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Page Precious Seed International
e‐magazine—June 2012
Over the Easter period it was difficult to avoid one of
the many references to the one hundredth anniver‐
sary of the sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voy‐
age. This ship, thought to be the peak of human en‐
gineering and skill, was dubbed ‘unsinkable’.
The memory of that ill‐fated voyage is now etched in
history as an act of folly and conceit. The tremen‐
dous loss of life is an indication of the imprudence of
putting one’s confidence in man. However, have we
really learned the lessons of that night in April 1912?
We could think of similar incidents when man’s
seeming ingenuity has failed to consider vital factors
and lives have been risked or lost—the exploration
of space being a prime example.
The challenge to us as believers is the extent to
which we are prepared to trust the Lord whom we
have not seen, when contrasted with that which we
can see. To what extent are we prepared to step out
in faith? When the choices have to be made, are we
prepared to wait upon the Lord?
John Bennett, Ministry Articles Editor
PSi matters 2
G. V. Wigram 3
Their Finest Hour—Joseph 4‐5
From the Archive 6‐7
Book Reviews 8
Inside this issue:
‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man’, Ps. 118. 8
Page 2 Precious Seed International
Welcome to this the third issue of the PSi e‐magazine and here is a note of items from Precious Seed Trust which we hope you will find interesting.
Books from Precious Seed Publications
The Tabernacle and the Offerings by Albert Leckie
Paperback, 176 pages, £6.50 plus p&p £2.50.
This title was delayed in production but has now at last reached the warehouse. You can order direct from us or from your local bookshop. You can tell them the publisher is Precious Seed Publications and the distributor to bookshops is Trust Media Distribu‐tion in Carlisle, UK.
Albert Leckie was a greatly loved Bible teacher. This booklet is a breath of fresh air and is based on lec‐tures he gave on ‘The Tabernacle’. His contemporar‐ies who heard him speak will just love it . . . it is ‘Albert’! Those who did not have the privilege of hearing him speak will also enjoy it and we are grate‐ful to Ian Jackson for putting it together for us. This is one definitely not to be missed. He also authored Ro‐mans 1‐8 and this is available through our website.
The next Day by Day
This book is in the final stages of proofing and will soon go to the printer. It is titled Day by Day with Christ and His Apostles and will be available in the new format in November, in good time for Christmas and New Year gifts.
Evangelism Resources
Part of the Precious Seed mission is ‘to encourage interest in gospel work’. We have tried to do this by reporting on the spread of the gospel in the UK and abroad and the Reports pages of the magazine it is a well‐read section. For many these are the first pages to read in each issue.
In order to help those engaged in the spread of the gospel, whether assemblies or individuals, we con‐tinue to publish two helps:
Gospel Calendar for 2013
We are now taking orders for the 2013 gospel calen‐dar. The pictures are themed to ‘Cities of the World’ and are high‐quality, professional commercial photo‐
graphs of twelve major world cities. We have in‐creased the size of the texts which you can have in KJV, NKJV, ESV, or NIV, indeed in any version you care to choose. We know of no other calendar pro‐ducer who offers that option. The print is the usual high quality and each calendar comes in its own poly bag for protection and ease of delivery through let‐terboxes or under doors. You may order in 100 copy lots and for 500 and above your own local overprint is added. Orders for 100‐400 are without overprint though there is space left on the back cover where you can stick on labels so folk will know there is a local connection. They will be in the NKJV version.
Please order as soon as possible by email to [email protected] or on the Precious Seed website www.preciousseed.org
Faith Matters 2
Following on from the success of issue 1 of this evan‐gelistic pamphlet we are now working on Issue 2. It will be available in September and the articles are written by Andrew Barnes, Andrew Dutton and Ian Jackson, with a testimony by Michael Browne. It is a 12‐page pamphlet written in easy to read language and is suitable for personal use and for distribution, door to door, or on the street. It is full colour and has space for personalization on page 12. The pam‐phlet is backed up by its own website: www.faithmatters.org.uk
Order now for delivery in September.
