The following brief interpretation of the Old Testament historical books is the result of morning devotions held by the author at Concordia Seminary and could also be of some assistance to Christians who are not theologians in their daily Bible reading. Perhaps someone who has to teach Christian children biblical history and Bible reading will find that the same points highlighted here are those which deserve special attention in the lesson.

Biblical history and every major section of it is a finely structured whole and is made up of many individual parts, of individual stories. Accordingly, the historical analysis presented here is divided into many individual sections. The biblical text itself forms the basis of the analysis in each section, and it is enough to indicate the place where it can be found in the Scripture. In the interpretation, the author’s purpose and aim was to present the main features of the relevant story in brief outline, while maintaining its connection with the whole, to weave into the exposition what seemed necessary to explain individual facts and expressions, and then to apply the story to the reader, to our time and circumstances. For everything that has been written is for our instruction, admonition, warning, consolation and edification, and everything that has happened before has happened as an example for us (2 Tim. 3:16, 1 Cor. 10:6). Finally, he endeavors to emphasize only those teachings and salutary thoughts which arise from the biblical text itself and from the parallel passages in the Old and New Testaments, which are what the Holy Spirit really has in mind, and to leave out random and arbitrary applications.

May all interpretation of Scripture have only one effect: to introduce Christians to the Scripture itself, so that they read it diligently, think about it carefully, and meditate on it, and derive much blessing from it!

G. Stöckhardt