When the book of Ecclesiastes highlights judgment, it can arouse questions about the apparent contradiction between the grief of Ecclesiastes and statements of abundant mercy elsewhere in the Bible. This excerpt from the Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 1: Introduction and Old Testament provides clarity in understanding God’s character of both justice and mercy.

Explore Christ’s great confession, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), to the Pharisees and the highlights of John’s Greek with Rev. Phil Rigdon.

The Book of Proverbs could rightly be called a collection of collections. Within this book of the Bible, many different strands of Israel’s wisdom coalesce into a book that’s core confession is that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Below, you’ll find a summary of Proverbs along with specific themes of Law and Gospel in the Book of Proverbs.

Exploring the original Greek of Revelation 21, Pastor Rigdon shows us Christ’s words on the new heaven and the new earth promised to us in the last days.

The Book of Psalms contains songs and prayers for every occasion. In fact, the Psalms collectively cover so much of the faith that they were rightly called a “little Bible” by the Church Fathers. This selection provides a summary of each of the 150 psalms, serving as both an overview of the Book of Psalms and a guide. The psalms are grouped by their traditional “books,” or series of Psalms, ending with a doxology.

The resurrection of our Lord, despite the initial disbelief of the disciples, was no surprise. Rather, it was a promise repeated throughout the Old Testament and Christ’s own ministry. Best of all, this is just one of God’s many promises for you! 

Born sinners, we know we need to be redeemed, cleansed, and born again. But how? The Greek word metanoia sheds some light on the subject.

Job is renowned as the archetypical “suffering man” of the Old Testament, and rightly so. His losses were immense. But his comfort amidst his suffering is the knowledge that God Himself is perfectly steadfast and desires to act in mercy toward His servants.

Below, Phil Rigdon explores the temptation of Jesus as recounted in Luke 4:1–13.

The following is adapted from volume 1 of The Lutheran Bible Companion on the Book of Esther.