Review this Book   Kindle Edition Amazon Old Testamentor Amazon.com B & N Category:  Religion Publisher: American Book Publishing Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 369 Copyright: Feb. 2, 2009 ISBN-13: 9780982601716 Price: $8.99 (eBook) This is a uniquely amazing collection of 219 stories from the Old Testament written for Christian adults. The stories are simple without being simplistic and are a great boon to those who seek a better understanding of the Old Testament and want to learn to love it--an answer to the prayers of families and those who involved in religious education. It is now selling at my bookstore for $21.95 I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation:Old Testament Stories takes the reader on a significant journey through the inspirational stories of the Old Testament. Author Val D. Greenwood, a lifelong student of the scriptures,  offers a comprehensive and accurate collection of  219 stories of the people and prophets of the Old Testament. The stories employ dialogue as much as possible, striving to be faithful to the scriptural accounts.  I have also attempted to use modern expressions rather than the cryptic language of the seventeenth-century KJV translators.  You will find your favorite stories from childhood, along with many less familiar but equall moving accounts of faith and devotion, presented in the comfortble and reverent style of the author. In addition to memorable stories, the author has included extensive footnotes and reference material for readers seeking an in-depth study of the scriptures of the Old Testament.  The Old Testament: Understand it, love it!      Award-Winning Finalist in the Religion: Christianity category of the “Best Books 2010” Awards, sponsored by USA Book News Excerpt 25−THE REUNION (Genesis 32−33) During Jacob’s journey from Padan-aram back to the land of Canaan, he sent messengers to Mount Seir in the land of Edom to tell his brother Esau of his coming. “Thus shall you speak to my brother,” he told the messengers. “Your servant Jacob sends this message: I have dwelt with Laban, our uncle, these many years. I have oxen, asses, flocks, menservants, and womenservants. And I send now to tell you of my coming, that I may find mercy in your sight.” When the messengers returned from delivering Jacob’s message, they told him, “Your brother Esau is coming to meet us with 400 men.” Jacob did not consider this to be good news. Though twenty years had passed since he and Esau had seen each other, the last he knew was that Esau planned to kill him, as soon as their father was dead, because Jacob had deceitfully taken away both his birthright and his blessing. Because of his fear of Esau, Jacob divided his party into two groups. “If Esau comes and destroys one company,” he reasoned, “the other shall escape.” Jacob prayed with all his heart. “O Jehovah, God of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,” he pleaded, “I am returning to this country and to my family because Thou hast told me to do so. Thou didst tell me that it would be well with me here. I know I am not worthy of the least of Thy mercies or of the truths that Thou hast shown me, but I pray that Thou wilt deliver me from the hands of Esau—for I fear that he is coming to smite me and the mothers of my children. “Remember, O Lord Jehovah, that Thou hast promised to do me good and to make my seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.” And though Jacob prayed fervently, he had little hope that Jehovah’s promise could ever be fulfilled. When Jacob stopped for the night, he separated out part of his flock as a gift for Esau that perhaps he might be pacified. The gift included 200 she-goats, twenty he-goats, 200 ewes, twenty rams, thirty camels that were kept for milking, the young of those camels, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty she-asses, and ten foals—a very generous gift. As Jacob put these gift animals in the charge of his servants, he instructed them, “You go on ahead of the company with this gift, putting a space between us. Then, when Esau meets you and asks who you are and whose animals these are, tell him, ‘These are a gift sent by your servant Jacob to my lord Esau. And Jacob is coming behind us.’” Jacob reasoned that if Esau would accept the gift that he offered, he might also accept him. As Jacob and his company were traveling the next day, he looked up and beheld Esau coming with his 400 men. Seeing them, he feared for his family and separated his wives and children from himself. Bilhah and Zilpah, the two handmaidens, and their children he put in front, then Leah and her children. Rachel, with her son Joseph, he put in the rear. He then went out ahead of them and bowed to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. But—miracle of miracles—Esau came running to meet him. The two men then embraced and wept together. Esau was startled as he looked up and saw the four women and their twelve children. “Whose are all these?” he asked. “These,” answered Jacob, “are the children that God has graciously given me.” Bilhah, Zilpah, and their children then came and bowed before Esau, then Leah and her children, and finally Rachel and Joseph. “What is the meaning of the herd of animals that I met on the way?” asked Esau. “They are a gift for you, my brother,” said Jacob, “to find mercy in your sight.” “I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” “Oh, no!” replied Jacob. “You must take them. If I have found favor with you, please receive my gift. I cannot tell you what a blessing it is to see your face and to know that you are pleased with me. Why, to see your face again is as though I have seen the face of God. Please take this gift as a blessing from me, for God has dealt kindly with me and has given me great abundance.” And, after some urging, Esau accepted his brother’s gift. “Let us travel together,” suggested Esau. “That would please me,” answered Jacob, “but my children are tender and my flocks and herds are with young. If we drive them too far in one day, all the flock would die. Please go on ahead, and I will follow you to Seir at a speed suitable for my children and my animals.” Esau agreed. “But though I go ahead,” he said, “I will leave some of my men to help you.” So Esau returned that day to his home in Mount Seir. Jacob and his company followed and, after a brief stop at Mount Seir, took their journey to a place that he named Succoth, on the borders of Egypt. There Jacob built a house and booths for his flocks. He then went north and bought land on the beautiful plain of Shechem, where he built an altar to God and named it El-elohe-Israel.

