uSeminary — Ministry Training & Education for Creative Missionaries

Understanding the Old Testament

Seeing God’s Story of Redemption from Genesis to Malachi

Understanding the Old Testament helps students move beyond isolated stories and difficult passages to see the larger biblical story of creation, covenant, redemption, worship, wisdom, judgment, and hope. From Genesis through Malachi, the course shows how the Old Testament introduces the God revealed throughout Scripture, provides the theological vocabulary the New Testament assumes, and prepares readers to understand the person and work of Jesus Christ more fully.

Across five lessons, students learn how structure, genre, historical setting, covenant, and canonical context shape responsible interpretation. The course combines biblical theology with practical reading skills so that learners can approach law, narrative, poetry, wisdom, and prophecy with greater confidence and apply Old Testament teaching thoughtfully to Christian faith, ministry, ethics, worship, and discipleship.

This course is designed for pastors, ministry leaders, Bible teachers, small-group leaders, lay leaders, ministry volunteers, and Christians who want a stronger foundation for understanding the Old Testament. It is especially valuable for learners who have found portions of the Old Testament difficult, unfamiliar, or disconnected from the New Testament and want a clear framework for reading these books as Christian Scripture.
The course is organized into five lessons that move from interpretive foundations through the major literary and theological sections of the Old Testament. Each lesson combines careful attention to the biblical text with historical and literary context, theological reflection, selected scholarly insight, and practical guidance for reading and applying Scripture responsibly.
Students who complete the course receive a Certificate of Completion recognizing their study of Old Testament structure, interpretation, covenant theology, biblical themes, and Christian application. The certificate provides a record of focused biblical study that can support personal development, church-based training, or continuing ministry education.
This course does more than survey Old Testament books or memorize names, dates, and events. It teaches students how to read different kinds of Old Testament literature on their own terms, understand the historical setting in which each text first spoke, trace major themes across the canon, and recognize how Old Testament promises and patterns contribute to the New Testament’s witness to Christ.
The approach is intentionally evangelical and canonical, treating the Old Testament as authoritative Christian Scripture while taking historical and literary scholarship seriously. Students are introduced to genuine interpretive questions without allowing secondary debates to overshadow the text’s central theological witness or its continuing importance for Christian faith and practice.
- How the major sections of the Old Testament contribute to the Bible’s unfolding story of redemption.
- How to interpret law, narrative, poetry, wisdom, and prophecy according to their distinctive literary forms.
- How the Abrahamic, Sinai, Davidic, and new covenants develop across Israel’s story and shape biblical theology.
- How major Old Testament themes such as creation, holiness, redemption, kingdom, worship, justice, exile, and restoration fit together.
- How Israel’s historical books interpret leadership, land, worship, covenant faithfulness, judgment, exile, and return.
- How Proverbs, Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs address the lived experience of faith, suffering, worship, relationships, and wisdom.
- How the prophets confront idolatry and injustice while announcing restoration, renewed hearts, the Spirit, messianic hope, and God’s future kingdom.
- How to recognize Christological fulfillment without ignoring the historical meaning and original audience of Old Testament texts.
- How to apply Old Testament teaching responsibly to spiritual formation, pastoral care, ethics, ministry, and mission.

Course Lessons

Learn how the Old Testament is organized and how law, narrative, poetry, wisdom, and prophecy communicate in different ways. This lesson gives students a practical interpretive framework for reading texts in their historical, literary, canonical, and Christian contexts.
Explore Genesis through Deuteronomy as the theological foundation for the rest of Scripture, tracing creation, the fall, Abrahamic promise, exodus, covenant, sacrifice, holiness, and worship. The lesson also shows how these patterns are developed later in Scripture and contribute to Christian understanding of redemption in Christ.
Follow Israel’s story from the conquest and judges through monarchy, exile, and restoration, paying attention to covenant faithfulness, kingship, worship, leadership, and divine providence. Students learn to read the historical books as theological narratives rather than merely as collections of heroes, failures, and moral examples.
Study Proverbs, Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs as Scripture that addresses the interior and everyday life of faith. The lesson explores wisdom, suffering, prayer, worship, work, speech, relationships, mortality, desire, and faithful trust when life refuses to fit simple formulas.
Examine the prophets as voices confronting covenant betrayal, idolatry, injustice, failed leadership, exile, and spiritual apathy while also announcing restoration and hope. Students learn how prophetic promises of renewed hearts, God’s Spirit, a righteous ruler, restored worship, and God’s presence are taken up within the New Testament and ultimately centered in Christ.