God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology [Hardcover]

James M. Hamilton Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2010

In Exodus 34 Moses asks to see God’s glory, and God reveals himself as a God who is merciful and just. James Hamilton Jr. contends that from this passage comes a biblical theology that unites the meta-narrative of Scripture under one central theme: God’s glory in salvation through judgment.

Hamilton begins in the Old Testament by showing that Israel was saved through God’s judgment on the Egyptians and the Caananites. God was glorified through both his judgment and mercy, accorded in salvation to Israel. The New Testament unfolds the ultimate display of God’s glory in justice and mercy, as it was God’s righteous judgment shown on the cross that brought us salvation. God’s glory in salvation through judgment will be shown at the end of time, when Christ returns to judge his enemies and save all who have called on his name.

Hamilton moves through the Bible book by book, showing that there is one theological center to the whole Bible. The volume’s systematic method and scope make it a unique resource for pastors, professors, and students.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“I was riveted. Never do I sit down and read sixty pages of ANY book that I get in the mail. But I could not stop—could not stop reading and could not stop rejoicing over God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment. It is the kind of overview of redemptive history Edwards wanted to write. It’s what I hoped would be written.”
—John Piper, founder, Desiring God Ministries; chancellor, Bethlehem College and Seminary

“As readers of Scripture we long to know the message of the Bible as a whole. We do not want to miss the forest for the trees. Unfortunately, there are few books that help us to be faithful to the whole counsel of God. What a delight, then, to read Jim Hamilton’s book where the story line of the Scriptures is unfolded. Hamilton rightly sees that the glory of God is at the center of the scriptural record, demonstrating with careful attention to the biblical text the supremacy of God in both the Old Testament and the New. Scholars, students, and laypeople will all profit from reading this work, which instructs the mind, enlivens the heart, and summons us to obedience.”
—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“In an era when centers in general no longer hold, Hamilton makes a strong case for the centrality to biblical theology of what C. H. Dodd called the ‘two-beat rhythm’ of biblical history: salvation through judgment. Hamilton discovers this theme in every book of the Bible and argues that it is the heartbeat of God’s ultimate purpose: the publication of his glory. In seeking to do justice to scriptural unity and diversity alike, Hamilton’s work represents biblical theology at its best.”
—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

“Centered on the important themes of salvation and judgment, Hamilton’s book models well how a thematic approach toward biblical theology might be applied to the whole of Scripture. It is to be warmly welcomed as an invitation to reflect on biblical truth and an opportunity to dialogue on how the unity of the Old and New Testaments may be articulated best.”
—T. Desmond Alexander, Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies and Director of Postgraduate Studies, Union Theological College

“Who said that the search for a center in biblical theology is a dead end? In this bold and courageous book, which deals with the entire Bible, James Hamilton Jr. dons the mantle of an explorer in search of the holy grail of biblical theology. As he journeys through the Bible, there are many sights in the biblical landscape that will arrest the attention of those who accompany him, including the pivotal revelation of God in Exodus 34:6–7. Hamilton’s thoughtful analysis and reflection provide many insights into the biblical text. While you may not agree with all of his conclusions, you won’t come back from your journey with him without a greater sense of God’s majesty and glory. Rather than being a dead end, this is a gateway into a new world.”
—Stephen G. Dempster, Professor of Religious Studies, Crandall University

About the Author

JAMES M. HAMILTON JR. (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of biblical theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is author of God’s Indwelling Presence and numerous articles and essays.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: Crossway (November 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581349769
• ISBN-13: 978-1581349764
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jim Hamilton is Associate Professor of Biblical Theology at Southern Seminary and preaching pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Center of Biblical Theology November 22, 2010

By Joshua Schwisow

Format:Hardcover

Biblical Theology is an interesting discipline. It can often yield powerful insights into the text of Scripture and yet there are so many different approaches suggested by those who do the work of Biblical Theology. Often the particular book of the Bible or whole Bible is approached from different proposed meta-narratives. When a particular author's theology is approached there is usually a suggested main overarching theme that is suggested is the center of that author's theology. Ultimately, different centers are proposed and sometimes other important elements are left out. In the search for the "forest" it may easy to leave out some important "trees". James Hamilton's newest book "God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment: A Biblical Theology" seeks to show that there really is a theological and thematic center for the entirety of the Bible. That proposed center is God's Glory manifested and furthered both through salvation and judgment.

This is a comprehensive book (640 pages) that covers every book of the Bible and seeks to show how this theme arises as the center of every book in the Bible. The first chapter serves as an introduction to Hamilton's methodology and includes an argument for having a center and the importance for better understanding the Bible. The next six chapters work through each book of the Bible canonically (he uses the Hebrew order for the OT) drawing out how God's glory in salvation through judgment is manifested in particular ways in each book of the Bible.

This book is different than many biblical theologies available.... While many of these books examine each book of the Bible and draw out its major theological themes, Hamilton instead is searching for a theological center and therefore does not draw out all the other theological elements in each of the books. This does not mean he ignores those, as he does bring them out by necessity as he works through each of the books, but in general he seeks to bring out the major elements of God's glory, salvation, and judgment.

