Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,
says Yahweh of hosts.
Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of Glory may come in !
Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,
says Yahweh of hosts.
Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of Glory may come in !
Highly Recommended Books
The books reviewed to date are listed. To read a review, click the bulleted title to insert the review into this page below the list.
The Holy Spirit is mentioned frequently in the New Testament, and every Christian today has a basic understanding of his work. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin, regenerates us, and seals us in order that we may partake of everlasting life. The Apostle Paul exhorts us to be "filled with the Spirit" that we might conduct ourselves in a way pleasing to God. The sanctifying work of the Spirit of God prepares us for glory, and it is a great comfort to know that he abides in us and will never forsake us.
What about the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament? Did it differ from that which we read of in the New? Leon Wood gives great insight into this question in his book The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. He looks at all the significant references where the Spirit of God is mentioned. Many texts are similar and grouped together, so the book is not at all lengthy. In fact, it is only 150 pages. Those passages that create the most controversy receive the most attention, such as those dealing with the Spirit coming upon Saul and leaving him. Dr. Wood closes his book with a chapter called "Summary Statements," which was most helpful.
What was the Holy Spirit's role in creation? Were the patriarchs permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit? When the Spirit departed from Saul, did this mean he had been saved and was now lost? What does the term "ecstatic" mean? Who was empowered by the Spirit and for what reason? Dr. Wood gives insightful answers to all these questions and concludes that Old Testament believers did experience regeneration, indwelling, sealing, and filling by the Holy Spirit.
This book is fast reading, mainly because Dr. Wood is such a great writer. Sentences rarely, if at all, require a second reading, even though there is much depth to the content. One is never confused by convoluted sentence structure and an array of modifying phrases; everything is clear and concise.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
Carol Morgan
Each of us enjoys reading the New Testament, especially the Gospels. Perhaps one of the reasons is that the love of God revealed to us in the Lord Jesus Christ is always so relevant for everyday life. But is not God's justice also relevant for us today?
Our age is one of immorality, widespread corruption, and oppression. Anything even approaching holiness is ridiculed and scorned by unbelievers. For the majority of Christians, a serious study of the inerrant Word of God is all too often replaced with a shallow smorgasbord of Christian "fluff." It is a day ripe for God's judgment.
The world we live in is not unlike that in which Isaiah, Micah, Joel and other Old Testament prophets lived. When Israel of old strayed from the Lord and engaged in heinous national sin, God sent his prophets to warn them of coming judgment, calling on them to "return to the Lord your God!"
Therefore, a study of the Old Testament prophets is one of the most practical and helpful studies for Christians today. These books also cover a most fascinating and exciting period in the history of Israel.
Hobart Freeman's Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets is an excellent place to start. It is divided into two parts: an introduction to the nature of Old Testament prophecy and an introduction to each of the prophetical books.
Part I addresses a number of important questions. Who was the first prophet? How did prophets of God receive their messages? Were the very words of the prophets inspired? In what way was King Saul a prophet? How did an Israelite determine whether or not a man was a true prophet of God?
Part II gives the historical background of the time when each prophet wrote, the date of his ministry, and a summary of his message. There is a chapter on each of the sixteen prophets. Also included is a summary of the major problems that secular critics have proposed and an answer to them.
Dr. Freeman's book is not only well organized and easy to read, but it is interesting and enlightening. For myself, I found it worked best to read through Part II one chapter at a time with my Bible open to that prophet. I had my pen handy for making notes, and I made a lot of them! Then I read the prophetic book itself. With Dr. Freeman's words fresh in my mind, I was pleasantly surprised how much I learned. But most of all, I was astounded how very much our world today is like that of the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. We are living in evil times not unlike the days of Judah, Israel, Assyria, and Edom. Unless we turn to God in repentance, judgment will as surely fall on us as it did on them.
Carol Morgan
How many of us have resolved, more than once, to read straight through the Bible in one year? We race through Genesis and Exodus with enthusiasm, but as we get into Leviticus our pace soon falters. The exciting history of the patriarchs has now been replaced by what seems to be no more than a great hodgepodge of onerous rules and regulations for a generation long past. The abundance of details encompassed in the many sacrifices and laws seem, at least in my mind, to verge on the ridiculous. How could any Israelite, and the priests in particular, have possibly remembered them all, much less followed them? The thought has often crossed my mind, "They must have spent their whole life doing nothing but offering sacrifices!"
Dr. Wenham's commentary has given me new insight into the sacrificial worship and accompanying laws that were the center of Israelite life. He states, "The enduring presence of God is one of the theological presuppositions running through the whole book...God is present not only in worship, but at all times, even in the mundane duties of life." In our day and age, we seem to have forgotten that acceptable worship is costly; those living in patriarchal days had daily reminders that it was so. "In the overfed West we can easily fail to realize what was involved in offering an unblemished animal in sacrifice. Meat was a rare luxury in OT times for all but the very rich. Yet even we might blanch if we saw a whole lamb or bull go up in smoke as a burnt offering. How much greater pangs must a poor Israelite have felt?"
In his introduction, Dr. Wenham gives some "ground rules" for understanding Leviticus. As soon as I read them, I knew this was the book for me. "Everything that is not holy is common. Common things divide into two groups, the clean and the unclean. Clean things become holy when they are sanctified. But unclean objects cannot be sanctified. Clean things can be made unclean if they are polluted. Finally, holy items may be defiled and become common, even polluted, and therefore unclean...The unclean and the holy are two states which must never come in contact with each other."
That was just an example. What keeps you reading through this commentary is that Dr. Wenham makes everything in Leviticus so clear and interesting. Leviticus comes alive for you. You understand it, learn its applications for today, and come to see the historical importance of the Old Testament sacrifices in the redemptive plan of God.
A set routine is followed for each chapter in the book. Dr. Wenham first gives his own translation of the Hebrew text to be discussed, in most cases an entire chapter. This is followed by a summary structured as follows:
The Structure of Leviticus 1
1-2 Introduction
3-9 Burnt offering of cattle
10-13 Burnt offerings of sheep and goats
14-17 Burnt offerings of birds
A thorough explanation follows, concluding with New Testament applications. All is scholarly, but easily understandable for anyone serious about Bible study.
After finishing this commentary, I could not help thinking how foolish and even arrogant it is when some Christians make the statement that they don't need commentaries or the "words of men"; they need only the "words of God." How utterly ridiculous! Throughout the centuries, God has raised up pastors, scholars, and teachers in the church, men to whom he has given special gifts in linguistics, history, and theology to study the Scriptures and write the results of those studies for the growth and edification of the Church. God gave them the gifts, and the Holy Spirit led them in their work. This process has been going on now for over two thousand years, each new generation building on the work that has gone before. Is it not arrogance to assume that you don't need to study this material? Is it not arrogance to assume that just by reading the Bible on your own, God will give you all the insight that he was been pleased to give to the church over a period of two thousand years through the diligent work of those pastors, scholars, and teachers whom he has called and who have devoted their lives to using the gifts that God has given them?
