Customer Reviews

The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament

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This was a fantastic book! It did a great job of showing how God's promise of redemption in Christ was pointed to over and over again throughout the Old Testament. I thought that it really painted a wonderful picture of the coherence of God's word and the constancy of His purpose, which cannot be thwarted. It gives a great outline of some of what Jesus might have said to the disciples while on the road to Emmaeus ("Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself."--Lk 24:2) and what Philip caught a glimpse of and wanted to share with Nathaniel ("We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."--Jn 1:45). I highly recommend it.

This book traces the progress of the message of salvation in Christ through the Old Testament. Dr. Clowney follows in the Biblical theological tradition of Geerhardus Vos, but at a much more popular level. As a matter of fact, I was a little disappointed with the book in terms of its depth. While I had not seen it indicated, my opinion is that this book is basically at the high school level. It would also be excellently suited to someone from a dispensational background who is interested in starting to learn about the Reformed and historically Christian view of the unity of the Bible.

Clowney begins with a chapter comparing Adam and Jesus Christ, and follows it with a broad overview of the Old Testament, through the fall of man, Abraham, Jacob, the Exodus and the ministry of Moses, Joshua, the judges, David and Solomon, and the prophets. In all this Clowney shows how the saints of the Old Testament were looking forward to the promised Messiah, and how their lives and experiences also point forward to Jesus Christ.

While I had no specific objections to the book, I was definitely a little underwhelmed by the level. I was excited to read the book (it was the second book I tackled of the roughly dozen I received for Christmas), but unfortunately I came away with the feeling that I hadn't heard too much that I haven't heard before. If you are looking for a sound, easy introduction to Biblical theology (the study of the history of redemption) this book may be just what you want. It is certainly easy to read. But I have a suspicion that most people who are going to take the time to read books about theology may want something a little deeper.

This is a pure joy to read. He illustrates how the Old Testament is as much about Christ as the New Testament is. To see this is to grasp a whole new sense of the relevance and excitement of the Scriptures.

This is a real classic.

My only criticism -- the chapters are long and often rambling, with little sense of an organizing principle. While every word in Clowney is golden, and his style is very lyrical and engaging, one wishes he had a better editor to organize the thoughts in chunks they would hang together. This made it difficult to adapt to an adult c.e. series, when I did that 5 years ago.

BTW -- if you liked this book's Christo-centric approach, try Charlie Drew's Ancient Love Song (2001) which is better organized. For preaching see Bryan Chapell's Christ-Centered Precahing (1997).

It is one of those "I wish I could have been there moments". You know the scene. It is post resurrection. The Lord Jesus is walking with his disciples only they have no idea that it is him. Instead of giving them a whack on the back of the head and telling them who he was Christ unpacked the Scriptures that pointed to him. It was this unpacking, Luke says, that ultimately caused their eyes to be opened and see Christ. The disciples very hearts "burned within" them (Luke 24.32).

What did Jesus preach? The text tells us broadly "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (24.47). This was not an isolated proof text here or there but rather a systmatic unpacking of the Bible's central story-line that culminates in the person and work of Christ. This seven mile walk must have been sermon after sermon of how the Old Testament Scriptures point to Christ. O' how wonderful this walk must have been!

We obviously do not have access to the sermon notes but we do have the text. And Edmond Clowney aims to help us see how the Old Testament Scriptures point forward and speak loudly as to Christ. Beginning with Adam and Eve and working throuhout the biblical narrative, Clowney carefully and passionately points us to Christ.

I say that he does so carefully because there is a dangerous tendency to find Jesus in passages where he is not there. I often times hear preachers run to Christ from a passage and wonder how they got there; I am delighted that they are bragging on Christ but wonder how in the world they made it there. Clowney does not do such things. He carefully and faithfully explains the passages within the overall biblical context and shows how Christ is seen in the Scriptures. From the narratives surrounding Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Solomon we are given healthy insights into Christ's prefigurement in the Old Testament.

This book is an easy and fun read. Clowney was a great writer who had the ability to teach you without feeling like you were working too hard. You come away from each chapter with your heart burning a bit within you!

This book has made it to my top 10 list and will be reread regularly. I highly recommend it.

It is a difficult thing for many modern Christians to even see the relevance of the Old Testament to their daily Christian life. There are a variety of reasons for this. Biblical higher criticism has rendered a lot of doubts about the veracity of the Old Testament narrative. The way, especially modern, Western individuals learn is a lot more didactic and rote learning than following a narrative. Perhaps the biggest reason why the relevance of the Old Testament is outside the scope of a lot of Christians is that they struggle to integrate what they know of Christ with many of the narrative stories of Israel and ancient near east.

Edmund Clowney, a former professor and President of Westminster Theological Seminary has attempted to assist the average Christian to see the relevance and vital importance of the Old Testament in even understanding who Christ is and what he is about, and why that is relevant to the daily lives of today's Christian. In short, Clowney is attempting in this book of just less than 200 pages, to show how what is known as Covenant theology, is fleshed out in the narrative of events that took place thousands of years ago.

In relatively short chapters, Clowney tells of the stories of the creation, the fall of man, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and David. The starting off point for Clowney's narrative is that Jesus himself used these stories to tell others who he is and what he is about throughout his earthly ministry. A strength of a good theologian is his ability to take ancient stories from other places and cultures, place them in the context of what Jesus was saying about himself, and then to coherently and simply sum them up for the use and teaching of modern people. Clowney writes clearly and with a desire to not only teach knowledge, but to encourage and strengthen the faith of modern Christians in integrating what God has been saying about himself for centuries, and including today's believers as a part of that narrative.

This is a fine effort at explaining what especially the Old Testament history is trying to say, and its relevance to Christian teaching, particularly through the lens of Covenant theology, though that term is never used in this book. The writing is quite well done and it is not too complex, which may be a relief for a Christian who wants to open up more of the Bible, but has not the background for that. This book is recommend, for its purposes, without any reservation.