From Christian Book Reviews.com (Albert McIlhenny)
Book review from Christian Book Reviews.

I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation: Old Testament Stories - Val D. Greenwood
American Book Publishing (February 2, 2009)
Topic: Christian Education
Summary: Major stories of the Old Testament arranged in a chronological form with Scripture references
Rating: 5 stars


For many new Christians (and some old Christians as well), reading the Old Testament may sometimes seem less a source of inspiration than perspiration. They know there are many vaguely familiar stories but they seem lost in a sea of genealogies and lists of ritual purity laws. Moreover, the sheer size of the Old Testament can seem overwhelming and impractical for searching out the desired accounts. When we add the sometimes difficult prose for a young or novice reader even if they happen to stumble onto what they seek and the fact that accounts may appear in multiple places, it can add up to a lot of frustration when those who have been steeped in the Bible since childhood effortlessly sail through its pages.

Val D. Greenwood has come to the rescue for many a frustrated novice Bible reader with the publication of I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation. Beginning with the creation accounts in Genesis and working his way through the Bible chronologically, Greenwood covers all the major Biblical figures in detail and gives accounts of the most well known and important events in the Old Testament. Best of all, with each account, he gives the location of the relevant Scriptural accounts so the book can serve as an introduction to the reading of Holy Scripture directly.

The book is divides into sections covering all the major eras of the Old Testament beginning with the creation accounts and ending with the period following the return from the Babylonian captivity. Each section has an average of eighteen chapters of a few pages each. Each chapter covers one of the important stories from the Bible. The text is very user friendly without being simplistic and manages to convey the material in a manner that can appeal to a wide range of backgrounds and ages.

If used as a tool for Bible study, one can go through the book, reading the Scriptural references given, and emerge with a solid background in the Old Testament. After working through the book this way, the reader will be much more comfortable reading the Old Testament on their own since they now will have some context to situate their readings.

Besides the obvious aid to Bible study, this book would also be extremely valuable to those involved with Christian education at all age levels. It would be very suitable as a text for a class on the Old Testament for adults and/or teens and would also be helpful for teachers of Sunday School for younger children so they may better explain Old Testament stories to their young charges.

Val D. Greenwood has managed to fill a void with I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation by supplying all the classic stories from the Old Testament in a very thorough yet engaging form. This book should be in the library of every Christian involved in teaching God’s Word and would be a blessing to any new Christian undertaking their first encounter with the Old Testament.