This commentary by Dr. Wenham will show you the depths of the riches God has for you in his Word--yes, even in the book of Leviticus.
Carol Morgan
When is the last time you picked up a book that you literally couldn't put down? Well, here is one--Dabney's biography of Stonewall Jackson.
Robert Dabney, one of America's most outstanding theologians, has given us an "up close and personal" look into the life and military campaigns of this great Southern General. It should be noted that this biography was not written by a man who lived decades after the War between the States, but by one who lived through it. Not only did Dabney personally know Jackson, but he had possession of the fullest collection of materials relating to his life during that period, including copies of all the important official papers on file at that time in the War Department of the late Confederate Government.
It might be thought, especially by women, that reading the intricacies of a military campaign would be especially dull. But not so! I found them quite exciting, even if I couldn't follow every single detail. The battles in which Stonewall Jackson led his men came alive in a way I did not expect.
Dabney's main purpose, however, in writing this biography was not to give merely an exciting recount of battles. It was "to portray and vindicate" Stonewall Jackson's Christian character, "that his countrymen may possess it as a precious example, and may honor that God in it whom he so delighted to honor." This he has done. It was impossible to leave the book without seeing General Jackson as a man totally dedicated to serving God, and also not to be ashamed at my own lack of true devotion.
Do not expect to speed-read through this book. Dabney wrote during the time of the War, and prose in the nineteenth century was more formal than it is now. Sentences were long, and if you do not school yourself to read slowly, many will require a second reading. But all the effort will be more than compensated, I assure you.
When speaking of the War between the States, Stonewall Jackson's name will be forever remembered as a hero of the Confederacy. To understand his passion and resolve for the cause of the South, one must know the facts behind it, and Dabney therefore devotes one chapter to the political situation that led to secession.
Clearly Dabney is giving the biography of a man he greatly admires. From beginning to end, his love and respect for Stonewall Jackson cannot be hidden. But we should not impute a prejudice to his account for this reason. Stonewall Jackson was a servant of God who not only spoke openly of his love for the Savior, but lived a life that demonstrated it in every respect.
Carol Morgan
The late Dr. Leon Wood was professor of Old Testament Studies and dean of the faculty at the Grand Rapids Baptist Bible Seminary.
Dr. Wood's book Distressing Days of the Judges can truly be described as "fascinating reading." It is, as are all his works, well-written and scholarly. Yet at the same time it never fails to hold one's undivided attention. I hope this short review will prompt you to buy this book for yourself. I read it in less than a week and never for a single moment found it dull or boring.
Dr. Wood carefully outlines the background and preparation for the time when Israel would be settled in the promised land. Included in the preparation was the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai. This law was to be the basis for the theocratic government under which the Israelites would live, a theocratic government under the leadership of the Levites with Yahweh as Israel's God. Yahweh also blessed Israel with great military victories as they pursued their conquest of the promised land and drove out the Canaanites. These mighty victories exalted Yahweh's name among the heathen and should have given Israel great courage and confidence to finish the task of possessing the land God had given them. But Israel failed, and the heathen Canaanites remained in the land to harass and oppress Israel.
When the oppression of foreigners became too much, the Israelites called upon Yahweh to deliver them. A judge was raised up, not only for the purpose of delivering the people from their enemy, but in order to give the theocratic government another chance to work. Dr. Wood thoroughly describes each of the oppressing nations, gives a chronology of the time when they were active, and describes with much detail the men whom Yahweh raised up.
Why did some of these judges lead an army while others did not? Why are there only verses to describe some while there are chapters to describe others? Did any of these men judge at the same time? Were they all godly men, chosen because of their faith in Yahweh? Where do chapters 17-21 fall in the chronology? Leon Wood gives answers to all these questions, and much more.
Carol Morgan
Dr. Fruchtenbaum is a Messianic believer and founder of Ariel Ministries, a California-based organization dedicated to the evangelism and discipleship of Jewish people.
This book review is not written by a "Bible scholar" (as much as I would like to be one!), but by one who has a desire to know all that God has revealed in his word. Does the Bible have anything definite to say about the millennium? Then I want to know what that is. The flip attitude of the "pan-millennialist" ("I don't care, it will all pan out in the end") should shame any Christian who sports it. Let each of us have more reverence for the Scriptures than that.
Consider the following words of Samuel P. Tregelles from his book, The Hope of Christ's Second Coming:
"It has been painful to hear of earnest and real desire to study the Word of God regarded as being 'occupied with the letter of Scripture.'...Of course, with this feeling all critical study of Scripture is denounced. It is deemed a waste of time. Even the study of the Word of God in the original Hebrew and Greek is spoken of as if it were a secular occupation. The English Bible is thought to be enough for teachers. Exact scholarship is deemed superfluous if the original languages are looked at. How different is this from the real study of God's Word; from using and valuing each portion, however minute, as being from Him; as being that of which He can unfold to us the meaning by the teaching of His Spirit. How different is this from the practical application of the most definite rules of grammar which lead to absolute persuasion that apostles and evangelists wrote nothing at random, but that even as to the most delicate shades of thought they used the right cases, moods, and tenses. All diligent and careful inquiry, all laborious examination of authorities so as to know what were the very words in which the inspired writers gave forth the Scripture is regarded as merely intellectual and secular.
"This is not healthy. Should not those who believe in the Divine authority of Holy Scripture know better than to neglect its critical study? And if it be truly inspired, ought they not to feel it is of some importance to inquire what is its true text, and, as far as existing evidence can show, what were the very words in which the Holy Ghost gave it forth? It is most difficult to arouse Christians in general to a sense of the full importance of critical study of Scripture, especially when dreamy apprehensions are cherished and vague idealism has taken the place of truth, and sentimental asceticism is the substitute of Christian holiness." (This book is on this Web site: see Classic Reprints).
Arnold Fruchtenbaum's book, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, is a thorough and scholarly work dealing with the millennium and the nation of Israel. The viewpoint of the Covenant Postmillennialist, the Covenant Amillennialist, the Covenant Premillennialist, and the Dispensationalist are given in all their details. For one who has a bare-bones understanding of these four positions, like myself, this book is a dream come true. The author gives precise definitions, he quotes the major scholars for each position, he states all the evidence for their positions, and has his own summaries throughout. I found the summarizing most helpful. The thoroughness of this work means that one reading will not be sufficient to make someone like myself ready to defend one viewpoint over another with any degree of success. For the more advanced Bible student, it may very well do just that.
The book is long, but the type is large enough to make for easy reading. There are numerous quotations, and although those in paragraph form have been indented, they can still be overlooked and read as though the words of the author if one is not careful.
