On the Old Testament (A Book You'll Actually Read) (Paperback)

by Mark Driscoll (Author)
Key Phrases: Old Testament, New Testament, Nine Common Questions (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Praise for the A Book You'll Actually Read series: "Mark has a gift of taking weighty ideas and expressing them in clear and lively language."
Bruce A. Ware, Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"Serious, informed, reverent, but not technical discussions of great themes."
D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"Simply and superbly written! Mark Driscoll has given us tools that can be placed in the hands of a skeptic or seeker, a new believer or mature saint."
Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

"These accessible books will encourage believers to see that theology is not an afterthought in the mission of God and the life of his church."
Ed Stetzer, Director of LifeWay Research

"These books are well worth an hour of your time."
Craig Groeschel, Founding Pastor of LifeChurch.tv and author of Confessions of a Pastor

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Description

Clear, biblical answers to some of the most common questions about the Old Testament-all in one concise book you'll actually read!

Packed with big truth, this little book on the Old Testament can be read in roughly one hour, making it a book you'll actually read. Mark Driscoll, one of America's most influential pastors, answers the nine most common questions about the Old Testament-questions about authorship, what Jesus says about the Old Testament, how the Old Testament books were chosen as Scripture, and more-and gives an overview of the various kinds of Old Testament literature. Two appendices include a comprehensive list of further resources and a checklist for reading through the entire Old Testament.

On the Old Testament is part of a series of inexpensive and accessible books that give clear, biblical answers to difficult theological questions and controversies. Through this series readers will get a solid and simple introduction to the Bible by investing just a little time.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Crossway Books (June 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 143350135X
• ISBN-13: 978-1433501357
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,111 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Commentaries > Old Testament
  #27 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Bible Study > Study
  #39 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Old Testament

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great short starter..., September 26, 2008

By	Seth McBee "contendearnestly.blogspot.com" (Maple Valley, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the first book in the series of small books from Mark Driscoll titled, "A book you'll actually read..." This book is for the purpose of a beginner trying to understand the Old Testament and to do it in roughly an hour of reading. This is obviously just a starter book to get a quick understanding of some important topics that discuss the background of the Old Testament.

The book is broken up in three parts and actually covers a lot of material, not exhaustively, but still provides a Reformed understanding of the Old Testament. The three parts are:

I. Answers to Nine Common Questions about the Old Testament

Who wrote the Old Testament?
What does the Old Testament say about the Old Testament?
What does the New Testament say about the Old Testament?
What does Jesus say about the Old Testament?
How were the Old Testament books chosen as Scripture?
What is the central message of the Old Testament?
How did we get the Old Testament in English?
Why are there different Bible translations?

II. How to Read the Old Testament

In this section Pastor Driscoll gives a quick, like two or three sentence quick, synopsis of every book in the Old Testament. He spends a little more time on discussing the Pentateuch overall and the overall understanding of Prophets and what they were used for. My only "gripe" would be that he leaned more on the "Inward testimony of the Holy Spirit" to discern false prophets. I think this can be very dangerous if this is the way that we test them. He did give other ways, but by ending as this being the way we can do this today, left me scratching my head how this would transfer to a new Christian.

III. Appendix 1: Building a Theological Library

This is a great resource. Driscoll gives a clear and distinct way to build a library for the student of Scripture. He gives the book, the title, and usually why it is an outstanding resource. This is actually worth getting the book alone.

Buy the book, read it, and then give it to a new Christian or someone looking into reading the Bible. Well worth it and they will, as the title suggests, actually read it. Highly Recommended.

4.0 out of 5 stars Short, introductory, but has a great and useful appendix, February 14, 2009

By	Brett D. McLaughlin "Brett" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This is an odd book to review. The body is only 75 pages, and consists of answers to 9 commonly asked Old Testament questions, along with a short review of each of the 39 Old Testament books. If I'd never read the Old Testament, this would have probably been more enjoyable and valuable than it was.

What really saved the value of this book for me was the appendix, where Driscoll gives a ton of really helpful advice on building an effective theological library. Driscoll is a hardcore, really deep Bible teacher, and so his recommendations go beyond "Buy every Andy Stanley book there is" and other useful, but simplistic, approaches. You could probably buy every book he lists and be miles ahead of many seminary students, and actually have some practical knowledge, too (scary, I know).

If you want a super-short primer for the Old Testament, this is great. If you're looking for Bible-style notes with verse counts, or in-depth treatments, you may be disappointed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Intorduction to the Old Testament, August 23, 2008

By	Shaun Tabatt (Cottage Grove, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The pace of modern life leaves many of us feeling that we don't have very much available time. When it comes to learning more about the Bible and in this case the Old Testament, many people have good intentions, but often feel intimidated by the subject matter or bound by their lack of available time. If this sounds like you, then I'd highly recommend this small book. At only 96 pages, you will be able to finish reading it (minus the appendixes) in little more than an hour.

Mark's focus in this book is to provide the reader with a succinct introduction to the entire Old Testament that will both encourage and inspire you to read it for yourself. Many readers will relate to the stories Mark recounts in the introduction about his early experiences with reading the Old Testament and how this book grew out of the many questions he has answered on the subject during his time in ministry. In chapter 1, following a brief introduction to the Bible as a whole, Mark focuses on 9 common questions he has been asked about the Old Testament. They are as follows:

1. Who wrote the Old Testament?
2. What does the Old Testament say about the Old Testament?
3. What does the New Testament say about the Old Testament?
4. What does Jesus say about the Old Testament?
5. How were the Old Testament books chosen as scripture?
6. What is the central message of the Old Testament?
7. How did we get the Old Testament in English?
8. Why are there different Bible translations?
9. How can I get the most out of the Old Testament?

Chapter 2 is concerned with how somebody might go about reading the Old Testament. In this chapter, Mark breaks down the various kinds of literature found in the Old Testament. He also gives a short overview of the theme and purpose of each Old Testament book.

The book closes with 2 appendixes. Appendix 1 talks about the importance of in-depth Bible study and makes many great resource suggestions for building your own theological library. Appendix 2 has a Bible reading checklist that the reader can use to keep track of their progress in reading through the Old Testament.

Let me conclude by saying that this great little book covers a lot of ground in less than 100 pages. Non-believers, new Christians, and even seasoned Christians will benefit from reading this book. Mark's writing style is engaging and clear, making this topic accessible for any reader of any experience level with the Old Testament. The price point also makes this a reasonable resource to share your friends and family.


Mark Driscoll is the founding pastor of Mars Hill church [www.marshillchurch.org] in Seattle. He is also co-founder and president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network [www.acts29network.org]. Mark has penned an ever-growing list of books including: A book you'll actually read series, Vintage Jesus, Death by Love (Sept. 30, 2008), and others. Mark is married to his high school sweetheart Grace. They have been blessed with 5 children.