Trip to Israel
This took place from 6‐16 March and 99 people took part. They came from Australia, New Zealand, Can‐ada, USA, Ireland and the UK. We had great weather and while visiting the usual tourist sites we avoided ‘churches’ and instead added some more unusual things to see. Perhaps among the highlights were the opportunities to remember the Lord in the assem‐blies in Jerusalem and Nazareth and to listen to visit‐ing speakers each evening. Everybody felt it was a huge success and we hope to arrange another one in 2013, DV. You should plan to come – a never‐to‐be forgotten experience that will change the way you read and understand God’s word!
PSi Matters
Page 3 Precious Seed International
George Vicesimus Wigram Brian Clatworthy, Newton Abbot, Devon, England
G. V. Wigram was born in Walthamstow in 1805, the same year that Nelson defeated a large French naval force at the Battle of Trafalgar. His middle name (Vicesimus) was given to him in recognition of the fact that he was the twentieth child of Sir Robert Wi‐gram, an Irish Baronet, who had made his fortune as a merchant and ship‐owner. His father also served as the Tory Member of Parliament for Fowey, and, later, for Wexford, his home town. George’s second wife, Catherine Parnell, was an aunt of Charles Stewart Parnell, the Irish politician, who, among other things, convinced W. E. Gladstone of the mer‐its of Irish Home Rule. So not only did George Wigram come from a very wealthy background, but his family were connected to some of the most famous and influential people of his time. A number of his siblings also achieved fame, including his brother Sir James Wigram who became a judge and vice‐chancellor. Another brother, Joseph Cotton Wigram, be‐came Bishop of Rochester, and was described as a conscientious bishop of evangelical views who strongly advo‐cated lay agents to assist parish in‐cumbents. He was also keen on pro‐moting the teaching of the Second Advent, which suggests that his sym‐pathies were with the Recordites. In his youth, George spent his consid‐erable wealth on fashionable clothes and horses, and there is no indication that he had any real interest in spiritual matters, or that he showed any great prom‐ise as a scholar. It was only after joining the army that his life radically changed. In 1824, he was posted to Brussels with the army as a subaltern officer. It was here that he visited the battlefield of Waterloo, and experienced a conversion to Christ. He subse‐quently resigned his commission, and, in 1826, en‐tered Queen’s College, Oxford. Initially, he intended to be ordained into the Church of England, but his strident evangelical views brought him into conflict with the establishment, and he was refused ordina‐tion at that time. At Oxford he struck up a friendship with Benjamin Wills Newton who, according to JONA‐THAN BURNHAM, ‘quickly recognized the considerable intellectual ability which set Wigram apart from his immediate group’. Wigram also included amongst his friends the Scottish theologian Thomas Erskine, whom Newton found ‘very objectionable’! But the person at Oxford who would most influence his life was John Nelson Darby, someone to whom he would be a close and loyal friend until his death in 1879. Wigram left Oxford in 1827 without taking a degree, and took up residence near Plymouth. It was here that he became associated with like minded individu‐als who met in small groups for Bible study, and who desired to break away from the dead orthodoxy of the Established Church. He had thought about joining Anthony Norris Groves in his visit to Baghdad in June 1829, but later changed his mind. How different ‘Brethren’ history might have been if he had assisted Groves rather than siding later with John Darby?