Reading this book has given me a more solid foundation as regards the issue of millennialism. It has also given me a deeper reverence for the Word of God and a greater respect for the men who have devoted their lives to its study. The study of eschatology--millennialism in particular--is not something to be ignored, especially in our day when the nation of Israel is of world-wide interest and focus. It behooves us to know what God has said and to be ready for that day when he shall say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Carol Morgan
I loved this book. In fact, I typed it in its entirety, and it can now be found on this web site at the following link.
What was Sir Anderson's purpose in writing it? Let me quote from the author himself:
"And to not a few this volume may be welcome as affording a clue to pressing difficulties which perplex and distress the thoughtful. Infidelity trades upon the silence of Heaven, the inaction of the Supreme. If there be a God, almighty and all-good, why does He not use His power and give proof of His goodness in the way men choose to expect of Him? The answer usually offered by the Christian apologist fails either to silence the opponent or to satisfy the believer. And rightly so, for it is lacking not only in cogency but in sympathy. The God of the Bible is infinite both in power and in compassion; and in other ages His people had public proof of this. Why, then, is He so silent?"
This book is fast reading, and not because the English is smooth and well-written (which it is), but because the subject itself is so fascinating. I found I couldn't read fast enough! My enthusiasm never wavered throughout, and I can honestly say I learned much.
Sir Robert Anderson gives insightful answers to many questions, such as: What purpose did Christ's miracles serve? What is reconciliation? What is the difference between Christendom and Christianity? Why did Satan tempt Jesus? How does Satan tempt us? What does Paul mean by "my gospel"? Why, when we pray with faith, are our prayers not answered in the way we expect?
This book is well worth your time.
Carol Morgan
There are many gifted Christian scholars with a wealth of knowledge to offer, but, sad to say, they are not gifted writers. Considerable plowing through long mazes of sentences with a paucity of punctuation, or a surplus to spare, is required on the reader's part to reap the harvest. Then there are scholars like Merrill C. Tenney, to whom writing seems to come naturally. Words flow freely like a moving stream, and the reader is hooked at once.
The Reality of the Resurrection is such a book, and it is much needed today. Although Dr. Tenney wrote it in the early 60's, it is not "out-of-date" by any means. All too often we glibly aver that Jesus rose from the dead; but do we really give that "resurrection power" any serious thought? "Christianity was not unique because it insured salvation by a sacrifice for sins, nor because it stressed personal ethics, nor even because it guaranteed immortality to believers. Its distinctive attribute was the supernatural power of the living God, manifested historically by the resurrection of Christ from the dead." It is this supernatural power by which we must, according to Paul, "reckon ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Our pastors teach much about the resurrection, for it is the basis of our salvation. But what about the other great doctrines of the faith? Do we even know what they are? Dr. Tenney points out that Christ's resurrection is fundamental to justification, sanctification, glorification, the priesthood of Christ, as well as eschatology. They reach their fullest development in the demonstration of the divine triumph over death.
In our day we have seen a watering down of these doctrines of the faith. If the Apostle Paul came to visit, would he not be astonished and dismayed by what is called "gospel preaching" today? All too often it is the message of "easy believism," which rarely results in a life of serious piety and holiness. This was not Paul's message. Let us hear his own words: "That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Phil. 3:10). Dr. Tenney writes: "No coalition of denominations can exercise sufficient political or social pressure to preserve Christian ideals and teaching if convictions crumble. Effective strategy for survival does not lie in devising new weapons for exterminating enemies but in a re-examination and reaffirmation of basic theology."
Topics covered in this book include, among others, pre-Christian concepts, historical evidences, and the theology of the resurrection. We have posted this entire book in our Classic Reprints page. Click here to read The Reality of the Resurrection.
Carol Morgan
Imagine yourself living in Germany during World War II. You live next door to a Jewish family, and their very survival is at stake. Do you sit back and do nothing, or do you resolve to save them at your own peril? Now imagine yourself again, only today, living in the midst of the Great Tribulation. "Oh, that's not possible," you say. "The Lord will rapture the church first." If you have spent much time at this web site, you know that our position is that the church will indeed go through the tribulation. But for now I will grant your point, yet in so doing I ask only that you consider this: how many Christians living in the late 1930's and early 40's thought that very same thing--that they would be raptured before the tribulation--and then found themselves instead in the midst of Hitler's extermination of the Jews? That they were possibly in the midst of the Tribulation must surely have crossed their minds. Here is the analogy: the next period of persecution that comes to America, or any other part of the world, may or may not be the Great Tribulation; therefore it behooves us now to prepare ourselves to suffer for Christ. Reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy is a step in that direction.
The author has written a biography of Bonhoeffer that opens our eyes to his spiritual insight and depth. Bonhoeffer consecrated himself to the task of keeping the German church pure during the Hitler years. If the German church, essentially a state church, went along with Hitler's "Aryan Paragraph" (government employees must be of "Aryan" stock), all pastors with Jewish blood would be excluded from ministry. According to Bonhoeffer, "Where Jew and German stand together under the Word of God, here is the proof whether a church is still the church or not." The chaos and struggle within the German church was closely followed worldwide, and Bonhoeffer believed that the existence of Christianity throughout all of Europe was at stake. The "Confessing Church" soon arose to stand for the doctrines of the true faith. It was not, however, an easy task, for many pastors in the Confessing Church feared for their lives. Bonhoeffer was not deterred, and at the Conference at Fano in 1934 he roused the men to action with the following words:
There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security. To demand guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God's commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes. Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won when the way leads to the cross....What are we waiting for? The time is late.
Much credit must be given to Bonhoeffer that the Confessing Church became an "official" church in Germany. However, much to his disappointment, it failed in a very important aspect: in 1938 every single pastor in Germany was demanded to take an oath of obedience to Adolf Hitler, and while some brave pastors refused, many did not. "The messianic attitude toward Hitler was widespread, and few dared to stand against it." Despite this major setback, Bonhoeffer continued his work within it.
The night of November 9, 1938, known as Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass), was a turning point for Bonhoeffer. "It was now, for the first time, that his gaze was in a new way directed away from his own trials and toward the trials of God's people, the Jews." From this point on, the reader will not find it easy to put the book down. The details of the war and Bonhoeffer's own collaboration to assassinate Hitler, although of necessity given succinctly, are nonetheless well written. Metaxas gives us a deeply personal look into Bonhoeffer's struggle to know God's will. To become a double agent and pretend allegiance to Hitler was a decision not easily made. However, it was made resolutely and with the confidence that it was God's will for him. If necessary, he would be willing to kill Hitler himself. Although it did not come to that, Bonhoeffer made it clear "that he was not assisting in the fulfillment of a deed he was unwilling to do." His role in the conspiracy was between himself and God alone, and therefore he felt it best to resign from the Confessing Church.
In April of 1943, after two failed assassination attempts, Bonhoeffer was arrested. He spent the next 18 months at Tegel prison. During that period he was a prolific writer, and Metaxas has included numerous excerpts from his many letters as well as from his magnum opus Ethics. I particularly found the following enlightening: "Destruction of the embryo in the mother's womb is a violation of the right to live which God has bestowed upon this nascent life. To raise the question whether we are here concerned already with a human being or not is merely to confuse the issue. The simple fact is that God certainly intended to create a human being and that this nascent human being has been deliberately deprived of his life. And that is nothing but murder."
