The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made (Hardcover)

by Mark Dever (Author), Graeme Goldsworthy (Foreword) "Britain's Prince Harry is in trouble..." (more)
Key Phrases: Old Testament, Jesus Christ, New Testament (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"For many Christians the Old Testament is daunting and confusing. The books are long and speak about a culture dramatically different from ours. Mark Dever's sermons do not substitute for reading the Old Testament, but they do provide a wonderful help in understanding it. Dever unpacks the major themes of each book with remarkable clarity, and the book also shines in conveying the message of the Old Testament for today. Here is a survey to the Old Testament that is accessible and spiritually edifying." -Thomas R. Schreiner Professor of New Testament, Associate Dean of Scripture and Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary "To hear the Bible tell its own story in its own way-this is the obvious but all-too-rare strategy for reading the Book of books. I thank Dr. Mark Dever for showing us how. We are immeasurably enriched." -Ray Ortlund, Jr. Senior Pastor, Christ Presbyterian Church, Nashville "This is a bold project, some might say foolhardy, but Mark Dever has brilliantly succeeded. This is no mere textbook; it is powerful preaching. We are not only introduced to the sweep and message of each book of the Bible but, above all, confronted by our great God and called to obey his living word." -Vaughn Roberts Rector, St. Ebbe's Church, Oxford, England, Author of God's Big Picture "In these distinctive overview sermons, Mark Dever manages to bring together around the core issues of each biblical book three concerns that ought to occupy every faithful preacher of God's Word: theological content, exegetical wisdom, and pastoral application. Here is a walk through the Bible that is well worth taking!" -Timothy George Dean, Beeson Divinity School, Executive Editor, Christianity Today --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Description
"For many Christians the Old Testament is daunting and confusing. The books are long and speak about a culture dramatically different from ours. Mark Dever’s sermons do not substitute for reading the Old Testament, but they do provide a wonderful help in understanding it. Dever unpacks the major themes of each book with remarkable clarity, and the book also shines in conveying the message of the Old Testament for today. Here is a survey to the Old Testament that is accessible and spiritually edifying." —Thomas R. Schreiner Professor of New Testament, Associate Dean of Scripture and Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"To hear the Bible tell its own story in its own way—this is the obvious but all-too-rare strategy for reading the Book of books. I thank Dr. Mark Dever for showing us how. We are immeasurably enriched." —Ray Ortlund, Jr. Senior Pastor, Christ Presbyterian Church, Nashville

The Old Testament is the story of God’s promises to his people. Below its somewhat obscure surface is hidden magnificent truth about the love and power of God. Throughout its pages the reader can find promise after promise from God, all of which are fulfilled in the New Testament—in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Author Mark Dever introduces readers to the Old Testament as a glorious whole so that they are able to see the big picture of the majesty of God and the wonder of his promises.

"This is a bold project, some might say foolhardy, but Mark Dever has brilliantly succeeded. This is no mere textbook; it is powerful preaching. We are not only introduced to the sweep and message of each book of the Bible but, above all, confronted by our great God and called to obey his living word." —Vaughn Roberts Rector, St. Ebbe’s Church, Oxford, England, Author of God’s Big Picture

"In these distinctive overview sermons, Mark Dever manages to bring together around the core issues of each biblical book three concerns that ought to occupy every faithful preacher of God’s Word: theological content, exegetical wisdom, and pastoral application. Here is a walk through the Bible that is well worth taking!" —Timothy George Dean, Beeson Divinity School, Executive Editor, Christianity Today

"Mark Dever has done the Christian community a great service in publishing these sermons. The material is academically informed but presented in a very accessible way with relevant application. With its Christological focus and careful Christian application of the Old Testament, this book enables readers to get into the theological heart of the message of each biblical book." —David Peterson Principal, Oak Hill College

"Mark Dever has written a needed book and written it well. With a pastor’s heart, a scholar’s mind, and the intimacy of a friend, Dever introduces the reader clearly and creatively to a book that has changed the world but to which contemporary culture remains largely unexposed. This book is warm, engaging, straightforward, and profound. It will be a valuable resource for individuals, study groups, churches, unbelievers and believers alike. Dever takes the reader on an unforgettable journey into the most remarkable and moving book ever written." —John Shouse Professor of Christian Theology, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary

"This is a good book, written by a pastor/scholar for people in the pew. Clear, concise, thoroughly readable. Buy two and give one to a friend." —Alistair Begg Senior Pastor, Parkside Church, Chagrin Falls, Ohio

