The Friendship of the Lord: An Old Testament Spirituality

Does the religious experience of the Israelites mean anything to us today? Or does it have more affinity with the rituals, prayers and myths of the ancient Near East than with our world? Was Israelite spirituality so rooted in its culture that it will not transplant? Or can we graft its roots of faith and its struggle with life into our contemporary spirituality with integrity? What happens when we look at a relationship with God through the lens of the Old Testament? Does the Old Testament open a window on what it means to be human now? These are the issues addressed in the this survey. It looks at what it means to see life as a journey walked with God. It explores the fear of the Lord, biblical meditations and confronting God in anger. It focuses on life's mundaneness and its absurdity. It analyses guilt, true and false, and restoration through forgiveness. It asks whether Israel's experience of time passing, calendar of seasons and the rhythm of life offer today's urban commuters memos for their diaries. Deryck Sheriffs' concern to bridge the divide has led him to write a book on the Old Testament which moves from the world of academic biblical studies into the realm of contemporary spirituality.