Bonhoeffer was executed at Flossenburg as a result of the failed Stauffenberg assassination attempt on Hitler. Years later H. Fischer-Hullstrung, the camp doctor, gave these memorable words: "In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God."
This book is worthy of your time.
Carol Morgan
Do you like to travel? Better yet, would you like to travel back in time? Now you can, and with no less eminent a traveling companion than the Apostle Paul himself! Conybeare and Howson have written a remarkable book on the life and epistles of St. Paul, beginning with Paul's early days in Tarsus and ending with his martyrdom in Rome. We are transported to the first century A.D., and there we find ourselves by Paul's side as he zealously contends for the Jewish faith. We witness firsthand his conversion on the Damascus road. On his missionary journeys we share his emotions when confronted by relentless enemies as well as wavering believers, and our hearts are filled with love for him as we understand more fully the burden he carried.
One would be hard-pressed to find a finer work on the book of Acts than this volume by Conybeare and Howson. Although the book is long (over 800 pages), it is easy and fascinating reading. The authors are careful to neglect no important detail regarding Paul's extensive travels, thus ensuring that the reader is afforded a much-needed grasp of both the political and social circumstances of the times. How was living in a colony such as Philippi different from that of a free city like Thessalonica? Was full liberty of worship granted to the Jews in every part of the Roman Empire? How was it possible for a Jew like Saul of Tarsus to become a Roman citizen, and what privileges did this citizenship grant him? What important place did the Isthmus hold in the course of the history of Greece?
The descriptions of the cities Paul visited were most enlightening, especially Ephesus, Corinth, and Athens. The reader will find it quite easy to picture the great temple of Diana and see the ensuing riot that endangered Paul's life that day in Ephesus. For those who have an interest in sailing, the chapter on Paul's sea voyage to Rome will not disappoint. In fact, I found it so exciting I couldn't put the book down. Many details are given of the sailing vessels of that era, and the reader experiences firsthand what it must have been like for those 276 passengers on that memorable voyage.
The authors include all of Paul's epistles as well as that to the Hebrews. Their translation of each is inserted in the text of Paul's itinerary at the time Paul wrote it. They do not offer a commentary on Paul's letters, but copious comments on them are given in the footnotes.
The only weak point in this book centered around dates. There were hardly any. Unless one has a better historical background than I have, it is sometimes easy to get lost in time. For example, when the authors are describing the historical background of some part of Greece and mention the Peloponnesian War but give no date, I find myself a bit at sea. Many historians are cited such as Strabo, Xenophon, Josephus, and Tacitus. Exact dates of the period they were writing about would have been a great help. But this is a minor issue and should not dissuade anyone from reading this book. Dates for Paul's letters are, of course, given, and there is a chronological table at the end of the book.
I would suggest that you have your Bible open to the maps in the back as you read. You will find it most helpful to follow them closely.
This is a great book and well worth your time. As a bit of incentive, the entire introduction to the book immediately follows this review. (Note: the numbers in brackets refer to footnotes at the end of the introduction.)
Carol Morgan
The purpose of this work is to give a living picture of St. Paul himself and of the circumstances by which he was surrounded.
The biography of the Apostle must be compiled from two sources: first, his own letters, and secondly, the narrative in the Acts of the Apostles. The latter, after a slight sketch of his early history, supplies us with fuller details of his middle life; and his Epistles afford much subsidiary information concerning his missionary labors during the same period. The light concentrated upon this portion of his course makes darker by contrast the obscurity which rests upon the remainder; for we are left to gain what knowledge we can of his later years from scattered hints in a few short letters of his own and from a single sentence of his disciple Clement.
But in order to present anything like a living picture of St. Paul's career, much more is necessary than a mere transcript of the Scriptural narrative, even where it is fullest. Every step of his course brings us into contact with some new phase of ancient life unfamiliar to our modern experience, and upon which we must throw light from other sources if we wish it to form a distinct image in the mind.
For example, to comprehend the influences under which he grew to manhood, we must realize the position of a Jewish family in Tarsus. We must understand the kind of education which the son of such a family would receive as a boy in his Hebrew home, or in the schools of his native city, and in his riper youth 'at the feet of Gamaliel' in Jerusalem. We must be acquainted with the profession for which he was to be prepared by this training and appreciate the station and duties of an expounder of the Law. And that we may be fully qualified to do all this, we should have a clear view of the state of the roman Empire at the time, and especially of its system in the provinces. We should also understand the political position of the Jews of the 'dispersion.' We should be (so to speak) hearers in their synagogues, we should be students of their Rabbinical theology. And in like manner, as we follow the Apostle in the different stages of his varied and adventurous career, we must strive continually to bring out in their true brightness the half-effaced forms and coloring of the scene in which he acts. And while he 'becomes all things to all men, that he might by all means save some,' we must form to ourselves a living likeness of the things and of the men among which he moved, if we would rightly estimate his work. Thus we must study Christianity rising in the midst of Judaism. We must realize the position of its early churches with their mixed society to which Jews, Proselytes, and Heathens had each contributed a characteristic element. We must qualify ourselves to be umpires (if we may so speak) in their violent internal divisions. We must listen to the strife of their schismatic parties, when one said 'I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos.' We must study the true character of those early heresies which even denied the resurrection, and advocated impurity and lawlessness, claiming the right 'to sin that grace might abound,'[1] 'defiling the mind and conscience'[2] of their followers, and making them 'abominable and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate.'[3] We must trace the extent to which Greek philosophy, Judaising formalism, and Eastern superstition blended their tainting influence with the pure fermentation of that new leaven which was at last to leaven the whole mass of civilized society.
Again, to understand St. Paul's personal history as a missionary to the Heathen, we must know the state of the different populations which he visited; the character of the Greek and Roman civilization at the epoch; the points of intersection between the political history of the world and the scriptural narrative; the social organization and gradation of ranks for which he enjoins respect; the position of women, to which he specially refers in many of his letters; the relations between parents and children, slaves and masters, which he not vainly sought to imbue with the living spirit of the Gospel; the quality and influence under the early Empire of the Greek and Roman religions, whose effete corruptness he denounces with such indignant scorn; the public amusements of the people, whence he draws topics of warning or illustration; the operation of the Roman law, under which he was so frequently arraigned; the courts in which he was tried and the magistrates by whose sentence he suffered; the legionary soldiers who acted as his guards; the road by which he traveled, whether through the mountains of Lycaonia or the marshes of Latium; the course of commerce by which his journeys were so often regulated; and the character of that imperfect navigation by which his life was so many times[4] endangered.
