Lessons from Old Testament Characters
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
Many find the Old Testament difficult to understand with its ancient culture, strange rituals and customs, and primitive views of God. Tuck examines the literary and historical nature of the biblical passages he discusses and shows how these accounts of real people, with their strengths and weaknesses, address our contemporary world with lessons that provide genuine guidance for meaningful living. In his reflections on sixteen Old Testament characters, Tuck strives to show how their lives connect with and guide us today. These stories reflect the many ways God quietly works in the lives of individuals, and they challenge us to remain responsive to the divine presence today.
William Powell Tuck,a native of Virginia, has served as a pastor in Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Louisiana, and as a seminary professor, adjunct college professor, and an intentional interim pastor. He is the author of more than forty books including The Difficult Sayings of Jesus and Star Thrower: A Pastor’s Handbook. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Richmond. In 1997 he received the Pastor of the Year award from the Academy of Parish Clergy, and in 2016 received the Wayne Oates Award from the Oates Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his wife, Emily, are the parents of two children and five grandchildren and live in Richmond, Virginia.
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- Examines the literary and historical nature of biblical passages.
- Shows how ancient accounts address our contemporary world with guidance for meaningful living.
- Challenges readers to remain responsive to the divine presence today.
With a close reading of major characters in the Old Testament, Tuck engages in deep and creative theological reflection on their contributions to contemporary life. He draws upon a lifetime of experience as both teacher and minister to address complex theological and ethical issues clearly and concisely, thus inviting readers to share in the adventure of biblical study that is enriching and transformative. This book offers an important corrective for all those who think of the Old Testament as merely “old” and irrelevant for the life of faith. The “life lessons” Tuck discerns in the biblical portraits of Moses, Jeremiah, Esther, Ruth, and a host of other exemplary characters deserve and reward thoughtful attention.
—Samuel E. Balentine, DPhil. Professor of Old Testament, Emeritus Union Presbyterian Seminary Richmond, Virginia.
When it comes to living faithfully amid the struggle, we have much to consider by way of Lessons from Old Testament Characters. Bill Tuck delivers these lessons with sermonic clarity, well-seasoned theology, and pastoral insight. There are many other biblical characters to consider; one can hope, therefore, that another volume in is the works.
—Warren C. Robertson, PhD Associate Professor of Biblical Studies Gardner-Webb University, School of Theology.
William Powell Tuck’s Lessons from Old Testament Characters puts the Bible first. He has studied the biblical text in the company of biblical scholars and theologians, and he retells these Old Testament stories with a sure sense of what is relevant and needful for Christians. Tuck does not use his chosen characters simply to illustrate commonly held understandings and values. Decades of careful study and pastoral experience bear fruit in challenging theological reflection and refreshing practical applications.
—Pamela J. Scalise, PhD Senior Professor of Old Testament Fuller Theological Seminary.