With Wigram’s financial support, these local Chris‐tians were able to purchase, in December 1831, a non‐conformist meeting house (Providence Chapel) in Rayleigh Street in Plymouth for £750. This was the start of the first local ‘Brethren’ assembly, and it soon became a haven for Christian teaching, especially on prophetic subjects. There is much more that one could say about Wigram’s involvement in ‘Brethren’ history, but perhaps his greatest achievement was the financing and publication in 1839 of The Englishman’s
Greek Concordance of the New Testa‐ment. Wigram had been dissatisfied with Alexander Cruden’s biblical con‐cordance, because it gave no clues as to the Greek language. In all probability, Wigram arranged the Concordance along lines suggested to him by W. Burgh, whom he had met some years earlier in September 1831 at the home of Lady Powerscourt. He was ably as‐sisted in this task by S. P. Tregelles, and a second edition was published in 1844, with an index the following year. Not content with simply covering the New Testament, Wigram also published The Englishman’s Hebrew and Chaldee Con‐cordance of the Old Testament in 1843. Once again S. P. Tregelles was heavily involved in its production. Although few make use of these concordances today, there is no doubt that, in their time,
they provided Bible students with extremely useful exegetical tools to facilitate a better understanding of God’s word. Wigram wrote very little in the way of expository ma‐terial in comparison to his peers. For many years he edited a magazine called The Present Testimony, which included articles that he had written on the Psalms, but his main collection of writings are con‐tained in two relatively small volumes entitled Memo‐rials of the Ministry of G. V. Wigram and Gleanings from the Teaching of G. V. Wigram. His ministry was pre‐eminently Christ centred. He was also a compiler and writer of hymns, and his first collection was entitled Hymns for the Poor of the Flock (1837‐38). This collection included hymns by Cowper, Thomas Kelly, Watts, and Wesley, and, later, hymns by Sir Edward Denny, and a number by John Darby. A later compilation entitled A Few Hymns and some Spiritual Songs for the Little Flock, effectively became the hymnal of the Exclusive Brethren. Wigram was twice married, but both wives pre‐deceased him, as did his only child, Fanny. Such was his grief after Fanny’s death that he went abroad to minister to the needs of others to try to forget his sor‐row. Six years later, in 1879, Wigram died at the age of 74, and was buried with his daughter Fanny, in Pad‐dington cemetery. It was Selina, Countess of Hunting‐don, the patron of George Whitfield, who once thanked God for the letter ‘m’ in ‘many’ in 1 Corin‐thians chapter 1 verse 26 so that the text did not read ‘not any of noble birth’. Wigram would, no doubt, have shared in that paean of praise.
Page 4 Precious Seed International
Their Finest Hour—Joseph William Burnett, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Joseph is one of the most beautiful of the Old Testa‐ment characters. There are so many features about him that reflect the excellence of the person of Christ that cannot be overlooked. For example, his being sent by his father to his brethren, the suffering he endured among them and at the hands of the Gentiles, and his final exaltation, give an accurate foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus in his incarnation, rejection, crucifixion and ex‐altation. In this article, we will consider the grand finale of the life of Joseph when, his sufferings now over, the events of his life turn the complete circle, and Joseph finds himself exalted, and surrounded by his brothers and his father.
The life of Joseph is punctu‐ated throughout with many fine hours, but surely the fin‐est of all his hours is to be found in his reconciliation with his brothers, and his reunion with his father. Let us trace the events that con‐tributed to Joseph’s finest hour, together with some prophetic and practical applications.
The Exaltation of Joseph
Within a period of twenty four hours, Joseph went from being a prisoner, to being Prime Minister of Egypt. Pharaoh took his ring and put it on Joseph’s hand, and gave him one of his chariots to ride in, and those who ran before him cried, ‘Bow the knee’. Pharaoh made him ruler over all the land of Egypt, Gen. 41. 41‐ 43. Now all of Egypt, and the surround‐ing nations, would beat a path to Joseph’s store‐houses to be delivered from the famine that was threatening their very lives. Joseph was in a sense the saviour of the world. Not only so, but even his brothers would be blessed under his beneficent rule. How encouraging for the suffering saints of our day to know that even in the seeming incomprehensible complexities, injustices and trials of life, the sover‐eign purposes of God are being worked out, and that ‘all things work together for good, to them that love God’, Rom. 8. 28.
