God's Design [Paperback]

Elmer A. Martens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1986

The third edition of Martens's well known study of Old Testament theology which has become a standard textbook at evangelical seminaries and bible colleges. Exodus 5:22-6:8 reveals God's design for building his kingdom, a design with four components: 1) Deliverance, 2) Community, 3) Knowledge of God, 4) The Abundant Life. From these components, Martens constructs a grid through which the entire message of the Old Testament can be read. God's Design presents an overview of the Old Testament all Bible students will find fascinating.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elmer A Martens PhD --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Baker Pub Group (July 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801062098
• ISBN-13: 978-0801062094
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,324,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Significant and Stimulating!, February 16, 2000

By 

Dr. Ronald B. Allen, Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God's Design: A Focus on Old Testament Theology (Paperback)

Dr. Elmer A. Martens' book is my first choice when students wish to understand the messages of the Hebrew Scriptures. Martens writes from a positive, constructive viewpoint. The Old Testament will become "new" for you as you read and contemplate the message of this splendid book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent OT Theology Book from an Evangelical Perspective, April 19, 2005

By 

theologicalresearcher "theologicalresearcher" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God's Design: A Focus on Old Testament Theology (Paperback)

Anyone interested in OT theology should start here. As a beginner-level book it should give seminary students and laypeople no problems while it is still academic enough for the scholar as reference. Martens uses Exodous 5:22-6:8 as the center of OT theology (or "God's design" in redemptive history). He argues that the OT and the story of Israel are to show God as the Saviour and Redeemer of mankind and creation. He uses four themes to argue his thesis: deliverance, community, knowledge of God, and land. Martens shows that God's design goes through the three major periods of OT history (the Pre-Monarchy era, the Monarchy era, and the Post-Monarchy era) and up to the New Testament period (God's design being fulfilled in Christ for Jews and Gentiles). The structure of the book is well organized and each theme is discussed in each period of Biblical history. With so many OT theology books written by liberal/criticalist/modernist scholars it is very refreshing to see an OT theology book written from an evangelical and conservative viewpoint. This book is a must read and will give peace of mind to many who are looking for an OT theology book that sees the Bible as God's divinely inspired Word.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and helpful, February 26, 2000

By 

Occasional Reviewer "another_avid_reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: God's Design: A Focus on Old Testament Theology (Paperback)

Recommended reading on the Old Testament sacrificial system. I stumbled across this in a syllabus and decided to read the footnotes at the library---once I started reading, it was tough to put down. In a concise (though sometimes rather too concise) manner, he addresses a number of difficult-to-abstract topics and digs out helpful observations from the OT text. I liked it enough that I decided to get my own copy.