DIG DEEPER INTO 1 & 2 KINGS
By Andrew Sach and Alasdair
Henderson
IVP. 240 pages. £11.99
ISBN 978 1 789 745 160
Since the first Dig Deeper book gave us its “toolkit” to help the reader understand what a Bible passage is saying, the series has expanded to apply these principles to different Bible books and genres, with 1&2 Kings being its latest instalment.
It’s a thorough and helpful addition – as well as being funny at times. Even if you find the ‘toolkit’ imagery a little cringey, the principles lying behind it are first rate; they help us read well and protect us from many pitfalls.
This is not a ready-made Bible study guide – you won’t find suggested questions or study ideas, distinguishing it from the off-the-shelf “God’s Word for You” series – but nor would I call it a commentary. What it contains is the application of the Dig Deeper principles to help you understand a complex narrative that can appear (in no particular order!) obscure, complicated, bloody and hard-to-stomach (there is lots of bloodshed!)
Whilst any spiritual understanding of the Bible is always God’s work, this book will instil confidence that careful, attentive reading of 1& 2 Kings within its context really can help us discover the truth God so wants us to know – even if at times the depth of reading extends to a level that might feel stretching to many Bible readers, such as seeing allusions in Kings to things in various books of the Bible. That said, I think the stretch is a good thing: it teaches us that patience and diligence in reading God’s word really will help us unearth its treasure, as the book promises.
This isn’t necessarily chock-full of application, and turning it from text into Bible study, for example, would still require a reasonable bit of work. But it gives us the framework and, crucially (if we’re familiar with the “toolkit” from the original Dig Deeper book), the tools to help us do it ourselves. On the whole, this is a great resource for personal devotions, Bible-study prep, or just becoming more familiar with some Old Testament narrative.
