Called To Be God's People: An Introduction to the Old Testament

by Andrew E. Steinmann (Editor), Michael Eschelbach (Series Editor), Curtis Giese (Series Editor)

Called to Be God's People is an introduction to the Old Testament designed for those who wish to have a comprehensive guide to the contents, theology, and important passages of the Old Testament. Written from a Lutheran perspective, this book is especially designed for those within that tradition and others who seek a guide to the canonical books of the Old Testament that consciously presents the Scriptures' message of Law and Gospel as well as the traditional Christian messianic understanding of Moses and the Prophets that points to Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel. This book is ideal for university students and other Christian adults who seek to expand their knowledge of the background, content, and message of the Old Testament and its importance for Christian faith and life. It not only introduces important background information on each book of the Old Testament along with a general discussion of its contents and theology, but it also contains analyses of major passages within the Old Testament. Key terms, study questions, a glossary, a gazetteer of Old Testament people and places, maps, tables, charts, and sidebars make this book a useful and handy reference as well as a textbook. A concluding chapter on the centuries between the Old and New Testaments overlaps with a similar treatment contained in the New Testament volume in this series, Called by the Gospel, allowing for a smooth transition to the study of the rest of the Christian Scriptures.

Genres: Old Testament

694 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2006

About the author

Andrew Steinmann is Distinguished Professor of Theology and Hebrew at Concordia University Chicago where he has taught since 2001. Dr. Steinmann holds a PhD from the University of Michigan and is an ordained pastor in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Dr. Steinmann's publications include over 75 articles and book reviews in national and international peer-reviewed scholarly journals and festschriften. In addition, he is a regular guest on the radio program Issues, Etc.

In September 2011 he was named to the Translation Oversight Committee for the Christian Standard Bible. His publisher is Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis through whom he has published and collaborated on more than 10 books and other material. He is currently working on a new commentary on Esther to the new Christian Standard Commentary series published by Holman.

Dr. Steinmann is married to Rebecca Steinmann, the co-editor of the sixth edition of the widely used Sheehy's Emergency Nursing: Principles and Practice (Mosby Elsivier, 2010) and a contributor to Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course: Provider Manual (Third ed.; Des Plains, IL: Emergency Nurses Association, 2004), AACN Procedure Manual for Pediatric Acute and Critical Care (St. Louis: Saunders Elsivier, 2008) and Emergency Nursing Core Curriculum (Seventh ed.; Elsivier, 2018). They and their cat Lightning live in suburban Chicago where they enjoy birding and cultural events, especially the Lyric Opera.

Reviews

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this day, this is an unusual introduction to the Old Testament. Most such books spend a significant portion of the work dealing with historical-critical issues with little attention to theology and no attention given to the relation of the Old Testament to the New. This is just the opposite, spending most of its time in a theological treatment of the OT material (from a conservative Lutheran perspective) and drawing the reader's attention to the relationship of the Old Testament to the work of God in Christ. A refreshing read.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok, brief overview of everything old testament.

[Benjamin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Called to Be God's People (Book Review)

Living theology is always lived and living theological works have a vitality to them. The living works keep you wrapt in the pages, intrigued by an unfolding narrative, the mystery, even the answers.

It's sad that much theology falls into a reading category called, "textbook." Yes, great information can collect between two covers, but theology is the transmission of life, not just data.

I don't blame Steinmann (the book's author) for this. In a system that celebrates data above vitality and even confuses an insatiable diet of biblical data as vitality, books like this are in demand. And, sure, I collected a handful of paragraphs, dates and names, that are now tucked in my mind for the next trivia bowl.

But, I can't say this work helped me better appreciate the work of Jesus and attend to the unfolding reign of God.

I'm left wondering how the important historical data can be shared with a sense of vitality in writing -- not to make the work "more entertaining," but to convey a sense of living history to it. I guess that's it. This work felt more like a discection of God instead of an observation of God in living action.

[Ricky Beckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished reading this a second time in preparation for the OT ELCE exam for seminary! The editor did a terrible editing job—tons of spelling and grammatical mistakes. Otherwise, it's a great overview of the entire OT as it points to Christ.