Grace abounding
Michael Wilcock
formerly Vicar of St Nicholas’ Church, Durham
Inter-Varsity Press
Norton Street, Nottingham NG7 3HR, England
Email: ivp@ivpbooks.com
Website: www.ivpbooks.com
© Michael Wilcock 1992
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Inter-Varsity Press or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
Unless otherwise stated, quotations from the bible are from the Revised Standard Version, copyrighted 1946, 1952, © 1971, 1973, by the Division of Christian Education, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
First published 1992
Reprinted 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-85110-972-5
Inter-Varsity Press publishes Christian books that are true to the bible and that communicate the gospel, develop discipleship and strengthen the church for its mission in the world.
Inter-Varsity Press is closely linked with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website www.uccf.org.uk
The Bible Speaks Today
Series editors: J. A. Motyer (OT)
John Stott (NT)
Derek Tidball (Bible Themes)
The Message of Judges
Grace abounding
GENERAL PREFACE
The Bible Speaks Today describes three series of expositions, based on the books of the Old and New Testaments, and on Bible themes that run through the whole of Scripture. Each series is characterized by a threefold ideal:
• to expound the biblical text with accuracy
• to relate it to contemporary life, and
• to be readable.
These books are, therefore, not ‘commentaries’, for the commentary seeks rather to elucidate the text than to apply it, and tends to be a work rather of reference than of literature. Nor, on the other hand, do they contain the kinds of ‘sermons’ that attempt to be contemporary and readable without taking Scripture seriously enough. The contributors to The Bible Speaks Today series are all united in their convictions that God still speaks through what he has spoken, and that nothing is more necessary for the life, health and growth of Christians than that they should hear what the Spirit is saying to them through his ancient—yet ever modern—Word.
Alec Motyer
John Stott
Derek Tidball
Series editors
|
About The Message of Judges: Grace AboundingThe book of Judges bustles with colorful characters. We meet Ehud, a left-handed political assassin who cleverly dispatches a corpulent king. We meet Deborah, a bold prophet and matriarch of Israel who musters the tribes to war. And we meet Samson, a Rambo-like warrior who dallies with women and annihilates Philistines in a temple of doom. To Christian readers, Judges is interesting, sometimes inspiring, but also puzzling. What message should we take from it? How are we to understand the ambiguous spirituality of the judges themselves? What was God doing during this wayward period between Joshua and Samuel? Michael Wilcock answers these and other questions with wit, insight, and sensitivity. God Himself is the Judge, he argues, who transcends the uncertain record of human judges. He is the principal actor in this drama. Always ready to respond to those who call on Him, He takes the initiative, uses raw human resources to preserve Israel from her enemies, and shapes the nation for His purpose. In exposing the twists, turns, and nuances of this story, he sends us back to the book of Judges with a renewed quest, not only to rediscover the story of God and Israel, but to find fresh perspective on the ways of God and His church in a post-Christian world. |
| Support Info | bst07jdg |