Session 2

In this session, we do a fly-over of the major plot-points of the Hebrew scriptures: promise and patriarchs, deliverance and divine law, nationhood and temple, exile and dispersion.

First, we discuss the importance of God making a promise to Abraham — a promise with an important paradox at its core. We’ll keep coming back to this.

Second, we meet the character Moses. As we follow his journey, we see God’s people set free (a recurring theme in the story of scripture) and we see God give them the Law/Torah — a new imagination for redemptive community in the ancient world.

Third, we encounter the character David, who becomes a touchpoint for emerging Israelite identity in the Late Bronze Age. A kingdom is established, a permanent temple is built, God’s people are at peace.

And yet, as in all human stories, things begin to unravel. This is why, finally, we discuss the role of the prophets in Israelite society — and how they carry the narrative of God’s people to a captivating cliffhanger.