Review: The Temple and the Tabernacle: A Study of God’s Dwelling Places from Genesis to Revelation by J. Daniel Hays

Review: The Temple and the Tabernacle: A Study of God’s Dwelling Places from Genesis to Revelation

J. Daniel Hays

Baker Books

2016

First impressions count. Academic comes to mind when I first looked at this book. And in some respects it is, but don’t let that scare you off. Hays has written a book that is informative, thought provoking, and accessible to folks like me (a non-academic) and only about 200 pages long. There are no five questions for discussion at the end of each chapter either and that is a plus for a work like this one. A bibliography for those that want to know who this author consulted and endnotes for even more information are included. Pictures, charts, and graphic renderings break the narrative at appropriate spots and help the reader to more fully grasp the discussion that surrounds them.

The content covers not only the tabernacle and temple architecture and furnishings, but also the history from each of the periods they represent. That’s the strength of this book for me. Hays focuses on the structures as God’s dwelling places among his people and the history that structure witnessed. As the structures become more elaborate and costly the history of the people of God descends into darker and darker periods. Hays spends no little amount of time looking between the lines of the biblical account of the reign of Solomon ferreting out the differences in the motive and means of temple construction during his tenure as compared to the same of the tabernacle during Moses’ time. Interesting reading and I’m still mulling his take on it.

Of course, there’s more to come after Solomon’s temple and that is not ignored, but as in the history itself nothing until Herod’s structure comes close to the grandeur that was Solomon’s. Synagogues are not the temple or the tabernacle, but they have become the local gathering place for the people of God in the intervening years. Churches of today have some connection to the synagogues of that period. Herod’s temple stood as a reminder of the glory of yesteryear, but served as the focal point of institutionalized religion. The glory had departed much earlier.

Hays’ last chapter covers the “so what” for the present time. This chapter, while a nice way to round out the dwelling places of God theme, felt hurried and incomplete. All the fun factoids related to the history of the temple and tabernacle had been used. The current dwelling place is still under construction and the visions of the completed structure are still difficult to describe. A look forward to Revelation sustains the people’s hope of the future dwelling place of God.

I recommend this book for its readability and succinct coverage of a rather large topic.

I received this book from the publisher in return for a review.

Review: Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot by Mo Isom

Review: Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot Mo Isom Baker Books 2018 I picked this one up after I’d seen a video promo by the author, http://moisom.com/sexandjesus#. Sounded like she had something to say. She does. And even if you don’t think it applies to you it does in ways that aren’t necessarily related to sex, but just as a human being with desires. Isom subscribed to many of the conversations that govern relationships in general, and those with men, for her generation, the millennials. This book is not her life story, but it does describe some moments that were important to her journey then and now. Her openness to share those times surprised me. Her point without spoiling the book is that she had not understood what linked sexual intimacy to ordinary life, the why’s, if you will. Was it not taught, discussed? Or was she not interested in hearing might be a valid...

Review: When God’s Ways Make No Sense by Dr. Larry Crabb

Review: When God’s Ways Make No Sense Dr. Larry Crabb Baker Books 2018 I chose this book because the title intrigued me. When God’s Ways Make No Sense. There have been plenty of times when that seemed truer than I’d like to admit. Are we even allowed to say something like that? Even if we think it. So, an author willing to take on that topic had my attention. And mostly because I wanted his take on what to do about it? As it turns out Crabb pretty much gave away his case very early on in his book with a single scripture quote. The basic idea is God is GOD and we are not. His motives and actions are incomprehensible to mankind and He owes no explanation for them either. Crabb admits near the end of his book that he is not a theologian which I knew going into this book, but his arguments are theology. Or at least I think so. I found his repeated circling the topic a bit frustrating. ...

Review: Anatomy of the Soul

Anatomy of the Soul Curt Thompson. M.D. Salt River, an imprint of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2010 This is the most helpful,insightful book I’ve read in a long time. There’s advice, guidance, explanations and examples to illustrate discussion offered by the author. Best of all, for me anyway, it explains some of what I had suspected about how things work all along. Dr. Thompson links human anatomy and physiology to the spiritual part of our being throughout the text. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. And God uses His creation of the physical body in amazing ways. The author does a great job showing God’s wisdom found in research and the discoveries that science has made recently in neuroscience. Whether science wants to or not, it is describing the wonders of creation. Read this book. The text will require thought, evaluation, and time to go through. The author’s writing style is quite readable and he covers the material well. While this isn’t a how to or self help boo...

The Return

Search This Blog