Does the religious experience of Israelites mean anything to us today? Or does it apply more to the rituals, prayers, and myths of the ancient Near East than to our world? Was Israelite spirituality so rooted in its culture that it will not transplant? Or can we graft its shoots 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 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 meditation, 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, the calender of seasons, and the rhythm of life offer today's urban commuters memos for their diaries. Deryck Sheriff's 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.