While this proposed center is more obvious in some books than in others, Hamilton shows how it arises naturally from books where one might think Hamilton's proposed center will fail. I am thinking of such books as Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, and Proverbs among others. It is in these areas where I believe Hamilton's book is extremely helpful. Hamilton shows how these books fit into the entire meta-narrative of the Bible and how they express God's glory in salvation through judgment in their own unique ways. The last two chapters respond to possible objections to Hamilton's proposed center and explain the relevance for life and ministry today.

Aside from arguing for the proposed center, Hamilton's book serves as a solid survey of the whole Bible as he works through all the major sections of each book explaining the significance of major events and teachings. The book also contains some 100 charts and outlines throughout the text showing major themes, cross-references, chiastic structures, and other important data for understanding the text of Scripture. Often tables and charts like these can be distracting but here they are quite helpful and do not feel unnecessary or gimmicky at all.

While Hamilton makes a good case for his proposed center, I don't necessarily think that all other proposed centers are therefore illegitimate. The themes that Hamilton draws out as the center are major biblical themes and do function as a major meta-narrative. But I am sure we could define the center in other ways as well. As a whole, Hamilton's center helps one to see the "forest" in incredible unity and helps to make sense of the biblical storyline. I highly recommend this work!

Thank you to Crossway for providing me with a review copy. Read more ›

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Resource January 3, 2011

By Michael Leake

Format:Hardcover

Perhaps the fastest growing discipline in Christian study is that of biblical theology. There are numerous books, series, magazines, etc. that are rightly coming to understand the Bible as not just a book of facts but as a story. This is a welcome movement. But one thing that is often lacking in biblical theology is the belief that the Bible has a center, one single meta-narrative. Jim Hamilton hopes to change that. In this book Hamilton goes through every book of Scripture to prove his thesis: The center of the Bible is that God is glorified in Salvation through judgment.

Essentially what Hamilton is expressing is that the glory of God is the center of the biblical narrative. Of course that may be a tad broad so Hamilton narrows that to the glory of God is most clearly seen in his providing salvation through judgment.

I am actually shocked that this is "new" to the field of biblical theology. Maybe Hamilton just did such a good job proving his case. Perhaps the glory of God has just been assumed by many other authors on biblical theology and they have taken up other topics. But Hamilton's work will be prove to be foundational in this field.

It also will serve as a helpful biblical introduction. I love that the reader is given a strategy for reading this book. Hamilton is correct, many "long books sit unread in sad neglect". Therefore, he suggests that many
should simply browse through the book, get a feel for the overall tenor of the book and then dip into sections as you work through sections of Scripture. It is extremely wise of Hamilton to set up this massive book in such a way that it is more of a resource than anything else.

This book is an extremely helpful resource.... It will be one that I frequently consult as I preach through books of the Bible. Every pastor and serious student of Scripture should buy this book. Even if at the end of the day you disagree with Hamilton on something, this is an important enough work that you will need to interact with him to prove your own points.

As a book to sit down and read cover to cover I would rate it a 4 star. But as a book that is used as a resource (and I believe it is) I would rate this as a 5 star book. The only thing that would make this more helpful would be to tag the analytical outline with some page numbers. This is a great book and worthy of your purchase.

Crossway was kind enough to give me a free copy in exchange for a review. It did not have to be a positive review but I freely give it 5 stars. Read more ›

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Hamilton nails the theological center of the Bible! March 23, 2011

By Life Long Reader

Format:Hardcover

With God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment, James Hamilton Jr. makes a significant contribution to the growing number of books seeking to tackle the daunting task of canonical biblical theology. Hamilton sees biblical theology as concerning itself "with what the Bible meant for the purpose of understanding what the Bible means (p. 45)." Thus, the purpose of biblical theology
is to sharpen our understanding of the theology contained in the Bible itself through an inductive, salvation-historical examination of the Bible's themes and the relationships between those themes in their canonical context and literary form (p. 47).

From this purpose we see Hamilton's binocular-like view for doing biblical theology. The first lens looks at the canon itself. "I will interpret the Protestant canon, and the Old Testament will be interpreted in light of the ordering of the books in the Hebrew Bible (p. 44)." This falls in line with how biblical theology has traditionally been done. After all, the word "biblical" in this context implies that one is dealing with the whole cannon. The second lens in Hamilton's binocular view is literary. Of the two features of Hamilton's approach, this seems to be the most unique. Hamilton explains, "I will seek to interpret books and sections of books in light of their inherent literary features and structures as we have them in the canon (p. 44)." This literary emphasis is clearly seen throughout the entire book and on almost every page. Hamilton proves himself page after page at being very adept at picking out the inherent literary features of the text both within verses, chapters, individual books, groups of books (i.e. Pentateuch) and both testaments together....

Hamilton believes that the Bible has a center and that if we listen to Scripture we will hear it tell us what that center is. Hamilton further believes that the Bible has a center because "the Bible has a coherent story" and therefore "it is valid to explore what that story's main point is (p. 39)." As the title of the book indicates, Hamilton believes the Bible communicates to us that its central theological message is the "glory of God in salvation through judgment (p. 41)." This central message "is the ultimate reason the Bible gives to explain what God has done (p. 48)." Throughout the book (and all 66 books of the Bible for that matter) Hamilton shows how this central idea is repeated over and over again as it is woven into the very fabric of the canon, each book and the thought of each biblical author.