While thus trying to live in the life of a bygone age and to call up the figure of the past from its tomb, duly robed in all its former raiment, every help is welcome which enables us to fill up the dim outline in any part of its reality. Especially we delight to look upon the only one of the manifold features of that past existence, which still is living. We remember with pleasure that the earth, the sea, and the sky still combine for us in the same landscapes which passed before the eyes of the wayfaring Apostle. The plain of Cilicia, the snowy distances of Taurus, the cold and rapid streams of the Cydnus, the broad Orontes under the shadow of its steep banks with their thickets of jasmine and oleander; the hills which 'stand about Jerusalem,'[5] the 'arched fountains cold' in the ravines below, and the 'flowery brooks beneath, that wash their hallowed feet;' the capes and islands of the Grecian Sea, the craggy summit of Areopagus, the land-locked harbor of Syracuse, the towering cone of Etna, the voluptuous loveliness of the Campanian shore--all these remain to us, the imperishable handiwork of nature.
We can still look upon the same trees and flowers which he saw clothing the mountains, giving color to the plains, or reflected in the rivers. We may think of him among the palms of Syria, the cedars of Lebanon, the olives of Attica, the green Isthmian pines of Corinth whose leaves wove those 'fading garlands,' which he contrasts with the 'incorruptible crown,' the prize for which he fought.[6] Nay, we can even still look upon some of the works of man which filled him with wonder, or moved him to indignation. The 'temples made with hands'[7] which rose before him--the very apotheosis of idolatry--on the Acropolis still stand in almost undiminished majesty and beauty. The mole on which he landed at Puteoli still stretches its ruins into the blue waters of the bay. The remains of the Baian Villas whose marble porticoes he then beheld glittering in the sunset--the first specimen of Italian luxury--still are seen along the shore. We may still enter Rome as he did by the same Appian Road, through the same Capenian Gate, and wander among the ruins of 'Caesar's palace'[8] on the Palatine, while our eye rests upon the same aqueducts radiating over the Campagna to the unchanging hills.
Those who have visited these spots must often have felt a thrill of recollection as they trod in the footsteps of the Apostle. They must have been conscious how much the identity of the outward scene brought them into communion with him, while they tried to imagine to themselves the feelings with which he must have looked upon the objects before them. They who have experienced this will feel how imperfect a biography of St. Paul must be without faithful representations of the places which he visited. It is hoped that the views [illustrations] which are contained in the present work (which have been diligently collected from various sources) will supply this desideratum. And it is evident that, for the purposes of such a biography, nothing but true and faithful representations of the real scenes will be valuable. These are what is wanted, and not ideal representations, even though copied from the works of the greatest masters; for, as it has been well said, 'nature and reality painted at the time, and on the spot, a nobler cartoon of St. Paul's preaching at Athens than the immortal Rafaelle afterwards has done.'[9]
For a similar reason Maps have been given (in addition to careful Geographical descriptions), exhibiting with as much accuracy as can at present be attained the physical features of the countries visited, and some of the ancient routes through them, together with plans of the most important cities, and maritime Charts of the coasts and harbors where they were required.
While thus endeavoring to represent faithfully the natural objects and architectural remains connected with the narrative, it has likewise been attempted to give such illustrations as were needful of the minor productions of human art as they existed in the first century. For this purpose engravings of Coins have been given in all cases where they seemed to throw light on the circumstances mentioned in the history; and recourse has been had to the stores of Pompeii and Herculaneum, to the columns of Trajan and Antoninus, and to the collections of the Vatican, the Louvre, and especially of the British Museum.
But after all this is done,--after we have endeavored, with every help we can command, to reproduce the picture of St. Paul's deeds and times,--how small would our knowledge of himself remain if we had no other record of him left us but the story of his adventures. If his letters had never come down to us, we should have known indeed what he did and suffered, but we should have had very little idea of what he was.[10] Even if we could perfectly succeed in restoring the image of the scenes and circumstances in which he moved,--even if we could, as in a magic mirror, behold him speaking in the school of Tyrannus, with his Ephesian hearers in their national costume around him,--we should still see very little of Paul of Tarsus. We must listen to his words if we would learn to know him. If fancy did her utmost, she could give us only his outward, not his inward life. 'His bodily presence' (so his enemies declared) 'was weak and contemptible;' but 'his letters' (even they allowed) 'were weighty and powerful.'[11]
Moreover an effort of imagination and memory is needed to recall the past, but in his Epistles St. Paul is present with us. 'His words are not dead words, they are living creatures with hands and feet,'[12] touching in a thousand hearts at this very hour the same chord of feeling which vibrated to their first utterance. We, the Christians of the nineteenth century, can bear witness now, as fully as could a Byzantine audience fourteen hundred years ago, to the saying of Chrysostom, that 'Paul by his letters still lives in the mouths of men throughout the whole world; by them not only his own converts, but all the faithful even unto this day, yea, and all the saints who are yet to be born, until Christ's coming again, both have been and shall be blessed.' His Epistles are to his inward life what the mountains and rivers of Asia and Greece and Italy are to his outward life,--the imperishable part which still remains to us, when all that time can ruin has passed away.
It is in these letters then that we must study the true life of St. Paul from its inmost depths and springs of action, which were 'hidden with Christ in God,' down to its most minute developments and peculiar individual manifestations. In them we learn (to use the language of Gregory Nazianzene) 'what is told of Paul by Paul himself.' Their most sacred contents indeed rise above all that is peculiar to the individual writers; for they are the communications of God to man concerning the faith and life of Christians, which St. Paul declared (as he often asserts) by the immediate revelation of Christ Himself. But his manner of teaching these eternal truths is colored by his human character, and peculiar to himself. And such individual features are naturally impressed much more upon epistles than upon any other kind of composition. For here we have not treatises or sermons, which may dwell in the general and abstract, but genuine letters written to meet the actual needs of living men; giving immediate answers to real questions and warnings against pressing dangers; full of the interests of the passing hour. And this, which must be more or less the case with all epistles addressed to particular Churches, is especially so with those of St. Paul. In his case it is not too much to say that his letters are himself--a portrait painted by his own hand, of which every feature may be 'known and read of all men.'
