The Wisdom and the Folly: an Exposition of the Book of First Kings
By Dale Ralph Davis
Old Testament history is sometimes hard to understand and, more often, hard to apply to our lives. The stories appear to us to be disconnected, random, even boring and we work our way through them hoping to find some morality we can loosely put into practice. Is this the plan God has for Old Testament history? Certainly not – but what then is the purpose of inspired history?
Dale Ralph Davis, Old Testament professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, helps the reader with these issues as he works through an exposition of 1 Kings. With able and confident insight into the Scriptures, Mr. Davis helps the student to see why the characters, speeches, order, and events of 1 Kings matter in God’s plan of redemption. The applications he draws are not shallow, but are based in his working with the text. Writing with humor and easily understood content, the author also shows himself to be a capable scholar and excellent writer.
Some might criticize this book because it lacks a definite place on the bookshelf. It is not a completely scholarly book, but would be helpful to pastors. It is not merely a devotional book, though it could be used for that purpose. It might prove to be most helpful to those studying 1 Kings in depth and for those leading family worship through the confusing territory of 1 Kings. However used, The Wisdom and the Folly is an excellent book written from a Reformed perspective that resonates with an awe of God and love for His Word.
Has anyone read any of Davis' works? I liked this one so much I'm thinking of collecting the rest of his commentaries.
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1 comment:
Just an update on his Judges one. It's a great deal like what you describe. He just shrugs off the notion that we're supposed to be perpetually confused in the O.T. and handles the text wisely. Thanks again for passing this one along!
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