Wrestling with God: Understanding Difficult Old Testament Passages

The Old Testament has a reputation for being confusing, outdated, or irrelevant. Modern readers have lots of uncomfortable questions: Was the universe really created in six days? Do Christians have to follow Israelite laws? Does God change His mind?

Wrestling with God encourages Christians to tackle these difficult topics and more to get a clearer picture of who God really is. The Rev. Dr. R. Reed Lessing and the Rev. Dr. Andrew E. Steinmann explore ten topics including Creation, laws, and prophecy and help readers embrace--rather than dismiss--the Old Testament.

Modern Christians are separated from the Old Testament by time, culture, and language. Lessing and Steinmann bridge these gaps and study things like the sexual laws in Leviticus 18, God's mandates for violence against the Canaanites in the book of Joshua, and the true meaning of prophecies in Ezekiel 37-48. Amid it all, the authors point the reader to Jesus, the promised Savior and "most complete revelation of God."

The Bible study's conversational writing style and chapter discussion questions are perfect for individual or group use.

Lessing is the Chair of Old Testament Studies at Concordia University, St. Paul with a doctorate in Hebrew Bible. Steinmann is Professor Emeritus of Theology and Hebrew at Concordia University Chicago with a doctorate in Near Eastern Studies.