Book Reviews
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Book Reviews TRIUMPH OF THE KING: The Message of 2 Samuel Gordon J.Keddie Evangelical Press, Darlington 1990 267pp. £6.95pb. ISBN 0 85234 272 1 Once again Gordon Keddie has produced a fine piece of work that will prove to be of great value to preacher and Bible student alike. Triumph of the King carries on where Dawn of a Kingdom leaves off, the latter being the author's exposition of 1 Samuel. Both volumes are in the Welwyn Commentary Series. This commentary uses the New International Version English text. Being written in a clear, straightforward style it is not difficult to read. Moreover it is spiritually rewarding. The author correctly sees David as occupying centre stage within 2 Samuel and thus orders his exposition accordingly. He divides the book into six parts and entitles them Revival-David the King (chaps. 1-10); Retrogression David and Bathsheba (chaps. 11 and 12); Rebellion-David and Absalom (chaps. 13-19.8); Restoration-David's return (chaps. 19.9-21); Reflection David's prophecy of Messiah (chap. 22); and Recessional-David's last days (chaps. 23 and 24). Under each heading the text is carefully explained and applied not just in the context of David's life but also of salvation history. In particular, as indicated above, Keddie sees David not just as a type of Christ but also as one who contemplated the coming, sufferings and kingdom of the Messiah. He is also honest, recognizing as he does, and as we all know, that David was far from perfect. Helpful, practical insights abound. Challenging lessons are drawn out and, where appropriate, pressed home. I have no hesitation in commending this volume most warmly. It will be used to great profit by preachers as they prepare sermons and by those who wish to get to grips with this portion of Scripture in their private quiet times. St. Stephen's Vicarage, Low Elswick. Newcastle upon Tyne GEORGE CURRY I AM JEREMIAH Alan Pain Kingsway, Eastbourne 1990 155pp. £2.99 ISBN 0 86065 722 1 This is an imaginary autobiographical account of Jeremiah and his message. It is intended for personal and group study 'provided you separate imagina tion from interpretation' (Introduction, p. 12). Two thirds of the book is devoted to an insight into the prophet's personality and background, while the remainder concentrates on his message. The author assumes that the reader is already familiar with Jeremiah and the book is not a short cut to a fuller understanding of the prophet. Pain sometimes uses unnecessary jargon (for example, 'cultic liturgy', p. 63) and enters into academic discussion, such as the debate about the identity of Perah (p. 43, cf. Jeremiah 13:5), suggesting that he is not entirely sure of his target readership. He tries to remain faithful to the book of Jeremiah as far as possible and includes frequent quotations from the New International Version, although these 179 Churchman break the flow of the text. At times the author lets his imagination wander freely, suggesting. for example, that Jeremiah admired but did not under stand Isaiah (p. 15) and enjoyed reading Hosea (p. 51)! The book is a brave attempt to make an unfamiliar part of the Bible more understandable and the last five chapters, on the message of Jeremiah. contain a helpful analysis of the content and context of the prophet's message: the best part of the book. Pain's humorous approach and Sue Lea's line drawings help to popularize a prophecy of which many fight shy, but it is doubtful whether a serious Bible student would be satisfied with a study which owes more to the imagination of the author than to the original prophecy. The approach is one which has been used effectively in the past. but on this occasion it does not quite come off. 144 Marton Road, Bndlmgton, East Yorkshire ANDREW MAUGHAN JESUS IN JOHN John Sutters Churchman Publishing Ltd., Worthing, 1990 139pp. £4.95pb. ISBN 185093 200 X In view of the library of books and devotional writings on the Gospel of John it may be questioned whether another is necessary. John Sutters answers it by giving to the public a work that inspires the mind and moves the heart. His book is neither a commentary nor a treatise. The method that he uses is to select incidents that John records of the ministry of Jesus and to interpret them by his Person and claims. He accepts that John's Gospel is the only factual and accurate eye witness account of what Jesus said and did, the Synoptic Gospels being secondary, not primary. For the author John's account of the feeding of the five thousand, the healing of the blind man, and the raising of Lazarus were literal events, that with others and Christ's statements of himself establish him as the eternal Son of God. Throughout. he