New Titles - JULY 2014

1 & 2 CHRONICLES

J Hay & W Gustafson
Ritchie, 2013
£19.99 / 9781907731860 / HB

There are few portions of the Old Testament that offer such varied and practical teaching as 1 and 2 Chronicles. The two books should, of course, be read and studied together, and it is therefore helpful to have a detailed study within this one-volume addition to the Ritchie Old Testament commentary series, 'What The Bible Teaches'. Jack Hay very ably deals with 1 Chronicles, where the main emphasis is on David's reign and, in particular, his desire to build the temple of God. I found the author's treatment of the early chapters – where great care is given to documenting certain genealogical lists – to be especially helpful. Too often we skip through these chapters in an effort to reach the narrative section (chapters 10-29) but in so doing we miss important lessons. As the author remarks, 'this particular king [David] developed a great longing to provide a sanctuary for God, with a functioning priesthood, so the lineage of the priests is also of major importance in the book' (p 19). Walter Gustafson covers 2 Chronicles in a very comprehensive manner. The book deals with the reigns of Solomon and those that followed the division of the kingdom, with a focus on the kings of Judah. The devotional and practical lessons from the reign of Solomon, and especially the building of the temple, are well captured in the early chapters. The reader will also enjoy the diverse and important spiritual lessons drawn from the kings of Judah. 1 and 2 Chronicles may document a very sad part of the nation's history but there is much to challenge the believer today and you will find the main points well covered in this commentary. The book also includes a detailed bibliography and, in summary, is well worth purchasing.

[Graeme Hutchinson]

AN OVERVIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT FOR YOUNG CHRISTIANS

John Maxted
Gospel Folio Press, 2014
£10.99 / 9781927521373 / PB

There is much good material here, but the book is marred in a number of matters, especially as it is aimed at 'young Christians'. The material has neither been organized nor thought through carefully enough for its target audience. Put yourself in a young believer's position as you read the following.

Each NT book is dealt with, but there is a lack of balance: most are covered chapter by chapter, but some have a straightforward overview, including the Gospels, Galatians and 1 and 2 Timothy. Yet Galatians is a difficult book, especially chapter four, which is almost ignored. A young believer is more likely to look for help on Colossians 2, which is given seven lines, rather than chapter four, which has 56 lines; and Romans 3, which is given four lines, rather than 2 Corinthians 13 with 56 lines. Philippians 2 doesn't even get one line.

What important issues need consideration? The difference between soul and spirit is given four paragraphs, whereas baptism is not explained, nor is the mode even mentioned. Suggested comments are more helpful than unverifiable dogmatism. We are told that 'the division of Matthew is the 12th chapter'; and 'the beast from the sea [Revelation 13] will undoubtedly be a Roman or Italian' (italics mine). Key words need defining. 'Synoptic' is used but not explained (nor why three Gospels are called this); likewise 'dispensational', 'Septuagint', and 'Christendom'. Some interpretations are questionable: in Matthew 5, 6, 7 we 'do not have quotations from the OT'; Ephesians 4.5 'takes in Christendom'; comments on Philippians include 'when we believe in the person of Christ we are saved, but when we believe His Word we are sealed'; 2 Timothy 2 – 'we see that the church has become a great house and the birds of the air [have] come in the branches' (Matt 13.32). Some statements seem unwise. 'The Lord speaks as omniscient in Luke' – but not elsewhere? 'The church is but a parenthesis in the ways of God' – does this mean it is a mere side issue? These are not the only examples. I would not recommend this book for young believers.

[Bryan Charles]

SLOGGING ALONG IN THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Dale Ralph Davis
Christian Focus Publications, 2014
£8.99 / 9781781913048 / PB

Don't be misled by the rather off-putting title or the cover photograph of red wellington boots wading wearily through muddy ground. The spiritual life can indeed be a hard plod, as the Psalmist well knew, but there is nothing tedious or dispiriting about this superb study of Psalms 13-24. Dale Ralph Davis brings to the Psalms the same effervescent insights that characterise his earlier expositions of Old Testament historical narrative. His scholarly credentials are beyond doubt but, most attractively, he wears his learning lightly, for the book is full of historical and family anecdotes, and packed with challenging practical applications. The procedure is methodical: his own translation of each Psalm is followed by about 12 pages of analysis which highlights the poetic structure and teases out the doctrinal significance. So often he invites a fresh understanding of long familiar words. His essay on Psalm 23 ('Shepherd Geography') starts by daringly suggesting about the opening verse that 'we lose something with the translation "the LORD", for the simple reason that "the LORD" is a title, not a name, and conveys more distance than intimacy'. David, he notes, 'calls God by His "first" name, Yahweh' (pp 163-4). About David's claims to righteousness in Psalm 17.3-5 he writes: 'he is not claiming sinlessness but steadfastness; he is not boasting of his perfection but arguing for his consistency; he is saying he has been loyal, not impeccable' (p 71). Beautifully written and always illuminating, this is highly recommended.

