Book Review: Twelve Unlikely Heroes by John MacArthur

In his latest release, Twelve Unlikely Heroes, John MacArthur examines the lives of some great figures from Scripture. He highlights the ways God chooses to act for his glory by taking ordinary, flawed human beings and using them in magnificent ways to accomplish His purposes.

The message is a moving one. It is very possible (even common) that one may look to characters such as these and focus too heavily on them so as to make an idol of men. The other common problem is that we despair in looking at the accomplishments of which they’ve been a part and determine that there is no hope for us to be used by God. In looking at the lives of OT and NT characters alike, MacArthur looks to find the God-honoring middle ground. He leads the reader in a careful and honest look at these men and women, noting their flaws and imperfections as well as their faithfulness. And above all of this, he points out the way God positioned them and used them for His glory. JMac brings to bear his considerable gifts as an expositor of the Word as he mines the depths of key passages, revealing beautiful elements that are right there to be read, but are often overlooked.

In a time where we tend to make heroes of any celebrity, athlete or cool cat around and press until “hero” has next to no meaning, it is refreshing to see what God identifies as a hero. 

Book Review: The Jesus We Missed by Patrick Henry Reardon

Who is Jesus? It has been said that this is the biggest question facing Christianity today. Attacks on the person and historicity of Jesus are nothing new; they’ve been weathered for centuries. It seems that the arguments swing like a pendulum – denying His deity or his humanity alternately.

Reardon noted a perceived emphasis on the deity of Christ to the neglect of His humanity. It is to this setting that he writes his book, The Jesus We Missed. He works his way through key events in Jesus’ life highlighting the role that His humanity played in each. Predictably the pericope from Luke regarding Jesus sitting in the temple talking with the teachers is among those considered, especially the phrase that Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52). Reardon also discusses Jesus’ baptism, early ministry, relationships, prayer life and death and resurrection, all the while digging into the effect of His humanity upon the various circumstances.

While he brings some intriguing points to consider, it feels like Reardon may push a bit far at times. He goes so far as to deny that Jesus was omniscient in His earthly incarnation. When Scripture speaks of Him knowing what is in the hearts of men or telling His disciples how to locate the room to share the Passover, (according to Reardon) it is through a special and temporary dispensation of knowledge from the Father.

I believe that throughout his study and writing, Reardon was keenly and reverentially aware of the Biblical teaching as evidenced in the creeds of the early church regarding the person of Christ. The council at Chalcedon said that He has two distinct natures. These two natures exist perfectly within the person of Christ “without confusing the two natures, without transmuting one nature into the other, without dividing them into two separate categories … the distinctiveness of each nature is not nullified by the union.” While, as I said, I believe that Reardon believes and affirms this, his book seems to drift a bit toward over-emphasizing the humanity.

If you are looking for one great book on the person of Christ, this is not the one for you. If, however, you are looking for a read that may challenge your beliefs and encourage you to think anew about some aspects of Christ’s person, this may be one to consider.

Pancakes and Lessons

Lately we've been hearing "I just want to do things my own way" a lot. Today I came up with an idea for demonstrating why we don't always let the kids do things their own way. It's Saturday, so pancakes for breakfast sounded like a great plan. (They were, in fact, pretty great.) I made a large batch of regular pancakes, and then a single one from a new recipe ... "my own way."
Starting with flour, I added some ricotta cheese (for the creamy texture), a little apple cider vinegar (to thin it out), a generous dash of salt and pepper as well as little oregano and cumin. Hot off the griddle we served that beauty up, making sure to explain the difference between the one I did "my own way" and the ones which I submitted myself to the recipe and followed directions.
I had the first bite, then each of the kids took a bite from this special little pancake ... pretty awful. Throughout the rest of breakfast, the kids were careful to ask for the "follow the directions pancakes." Lesson (hopefully) landed.

Book Review: Job - Word Biblical Commentary 18B by David Clines

Professor David Clines, Emeritus Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield completes his massive commentary on Job with this tome.  In the volume, Clines examines Job 38-42, Yahweh’s response to Job and Job’s replies.  He brings his expertise in Hebrew literature to bear as he illuminates this last portion of text and the format of the Word Biblical Commentary series provides him the space to explore some difficult sections and deal with them thoroughly. 

As with other volumes from the series, the text is divided into appropriate sections of study.  Each section opens with a specific bibliography that is followed by the author’s personal translation of the original language. Subsequent to the bibliography and translation, are two sections in which the author deals with specific textual notes and issues of form and structure. These can be a bit technical but it is great for experiencing the intricacies of the Hebrew text.  After spending some time specifically with the language and writing style, Clines moves into the Comment section. Here is where you find the running verse-by-verse commentary on Job.  Yet, to his credit, Clines does not immediately move into verse-by-verse but rather deals with the section in smaller subsections to help the reader see the movement of the passage.  Finally, comes the Explanation section where Clines sums up the work he’s been doing.  If you find yourself pressed for time, this is a great place to start – you’ll get the flow of what he’s saying and it may alert you to things you’d like to go back and study further.

The sections Clines identifies here (in agreement with almost every other commentator on Job) are: 1) Yahweh’s first speech, 2) Job’s response, 3) Yahweh’s second speech, 4) Job’s response, 5) Epilogue.  He argues (in his previous volume, Job 21-37, and mentioned in this volume) for a rearranged order of the speeches prior to this section.  He argues that Elihu’s speech in chapters 32-37 should originally came before Job’s final speech in 29-31 (p. 1088), so that when the LORD asks “Who is this…” it is in reference to Job’s demand for answers.  Reading along as Clines analyzes the speech-response pattern of the book is delightful.  One almost cannot help but be filled with greater reverence for our incredibly powerful and very personal God.

Fully the last half of this volume is an extensive bibliography of possibly every written work on the book of Job as well as specific items addressed within it.  Clines analyzes literature from the patristic fathers all the way up to the 21^st century.  He also includes works on Job in music, dance and drama.  It’s an incredible list.

WBC is a technical commentary series and Clines certainly rises to those expectations.  He does a great job of mining the riches of the language and presenting the gems of his work.  He cites Biblical and extra-biblical literature in defense of his linguistic work.  But he also does a nice job of (as my professor says) putting some of the cookies on the bottom shelf.  It wouldn’t be the first choice of commentary for a lay-person, but they would not come away from it empty-handed.