This transcript was auto generated and may not exactle represent the exact script of the podcast episode

I'll start with a question because I believe this is a good question to ask. Why bother trying to understand these Old Bible books? I don't mean why should I bother doing it I have my own reasons for doing it but you might think well why should I bother with this strange old book and that's a good question. The Old Testament at times it can seem pretty barbaric you know like the stories of Abraham and Isaac is a good example of that because Abraham is called on to actually sacrifice his own son which doesn't really seem like something that a reasonable God would ask you to do  The God we see in the Old Testament seems frequently cruel and arbitrary and demanding and contradictory. But that is one of the things that really gives the book life because it wasn't edited by a politically correct committee that was in any way concerned about offending anyone in the future.

 On the surface it's a puzzling book that's been pulled together over more than a 1000 years before settling on its final form. Yet its outlasted kingdoms and civilisations.  It is really interesting that it turns out that a book can be more durable than anything made of brick or stone. It's more resilient than a monument, more durable than a Castle it has even been longer lasting than any empire the world has seen. Isn’t that really interesting?

How can stories like this be so long living. Well I believe there's a kind of divine mystery going on here, There's a lot people today don't understand about these ancient books and as Biblical literacy is lost in our modern society many don't have a complete grasp of it either in it’s historical or a spiritual context. We can’t fully comprehend the psychological mindset of the people who wrote it or the sociological aspect that has had such an incredible impact on civilization and we still don't fully understand why on a physiological level why so many people believe in it to this day. Yet it still remains the most important book in the history of the world.

 One of the most basic observations that can be made about the Bible is that it consists of 66 different books. Each individual book of the Bible is a different and distinct literary unit. Therefore, it seems reasonable to me to suggest the Bible should be studied, first and foremost, book by book. Biblical authors wrote to a specific audience or with specific recipients in mind. It is the recipients’ situation that provoked the author to write. Therefore, it is important to know as much as possible about the original recipients because that information indicates the situation that motivated the author to write. To say the same thing another way, even 1000’s of years ago authors wrote to a specific audience to deliver a divine message

Christians believe not just that the Bible is meaningful and true but they also believe it is the Word of God.  That God moved men to write the words that we know today as our bible. (2 Pet. 1:21); points to this

 "For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit".

 Timothy in his second book also  tells us. 

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (2 Tim. 3:16)

 Is it just the profound wisdom of enlightened men, or is it something over and above that? Is it just word on a page or is it something more? Or is it a message of love and justice from the creator of the universe to any individual man or woman who wish to receive it.