delves into Christ's mind as it gradually explored the nature of the kingdom and kingship in the face of growing political challenge by the Jewish authorities. To this end he interprets the case of the woman taken in adultery which appears in a sixth century manuscript as factually true, and not either a displaced episode or as the production of a later disciple or disciples. He regards it as a Pharisaic, factual challenge to Jesus on his view of the Mosaic Law. This conservative approach to the Gospel of John is stimulating and refreshing. Set forth in short chapters that are aids to meditation, Sutters's book will help much to establish the true nature of Jesus, and draw the reader closer to Him. Underlying what he writes is the question, 'Who is Jesus?'. To him He is the eternal Christ sharing the Father's mature and glory. As the God-man his works and statements of himself in the Fourth Gospel are thus entirely credible. Such is Sutters's viewpoint set forth in lucid compelling thought-forms. 5 Green Lane, Clapham, Bedford ARTHUR BENNETT 180 Book Reviews JAMES: WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY VOLUME 48 R. P. Martin Word Books, Waco, Texas 1988 cix + 240pp. £18.95 ISBN 0 8499 0247 9 This is R. P. Martin's second contribution to the Word commentary series, of which he is the New Testament editor. And an excellent contribution it is, too. It follows the standard pattern of the Word series: an extensive introduc tion precedes a commentary which moves section-by-section through the letter, providing for each section (a) an extensive bibliography of English, German and French writing on the passage; (b) a translation by the author; (c) notes-pretty full, in this case-on technical matters of grammar and text; (d) introductory remarks on the 'Form/Structure/Setting' of the passage; (e) phrase-by-phrase comment on the Greek text (knowledge of Greek is essential to derive profit from this section); and (f) a concluding 'Explana tion' which seeks to reflect theologically on the overall message of the section. The volume concludes with indices of ancient and modern authors, principal topics, and Biblical texts. I think that Martin has produced a masterpiece within this format. The introduction, which amounts to some eighty pages, succinctly covers all the basic issues of background, authorship. purpose, message and structure with the sure touch of a scholar equipped for his task with a monumental knowledge of the relevant ancient and modern literature, and a sensitive 'feel' for the text. In particular, he makes considerable use of the French commentary of F. Vouga, for which he clearly has a high regard. In fact, I think that Martin's introduction would provide a better orientation in the letter than ploughing through the whole of J.B. Adamson's vast James: the Man and His Message (Eerdmans, 1989), in which scholarship bewilders and obscures. The body of the commentary does not fall into the trap illustratable from some of the other volumes in the series, in which the 'Explanation' section amounts to little more than a summary and repetition of the preceding 'Comments'. Martin has it right, and is not reluctant to engage with contemporary issues where appropriate. The 'Comments' themselves are demanding, especially because he lays considerable emphasis on illumining James against his Old Testament and inter-testamental background; but the style is clear and easy to follow. Interestingly (on a particularly thorny passage), he goes along with the (rather unlikely!) view that the whole of 2:18-19 is the voice of an objector, to whom James then replies in 2:20ff. I have one major problem with the book, concerning his views on authorship. He does not believe that the letter is by James the brother of Jesus, rather that it was penned by a disciple of James, using and editing authentic material from his master. I find this not just disappointing, but also puzzling, because in his introduction he gathers material about the person and ministry of James which illumines the background to the letter to an extraordinary degree: in particular, he shows how, in all likelihood, James was martyred in 62 AD for standing out against the economic injustices perpetrated on the poor by the ruling Jerusalem elite-in fact, for speaking loudly and publically the kind of things he writes about riches and poverty in 1:9-11, 2:1-6, 4:13-17 and 5:1-6. He also helpfully expounds 1:20 and 3:13- 4:4 against the background of the Zealot 'anger' and rivalries that typified life 181 Churchman in Palestine during the early years of the church. But he resists the pressure of this evidence, and instead locates the composition of the letter in Antioch in Syria, in the later decades of the first century.