It is not merely that in them we see the proof of his powerful intellect, his insight into the foundations of natural theology,[13] and of moral philosophy;[14] for in such points, though the philosophical expression might belong to himself, the truths expressed were taught him of God. It is not only that we there find models of the sublimest eloquence, when he is kindled by the vision of the glories to come, the perfect triumph of good over evil, the manifestation of the sons of God, and their transformation into God's likeness, when they shall see Him no longer[15] 'in a glass darkly, but face to face,--for in such strains as these it was not so much he that spoke as the Spirit of God speaking in Him;[16]--but in his letters, besides all this which is divine, we trace every shade, even to the faintest, of his human character also. Here we see that fearless independence with which he 'withstood Peter to the face;'[17]--that impetuosity which breaks out in his apostrophe to the 'foolish Galatians;'[18]--that earnest indignation which bids his converts 'beware of dogs, beware of the concision,'[19] and pours itself forth in the emphatic 'God forbid,'[20] which meets every Antinomian suggestion;--that fervid patriotism which makes him 'wish that he were himself accursed from Christ for his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites;'[21]--that generosity which looked for no other reward than 'to preach the Glad-tidings of Christ without charge,'[22] and made him feel that he would rather 'die than that any man should make this glorying void;'--that dread of officious interference which led him to shrink from 'building on another man's foundation;'[23]--that delicacy which shows itself in his appeal to Philemon, whom he might have commanded, 'yet for love's sake rather beseeching him, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ,'[24] and which is even more striking in some of his farewell greetings, as (for instance) when he bids the Romans salute Rufus, and his mother, who is also mine;'[25]--that scrupulous fear of evil appearance which 'would not eat any man's bread for nought, but worked with labor and travail night and day that he might not be chargeable to any of them;'[26]--that refined courtesy which cannot bring itself to blame till it has first praised,[27] and which makes him deem it needful almost to apologize for the freedom of giving advice to those who were not personally known to him;[28]--that self-denying love which 'will eat no flesh while the world stands, lest he make his brother to offend;'[29]--that impatience of exclusive formalism with which he overwhelms the Judaisers of Galatia, joined with a forbearance so gentle for the innocent weakness of scrupulous consciences;[30]--that grief for the sins of others, which moved him to tears when he spoke of the enemies of the cross of Christ, 'of whom I tell you even weeping;'[31]--that noble freedom from jealousy with which he speaks of those who, out of rivalry to himself, preach Christ even of envy and strife, supposing to add affliction to his bonds; 'What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice;'[32]--that tender friendship which watches over the health of Timothy, even with a mother's care;[33]--that intense sympathy in the joys and sorrows of his converts, which could say, even to the rebellious Corinthians, 'ye are in our hearts, to die and live with you;'[34]--that longing desire for the intercourse of affection, and that sense of loneliness when it was withheld, which perhaps is the most touching feature of all because it approaches most nearly to a weakness: 'When I had come to Troas to preach the Glad-tidings of Christ, and a door was opened to me in the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother; but I parted from them and came from thence into Macedonia.' And 'when I was come into Macedonia, my flesh had no rest, but I was troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. But God, who comforts them that are cast down, comforted me by the coming of Titus.'[35] 'Do thy utmost to come to me speedily; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia; only Luke is with me.[36]
Nor is it only in the substance, but even in the style of these writings that we recognize the man Paul of Tarsus. In the parenthetical constructions and broken sentences we see the rapidity with which the thoughts crowded upon him, almost too fast for utterance. We see him animated rather than weighted down by 'the crowd that presses on him daily, and the care of all the churches,'[37] as he pours forth his warnings or his arguments in a stream of eager and impetuous dictation, with which the pen of the faithful Tertius can hardly keep pace.[38] And above all, we trace his presence in the postscript to every letter, which he adds as an authentication, in his own characteristic handwriting,[39] 'which is a token in every epistle: Thus I write.'[40] Sometimes, as he takes up the pen, he is moved with indignation when he thinks of the false brethren among those whom he addresses: 'the salutation of me Paul with my own hand,--if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.'[41] Sometimes, as he raises his hand to write, he feels it cramped by the fetters which bind him to the soldier who guards him: 'I Paul salute you with my own hand,--remember my chains.' Yet he always ends with the same blessing: 'The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you,' to which he sometimes adds still further a few last words of affectionate remembrance, 'My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.'[42]
But although the letters of St. Paul are so essentially a part of his personal biography, it is a difficult question to decide upon the form in which they should be given in a work like this. The object to be sought is, that they may really represent in English what they were to their Greek readers when first written. Now this object would not be attained if the Authorized Version were adhered to; and yet a departure from that whereof so much is interwoven with the memory and deepest feelings of every religious mind should be grounded on strong and sufficient cause. It is hoped that the following reasons may be held such.
1st. The Authorized Version was meant to be a standard of authority and ultimate appeal in controversy; hence it could not venture to depart, as an ordinary translation would do, from the exact words of the original, even where some amplification was absolutely required to complete the sense. It was to be the version unanimously accepted by all parties and therefore must simply represent the Greek text word for word. This it does most faithfully so far as the critical knowledge of the sixteenth[43] century permitted. But the result of this method is sometimes to produce a translation unintelligible to the English reader.[44] Also, if the text admit of two interpretations, our version endeavors, if possible, to preserve the same ambiguity, and effects this often with admirable skill; but such indecision, although a merit in an authoritative version, would be a fault in a translation which had a different object.
2nd. The imperfect knowledge existing at the time when our Bible was translated made it inevitable that the translators should occasionally render the original incorrectly; and the same cause has made their version of many of the argumentative portions of the Epistles perplexed and obscure.
3rd. Such passages as are affected by the above-mentioned objections might, it is true, have been recast, and the authorized translation retained in all cases where it is correct and clear. But if this had been done, a patchwork effect would have been produced like that of new cloth upon old garments. Moreover, the devotional associations of the reader would have been offended, and it would have been a rash experiment to provoke such a contrast between the matchless style of the Authorized Version and that of the modern translator, thus placed side by side.
4th. The style adopted for the present purpose should not be antiquated, for St. Paul was writing in the language used by his Hellenistic readers in everyday life.
5th. In order to give the true meaning of the original, something more than a mere verbal rendering is often absolutely required. St. Paul's style is extremely elliptical, and the gaps must be filled up. And, moreover, the great difficulty in understanding his argument is to trace clearly the transitions[45] by which he passes from one step to another. For this purpose something must occasionally be supplied beyond the mere literal rendering of the words.
In fact, the meaning of an ancient writer may be rendered into a modern language in three ways: either, first, by a literal version; or, secondly, by a free translation; or, thirdly, by a paraphrase. A recent specimen of the first method may be found in the corrected edition of the Authorized Version of the Corinthians by Prof. Stanley, of the Galatians and Ephesians by Prof. Ellicott, and of the Thessalonians, Galatians, and Romans by Prof. Jowett, all of which have appeared since the first edition of the present work. The experiment of these translations (ably executed as they are) has confirmed the view above expressed of the unsatisfactory nature of such a literal rendering; for it cannot be doubted that though they correct the mistakes of the Authorized Version, yet they leave an English reader in more hopeless bewilderment as to St. Paul's meaning than that version itself. Of the third course (that of paraphrase), an excellent specimen is to be found in Prof. Stanley's paraphrases of the Corinthian Epistles. There is perhaps no better way than this of conveying the general meaning of the Epistles to an English reader. But it would not be suitable for the biography of St. Paul, in which not only his general meaning but his every sentence and every clause should, as far as possible, be given. There remains the intermediate course of a free translation, which is that adopted in the present work. Nor does there seem any reason why a translation of St. Paul should be rendered inaccurate by a method which would generally be adopted in a translation of Thucydides.
