TIME TRAVEL TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
Your essential companion
By Chris Sinkinson
IVP. 208 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 1 844 749 041
Any book that draws people to the larger part of the Bible is welcome. Readers of EN can be sure of the quality of this one, because its author writes the monthly column ‘Unapologetic Christianity’.
In his friendly way, Chris Sinkinson pilots us through smooth and through turbulent currents, from complexities in history and the odd behaviour of some Hebrew heroes to the relevance of the Law for today. Each of the nine chapters ends with a passage for study and questions for discussion. Throughout, the author demonstrates the fulfillment of the Old Testament in the New, concluding, ‘the real point of this story … the significance of who Jesus really is. Not only a time lord, Jesus Christ is the Lord of time’.
Chapters 1 and 2, ‘Preparing to Embark’ and ‘Hebrew Storytelling’, give valuable guidance on understanding biblical narrative art. Some Christians say the Bible contains ‘history’ and to use the word ‘story’ implies fiction. Chris Sinkinson shows that this is wrong: ‘story is a good way to convey not only historical events, but also their meaning in a way we could appreciate’ (p. 36). Abraham and his family were real people; Jonah, Daniel, Esther, too, and the storyteller’s skill in portraying their lives is helpfully analysed. On the way he demonstrates how God is to be seen in the Book of Esther. Chapter 3 gives an overview of the Promised Land, Chapter 4 of the beginning of human life, with Adam and Eve as ‘a couple made in the image of God’. ‘Meet the Natives’ (Ch. 6) introduces other ancient peoples and Chapter 7 their gods, c o n t r a s t e d with Israel’s God and his uniqueness.
S h o u l d Christians eat crocodile steak? Leviticus may forbid it, but why? Peter’s vision evidently allows it (Acts 10)! In ‘Laying down the Law’ (Ch. 7), Chris Sinkinson can say, ‘The Old Testament law remains of abiding relevance to the modern world and the Christian life (p.148) and his explanation of how that is so deserves careful reading. The people of God were, and are, always under attack: ‘War and Peace’ (Ch. 8) explores the conquest, cities, warfare and siege, concluding with Sennacherib’s siege of Lachish, vividly represented on the king’s palace wall sculptures now in the British Museum. (The photographs of those and other antiquities, such as the Rosetta Stone on p. 93, are too small and dark to be helpful). ‘Back to the Future’ (Ch. 7) fittingly ends the tour by considering attitudes to death and resurrection, with prophecy bringing the promise of the new covenant. The books of the Old Testament ‘are not there simply to tell us about ancient history… These great writings prepare us for Christ, and as we read them we find him’. It would be hard to find a better introduction to the Old Testament!
(This reviewer’s commendation is on the back cover and in the book, but the Editor of EN still requested this review. If you think it is biased, read the book!)
