MEMOIRS OF THE WAY HOME
Ezra and Nehemiah as a call to conversion
By Gerald M. Bilkes
Reformation Heritage Books. 176 pages. $12
ISBN 978 1 601 782 656
Memoirs of the Way Home is a guide to two of the lesser explored books of the Old Testament – Ezra and Nehemiah.
Its subtitle ‘Ezra and Nehemiah as a call to conversion’ gives the flavour, a strong feature of which is spiritual application. Israel is like the prodigal son who in returning from exile goes back to the father’s house. It’s a warmhearted and readable devotional study, suitable for groups or individuals, which draws on the whole Bible. It doesn’t assume too much background knowledge and helpfully provides a context for understanding this period in Israel’s history.
Unusually for a commentar y, spiritual application tends to dominate, so that at times there is a danger of losing the story line. Each chapter is short and ends with questions for discussion and reflection. The final two chapters cover lessons for ministry from Ezra and lessons for prayer from Nehemiah. These chapters draw on themes introduced in the commentary itself and I found the one on prayer particularly helpful. All Bible quotations are AV.