The Testing of his Brethren
The crisis that arose due to the famine in Egypt and all the nations around, affected the house of Jo‐seph’s father, Jacob, and he sent his sons to Egypt to buy corn. When they arrived Joseph recognized them, but they did not recognize him. Little wonder! They never expected that the young man they had
mistreated and sold into slav‐ery would now be the ruler of Egypt. Joseph was very cau‐tious in dealing with his broth‐ers, and did not immediately make himself known to them. Joseph wished to test them in several ways to determine if the passage of years had pro‐duced repentance in their hearts, and, also, to see if their attitude towards Benja‐min, the other son of Rachel – his true brother – was differ‐ent from their earlier attitude to him. It was during this test‐ing time that we read of Jo‐seph weeping again and again.
Evidences of Repentance
At first, Joseph spoke roughly to them and accused them of being spies, and he put them in prison for three days. At the end of the three days Joseph heard them say to each other, ‘We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us’, Gen. 42. 21. When Joseph heard this confession we read, ‘And he turned himself about from them, and wept’. We remember the sequel, how that Joseph held Simeon hostage until such times as they brought Benjamin down to Egypt. We remember Joseph’s cup placed in Benjamin’s sack and the messengers who pursued them, accusing them of stealing it. When the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack the whole caravan turned around and returned to Egypt. Upon their return Joseph said that he with whom the cup had been found would be detained as his servant, but that they were free to return to their father. It was at this juncture that we read one of the most heart‐rending pleas in scripture, as Judah poured out his soul before Joseph on behalf of Ben‐
Page 5 Precious Seed International
jamin and his father Jacob. Judah explained to Jo‐seph that Jacob had already lost one of his sons, and that ‘his (Jacob’s) life is bound up in the lads life, and it shall come to pass, when he seeth the lad is not with us, that he will die', 44. 30‐31. Judah then offered to take the place of Benjamin.
Reconciliation with his Brothers
At this point Joseph could refrain himself no longer, and we read that he ‘wept aloud . . . and said unto his brethren, I am Joseph’, 45. 2‐3. When Joseph made himself known to his brothers, we read that ‘they were troubled at his pres‐ence’, v. 3. He then said, ‘Come near to me I pray you . . . I am Jo‐seph your brother whom ye sold into Egypt’, v. 4. His brothers must have been terrified, wondering if Joseph would seek revenge in view of their unspeakable cruelty. But Joseph was gracious towards them and embraced them with all the warmth of his heart. How was it that Joseph was able to take such an attitude of grace and for‐giveness towards his brothers who had caused him such grief? Surely it was because he had a firm grasp of the sovereign purposes of God being worked out in his life. He said, ‘Now therefore, be not grieved and angry with yourselves that ye sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve life’, v. 5. Joseph was able to see that whilst the actions of his brothers could not be justified, even their unspeak‐able behaviour had contributed to the overall plan and purposes of God for him and for them.
We see this principle at work again when Peter deliv‐ered the first gospel message on the day of Pente‐cost. He could say to the leaders of Israel, ‘Him, (Christ) being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain’, Acts 2. 23. The death of Christ was determined from all of eter‐nity, and the ‘wicked hands’ were the unwitting vehi‐cles through which the sovereign purposes of God were fulfilled.
Prophetic Foreshadowings
The reconciliation of Joseph with his one‐time cruel, uncaring brethren will have its counterpart when the Lord returns at the close of the Tribulation period to deliver Israel. Zechariah tells us about that great mo‐ment of repentance and confession in the nation of Israel when they see their Messiah. We read, ‘They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and
they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn’, Zech. 12. 10, and, again, ‘The Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day, shall there be one Lord, and his name one’, 14. 9. Brethren, the ‘crowning day is coming by and by’!
