Ray Vander Laan is a phenomenal teacher and historian. His understanding of the world of the Bible has impacted thousands of people.
I’ve been impacted by him through his “That the World May Know” videos, where he does teaching segments of Jewish history while on location with a group in Israel. I’ve learned fascinating things that help bring the Bible to life.
I am not Jewish, nor do I understand or intuit Jewish culture. I also have not been to the land of Israel so I have no idea how far Jesus walked when he traveled from Jericho to Jerusalem (from Mark 10:46 to 11:1). Ray Vander Laan shares such insight.
Not only geographically, but culturally, Vander Laan is able to communicate the appropriate culture background to the stories of the Bible. I’ve been recently reading his book Echoes of His Presence. I was going to purchase the book, but found that it is freely available online at his website: followtherabbi.com
If you are at all interested in a greater understanding of the cultural background of the Bible, you will find this book to be an incredible resource. It is written in narrative form so you feel like you are completely immersed in a Jewish world. It’s awesome!
source followtherabbi.com/guide/detail/echoes-of-his-presence-pdf
