Biblical Studies / Old Testament

  • The Prophets by O. Palmer Robertson

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2008

    Ezekiel and Daniel experienced exile. The words slip over the tongue with such ease. We are glad to know this “brute fact” about these two prophets. Next time we get involved in a Bible trivia quiz, we will be sure …Read More

  • The Prophets by Alec Motyer

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2008

    We do ourselves no favors by calling the first part of our Bibles the “Old Testament.” Why, the very title suggests something bygone! Of course, we are too far down the road to discard this description, but we need constantly …Read More

  • Covenant Prosecutors by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2008

    I don’t remember the exact words. They went something like this: “He was a thundering paradox of a man.” These words served as the opening lines of William Manchester’s classic biography of General Douglas MacArthur. In this work …Read More

  • Old Expectations by Iain Duguid

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2007

    When Jesus started his earthly ministry, he began by “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23). Yet nowhere in the Gospels do we see Jesus giving a clear definition of the kingdom. The reason is simple: Jesus didn …Read More

  • Meeting Jesus at an Old Testament Feast by John R. Sittema

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2011

    The default sin of the human heart is to put ourselves first. “It really is all about me!” was once a funny t-shirt slogan; it has now become a way of life. Unless preachers and Bible teachers are careful, the …Read More

  • The Suffering Servant and Conquering King by Alec Motyer

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2011

    John the Baptist was the last of the “Old Testament” prophets, and his message — “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” — tells us in a nutshell what the task of the prophets was and how they went about …Read More

  • The Royal Genealogy of Jesus by T.D. Alexander

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2011

    The five books from Genesis to Deuteronomy form the first section of the Hebrew Bible known as the Torah. Unfortunately, the Hebrew term torah is often misleadingly translated into English as “law.” Torah is better understood as meaning “instruction.” As …Read More

  • The Christ of the Old and New by Burk Parsons

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2011

    We have all heard the ancient maxim about the relationship between the Old and New Testaments: “The new is in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed.” While the words concealed and revealed do not entirely …Read More

  • Family Covenant by John Duncan

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2007

    What if you had an angel involved in the arrangement of your marriage or your children’s marriage, wouldn’t that be amazing? If you’re a believer, you actually do; the “Angel of the Lord” Himself. In Genesis …Read More

  • An Epic in the Making by Gene Edward Veith

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2008

    The theme of this month’s Tabletalk is Paradise Lost, which is the title of what most critics would agree is the greatest poem in the English language. John Milton was an English puritan revolutionary who helped overthrow King Charles …Read More

  • Paradise Lost by David VanDrunen

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2008

    In the second chapter of Hebrews, the author notes that God did not appoint angels, but human beings, to rule the world to come (v. 5), and he quotes Psalm 8 to prove it: “You made him for a little …Read More

  • Moses by Robert Vasholz

    FROM TABLETALK | October 2008

    Generally speaking, the mention of canon or “canonicity” of the Bible is considered a topic for seminary professors and specialists in theology. It appears to have small relevance to “faith and practice.” But when one realizes that canonicity deals with …Read More

  • The Historical Book by Gene Edward Veith

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2006

    Non-Christians assume that the Bible is a collection of myths. So do theological liberals, which is why they feel free to support abortion, homosexual marriage, the validity of all world religions — and they have constructed a whole vein of scholarship …Read More

  • Christ the Conqueror by Charles Spurgeon

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2006

    “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15 KJV). This is the first gospel sermon that was …Read More

  • Can Snakes Talk? by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2006

    With the possible exception of John 3:16, no verse in the Bible is more crucial and definitive than Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall …Read More