It has not been thought necessary to interrupt the reader by a note in every instance where the translation varies from the Authorized Version. It has been assumed that the readers of the notes will have sufficient knowledge to understand the reason of such variations in the more obvious cases. But it is hoped that no variation which presents any real difficulty has been passed over without explanation.
It should further be observed that the translation given in this work does not adhere to the Textus Receptus but follows the text authorized by the best MSS. Yet, though the Textus Receptus has no authority in itself, it seems undesirable to depart from it without necessity, because it is the text familiar to English readers. Hence the translator has adhered to it in passages where the MSS. of highest authority are equally divided between its reading and some other; and also in some cases where the difference between it and the true text is merely verbal.
The authorities consulted upon the chronology of St. Paul's life, the reasons for the views taken of disputed points in it, and for the dates of the Epistles, are stated (so far as seems needful) in the body of the work or in the Appendices and need not be further referred to here.
In conclusion, the authors would express their hope that this biography may, in its measure, be useful in strengthening the hearts of some against the peculiar form of unbelief most current at the present day. The more faithfully we can represent to ourselves the life--outward and inward--of St. Paul in all its fullness, the more unreasonable must appear the theory that Christianity had a mythical origin; and the stronger must be our ground for believing his testimony to the divine nature and miraculous history of our Redeemer.
No reasonable man can learn to know and love the Apostle of the Gentiles without asking himself the question, 'What was the principle by which through such a life he was animated? What was the strength in which he labored with such immense results?' Nor can the most skeptical inquirer doubt for one moment the full sincerity of St. Paul's belief that 'the life which he lived in the flesh he lived by the faith of the Son of God, who died and gave Himself for him.'[46]
To believe in Christ crucified and risen, to serve Him on earth, to be with Him hereafter;--these, if we may trust the account of his own motives by any human writer whatever, were the chief if not the only thoughts which sustained Paul of Tarsus through all the troubles and sorrows of his twenty years' conflict. His sagacity, his cheerfulness, his forethought, his impartial and clear-judging reason, all the natural elements of his strong character are not indeed to be overlooked. But the more highly we exalt these in our estimate of his work and the larger share we attribute to them in the performance of his mission, the more are we compelled to believe that he spoke the words of truth and soberness when he told the Corinthians that "last of all Christ was seen of him also,"[47] that "by the grace of God he was what he was," that "while he labored more abundantly than all, it was not he, but the grace of God that was in him."[48]
[1] Rom. 6:1.
[2] Tit. 1:15.
[3] Tit. 1:16.
[4] 'Thrice have I suffered shipwreck,' 2 Cor. 11:25; and this was before he was wrecked upon Melita.
[5] 'The hills stand about Jerusalem;' even so 'stands the Lord round about his people.' Ps. 130:2.
[6] 1 Cor. 9:25.
[7] Acts 17:24.
[8] Phil. 1:13.
[9] Wordsworth's Athens and Attica, p. 76.
[10] For his speeches recorded in the Acts, characteristic as they are, would by themselves have been too few and too short to add much to our knowledge of St. Paul; but illustrated as they now are by his Epistles, they become an important part of his personal biography.
[11] 2 Cor. 10:10.
[12] Luther, as quoted in Archdeacon Hare's Mission of the Comforter, p. 449.
[13] Rom. 1:20.
[14] Rom. 2:14,15.
[15] 1 Cor. 13:12.
[16] Matt. 10:20.
[17] Gal. 2:11.
[18] Gal. 3:1.
[19] Phil. 3:2.
[20] Rom. 6:2; 1 Cor. 6:15 & c. It is difficult to express the force of the original by any other English phrase.
[21] Rom. 9:3.
[22] 1 Cor. 9:15 and 18.
[23] Rom. 15:20.
[24] Philemon 9.
[25] Rom. 16:13.
[26] 1 Thess. 2:9.
[27] Compare the laudatory expressions in 1 Cor. 1:5-7 and 2 Cor. 1:6, 7, with the heavy and almost unmingled censure conveyed in the whole subsequent part of these Epistles.
[28] Rom. 15:14, 15.
[29] 1 Cor. 8:13.
[30] 1 Cor. 8:12 and Rom. 14:21.
[31] Phil. 3:18.
[32] Phil. 1:15.
[33] 1 Tim. 5:23.
[34] 2 Cor. 7:3.
[35] 2 Cor. 2:13 and 7:5.
[36] 2 Tim. 4:9.
[37] 2 Cor. 11:28.
[38] Rom. 16:22, 'I Tertius, who wrote this Epistle, salute you in the Lord.'
[39] Gal. 6:11. 'See the size of the characters in which I write to you with my own hand.'
[40] 2 Thess. 3:17.
[41] 1 Cor. 16:22.
[42] 1 Cor. 16:24.
[43] Being executed at the very beginning of the seventeenth.
[44] Yet had any other course been adopted, every sect would have had its own Bible; as it is, this one translation has been all but unanimously received for three centuries.
[45] In the translation of the Epistles given in the present work, it has been the especial aim of the translator to represent these transitions correctly. They very often depend upon a word which suggests a new thought, and are quite lost by a want of attention to the verbal coincidence. Thus, for instance, in Rom. 10:16, 17: 'Who has given faith to our teaching? So then faith comes by teaching.' How completely is the connection destroyed by such inattention in the Authorized Version: "Who has believed our report? So then faith comes by hearing.'
[46] Gal. 2:20.
[47] 1 Cor. 15:8.
[48] Stanley's Sermons on the Apostolic Age, p. 186.
The Visions and Prophecies of Zechariah by David Baron is a great commentary for anyone interested in Bible "study" and not simply Bible "reading". Effort is required to make sense of these visions and prophecies dealing with the future of Israel. Yet I can truthfully say that there is a feeling of happiness that comes with a solid understanding of a difficult book of the Bible. It far surpasses the effort expended.
The author, David Baron (1857-1926), was a Jew who loved the Lord Jesus Christ. He also loved his nation Israel, and, like the Apostle Paul, he longed for that day when "all Israel shall be saved" (Rom. 11:26). For those who may not be premillennial and are reading this review, please give ear to the following from Charles Horne (Salvation [Chicago: Moody Press, 1971], pp. 7-8):
Theology is an ongoing work. May we always be willing to test our present ideas by any new insight which may be gained through our continuing study of the Word. Let us never become so enslaved to any particular theological frame of reference that we cannot accommodate further contributions, which others may offer us, to a more adequate understanding of God's revelation. . . . One frequently learns more by carrying on dialogue with one with whom he has differences than by simply conversing with one with whom there is no such diversity.
The author wrote in 1918, yet we can identify with much that he has written. His analysis of Zechariah 5:5-11 (the Woman in the Basket) was particularly illuminating; he might very well have been writing of these days in which we now live. His exposition of chapter 14--The Glorious Consummation--is a fitting climax, for one cannot help but be uplifted by seeing the glory of the millennial kingdom for which we all are waiting.