[David Newell]

ROBBEN ISLAND - THE HOME OF THE LEPER

James Fish
Ritchie, reprinted 2013, originally published 1924
£8.99 / 9781909803763 / PB

Robben Island was a leper colony off the coast of South Africa. There are seven introductory chapters to this book, one dealing with the island's history, another with leprosy, but this is dated. Most of the material is a compilation of diary extracts, beginning in 1889 and covering the next 34 years. James Fish was a UK missionary in South Africa and the Lord opened up the way for him to visit, more or less weekly, the leprosy colony. At one point there were over 600 patients. Periodically meetings were arranged, but most of his time was spent speaking to individuals, just ten or so each visit. For many years the writer's brother helped in the work. We learn also of a number of missionaries and visitors he took to the island. Particular individuals keep reappearing. Amongst other details, we learn about an individual patient's physical condition and its duration, if and when this patient was converted, conversations that were held, especially about resurrection, and his or her death. Typical diary extracts include: 'I had a very serious talk with the man whom I spoke to last week; he is an intelligent man, and as far as I can judge, sincere, but not yet fully able to grasp the full truth of the gospel.' 'Beatrice, a young girl in the next bed was, I believe, definitely led to Christ. Another poor soul, no hands or feet, said, "Oh, I have been longing to see you".' 'I met with two very sad cases. Their faces were awfully disfigured.' The writer's commitment, perseverance and sympathy are evident. The book is a little repetitive and somewhat 'bitty', but it is interesting and seeks to honour the Lord and not the man.

[Bryan Charles]

Classic Titles

THE OUTPOURING: JESUS IN THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL

Elwood McQuaid
The Friends of Israel, 1990

In this helpful little book, Elwood McQuaid tries to capture the atmosphere of each of Israel's feasts which the Lord Jesus attended in John's Gospel; he also shows how these feasts looked forward to Messiah's coming, to suffer or to reign. Although this is not a verse-by-verse exposition of John's Gospel it is thought provoking, and by giving historical and cultural background, and detailing contemporary Jewish religious practices, it throws light on the narrative. The writer points out, for example, that the Lord Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world' (John 8.12), while standing in the temple treasury next to two great candlesticks. His explanation of the history that lay behind the Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah (John 10) – the successful Maccabean revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes and the subsequent cleansing of the temple – shows that, although this feast was not prescribed by the Law of Moses, in essence it anticipated Christ's eventual victorious triumph over Antichrist. I was not totally convinced by all the book's arguments; for instance, the lengthy attempt to prove that the feast of John chapter five was the Feast of Trumpets. Further, at times I found the language overly flamboyant and personally felt uneasy about the repeated use of the term 'God-man.' Having said this, Elwood McQuaid writes with enthusiasm and it would be hard not to recommend this as helpful background reading to John's Gospel.

[Jeremy Gibson]

MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY

A J Higgins
Gospel Tract Publications, revised edition, 2006

The topic of marriage remains a hotbed of debate and discussion, particularly on issues such as its life-long nature (on which the New Testament is clear: 'The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord', 1 Cor 7.39). But there are many vital ingredients to a successful marriage, and the Bible offers varied and important teaching on the subject. Old Testament couples such as Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, Boaz and Ruth provide real-life examples of what constitutes a good marriage and also of the pitfalls that should be avoided. The same is true of the New Testament, where individuals such as Aquila and Priscilla are rightly considered role-models for any Christian couple. Material on this and other subjects relating to 'marriage and the family' is very ably and concisely dealt with in the book. The teaching is well packaged, with the initial chapters dealing with the underlying biblical principles of marriage. You will find the material immensely open and helpful. The author then has two chapters on 'heartbroken homes', where specific failures of certain Bible characters are explored to help reinforce the truth that marriage is essentially 'the union of two imperfect individuals' (p 53). In terms of the wider issue of the family, the author includes a number of chapters on 'failing fathers' and 'parents with priorities'. The teaching is clear and systematic, but what appeals most to the reviewer is that the examples are always Bible-based. Finally, the sections on abortion and singleness are crystal clear. In summary, this is a very good book on a vitally important subject.

[Graeme Hutchinson]

THE END

Mark Hitchcock
Tyndale, 2012

Although a recent publication, this 500-page hardback should speedily become a classic because of its well organized and thoroughly engaging presentation of the Bible's teaching about future events. Building on the classic 1958 textbook by J Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come, it makes the exciting detail of biblical eschatology accessible to ordinary people. What it may lose in exhaustiveness it gains in sheer readability, complementing the text with neat charts and tables. Much more than a poor man's Pentecost, it also usefully (but always courteously) exposes some of the errors which have lately become fashionable in Christendom (revived preterism, conspiracy theories about the origins of Darby's rapture teaching, various proposals about the timing of the rapture). The chapter entitled 'Seven Reasons for the Pre-trib Rapture' is a masterly assembling of biblical evidences. Hitchcock argues (to my mind, persuasively) for the salvation during the tribulation of people who refused the gospel before the rapture, and believes that Antichrist will literally be killed and resurrected. But this is by no means a book for curiosity seekers, for the author is well aware of the practical value of scriptural prophecy. He includes several gospel appeals and constantly underlines the call to holy living. This is a first-rate book for all, and especially the young believer or the new convert.

[David Newell]