Practical Applications
There are also practical lessons that can be applied to our own lives as we consider the events that cul‐minated in Joseph’s exaltation and reconciliation
with his brothers. First, we must always view present affliction in light of the revealed purposes of God. Second, in our dealings with our brethren, even some who may have caused us harm and grief, we should be generous in our forgiveness towards them when true repentance is in evi‐dence. Third, we must not allow adversity, from whatever source, to make us bitter, but rather to make us better men and women
of God. Finally, it is important that we have a firm grasp of the sovereign purposes of God in our lives, and to view all of life’s events in that context.
The Grand Conclusion
As we close this meditation on Joseph’s ‘ finest hour’ we see how that, in the end, the seemingly contra‐dictory, disconnected, complex pieces of life’s puz‐zle had now fallen into place, and Joseph could see the whole picture in true perspective. Whether it be the dreams of his early youth, the hatred and rejec‐tion of his brothers, his being sold into slavery, the slander of Potiphar’s wife, and his subsequent time in prison, the seemingly casual meeting with the but‐ler in prison, the disturbed dreams of a heathen monarch, and the scourge of a famine, he can see that all, without exception, had contributed to the fulfillment of the unerring sovereign purposes of God for his life. All is now seen in proper context, and Joseph’s early dreams given by God, have now been realized. He is now upon the throne, and his brethren and his father are bowing the knee before him in all of his glory – the Ruler of Egypt.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour,
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
[WILLIAM COWPER]
Page 6 Precious Seed International
From the Archive . . . What is the Church? By J. H. Large
The Greek word ekklesia which occurs well over one hundred times in the New Testament, and means 'a called‐out company', is translated by the English word 'church' on all but three instances, relating to the con‐course of citizens in Ephesus, Acts 19. 32‐41, where the word 'assembly' is used. Apart from this passage and another in Acts chapter 7 verse 38, where the word is applied to the Israelites as called out of Egypt and led into the wilderness, Christians are always in view ‐ either as the whole company of the redeemed in this dispensation, or as a company in a particular locality. The fact that this one word covers both senses is perhaps intended as an indication that what is true of the whole redeemed company essentially, should be true of each local company representa‐tively. Unfortunately, in modern English the word 'church' has acquired a variety of meanings, some far re‐moved from the thought of the New Testament writ‐ers. For example, it is used of groups of religious so‐cieties organized on a national or a doctrinal basis, of a particular kind of religious building, and even of a professional calling. We want to stress that if we use the word 'church' we should be at constant pains to insist on its true significance. If this precaution is ne‐glected we shall soon find that what has happened elsewhere is happening among us ‐ namely that pre‐cious truth becomes obscured by the unscriptural associations which the expression has acquired. However, the point at which we want to arrive is that the ekklesia, in its widest sense, embraces the whole company of believers in this dispensation, whether in earth or in heaven, is a unity ‐ 'the ekklesia, which is his (Christ's) body', Eph. 1. 22, 23. We are on safe ground only so long as we hold graciously but tena‐ciously to this blessed truth. We are not now thinking of visible unity brought about by human arrangement but the unity of the Spirit. It follows that all titles given to members of that one body belong equally to all and we ought to be unwill‐ing to recognize as valid, much less to accept for our‐selves, any title which serves to distinguish some from others. Thus, all who belong to Christ are 'saints'. 'Believers', of course, is self explanatory and calls for no comment. 'Christian' signifies an adherent of Christ and whilst many believe that what became a title of honour was first coined by scornful enemies, Acts 11. 26, we cling to the idea that the title was
given by God. 'Disciple' means a learner, with the im‐plied obligation to put into effect what he learns from his master. 'Brethren', of course, serves to stress the relationship established through a common life in Christ and is frequently used in Scripture to empha‐size effectively the obligations of loving unity. It was in this sense that the term was widely used by men who were used of God at the beginning of the last century to originate a remarkable movement which did so much to rescue precious truth from a divided Christendom. Wherever the Gospel was preached and believed by a sufficient number they were gathered together to form a local community and, although conditions would vary from place to place, yet the ground of their gathering was the same. The result was that when a Christian from one town had occasion to visit another town, Christian fellowship presented no problem at all ‐ he simply identified himself with the Christians there who, of course, met on the same ground as he did at home. There was not, and needed not to be, any organized federation of assemblies ‐ he was a member of the one body of Christ and since all Christians met simply in the Name of the Lord Jesus and modelled their assembly life on the apostolic pat‐tern no problem arose. Would that it were so today! If a first‐century Christian could suddenly be trans‐ported to a large town in Britain, with what bewilder‐ment he would look for the assembly in that town. If he were to ask a passer‐by 'Where do the Christians meet?' he would hardly be able to believe his ears when told, 'In about thirty different places!' and he would hardly be able to believe his eyes as he read the various notice boards flaunting names strange and even meaningless to him. If he happened to light on the place where you meet, what would he read on your notice board and how would it strike him? We are not Christians suddenly transported from the first to the twentieth century ‐ we have grown up amid this confusion and are not as distressed as we ought to be.
