Geneva Commentary Series - Judges

Judges: a Geneva Series Commentary
By A.R. Fausset
Banner of Truth Trust. 340 pages. £9.95
ISBN 0 85151 762 5

'The church (in general) has a problem with the Book of Judges. It is so earthy, so puzzling, so primitive, so violent - in a word, so strange, that the church can scarcely stomach it.' So begins a modern commentary on Judges!

It's good, then, to be able to commend this Banner reprint, which, while it's over 100 years old, this reviewer found to be helpful and thought-provoking. Its stated aim is to set forth 'accurately the meaning of the sacred text' and 'in dependence on the Holy Spirit, to draw forth from the narrative and the inspired Word the spiritual lessons designed by the Divine Author', and it succeeds admirably. It also brings to bear a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament scholarship of the time which, while it may date things from the point of view of modern scholarship, is not a big problem.

A.R. Fausset, an Irishman who served parishes in England for 62 years, is best known for the famous one-volume Bible commentary that he jointly authored with R. Jamieson and D. Brown. After carefully outlining and explaining the text, he moves on to challenging and helpful application. This will be very helpful not only for ministers, but for systematic individual or group study. He handles traditional difficulties of interpretation in a very thorough and balanced way, even though all may not agree with him (e.g. over Jephthah's vow). There are only two minor reservations from this reviewer and these concern his tendency to over-stress typology (e.g. Gideon's fleece), and his strong pre-millennial views that occasionally obtrude. Otherwise, this is thoroughly recommended.

Norris Wilson M.A., M.Th.

© Evangelicals Now - February 2000
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Main Articles

• A youth worker's nightmare
  'I ask you, members of the jury: 'How many of you could defend yourself if you were falsely accused? How many of you could produce 16 witnesses and 100 letters of reference to defend yourselves?'
• Ready to die? When the question is suddenly personal
  Helen England describes how it feels to face death in the aftermath of a car crash
• Rome and the Lutherans
  The declaration on justification signed by the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation (reprinted from World Magazine)
• Bringing men back to church
  Suggestions and strategies on how to get men back into church (reprinted from The Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood)
• The beauty of God
  Can we properly call God beautiful?
• The Crowded House
  Steve Timmis concludes his series on planting a network of household churches in Sheffield (part 2 of series)
• Monthly column on hymns and songs
  The prominence given to music in modern worship
• Kingdom cool
  Style and content in the 21st century church - how should we confront the culture and what should the focus of church be?
• Monthly column on the arts: notes from the Dome
  The music chosen for the Millennium Dome and Cliff Richard's Millennium Prayer
• Monthly column for youth leaders: snoozing in the armchair church
  How to encourage young people to participate and become involved in the wider church

Other articles

• A New Kind of Living
• The Iron Giant
• Cantatas (BWV 105, 179, 186) by Johann Sebastian Bach - CD review
• Star Gazing - (Audio tape)
• Matters of Life and Death - An extract from the book Matters of Life and Death giving a Christian response to the consequences of limited resources in the NHS
• Holy Communion for Amateurs
• The Claims of Truth - John Owen's Trinitarian Theology
• Paul the Apostle - A Biography
• Learning in Christ's School
• Setting Hearts on Fire - a guide to giving evangelistic talks
• Be Sure What You Believe - the Christian faith simply explained
• Let's Explore - the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes
• Whatever Happened To The Ten Commandments?
• Making Connections - building relationships with people at the edge
• Geneva Commentary Series - Judges
• Sins of the Fathers