In these courses you will become familiar with the main stories and events in the Old Testament.  Part 1 covers from Creation to Israel’s demand for a king.  Part 2 covers the kingdom of Israel to the return of the Jews from Babylon.  Together these courses will provide the familiarity with Old Testament stories.

You will learn the Bible stories mainly from your Bible, but also from Patriarchs and Prophets, Prophets and Kings, and the Story of Redemption.  Quizzes per lesson will test your knowledge and help you study, and a 25-question final test at the end of each part will evaluate your learning.  Test questions will be taken from the bank of questions in the lesson quizzes.

1. Gain a firm knowledge of major Old Testament stories and events

2. Become familiar with the chronology of Old Testament stories and events

3. Read the Old Testament for how it speaks to your personal life

Part 1

Course Introduction

Week 1:  In the Beginning, God (Gen 1-11, Job)

Week 2:  God’s Family (Gen)

Week 3:  God’s Nation (Exo - Deut)

Week 4:  God is King (Josh/Judg/Ruth, 1 Sam 1-7)

Part 2

Course Introduction

Week 5:  God Lets Man Rule (1 Sam 8 - 1 Kings 12, the Writings)

Week 6:  God Calls Israel Back (1 Kings 13 - 2 Kings, Prophets)

Week 7:  God Lets the Curses Come (Jer, Lam, Hab, Dan, Ezek)

Week 8:  God Brings His People Back (Ezra, Neh, Esther, Chronicles, Prophets)

You can pass these courses by studying the stories, practicing with the quizzes, and taking the final test.  But to gain the most value it is suggested that you ponder the stories, events, and quotes, and ask God how each applies to your own personal life.

Each lesson will have a quiz over the content.  The quizzes will be taken from a bank of questions, and they will be timed.

The final test will consist of 24 questions from the bank of questions in the lessons.  It is possible you will encounter a question on the final test that you did not encounter in the quizzes, but taking the quizzes will help you prepare for the final.

Some have grown up on the Old Testament stories, and the mere mention of “Joseph” or “Daniel” immediately conjures up Israelite young men in foreign lands whom God blesses with some measure of rulership.  But if you weren’t blessed to grow up with these stories, these are the courses for you.  For here, you will read for yourself these stories, familiarizing yourself with the characters and happenings of the Old Testament.

Links will be provided to the New American Standard Bible on the website “Bible Gateway,” the version from which your quiz questions will be made.  You will also read selected chapters or passages in Patriarchs & Prophets, Prophets & Kings, or Story of Redemption that illuminate a story you are focusing on in any given week.

As you can see, your reading will be directly from the Bible and some from Ellen White’s writings.  Therefore, there will not be much extra writing in each lesson.  You are encouraged to not only read these passages, but to meditate on them for your own life.

While the quiz questions are based solely on the Bible and some of Ellen White’s writings, in the “For Your Enrichment” section you will find extra material that may be of further interest to you.  You will also find there some suggestions for taking these stories and events into your own life and hearing what God has to say to you through them.  This Enrichment section is placed first, before the actual lesson, so that you can make use of it while reading the lesson material.

Quizzes and Tests: It is suggested that you make use of these quizzes to help you study for the final test.  The final test at the end of each part will consist of 24 questions made up from the quizzes, and one final question asking if you read all the Scripture and Ellen White references.

Know for Quizzes:

• What was created and on which day
• What happened in Genesis 1-3
• Genesis 3:15
• Main people
• Main events
• Have a sense of what people and events are in Gen 1-11