Thursday, January 8, 2009

Book Review/Giveaway: Love Divine and Unfailing: The Gospel According to Hosea by Michael P. V. Barrett

This morning my review of the following book was posted at www.sharperiron.org. I would also like to offer a free copy of this book to one our TheoSource readers. The aim of this series (The Gospel According to the Old Testament) is threefold:
  • to illuminate the prevalence of the revelation of Christ in the OT
  • to promote a Christ-centered reading of the OT
  • to encourage Christ-centered preaching and teaching from the OT
I would like to hear your thoughts on this aim. If you would like to enter your name for a chance to win a free copy of this book, please leave a comment on the importance of the aim of this series as set forth above. Do you make a point to discover the gospel in the OT as you read? Do you take care to preach Christ when handling OT passages? What difference has this made in your reading, teaching, and/or preaching?

I'll announce one winner on Tuesday, January 13.

Barrett, Michael P. V., Love Divine and Unfailing: The Gospel According to Hosea. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008. Paperback, 224 pages

Purchase: P&R | WTS | Amazon | CBD | CVBBS | BJU

ISBNs: 1596380756 / 9781596380752

Michael P. V. Barrett (M.A., Ph.D. Bob Jones University) is president of Geneva Reformed Seminary, the Theological Seminary of the Free Presbyterian Church of North America. He is also an ordained minister in the FPC serving as an Associate Minister of Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina. His other works include Beginning at Moses: A Guide to Finding Christ in the Old Testament; Complete in Him: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Gospel; The Beauty of Holiness: A Guide to Biblical Worship; and God’s Unfailing Purpose: The Message of Daniel.


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6 comments:

  1. Dr Barrett was my adviser through my MDiv years, so I would love to get a freebie of his!

    As to the theme, I don't agree with the premise that every passage in the OT is about Christ. The theme of redemption, of man's great need, etc, is of course a major theme of the Bible and especially the OT. But those who attempt to see Christ in every passage have produced some laughable results, in my opinion.

    I prefer to find out what the text says and find out how that fits into the redemptive scheme. Sometimes the OT passage has very little of the redemptive solution in view, if any. Quite often it serves only to underscore the problem. Our hearts are so deceptive, we need that underscoring.

    Having said that, the OT certainly does look forward to Redemption in many ways and its broad themes do point to Christ. I just disagree that every passage points to Christ.

    But Barrett is one of the best in bringing the OT to life. I sat through a graduate course of his on Isaiah that remains vivid in my memory. (And not just because of Barrett's brutal chapter content quizzes!) I also had him for other classes, but that was the highlight. My only regret is that I didn't follow his advice to take Hebrew sooner and take more of it.

    Maranatha!
    Don Johnson
    Jer 33.3

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  2. I think that you will be pleased with the emphasis in this volume. I've not read any of the other volumes in this series, but I am now very interested.

    I would have to agree with you (how about that!) that every OT passage doesn't point explicitly to Christ. I've encountered the problem you have mentioned and I did not find Barrett to go to that extreme, by any means. He speaks more in terms of an implicit focus.

    For instance he states that "understanding the gospel focus of the covenant is essential to understanding Hosea" and "two factors with gospel implications stand out in the Mosaic covenant." In short, he sees a Christ-focus in the OT because history is redemptive and the covenants which undergird the writings and prophets have deep gospel implications.

    Here's one last quote: "Unquestionably, the theology of the covenant framed his ministry. Recognizing the christological content of that gracious covenant, in terms of both its essence and its implications, justifies the claim that Hosea preached the gospel" (54).

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  3. I am fairly new to biblical theology, so I could use all the help I can get! Though I am not an officer of the church, I do officiate at the "family altar".

    Over the past 4-5 years, as we have read consecutively through the Bible in family worship, I have tried to demonstrate to my children that Christ is all over the Old Testament. I have found that the types and shadows of the Old Covenant are ideal for teaching children, and that they readily understand them. I remember when we were in Leviticus, especially, they took great delight in trying to discover ways in which the sacrifices pointed to Christ.

    I believe that it's crucial to give young people a Christ-centered understanding of the OT. Granted, not every single passage is directly about Him, but He is its general focal point. I wonder how much bad theology such an understanding of the OT could have saved me from had I come to it as a youngster . . .

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  4. from email:

    Please put my name in to win a free copy of Barrett's Love Divine and Unfailing: The Gospel According to Hosea.

    As I have been studying and teaching the Psalms I have become keenly aware of how much I was missing when it came to seeing Christ not only in the Psalms but the rest of the Old Testament. A shortcoming I am presently working on alleviating through more study and books like Barrett's.

    The really sad thing is the practice of more and more pastors not preaching from the Old Testament at all.

    Chris Nyland

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  5. This series is a great idea. It looks like they are trying to see the OT as Jesus did (Luke 24). Sadly, many sermons from OT texts do not point to Jesus or do so in a way that does nothing but violence to the text. We need resources that help us find the path that runs through all of Scripture of God redeeming a people for His name through the person and work of His dear Son, to the praise of His glory. This sounds like an excellent book!

    Doug Smith

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