Genesis shows us how and why we are. It uncovers the origins of evil. It illuminates the meaning of freedom. It expresses the harmony of creation. And it offers hope for the renewal of our natural world and for the healing of our broken relationships. The Genesis volumes of the Bible Speaks Today series are provided here in a single resource.
"Genesis 1-11 is really an overture to the rest of the Bible." So writes David Atkinson in his introduction to this thoughtful and spiritual guide to the opening chapters of Genesis, the first of the two volumes. Writing as a scientist and as a pastor, Atkinson avoids technicalities and speculation and provides a skillful guide to the text's theological significance. While many commentaries on these chapters become tangled in problems of dating, authorship and historicity, this tour of the opening chapters of Genesis focuses on the issues that really matter. Atkinson's work will be a delight to all--seasoned expositors and novice readers alike.
The second volume covers the patriarchs whose stories are told in Genesis 12-50.
- Abraham -- called out of Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan, there to found a great nation, a blessing to all peoples.
- Isaac -- his son, taken to be sacrificed by his father, until God provided a substitute.
- Jacob -- Isaac's son, the schemer who cheated his older brother of his birthright but whose thigh (and heart) was broken as he wrestled all night with God's messenger.
- Joseph -- the dreamer sold into Egypt by his brothers, who meant it for evil while God meant it for good.
Why have these accounts been preserved? What importance do they have in the development of Israel's understanding of God? What message from them does God have for us today?
Joyce Baldwin skillfully weaves her answers to these questions, bringing the history of an ancient people to bear on our lives.
About the Bible Speaks Today (BST) Series:
Edited by J.A. Motyer and the late John R. W. Stott, the Bible Speaks Today commentaries are characterized by what Stott called a "threefold ideal . . . to expound the biblical text with accuracy, to relate it to contemporary life and to be readable." As such, each contributor in this series is both a noted scholar and a working pastor.
The BST series, now complete, covers all sixty-six books of the bible (Old and New Testaments) in fifty-five volumes. If you preach or teach from Scripture, the Bible Speaks Today series will help you apply the timeless biblical message to the everyday experiences of your listeners. And if you study the Bible on your own, these volumes will be a helpful resource focusing on the significance of God's Word for your own life and work.