Throughout the book he has kept the reader in mind. Here is an example (p. 237):
Before passing on to the following verses, let me ask you, dear reader, Have you learned this great lesson? Have you experienced personally the supernatural power of the living God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, Who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, and with Whom nothing is impossible, or "marvellous," in your own heart and life? For only then can you believe in the great and marvellous things which God promised to do for Israel in the future, and through them for the whole world."
I would encourage anyone interested in prophecy to read this book. Israel and the Middle East are front-page news and have been for decades. What will be your stand when Israel is attacked? Let it be based on the Word of God alone.
I close with these words from David Baron (p. 94):
No too-black a picture can ever be drawn of Israel's backslidings and apostasies; no human lips can ever sufficiently describe the heinousness of Israel's sins and transgressions. All that can therefore be said against their past or their present is true. But when you have read through your long indictment against Israel, write at the bottom of your list words such as these: "Thus saith Jehovah, If heaven above can be measured, and the foundation of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel, for all that they have done, saith Jehovah" (Jer. xxxi. 37); or words taken from the very chapter which foretells in advance Israel's many sins and apostasies, and the terrible calamities which should come upon them in consequence: "And yet, for all that, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them, for I am Jehovah, their God" (Lev. xxvi. 44). No, "Jehovah will not forsake His people, for His great Name's sake, because it has pleased Jehovah to make you His people"--in which faithfulness of the God of Israel to the nation which He has chosen for His own inheritance, in spite of all its unworthiness, you may see a picture, dear reader, of His faithfulness to you, and a pledge of your eternal safety in Christ.
Carol Morgan
Let me list five reasons why you will enjoy reading Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus.
First, it is set up in short sections, each one covering one specific topic, so there is no need to feel any urgency to read the entire book straight through. That excuse we all so often use, "I don't have time to read such a big book," is not valid. I can honestly recommend it as a "daily devotional," so to speak; that is, anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes of reading per day, depending on the length of the section. (Can "devotion" possibly mean anything less?)
Second, it covers numerous "difficult passages" about which we've all had questions. For example: the passage about the fig tree generation. Who are they?
Third, you will learn logical and simple answers to objections that not only your Jewish friends have, but unbelievers in general. I must admit that I was astounded at my own ignorance for not having seen many of them myself.
Fourth, you will receive much-needed Jewish background to the New Testament. All too often we forget that Jesus was a Jew, he lived in Israel and reflected Jewish culture, and he spoke primarily to his own people, frequently interacting with the leaders and scholars of Judaism. To understand Jesus' teaching, we must have some knowledge of this culture, of its theological beliefs, and in particular of what constituted the "traditions of the elders." How else can we possibly hope to understand the significance of his teachings and the numerous conflicts and arguments he had with the Scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees? Pharasaic Judaism of Jesus' day is what has become Orthodox Judaism today.
Fifth, you will have gained some real in-depth knowledge of the Bible, and this will be gratifying. Now, let's be honest. What are the most popular Christian books around today? Take a look through any Christian bookstore and what will you find? An overabundance of what I call Christian "fluff." Nothing to give you a sure and solid foundation of the Old and New Testament teachings and doctrines. Few or no commentaries, few or no Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, and few or no books on theology.
This book by Michael Brown will take you in a new direction. You will find that you can tackle a deeper study of the Word and come away victorious. Why not pick up this volume and prove it for yourself?
Carol Morgan
What do you picture in your mind when you think of the book of Numbers? Perhaps your picture is something like mine: a solid mass of 2 to 3 million grumbling Israelites shuffling constantly and aimlessly through the desert sands for 40 years with nothing else to do, and all the time under the eye of an angry God. Now, let's consider another, and better, option: 250,000 Israelites, still grumbling, traveling now and then in orderly array through the wilderness but spending most of the 40 years settled at their base camp in Kadesh with the tabernacle as their center of activity, and every moment under the eye of a loving, merciful God. Isn't that much better?
The extraordinarily large numbers we meet with when first embarking on a reading of Numbers has been a problem for scholars for centuries. How, they wonder, could Israel be so timid with a fighting army of 600,000 men? Could they not simply march in and overwhelm the neighboring lands? Yes, a good question. I have another one. How could Moses and his assistants (12 men, one "chief" or "prince" from each of the 12 tribes) possibly manage to take a census of all the men over the age of 20 (600,000 of them) and write down their names without having at their fingertips a massive steno pool complete with laptops? One more question. The numbers relating to the census are rounded off (74,600 from Judah, 46,500 from Reuben, and so on). Why, then, do we all of a sudden read a precise number--22,273 firstborn males a month old or more from all the tribes of Israel?
In a different context, consider this problem. If Moses wrote the following, "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth," wouldn't one's first impression be that he was, well, proud? But if Moses didn't write it, who did? Or is there perhaps another answer, one centered on the word translated "humble" in the NIV and "meek" in the KJV?
When we read chapter seven, do we skim over it rather quickly because of the repetition? Why didn't Moses just write, "Over a period of 12 days each of the twelve tribes brought an identical gift of (and list the items)"? This would have taken a few verses at most. Instead we must wade through 76 verses of what seems like endless, boring repetition.
One last question. Why is the minimum age for serving at the Tabernacle given the first time as 30 years and later as 25? What is the significance of the 5 intervening years?
All these questions, plus many more, are addressed and answered by Dr. Allen in this most helpful commentary. His writing style is smooth, arguments for his position are easy to follow, and the reader's interest is caught immediately in the introduction and kept to the very end. I especially liked his ability to make the desert experience come to life, particularly in those critical times when terrible judgments fell on the nation. His analysis of chapter 25, "Moab Seduces Israel," was most illuminating and even gripping. I could almost believe I was there, watching in astonishment.
I heartily recommend this book for any Bible student. Numbers is a book where orderliness predominates, and the focus of the narrative is on God's marvelous grace at all times. We see this grace in the stationing of the Levites around the Tabernacle. They were positioned there so that the people would not unwittingly intrude upon God's presence and violate his holiness, which would have resulted in their death. Absolute reverence was required in the worship of Yahweh, and only the very best could be offered to him in sacrifice. The Tabernacle was not to be approached carelessly or haphazardly, for God's presence was there. Are we as careful in our worship today? Do we approach his dwelling place with holy reverence and give him our very best in sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise? I'm afraid the answer would have to be "no." In our modern-day settings we are more apt to find kids running up and down the hall than to find them standing quietly by their parents' side showing respect for God's house. We are more likely to enter a sanctuary where the loud and continuous rumble of idle talk predominates, not the quiet and reverent preparation for the worship of our God. Our dress should reflect our honor for the most high God, but all too often it serves both for worship and the football stadium. Is it any wonder that our churches are held in contempt by unbelievers?
This is a book much needed today. It is for everyone. For the advanced scholar, technical Hebrew words are discussed in the footnotes.
Carol Morgan
© Copyright 2011 Rediscovering the Bible. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us | Email Webmaster
