Covenants Archives - Bob on Books

Cover image of "Kingdom through Covenant" by Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum

Kingdom through Covenant, Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum. Crossway (ISBN: 9781433553073) 2012, 2018. (My review is of the first edition, the link to the 2nd edition with revised and updated content.)

Summary: A biblical-theological exploration of covenants, how they are related and unfold the reality of God’s kingdom.

The authors of this work contend that the idea of “covenant” is central to the narrative arc of scripture. On this, many Christians are agreed. Where believers differ is in their understanding is in how the covenants unfold and relate to one another. Roughly speaking, there are two major camps: the dispensationalists and the covenant theologians. Their differences are reflected in different conclusions about things like the land promises to Israel and whether baptism under the New Covenant is the counterpart of circumcision, including infants in the covenant, or for professing believers only.

Wellum and Gentry propose is a via media, what might be termed new covenant theology or progressive covenantalism. They argue for the unity of God’s plan and yet that God has progressively unfolded his plan through the covenants. The main idea is the unfolding of his cosmic kingdom rule through each of the covenants. These culminate and find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ.

The book consists in three parts. The first is Prolegomena, outlining the importance of the discussion, the two classic positions and key hermeneutical issues in putting together the covenants. This is followed by a lengthy section of exposition of each of the biblical covenants: Creation, Noah, Abraham, Mosaic, Davidic, and New Covenant. Finally, Part Three focuses on theological interpretation, summarizing the biblical theology of Part Two and a few of its theological implications. An appendix provides a lexical analysis of berit,

One of the striking aspects of the expositions of the covenants is the use of key texts from the major Old Testament prophets to frame their understanding of the New Covenant. They show how prior covenants, and particularly the covenants with Adam and Abraham lay the basis for the New Covenant. Yet they argue that as a fulfillment of the prior covenants, the New Covenant does supersede the previous covenants. But what then of the land promises to Israel? These are fulfilled in the new covenant but “the land” is extended to encompass all creation, all the nations. However, when it comes to baptism, the promises of a new heart signify that the church consists of those born again in Christ. Hence baptism is for believers.

Therefore, the via media proposal has elements each of the “camps” will applaud and each will oppose. However, what is important is that these two scholars bring a careful study of the covenants worth considering by all concerned. What I appreciate is the theological coherence of what they propose. They neither oppose prior covenants to subsequent ones. Nor to they create a disjunction between Israel and the church. Finally, what they propose truly exalts Christ.

Finally, thanks for visiting Bob on Books. I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

Cover image of "Answering the Psalmist's Perplexity" by James Hely Hutchinson

Answering the Psalmist’s Perplexity (New Studies in Biblical Theology Number 62), James Hely Hutchinson. IVP Academic/Apollos (ISBN: 9781514008867) 2024 (Apollos-IVP UK website).

Summary: How would God fulfill the promise of an everlasting Davidic throne when the kingship had ended in exile?

Psalm 89 poses an agonizing question. God had promised (Psalm 89:3-4):

You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant,
‘I will establish your line forever
and make your throne firm through all generations.

Yet with the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC, the line of kings had ended and the throne had fallen (Psalm 89:38-39):

But you have rejected, you have spurned,
you have been very angry with your anointed one.
You have renounced the covenant with your servant
and have defiled his crown in the dust.

And so the psalmist asks (v. 46):

How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?

This is the psalmist’s perplexity alluded to in the title of this work. How would God keep his covenant, when by exile it appeared null and void? The question is one set against the backdrop of prior covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and at Sinai. And there is the question of whether and how these covenants find fulfillment in the new covenant.

James Hely Hutchinson believes the Psalms have much to contribute to our understanding of a question that spans the whole of scripture. After laying out his approach, Hutchinson reviews the spectrum of covenant-relationships. This spans a continuum of seven positions from Westminster covenantalism to classic dispensationalism.

Then over three chapters, he elaborates how the Psalms reflect the covenant relationships. Chapter three covers Psalms 1-89, setting the stage for the perplexing conclusion of book three of the psalms in Psalm 89. He begins with Psalm 2, key, he believes, in setting a new covenant agenda. Chapter 4 then shows how Book four of the Psalms (90-106) provides building blocks to answer that complexity, particularly in envisioning the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant closely tied to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant. Chapter five shows how Book five (Psalms 107-150) reflects the outworking of the answer in the convergence of all the covenants and their fulfillment in the new covenant.

Hutchinson proceeds to consider the import of the law for the new-covenant believer. He argues for continuity without seeing the new covenant as a renewal of the Sinaitic legislation. From here he proceeds to summarize his argument and how the covenant relationships answer the Psalmist’s perplexity. He summarizes his argument in twenty-eight statements and evaluates the seven models from Chapter 2, concluding that progressive covenantalism most closely corresponds to his study of the Psalms. Five appendices expand on particular details in his study.

There were several aspects of the work I especially appreciated. One was looking at the Psalms through the ‘hinge point” of the question in Psalm 89. His discussion suggestion a structure to the psalter I had not previously seen. And his discussions of the transitions between books three, four, and five were especially interesting.

At the same time, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. spoke of “the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” In this case, I felt Hutchinson never got to a “simplicity on the other side of perplexity.” His discussion proceeds from one intertextual discussion to the next. The fact that he needed to summarize his argument in 28 statements that he distills into two abstractions (eschatological satisfaction and transcendent inauguration) suggests to me that he never quite got there. I suspect that all but the most acute readers will find the argument in this book difficult to track.

That’s unfortunate, because the big idea of new covenant fulfillment of the prior covenants offers so much in helping the reader of scripture grasp the big story. In this case, I felt we spent so much time looking at all the trees that it was difficult to glimpse the overstory of the whole forest. I hope this author will keep working on unpacking that story.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.