Have you ever been in a conversation with an interested unbeliever or very young Christian who would like to know more about the OT? You may have wondered at the time how you ought to read the Old Testament yourself, never mind how to explain it to someone else! Well, this is a good resource to start with. It's simple, clear and logical. It's a good book to read to get a grasp of the Old Testament. In this helpful book Chester unites key themes in the Bible under the rubric of God's Promise of Salvation. Using this umbrella-theme for the Bible story he highlights four main aspects of God's Promise:
1. The Promise of a People who Know God
2. The Promise of a Place of Blessing
3. The Promise of a King and a Kingdom
4. The Promise of a Blessing to the Nations
Taking his cue from Graeme Goldsworthy's Gospel and Kingdom Chester follows these themes as they unravel through the progressive revelation of the Bible. He starts with a short but helpful introduction of how to read the Old Testament, concluding that if we are to truly understand it, we must do so in the light of Christ and his relation to it. After all, Jesus said the Law and the Prophets not only pointed to himself, but were fulfilled in him. Chester divides the Bible into various epochs of history through which he traces God's promises: creation, the fall, Abraham, Israel, Israel in exile, prophecy, Jesus, the church, and the new creation. And so hence the title.
Each chapter takes you through one of the main aspects of God's promise, including key Bible passages (quoted at length) to help you join up the dots as you trace the theme and build the picture. Chapters 2-5 end with a practical application of how to read less known OT books in the light of the bigger picture. Chester takes the book of Nehemiah as his test case and asks how each aspect of God's promise helps us to understand the message of Nehemiah for Christians today. This clearly arises out of his conviction that these key themes flow throughout the whole Bible uniting it into one story, and therefore Nehemiah is not some obscure book, unrelated to the promise of God's salvation. This is very helpful for those of us who think that the book of Nehemiah has been put in our Bibles by God for the sole purpose of developing churches with good leadership skills, as well as hard work in the face of opposition (especially when the church is doing their extension to the main building!) I once listened to the book of Nehemiah explained at a Pastor's conference in India. The main focus was on leadership skills in the church and how to 'build' God's work. There was very little if any mention of Jesus, except in the closing prayer. Whilst there are certainly lessons to be learned in these areas from Nehemiah, nevertheless, if that is our main application of Nehemiah, we are simply not handling the Bible like Jesus did. Chester gives a necessary and timely corrective. However, he does not deal with what the book of Nehemiah would have meant to its original readership, and what the application was for them. This is something that I think needs further thought. But this was obviously not Chester's remit, and his clear goal is to stick with the big picture themes. One final criticism is that the book could have included more contemporary illustrations to engage the reader and help sharpen some of the key turning points in the Bible plotline. But overall, this is a helpful and good book. Buy it, read it, and pass it on to that friend you were talking to.
Reviewed for The Biblical Theology Briefings by Jonathan Gibson, one of the site Editors. His particular interest in biblical theology is explaining the whole Bible to international students. His book The Story of a Kingdom (SOK) can be downloaded from the website. The SOK Leader's / Study Guide will follow soon.