Hitchhiking with Prophets A Ride Through the Salvation Story of the Old Testament

The Bible is not some dusty textbook, but a veritable circus of humanity, with high-soaring saints, back-talking donkeys, left-handed kingslayers, and all the glory and gore you can fit inside the big top of this biblical tent.

And everywhere in this story is God who, in his wild and passionate love for humanity, is shepherding history toward the birth and ministry of Jesus the Messiah.  

Do you already have a good grasp of the Old Testament? Wonderful. This book will be an enjoyable review. Do you not know the difference between the Bible and The Hobbit? Also fine. This book will be a helpful map into unknown territory.

By the time we’re done, you won’t know all the ins and outs of the story, but you will have a strong grasp of the major movers and shakers. We will sit shotgun with patriarchs and prophets. Each one will take us a little farther down the Old Testament road until we get to the goal: to Jesus, the one in whom the whole story finds fulfillment and meaning.

Chad Bird is a Scholar in Residence at 1517. He holds master's degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary and Hebrew Union College. He has served as a pastor, professor, and guest lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. Chad has authored several books, speaks regularly at conferences and congregations, and cohosts the popular podcast, "40 Minutes in the Old Testament." Chad and his wife Stacy make their home in Texas, where they have been blessed with four children and three grandchildren.

Introduction Chapter 1: Humanity's Mom and Dad Chapter 2: A Floating Eden, Captain Noah, and the Tower of Confusion Chapter 3: A Half-Brother, Old Pregnant Woman, and the Mountaintop Sacrifice Chapter 4: The Heel Man Becomes the God-Fighter and Head of the Chosen Nation Chapter 5: Joseph, the Highly Successful Dead Man Chapter 6: Burning Bushes and Split Seas Chapter 7: Blood, Fire, and Sanctuary Chapter 8: Forty Years of Waiting and Wandering in the Wilderness Chapter 9: Ritual Warfare in the New and National Garden of Eden Chapter 10: Everyone Did What Was Right in His Own Eyes Chapter 11: Saul "The Rock": Mule Hunter, King #1, and Madman Chapter 12: He of Whom All the Girls Sang Chapter 13: David's Downward Spiral Chapter 14: Solomon, the Wisest Fool Chapter 15: Hothead Kings, Civil War, and Looming Doom Chapter 16: The Lord's Coffee Cup and Long Line of Preachers Chapter 17: Bye-Bye Babylon and Hello to Rebuilding Jerusalem Chapter 18: Greeks, Romans, and Jewish Hammer Time Afterword Scripture Index General Index