A fuller version of this article can be found at: http://
www.prec iousseed .o rg/a r t i c l e_deta i l . c fm?
articleID=1897. It was written by the first editor, J. H.
Large, in 1958. Its message is as appropriate today as
it was then.
Page 7 Precious Seed International
From the Archive . . . How It Began ‐ Sunday School on the Staircase
The writer was recently privileged to sit down at the Lord’s Table with a company of believers in a very comfortable and well‐appointed hall a few yards on the Nottinghamshire side of the Derbyshire border, with a fringe of the famous but dwindling Sherwood Forest just across a couple of fields. It seemed a far cry to the slump that hit the Somer‐set coal field in 1927 but, strange as it may sound, this work in a northern mining village had its origin in another colliery village of Somerset. Here twenty‐two years ago four unemployed brethren met to‐gether in a miner's cottage unitedly to seek God's face with a view to finding work. The outcome was that an application to the manager of a colliery in Derbyshire resulted in all four obtaining work within two weeks. When they and their families arrived, the nearest assembly consisted of a small com‐pany meeting in a cottage eight miles away. After one or two unsuccessful attempts to find congenial Christian fellowship in the locality, meetings were started in the home of one of the four brethren and they com‐menced to ‘break bread’ in 1928. Work amongst the children flour‐ished from the start and there were times when there were no less than 100 children in a small five roomed house, classes being held in the bedrooms and on the stairs. Several adults were saved, among them being some very interesting cases of conversion. As an illustration of the unusual way in which the work grew we might mention the case of a neighbour who was evidently anxious to make per‐sonal contact with one of the sisters. This woman would make pretexts for calling at the house at odd times and, after several calls of this nature, had made it evident that she had some other purpose. She was invited in just at the time when the good woman of the house was enjoying a cup of tea and reading the Scriptures whilst waiting for her husband to return from work. The woman was evidently in‐terested, whereupon our sister invited her to join in the reading which happened to be the story of the Crucifixion. Surprising though it may seem this woman, although otherwise intelligent, was unable to read. She had no religious background, but lis‐tened with great interest to the story, although she had not the slightest idea of the identity of the cen‐tral figure. She was very much impressed with the explanations given and, the next day, called to bor‐row the book explaining that she had told her hus‐band all about it and, as he could read, they wanted to go over everything together. Both were eventu‐ally saved.
