29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A well written introduction to the Biblical-Theological understanding of Scripture, October 5, 2005
This review is from: Far as the Curse Is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption (Paperback)
I just finished reading this book and must say that I am quite pleased with it. Michael Williams has done an admirable job of making a Biblical Theological model of understanding the Scriptures (i.e. redemptive-historical, in the line of Geerhardus Vos) accessible to a broad audience. I read a lot of this genre of literature, and most of it is fairly technical (i.e. a knowledge of Greek and/or Hebrew a must); however, Williams' book manages to retain both readability and an appropriate scholarly depth. The average reader will be able to pick it up without any problems.
Regarding the contents of the book: I was happy to see that Williams structures his book around the story of redemption. He draws the reader nicely through creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. In doing so he explores the richness of the Biblical narrative.
Overall, this is a fine introduction to the Covenant Story of Redemption. I think that it would make an excellent text book for a college Theology class.
Note: this book is not intended as an exhaustive scholarly treatise. So for those of you who have read a good deal of Dutch Neo-Calvinists or followers/sympathizers of Reformational thinking, you may find it to be repeating many things that you've heard before.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
God's Promise To Reverse The Curse, April 12, 2008
This review is from: Far as the Curse Is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption (Paperback)
'Outside of God's gracious redemption, we will not read aright His revelation in His creation.' p 21
We have had a lot of time to reflect on the drama of redemption and comment on the work and Person of Christ, the lead role in this amazing true life story. And yet many have failed to give due attention to the nature of God's verbal word, His promises deployed throughout the drama, and the measures God took to ratify His covenants with various biblical characters - as a commitment of His faithfulness to His word, and as a display to the vast array of His divine attributes. In this book is revealed the plot of that story line that has been the glue of covenant theology. It secures for us the knowledge that this story has One divine author, and one progressive story line, one time-space context, one redeeming purpose and one future grand finale - all culminating in glory, as the Bible reveals to us how God acts in our world, and on our behalf.
We are, as much as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were, all participants in a covenant initiated by God. What we fail to grasp is that God enters into world history to do His saving acts, because of His covenant He cut with men in which He said to them He would. Here we must part ways with many modern and relatively recent interpretations of how a faithful God has been pleased to reveal Himself. 'The events of biblical history can become redemptive history only through the witness of the Spirit to the believing community as it responds to the biblical story.' p 18
Professor Williams connects the three relational offices, within the time frame of the Edenic covenant as: that of created man to Creator God, man to creation, and man to other humans. He furthers: 'The image of God does not make man unique from the created order, but rather unique within the created order. Man bears God's image for the sake of his calling to rule over and steward creation. Should we miss man's calling, we will miss the purpose of his being in the image of God...for the sake of the whole earth. That God has placed us here in this world and called us in service both to Himself and to His creation means that we can be comfortable with our creaturely status, our undeniable links with the creaturely. Man is made for earth. This world is our home.' pp. 60-61
Williams presents yet another catena of Israelite history by looking at the theocracy, and especially the initial 200 year-period of the judges after Joshua's conquest of the promised land is filled with insights into Israel's dismal failure to keep covenant with her God, as 'this cycle of sin-servitude-supplication-and-salvation' repeats itself. 'Upon entering the land, Israel begins to worship other gods, especially fertility deities of its neighbors. Israel had known many generations of slavery and then one as a nomadic people. Now Israel is becoming an agrarian people.' p 173 How Israel forsakes the sovereign Yahweh thinking that He is impotent to provide agriculturally, and turns to Baal repetitively, is their single greatest failure in fulfilling the 1st commandment.
As the kingship is introduced, the prophet retains the mediatorship between God and the people, and 'The prophet retains the right to censure the king on God's behalf, should that be needed.' p 180 The king therefore does not act as a spokesman for God, yet 'Although the history of Israel will show that the monarchy will always be at best a mixed blessing, it will be through the monarchy that God works in Israel. His obedience or disobedience will have enormous consequences for the national life as a leader and barometer of the national covenant life.' p 181 God's future hope of the messianic rule comes to expression in the Davidic covenant, wherein God promises to him 'your throne will be established forever.' Under David a kingdom and king arrives and God gives David rest from his enemies. 'But more pointedly, David's reign symbolizes the reign of Israel's heavenly King. It is in Christ that God establishes the throne of David's kingdom forever.' p 185 The apostle Peter spoke of the fulfillment in Acts 2:30 as Christ's reign following on His resurrection and, in fact, authorized by the Old Testament expectation: 'He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne.'
'The covenant is not contingent upon human response. The covenant can never depend on man. From this point forwards, God covenants with man not just as image bearer but also as sinner. For a creature in revolt against the divine rule, all overtures of grace are in spite of his fallen nature. God preserves His creation in spite of man. And He redeems in spite of sin.' p 95
Williams directs a well-aimed reminder to us: 'Sinclair Ferguson notes that Luke includes in his account of Pentecost a table of nations, just as the Babel story follows a table of nations. At Babel, God came to judge and scatter the nations into many tribes and tongues. At Pentecost, God comes to bless and scatter a new tribe, the church. Thus Pentecost reverses Babel and hence abrogates any need for a singular nation as covenant mediator. The mediation of the covenant, formerly the calling of the priest and prophet, now comes upon all.' (
The Holy Spirit, pp. 61-63)
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