Though Hamilton unashamedly puts forth what he believes to be the center of biblical theology, he is not blind or ignorant of the fact that others have previously put forth other proposed centers. In light of this, Hamilton seeks to show the willing listener and ardent skeptic to the proposition of a definite theological center, how he and/or how one arrives at this theological center of the Bible. Hamilton states,

"The center of biblical theology will be the theme that is prevalent, even pervasive, in all parts of the Bible. This theme will be the most demonstrable centerpiece of theology contained in the Bible itself, because this theme will be what the biblical authors resort to when they give ultimate explanations for why things are they way they are at any point in the Bible's story (p. 49)."

For Hamilton, the overarching story or metanarrative of Scripture is the four-fold sequence of creation, fall, redemption and restoration. He sees this sequence not merely as an overarching grid to understand the big story of Scripture but as something that "is repeated again and again in the Bible" (p. 49)." For example, he sees this in the life of Israel as God creates them as a nation, the nation falls at Mt. Sinai, "they are redeemed by God's mercy, and, in a sense, is restored through the second set of stone tablets (p. 49)." This pattern is repeated so much throughout the Bible that it leads Hamilton to conclude that "within the grand drama that goes from creation to consummation there are many such "plays within the play (p. 49)."

After having briefly surveyed many proposed centers of biblical theology (p. 53-56), Hamilton explains what the phrase "God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment" means. First, the display of God's glory is the ultimate message and purpose of Scripture and thus biblical theology. God's glory is

"the weight of the majestic goodness of who God is, and the resulting name, or reputation, that he gains from his revelation of himself as Creator, Sustainer, Judge, and Redeemer, perfect in justice and mercy, loving-kindness and truth (p. 56)."

Secondly and thirdly, God responds to the fallen state of mankind in salvation through judgment. These two themes or acts are to be viewed together and as working in tandem with each other. "Salvation always comes through judgment" and "everyone who gets saved is saved through judgment (p. 57-58)." The two are inseparable acts of God and reveal inseparable aspects of God - God is both a Savior and Judge of man and sin.

It is not realistic to do a book by book overview of how Hamilton brings to surface his proposed biblical center. It is possible to summarize the canonical structure that Hamilton moves through in his quest to prove his proposed biblical center.

In dealing with the Old Testament, Hamilton follows the lead of Stephen Dempster and addresses the books as laid out in the Tanak. Thus he follows the three-fold outline of the Law, the Prophets and the Writings (see also Luke 24:44). This method walks the reader through the historical narrative first as seen in the Torah and the Former Prophets which covers Genesis to Kings. Next, we examine the commentary on that story line in the Latter Prophets as covered from Isaiah through Malachi. This commentary continues through part of the Writings from Psalms to Ecclesiastes. Finally, picking up with Esther and ending with Chronicles, the narrative story line continues (see Table 1.3 on pg. 61).

The New Testament is approached in similar fashion again following after Dempster. The Gospels through Acts provide the introductory narrative material. The narrative is followed by commentary on the Letters (Romans through 3 John). Finally, the narrative is picked back up in Revelation.

From chapters 2-7 the major sections of the canon are addressed and the biblical center of God's glory in salvation through judgment is brought to light page by page. There is an introduction to each major section with a one-sentence summary of each book in that section. Then each book of the Bible is worked through with concluding summary. The book is structured such that one can read through it in its entirety as you would any other book. It is also written and constructed in such a way that as you read through a different book of the Bible on your own, you can read the relevant section on that book of the Bible and not feel like you are jumping in the middle of a story or argument that you have no context for. These two approaches are the intended strategies of reading this book (p. 29-30).

Throughout the book Hamilton repeatedly uses the phrase God's glory in salvation through judgment. This is probably unavoidable, but nonetheless becomes tiresome at times. The reader may find it a struggle to track with the argument when it comes to the Minor Prophets as the discussion is scant compared to the rest of the books. While the reader will appreciate the many literary nuances Hamilton brings to light, there are times when one wonders if things are being stretched just to make them fit. Thankfully, there are a number of these instances when the author recognizes the possible stretch. I felt the discussion from Genesis to Acts and on Revelation to be the most fruitful and engaging. I found it to be less so from Romans to 3 John though Hamilton does stay on course throughout the entire book.

I highly recommend this book as a good way to work through the Bible in order to grasp the overall story line. It will also aid the reader in gaining a better understanding of the purpose for each book in the canon. Hamilton not only seeks to prove his proposed biblical center but he also weaves many sub themes throughout the book like creation, rest, the garden, the seed of Satan and of God/Christ, the temple and how Christ ultimately fulfills and brings to close in the NT, now and in the future what was promised and anticipated in the OT. This is a great whole Bible tool and book study reading companion from the Bible college student to the seasoned pastor and teacher. I would suggest that a new believer read through the Bible on their own first and then use this volume as a companion the next time through. Read more ›