiving Love (Jonah 3; Nahum 1″“3)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the May 14, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  God”s forgiving love was in place for Nineveh but also for Jonah himself. The God of the Bible is the God of the second chance, and Jonah got his. The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Even though Jonah was a reluctant prophet who did not have forgiving love in his

June 13, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for June 19, 2016: The Day of Joy for the Remnant (Zephaniah 3:9″“14, 20)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the June 12 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  Have you ever considered God in the role of a tailor? He knows about making something out of remnants””and so did the prophet Zephaniah. Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah formed the triad of prophets whom God used to prepare his people for Babylonian captivity. But way before

June 6, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for June 12, 2016: The Day Is Coming (Zephaniah 3:1″“8)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the June 5 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  “Turn out the lights” or “00:00″ or “Pay day some day” are all ways of expressing the inevitable, “Time is up.” Last week”s lesson from Zephaniah predicted the day of the Lord. This week”s lesson is focused on that day actually coming. God had an

May 30, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for June 5, 2016: The Day of the Lord (Zephaniah 1:4″“6, 14″“16; 2:3)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the May 29 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  The Bible is full of contrasts related to God”s people. There was the line of Seth and the way of Cain; the sons of God and the daughters of men; the seed of promise (Isaac) and the house of Ishmael; the kingdom of God and

December 19, 2015

Christian Standard

The Gospel in Minor Key

By Mark Scott These sometimes-overlooked prophets are anything but minor when it comes to the Christmas message. The Melody The Major Prophets of the Old Testament get lots of press at Christmastime. Rightly so. They carry the melody line in the Christmas story. Isaiah gave King Ahaz the gospel with these words, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14*). Isaiah gave the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali even more good news: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great

October 8, 2015

Christian Standard

The Honest Poet

By Mark S. Krause Is there anyone on earth today like Job, a person who is recognized as “blameless and upright” (Job 2:3)? One who “fears God and shuns evil”? A person of unblemished integrity? As we read daily about persons of influence caught in scandals, sometimes we wonder if there are any persons of integrity left on the earth. The book of Psalms is a rich source of insights for the person concerned about integrity. Although the newest psalm is more than 2,000 years old, the central issues of integrity have not changed. And while we do not readily

August 24, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for August 30, 2015: A Plea to Return to God (Malachi 3:1-12; Matthew 7:12)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the August 23 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  During the past three months we have seen how various Old Testament prophets took God”s demand for justice to the people. We have considered Amos, Micah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. Though their careers spanned several hundred years, they preached a single message: the nation”s relationship to God called for faith and obedience. When the prophet Malachi came on the

August 17, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for August 23, 2015: A Demand for Justice (Zechariah 7; Isaiah 30:18-26)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the August 16 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  The people of Israel were taken captive to Babylon. After 70 years, God allowed a remnant of his people to return to the promised land. There they set about to rebuild the temple. Although this effort began with much excitement and devotion, the project slowed considerably (Haggai 1). The Lord sent Haggai and Zechariah as prophets to encourage the people to

August 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for August 16, 2015: A Call for Repentance (Ezekiel 18; Proverbs 21:2-15)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the August 9 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  Even before Jerusalem fell in 586 BC, many of her finest people were taken captive to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel was among some 10,000 people who had been carried away (1:1). He had been selected by God to be “a watchman for the house of Israel” (3:17). The great eighteenth chapter of the book that bears his name underlines the

August 3, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for August 9, 2015: A Choice to Be Just (Ezra 7:1, 6, 21-28; Jeremiah 7:1-15)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the August 2 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  Jeremiah is one of the best-known Old Testament prophets. He tried valiantly to save the people of Judah from falling to Babylon, but was unsuccessful. After King Josiah”s positive changes, the nation had again slipped back into sin. As Jeremiah warned, the Hebrew people were facing God”s certain judgment. Before the end of the book, events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem

July 27, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for August 2, 2015: A Redeemer in Zion (Isaiah 59; Psalm 89:11-18)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the July 26 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  This lesson begins the final month in this quarter”s study about God”s desire for justice, as outlined by various Old Testament prophets. God expects his people to know right from wrong and then to do what is right. Justice is as serious a requirement for Christians today as it was for the people of Israel in Bible times. Isaiah 59 climaxes

July 20, 2015

Christian Standard

Reengaging the Old Testament

By Dave Henry A disparity exists for many Christians between their Old and New Testament theologies concerning the nature of God. For many Christians, the presentation of God in the Old Testament is unsettling, while God in the New Testament appears to be more gracious and loving. Within this theological frame of reference, the judgment of God rises as the prevalent theme of the Hebrew Scriptures, while the presentation of God in the incarnate Son, Jesus, reveals his love, mercy, and compassion in the New Testament. This line of interpretation discourages Christians from reading the Old Testament and incorporating its

July 20, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for July 26, 2015: God’s Matchless Mercy (Micah 7:11-20)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the July 19 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  This month our study has focused on the message of another of the minor prophets””Micah. As Allen A. MacRae pointed out, “Micah”s message alternates between oracles of doom and oracles of hope. The theme is judgment and deliverance by God. Micah also stresses that God hates idolatry, injustice, rebellion and empty ritualism, but he delights in pardoning the penitent. The

July 13, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for July 19, 2015: What the Lord Requires (Micah 6)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the July 12 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  During the first two weeks of our study of Micah, we have considered chapters 2 and 3. Micah soundly condemned those prophets who were leading the people astray (3:5-7). They were much like the nation”s leaders whom he also condemned. The prophets would say to the people, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.” C. F.

July 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for July 12, 2015: No Tolerance for Corrupt Officials (Micah 3)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the July 5 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  Micah began his prophecy with a scathing indictment of all who held administrative and judicial positions in the state (chapters 1, 2). These leaders had been placed in authority to serve the people, while in reality they were using their status to rob them (Micah 3:1, 2). The prophet described the leaders” cruelty in mistreating the people with a dramatic figure

June 29, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for July 5, 2015: No Rest for the Wicked (Micah 2)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the June 28 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  During this month we will focus attention on another of the “minor prophets”””Micah. He lived during the time of the divided kingdom. Some of the tribes of Israel had broken away from the northern kingdom, with its capital in Samaria. The southern kingdom continued to be headquartered in Jerusalem. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah. While Isaiah preached to the

June 22, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for June 28, 2015: God Will Never Forget (Amos 8)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the June 21 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  This month we have focused attention on Amos, one of the most important of the minor prophets. As James E. Smith pointed out, “The oracle which follows the fourth vision may have been delivered in Judah during a second phase of Amos”s ministry. In any case, these verses contain one of the strongest indictments against covetousness found anywhere in the Bible.”

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