How should we read the Old Testament? For many nonbelievers, it is pure nonsense, a work of bronze-age mythology that encourages tribalistic bloodshed. For many Christians, it is a literal account of the world, a work of divine dictation recalling what transpired long ago. And for many theologians, it is a historical puzzle, a collection of works best understood through the intentions of its human authors. In this groundbreaking book—the first of two volumes—Bishop Robert Barron offers a new way of understanding the Old Testament rooted in the writings of the Church Fathers. Journeying steadily through the Pentateuch, the historical writings, and the biblical novellas, The Great Story of Israel offers an invigorating theological and spiritual interpretation of these ancient texts, one that draws together the particular concerns of their human authors and the unique purpose of the Holy Spirit. The parts and the whole, the Old and the New, and doctrine and exegesis all come together in this dramatic story of election, freedom, and holiness—a story read in the light of Christ, the glory of his people Israel.