JEN WILKIN BETTER HEBREWS HOW TO
JEN WILKIN BETTER HEBREWS FREE

What is the connection between the event of the exodus and the nature of our own salvation, our deliverance from sin? When we study the Old Testament, the New Testament takes on its proper depth and breadth. When we neglect the Old Testament, we essentially read only the second half of an epic story. Imagine reading only the last Lord of the Rings book, but never reading the first two. When we see these connections, we’re better able to determine why the New Testament authors wrote in the manner they did.

The Book of Revelation, which has been subjected to more than its share of odd interpretations, also draws heavily on imagery and language from Genesis and Exodus. The Gospel of John hyperlinks Genesis at every turn. For example, Luke’s birth narrative of Jesus draws on Exodus themes (Herod killing firstborn sons, a flight to Egypt, a wilderness temptation). The earliest books of the Bible set up the themes we see traced all the way through.

JEN WILKIN BETTER HEBREWS HOW TO

But familiarity with the Old Testament helps us learn how to read the New Testament as we should. Jen: One of the most basic rules of interpreting the Bible is to “let Scripture interpret Scripture.” Familiarity with the New Testament can help us look backward at the Old and see where it was foreshadowing Christ. How do the earliest books of the Bible provide understanding for all of Scripture and help us to read the Bible with more clarity and with “better eyes for interpretation”? As such, it has much to teach us about our own delivery from death to life, by means of a strong deliverer. Exodus is the birth narrative of the nation of Israel - a labor and delivery story, if you will. The first 18 chapters of Exodus are filled with birth language. But we don’t always meditate on the deep significance of that phrase or of how the concept is rooted in the earliest passages of the Bible. Jen: We often speak of having been “born again” - the phrase Jesus uses in His famous conversation with Nicodemus. You have said that Exodus 1–18 are “18 of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible.” Why? I hope these studies make it accessible to learners, and useful over the long-term for understanding the message of the Bible from beginning to end. I, too, have found the Old Testament intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. I wrote these studies to help ensure their assumption is met. The NewTestament authors assume our knowledge of the Old Testament. But without the foundational books of the Old Testament, we can only have at best a thin understanding of the New Testament.

I find that most of us have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the Old Testament because it feels inaccessible to us. Jen: As with all of my studies, I want learners to gain not just insights about a particular book, but skills for reading the Bible as a whole. What prompted you to walk chronologically through the Old Testament through Bible studies like God of Creation, God of Covenant, and now God of Deliverance ?

JEN WILKIN BETTER HEBREWS FREE

You can order a copy of the June 2021 HomeLife Magazine here. See a free sample or purchase your copy of God of Deliverance by Jen Wilkin at /deliverance. T oday we’re sharing an interview from the June issue of HomeLife with Jen Wilkin about her new Bible study, God of Deliverance: A Study of Exodus 1-18.

Jen wilkin better hebrews