By Derek Williams, ed. J.I. Packer
Eagle Publishing. 416 pages. £25.00
ISBN 0 86347 300 8
The letter of James instructs us to be 'doers' of the Word and not hearers only. So a trip through the Bible which specialises in application is to be welcomed.
This hardback introduces each Bible book, arranged in alphabetical order from Acts to Zephaniah and is intended particularly for people who are new to the Scriptures. Along with gorgeous colour photographs and illustrations, there is a short outline of each book and then a brief explanation of its main themes.
It comes over as a useful hybrid of a commentary and a Bible dictionary. Boxes give an explanation of where the book is located in biblical history and hard questions which the text might raise - e.g. Judges faces the question 'Does the Bible condone political assassination?'
It would make a helpful companion to any preacher or youth leader. However, there were some concerns. Sometimes it is not openly Protestant. Sometimes matters of historicity of certain events are left rather open. And I found that sometimes a major application of a section of larger Old Testament books had been missed.
But generally, I liked the whole production and its applications are clear and down-to-earth.
