My advisor Dr. John Sailhamer's book on the theology of the first five books of the Bible, has just recently hit the shelves. Putting into practice what he believes is preached at the core of the Pentateuch's (and the whole Bible's) message, he has studied and meditated on Scripture for many decades, and this book is the result of much of that study and meditation. I'm excited about it not only to read it myself, but also because I think it has potential to be significantly impacting for the scholarly world and for all Bible readers. He has already been instrumental in opening the Bible to people's eyes and many people's eyes to the depths of what Scripture, particularly the Old Testament, means for us today.
I think maybe the most exciting thing about his approach to the OT is that he ends up understanding it very much in line with the message of the New Testament. Jesus and his anticipated Messianic work are everywhere at the forefront. In this book Sailhamer shows that Moses' message and theology are very similar in a lot of ways to Paul's and the other NT writers'. This kind of approach is not a new one but one that has lost some of its popularity in recent centuries, especially in a Christian world where the OT is often thought of as communicating a message that is not meant for us, about a god who is quite different from the gracious God who sent his Son Jesus.
It's a big book but readable, engaging, and I think even exciting. Anyway, that's my plug. It's published by IVP but I got it through Amazon for quite a bit less. Check out these links:
Thanks for the recommendation, Josh! I'll have to add it to the list of 'to-be-read' books. Hope you guys are enjoying a nice California autumn.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to working through this. I just have to find the time.
ReplyDelete