Old Testament Words: Reflections for Preaching by Mary Donovan-turner

Reconsider or discover for the first time the richness of the Old Testament and the God it profiles. "At times when the sheer beauty of the words has thrilled me or comforted me. I have often been, perhaps like you, puzzled or perplexed. And yet I am convinced that this collection of books from Genesis to Malachi is worthy of more than a glimpse or moment of our time. Locked away in the world of Hebrew thought and language we will find the God we worship come to life in some surprising and challenging ways. We will find this God's nostrils flaring with anger at the injustice done to small, vulnerable children. And we will find this same God bending down and, with love like the most nurturing and caring parent among us, refusing to let us go. There is no discerning with certainty or total clarity who this God is. Even the names of this God are 'slippery' and ambiguous. . . What we thought we knew perhaps will be challenged. What we did not know will, I hope, be brought forth in a way that will educate and also inspire." -from the Introduction of Old Testament Words.