OnlineBookClub.org review

https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=63240

Official Review: I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation

Review by Tbunde5, Posted 15 Apr 2018

There have been countless Bible storybooks written for people of all ages. In I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation by Val D. Greenwood, we are presented with a compilation of Old Testament stories that goes a step beyond the expected. While all the well-known stories -- from Cain and Abel to David and Goliath –- are certainly present, the author also includes many less-familiar stories that help to make this book more than a collection of disparate stories. Instead, it becomes a seamless history of the children of Israel. For example, Greenwood includes not only the captivity in Babylon but also the two separate returns from exile, first to rebuild the temple, and then to rebuild the city walls. Greenwood focuses on the historical books and, except for the book of Job, leaves out the books of poetry, like Psalms and Proverbs. He places the books of prophecy, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, into their historical context.

As a student of Scripture, I will agree with the author that there are many parts of the Old Testament that are difficult to read and understand. Add to that the fact that, as presented in the Bible, these books are not presented chronologically, and many people don’t even bother to read them. Greenwood arranges his stories in chronological order, so that the history presented makes sense. This is especially helpful with the books of Kings and Chronicles, which tell the history of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel from two different viewpoints. He seamlessly weaves the history together in a way that makes it much more coherent. Included in his retelling are historical accounts that allow the reader to follow the history of God’s people from creation to captivity and the return from exile.

The author also includes several appendices in the back, including maps, pronunciation guides, and a glossary of people. I especially appreciated the glossary, because there are so many people and places in the Old Testament that it’s easy to lose track. He also has endnotes throughout, which help to explain events or terms that may be unfamiliar. In the eBook, the reader can simply click on the number to toggle back and forth.

I very much appreciate the author’s complete historical retelling of the Old Testament. Though I have been a student of Scripture for over 50 years, I found myself opening my Bible and rereading the stories in their original form. He does an excellent job of retelling the stories and staying true to the Scriptural accounts. The one exception is his retelling of the Creation. There are currently two schools of thought among Christians about the length of the days of Creation. I am a Creationist, and the author is not. He goes into detail about the possible length of the six days, which allows for reconciling the Bible with science. Creationists take the Bible at its word and “evening and morning” denotes one 24-hour day. Putting that aside, I am not aware of any Christian teaching that God did not actually create the universe out of nothing, but instead simply arranged material available to bring forth life. I speak of this, not to engage in doctrinal debate, but instead because the distinction will narrow the author’s desired audience. In no other story did he add or subtract from the story as written in the Bible. I almost deleted the book on that merit myself, but I’m very glad I kept reading. The rest of the book would make an excellent companion book to a study of the Old Testament.

This book was obviously professionally edited. There were typographical errors and a few mechanical errors, but they did not detract from the story. There were frequent formatting errors, where half a page is left blank. I don’t know if this is a problem with the Kindle format or not, but it was distracting.

The author writes using language and grammatical style that is reminiscent of the King James translation of the Bible. For example, “When Jacob had learned of the destruction that Simeon and Levi had wrought in the city of Shechem….” When anyone is speaking to God, he speaks with “Thee” and “Thou.” For young children, or those unfamiliar with that style, it may be difficult to read. For this reason, as well as the inclusion of Biblical events that include rape and incest, this book is most appropriate for teens and adults. That being said, students of Scripture would benefit from reading this book.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.



From Avid Christian.com
Review from Avid Christian.com (http://www.avidchristian.com/great-nation.html)

I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation

I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation is written by Val D. Greenwood.

This is a book containing 219 Old Testament stories. You could say that this book is a translation of Old Testament stories as told by Mr. Greenwood.

Footnotes are included that add information or insight to the stories.
This book is a good study aid in Old Testament studies. It is not and I’m sure it was not meant as a replacement to the scriptures. It is a convenient and easy way to work your way through these stories. You can always and should always back up anything you read with our own scriptural study.

I’ll have to say that I didn’t have to read many stories before read something I had not read before. I questioned it a little, but a quick look at my Bible proved the new information to be true. There were also some things emphasized that I would not have put emphasis on, but that’s okay, it’s good for this book to make you think, study and do your own research.
If you would like to start through the Old Testament stories in addition to your regular Bible study I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation is a good addition to your library.