Final Reflective Letter Its hard for me to believe just how much I have learned from this semester

that I did not realize until I began to compile this portfolio. At the beginning of this class, I was extremely nave in my ideas of the Old Testament. I primarily thought of it as a text for people of the Jewish faith and not as a practical guide for Christians. Before the New Testament was introduced, people modeled their lives by the examples and teachings found in the Old Testament. I now realize the importance of all of the scriptures to modern-day Christianity as well as a means of historical reference. Another thing I learned through this class is the importance of stepping back from the scriptures to see the historical picture that paints the setting of each passage. An example of my learning this can be found in my journal entries where I had to look back at the cultural significance of vineyards to the people of Judah at the time that Isaiah 5:1-7 was written. Doing so helped me to understand better how that passage was to be perceived by the Israelites. Something that I came to realize over the course of this semester is how you can read into the relationship between God and His people through the scriptures. From the Creation Story where Adam and Eve walked equally with God to when the Israelite armies were crushed because Saul did not follow the Lords instructions, these relationships differ greatly. Overall, I have come to realize that the relationship between God and the Israelites is not quite symbiotic, but rather a relationship in which the recipients of the blessings never repay what has been given unto them. The people of Israel often turned to idolatry and foreign gods in addition to their worship of the One True God. Every time that the Israelites would step out of line with Gods commandments, He would remind them of His power and their reasoning for worshiping only Him.

My portfolio, as a whole, is a great representation of all that I have learned from this class. I have learned to step back from a passage and examine how it was meant to be read in the time period and also to whom the passage was meant to be read by. Both of these contextual clues help me, as an interpreter of the scriptures, to better comprehend the intended message. I have also learned to turn to other peoples commentaries on these scriptures to see their view of how to interpret them. Being able to compare my own thoughts to those of others helps me to assure myself of my interpreting abilities. My favorite part of this process is looking through these other commentaries and picking out highlights in others information. I feel that I am well equipped to take on another passage of scripture but next time, I would like to take more time looking into the different interpretations of words. The part of my portfolio I like the most is being able to look back through my musings at how my discussion styles have changed over the semester. I have enjoyed looking back on all that I have learned throughout this semester and realizing just how much content I have retained. I love the fact that although this class was not filled with quizzes and exams, we have still been able to learn so much from the writings in the Old Testament. As much as I have enjoyed this class, I look forward to moving on and interpreting scriptures on my own without the guidance and structure that was provided to me.