The Bible Jesus Read

Book Review

by Linda Cliff

The Bible Jesus Read  

                By Philip Yancey

When I discovered this book in our library and decided to read it, I though it would be a book about what Jesus had actually said about the Old Testament.  Instead I embarked on an exploration of parts of the Old Testament. Yancey takes the reader through a careful look at the books of Job, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and the Prophets and relates these ancient writings to life today.

The book begins with a discussion of why so many of us avoid the Old Testament. However, he presents the argument that we cannot understand the New Testament (the New Covenant) apart from the Old.  “Without exception, every New Testament author wrote about the new work of God on earth while looking through the prism of the earlier or “old” work.”

We begin with Job; in this chapter man’s relationship with God is stripped to its bare essentials.  In Deuteronomy Moses takes the time to reflect on the hard lessons the Israelites had learned and the harder ones they would soon face.  The Psalms are looked at as a source of both spiritual medicine and aggravation.  Ecclesiastes is labeled the cynical view point of a worldly author and the Prophets as confusing, weird and sounding alike.

I am sure you are wondering why you should read this book.   Yancey is very honest in his writing about his own feelings and doubts as he explored these parts of the Old Testament.  There seems to be no holds barred about his own doubts and confusion.  This helped me as a reader to continue on in the book.  I was curious about what I was going to learn.  There are three questions that Yancey helps the reader to explore.

• Do I Matter?
• Does God Care?
• Why doesn’t God act?

These are universal questions that Christians and Non-Christians alike are asking.  A read through “The Bible Jesus Read” will give you new insights into the heart of God the Father and His Son Jesus.  I feel that the lessons I learned while reading this book will continue to echo in my mind as I continue my studies of God’s word.