"I have long desired a book that would unlock the richness of the Old Testament—assisting both the pastor in the pulpit and Christians in their devotions. This is that book." —C. J. Mahaney Sovereign Grace Ministries

Product Details

• Hardcover: 960 pages
• Publisher: Crossway Books (April 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581347170
• ISBN-13: 978-1581347173
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #220,184 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Christianity, not "replacement theology", July 17, 2006

By	Micah Burke - See all my reviews

To correct the previous reviewer's post, Dever's position on Israel is not some new "replacement" theology but the historic Christian understanding prior to the invent of 19th century dispensational theology. Dever views God's promises to Israel in light of a covenantal structure rather than a dispensational one. The Old Covenant completely fulfilled in Christ, must now be viewed through His fulfillment and establishment of the New.

The previous poster's claims of a 7 year tribulation and millenial kingdom etc. are not to be found in Dever's book because Dever simply has a different theological lens and eschatological viewpoint than that offered by Dispensationalism.

This should not cause a loss of rating, for it is not the substance of the book, rather, the book should be judged on its faithfulness to the Scriptures.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Sermon On Each Old Testament Book: EXCELLENT, November 1, 2007

By	Jacob Hantla "hantla.com" (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As I have made my way through the Bible, I have been weekly interacting with Mark Dever in his two summary-of-the-Bible books, Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made and The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept. For the last many years Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, has periodically preached single messages covering an entire book of the Bible. Modified transcripts of these sermons make up the bulk of the content of these two books.

Trying to reveal the intent and message of the author of each book and God's design for how that message would fit into the whole of the Bible and redemptive history, Dever attempts to fly us above the details to get the big picture of the Bible. Message of the Old Testament opens with a chapter on the big picture of the Bible. Then, he follows with a chapter on the overarching theme of the Old Testament, which he summarizes as "Promises Made". Finally, grouping the books of the Old Testament into groups (i.e. Pentateuch: "The Great Story", Historical Books: "The Other Millennium", Wisdom Books: "Ancient Wisdom", Major Prophets: "Big Hopes", and Minor Prophets, "Eternal Questions") he delves into the message of each book, each having its own chapter of approximately 20-25 pages apiece.

How helpful is this book! Rightly, we are directed to dig deep into a text, and we have this modeled in excellent expository sermons that may spend weeks on a single verse and years on a single verse. This type of expository preaching is good; it is right, and it is to be emulated in personal study. But without Dever's model, the Christian may be very prone to lose his or her way. If we truly want to know the God of the Bible we must know His message, and in order to know God's message in a single verse we must know the message of the chapter, and to know the message of the chapter, we must know the message of the book, and to know the message of the book we must know the message of the Bible.

I imagine what Dever is doing is similar to how I play with the map program, Google earth. Sometimes to better understand what I'm looking at up close, I need to zoom out. We must be in the habit of doing this, and that is exactly what Dever does: He zooms us out. He describes what he is doing as flying over the Biblical landscape rather than walking (or crawling) through it.

Not only is the concept of the book an excellent one, but so is the implementation. This book has been years in the making. Written with knowledge and precision of the scholar, but at a level that a lay Christian can easily understand, I know of no other resource like this that I can recommend as highly. The hours and hours of hard work, reading, prayer, and research that went into each sermon is evident. Each chapter, full of excellent content and providing a good introduction and expository summary of the book, is made even better by the pastoral bent of the work. Dever will not settle for mere knowledge, but pushes the knowledge all the way to the heart, with the hope that the reader will love the Holy, redeeming, loving, and self-giving God that His Word reveals.

Beginning in December 2006, I have been leading my smallgroup on a study through the entire Bible, focusing on one book of the Bible for 2 weeks at a time. We have been using Message of the Old Testament as a supplement to our daily reading and study precisely for all the reasons stated above. The consensus of the more than 20 people who have likewise been weekly interacting with Dever is "Excellent". You would do well to purchase this book and make good and slow use of it. I do not have the same level of familiarity with the The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept that I have with this one but will post a review of it as soon as I do; I expect that it is more of the same (but I can tell you that just the foreword by John MacArthur makes it worth the price).

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, November 15, 2007

By	Dan and Judy (Paducah, KY USA) - See all my reviews

I have been using this book as a guide for teaching a Bible Study class at my church. Mark's ability to capture the essence of each book and provide a high level view of how the Bible is designed plus his ability to elaborate on the intent and message of each book has given me a view of the Scripture that I had not noticed before. I have a much greater appreciation of how God designed His written Word. Having this knowledge makes reading and studying the Word more exciting. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to dig a little deeper in understanding what God wants to communicate to us through His written Word.