Reviews
THE BOOK OF ORIGINS:
Genesis Simply Explained
Philip Eveson
Evangelical Press
592pp.
£11.95
ISBN 0 85234 484 8
I wonder how many
professing evangelicals still have such a thing as a ‘quiet time’ ? Not as many
as would like others to think that they do, that’s for sure ! But for the faithful few who observe the
practice and who seek plainly written explanation and application of the
Scriptures in manageable parcels, the availability of Philip Eveson’s The Book of Origins: Genesis Simply
Explained will be good news. It is interesting, readable and devout and
combines a sure touch in handling the book of Genesis with a pastoral concern
to make a spiritual impact upon the lives of the readers.
Eveson’s book
follows the familiar Welwyn Commentary
format. Unsurprisingly, the author devotes proportionately most space to the
early chapters of Genesis and these sections are the most interesting. By
contrast, some of the comment in the later chapters is a little too sermonic
and it even felt to this reader that the use of alliterative headings increased
as the book progressed !
One of the most
appealing features of the book is the way in which so very many of the
important Bible themes which appear in Genesis are given between a paragraph
and a page in order to set the reader about the important task of following
them through the whole Bible. Examples include Sabbath, guarding, the tree of
life, Noah’s ark, the Sabbath, Eden, capital punishment and the gospel, the
angel of the LORD, the eighth day, the numbers seven, twelve and one thousand,
seed, covenant, blood, garden, Melchizedek, typology and East. And the author’s
determination to demonstrate that theology flows from careful consideration of
the text means that an impressive amount of basic Christian doctrine is
introduced through the course of the book.
Another strength
of the book is its unembarrassed conservatism on those points where the
‘science’ and historicity of Genesis has come under attack. The author keeps
fairly brief his consideration of the length of the days in Genesis 1, the age
of the earth, and the possibility of biological evolution but it is clear that
his ‘traditional’ conclusions on these points are based upon deeper thought –
as demonstrated, for example, by his
throwaway comment on Genesis 1.30.
Not that the book
is flawless. Even within the limitations of the series more could done to
introduce the reader to the theological importance of the literary structure of
the narrative units. Then again, the applications, coming as they do in the
midst of a running commentary, can often feel somewhat piecemeal and
unconnected; they also tend to be rather individualistic. There is room for
more application to be made from the broader theological structures and to the
world beyond the believer’s own life.
In short, the
book is ideally suited for reading in small chunks in one’s personal devotions:
to read it any other way – as an introduction to the study of Genesis, for
example – may well leave the reader wanting more. But then, by most accounts
that matter, a book explaining Genesis which can simultaneously nourish the
reader and sharpen his/her appetite for a deeper study of Scripture must surely
be judged a success.