Another neighbour was violently opposed to the un‐heard of idea ‘a chapel in a house’ and used the most violent language in trying to dishearten the people from attending. Eventually she was per‐suaded to attend a special meeting for women where, remarkably enough, the message was based on the conversion of the blaspheming and persecut‐ing Saul. When she left the meeting, under evident stress of emotion, it was feared that she felt insulted and would make more trouble, but she afterwards confessed that the message so suited her case that she felt powerfully convicted and impressed of the need of meeting the Saviour who arrested Saul. The Gospel was made plain to her and a morning or two later she came across to the house in high spirits to announce that she had ‘got it’. Experience proved that she really had ‘got it’. The brother whose house had been open for meet‐
ings had been converted many years before under the preaching of Mr. J. Hodson and it was fitting that Mr. Hodson should be invited to conduct a tent mission in the village in 1930. Several were saved during this most interesting campaign and the mem‐bership of the assembly increased to forty. The work has been maintained since, although, owing to a large number of removals, the number in fellowship has dropped to about
thirty. Quite apart from the real work that has been done in the village, the assembly, during the war, proved a great blessing to men in the Forces, 'Bevin Boys' and German and Italian prisoners, several of whom were definitely blessed. The zeal which characterized the believers is exem‐plified by the case of an elderly sister who, rather than miss remembering the Lord, when no transport was available, used regularly to walk a distance of eight miles to the meeting along lonely roads, until she found a path through the forest which reduced the distance to five miles. It is worthy of note that in 1929, owing to a variety of causes, only the man and his wife and daughter were left and the work which has prospered since, would have died out but for their faith and patience.
This article was written by the then editor, J. H. Large in the 1949 issue of Precious Seed. It can be found at: http://www.preciousseed.org/article_detail.cfm?articleID=1496.
It is a record of the work in Langwith, Nottingham‐shire, that was commenced by the present editor’s grandfather.
Page 8 Precious Seed International
Book Reviews
Judges – Book of Heroes Tim Mather Paperback, 236pp. Published by Gospel Folio Press, 304 Killaly St. West, Port Colborne, ON., L3K 6A6, Canada. ISBN 978‐1‐926765‐29‐7
There aren’t too many books on the Judges of Israel. In that sense this book should be welcomed. However, it is far from a gap filler! This work is thought‐provoking, challenging, and Christ‐exalting and a worthy addition to the library of anyone wishing to get to grips with this much neglected book. As MATHER writes, ‘Some judges were flawed heroes. Some were reluctant heroes. Some were unlikely heroes’. But, against that background, ‘God is not looking for heroes but for men and women who are available to Him, and who will be faithful to Him’.
This is not merely a volume of character studies. In concluding the book with what the author calls two
‘case studies’, he is able to give an interesting com‐mentary on the whole book. There are some difficult issues to cover and MATHER is not afraid to deal with them carefully and thoughtfully, although not press‐ing his view dogmatically. In the matter of Jephthah
he says, ‘Jephthah’s sin was not human sacrifice, but human pride’.
There are some useful insights into the study of the book. The author writes about the ‘Judges Cycle’ consisting of four words: ‘sin, servitude, sorrow, salva‐tion’. He shows where this breaks down in the case of Samson, as we come to Judges chapter 13. He also gives a useful analysis of Jephthah’s actions when faced with Ammonite aggression.
Overall, this is an excellent addition to anyone’s study of Judges and a book that will both edify and encourage. My only disappointment with this recommended
book is that it seems to lack thoroughness at the proof reading stage.
The Land and People of Israel Drew Craig Paperback, 64 pp. Published by Gospel Folio Press, 304 Killaly St. West, Port Colborne, ON., L3K 6A6, Canada. ISBN 978‐1‐897117‐81‐1
The author of this little volume will be well known to many readers of this magazine. It is clear from the outset that Drew Craig is passionate about his sub‐ject and writes with enthusiasm about the purposes of God for the nation of Israel.
Within the scope of sixty pages it would be difficult to give a detailed examination of the subject and the scriptures that unfold that future for Israel. However CRAIG draws extensively upon major and minor prophets to show that Israel and Jerusalem will be at the centre of world events after the church is rap‐tured.
While this is not a book designed for the Bible stu‐dent it is certainly one that could be given to any believer keen to appreciate what God has planned for the nation and how those plans fit with the covenants God established with the patriarchs. In just over sixty pages there is enough to whet the appetite and signifi‐cant scripture quo‐tations to demon‐strate the sound biblical background for its teaching.
