For this episode, we interviewed Dr. Jay Sklar. Jay Sklar is vice president of academics and professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary. He has written commentaries on Numbers and Exodus (forthcoming with Crossway), and two on Leviticus (TOTC and ZECOT). He has also published a website of resources to help those preaching or teaching in Genesis through Deuteronomy.
Timestamps:
2:22 - What were your initial impressions of the Bible?
6:24 - Why did you decide to pursue doctoral work in the Old Testament?
9:08 - Why did you decide to specialize in Leviticus?
10:12 - How would you broadly summarize Leviticus?
11:59 - What makes Leviticus so tricky to understand?
17:35 - How do we make sense of impurity laws?
28:42 - Is the Day of Atonement really the centerpiece of understanding Leviticus and the Torah?
33:22 - How do we understand Leviticus in light of the New Testament?
37:24 - If Jesus fulfilled Leviticus, why should we even bother reading it?
40:32 - How do we extrapolate and practice the wisdom principles from the commands in Leviticus?
43:15 - What does abiding with Jesus in Scripture and prayer look like for you?
Resources
Leviticus: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) by Jay Sklar
Numbers (The Story of God Bible Commentary) by Jay Sklar
Preach and Teach the Bible website
Also Dr. Sklar has a number of (free!) commentaries and articles available on The Gospel Coalition that you can check out here.
Check out MidtownBiblicalLiteracy.com for videos, book recommendations, and Bible reading plans
And check out our other site on the spiritual practices…FollowingJesusTogether.com
Sermons
Ghosts and Ancestors: Torah Stories sermon series - Lexington | Downtown | Two Notch
Ruth sermon series - Lexington | Downtown | Two Notch
Text-in questions
Throughout the year, we want to know the concepts and passages you wrestle with. We'll answer some of these questions in podcast episodes throughout the year.
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Music by Levvy and Midtown Music