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Far as the Curse Is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption
The Christian religion is not an otherworldly, eternal doctrine about the nature of deity or a polite philosophical discussion about the relation of spirit to matter. Instead, it is the historical unfolding of God’s covenantal involvement in this world, the culmination of which is God’s coming into this world in the person of Jesus Christ.
Far as the Curse if Found is a retelling of the biblical story of God’s unfolding covenant from creation to new creation. Readers are led to wonder anew at the redemptive work of God in our own history, in our own human flesh. Pastors, students, and those interested in biblical theology are among the many that will gain fresh insight into the biblical story of redemption.
Far as the Curse if Found is a retelling of the biblical story of God’s unfolding covenant from creation to new creation. Readers are led to wonder anew at the redemptive work of God in our own history, in our own human flesh. Pastors, students, and those interested in biblical theology are among the many that will gain fresh insight into the biblical story of redemption.
336 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2005
82 people are currently reading
1096 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
April 12, 2011
I would give this more stars if possible. I finished this book one Sunday morning, sitting on my front porch. The moment I finished, I put the book down and said to my husband, "I don't know what this means, but I can't be the same after reading this book."
February 13, 2025
Emmanuel, God with us, is truly one of the most beautiful names of God.
“The biblical hope is not one of man going to God. It is not the story of the ascent of man. Rather, it is the story of God coming to man, in man’s createdness, redeeming both man and the creation. In short, the biblical hope is the descent of God.”
This book is full of that kind of beautiful reminder.
“The drama keeps coming back around to Yahweh, and to his faithfulness in spite of the faithlessness of his covenant partner.”
My only hurdle was expectations, so let me clear that roadblock for you: This is not a devotional book and it’s very nearly a textbook.
I was drawn in by the title, taken from one of my favorite songs, and the subtitle: The Covenant Story of Redemption. Covenant theology is newer to me than my faith and I feel like I have a lot to learn.
The “story” sounded like something I could savor, seeing the lines drawn through the testaments. And it’s there, for sure. But so are many, many footnotes and quotes and definitions.
I sound like such a baby! It’s not that I couldn’t understand this book. It’s not that it wasn’t meaningful. But I wanted to soak in it and instead I had to work for it. I think it would be best read quickly (over a month or so) and with discussion. I read way too slowly, by myself.
With that background out of the way, here are some of the ideas I did savor and am still savoring.
“Knowledge of God includes knowing about God. But the emphasis, in God’s revelation of himself, always falls upon relationship rather than mere information.”
I loved a section about free will that emphasized our freedom to obey and pointed out that disobeying God always results in enslavement (to sin).
Williams works straight through the Bible, from creation to the end of time, to trace the lines of God’s promises and faithfulness to those promises.
I loved this, from a chapter on the patriarchs, after Abraham and Isaac both try to use the same lie to – they think – bring about God’s plan.
“Both fear the power of kings more than they trust the promise of God. If there is a moral message in the responses of the patriarchs, it is the proposition that often the greatest threat to the kingdom of God is the people of God.”
About the Mosaic law: “God calls Israel to keep the law, not in order to become God’s people but because they already are God’s people.” Williams describes the Bible as negative to legalism, but positive to the law; negative to moralism, but positive to morality.
About the prophets: “God is more interested in mercy than judgment. His judgment takes place for the sake of his grace. He means his discipline to restore his people to covenant relationship with him.”
About idolatry: “To portray God other than he truly is, as less than he has revealed himself, is to worship a false god. … Israel misrepresents Yahweh by shutting him up in the temple, divorcing religion from life.”
About prophecy: “The message of biblical prophecy is that God is faithful to his promises and able to see to it that his promises come to fulfillment.”
And this hit hard: “Whenever human beings sense that things are not as they ought to be, that something is amiss in their lives or in their societies, the kingdom of God is what they are hoping for. Wherever justice and mercy are sought, the kingdom of God pushes back the kingdom of evil. It may – by God’s common grace – take place completely outside the body of Christ. Indeed, the behaviors and attitudes of our unbelieving neighbors may sometimes come closer to the kingdom in some areas of life than those of believers. Conversely, wherever evil is done or pursued, whether by unbeliever or believer, the kingdom of the devil extends its grasp.”
The end – what is still to come, for people and for God’s beautiful world – was so full of hope I could feel it physically.
“To suggest that the sin of man so corrupted his creation that God cannot fix it but can only junk it in favor of some other world is to say that ultimately the kingdom of evil is more powerful than the kingdom of God.”
“Heaven will come to earth. God will dwell in the midst of his people. Death will be no more. Such a world is almost beyond comprehension. I, for one, cannot begin to imagine my own life radically cleansed of corruption, weakness, sin, dishonor, death, tears, mourning or pain.”
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
“The biblical hope is not one of man going to God. It is not the story of the ascent of man. Rather, it is the story of God coming to man, in man’s createdness, redeeming both man and the creation. In short, the biblical hope is the descent of God.”
This book is full of that kind of beautiful reminder.
“The drama keeps coming back around to Yahweh, and to his faithfulness in spite of the faithlessness of his covenant partner.”
My only hurdle was expectations, so let me clear that roadblock for you: This is not a devotional book and it’s very nearly a textbook.
I was drawn in by the title, taken from one of my favorite songs, and the subtitle: The Covenant Story of Redemption. Covenant theology is newer to me than my faith and I feel like I have a lot to learn.
The “story” sounded like something I could savor, seeing the lines drawn through the testaments. And it’s there, for sure. But so are many, many footnotes and quotes and definitions.
I sound like such a baby! It’s not that I couldn’t understand this book. It’s not that it wasn’t meaningful. But I wanted to soak in it and instead I had to work for it. I think it would be best read quickly (over a month or so) and with discussion. I read way too slowly, by myself.
With that background out of the way, here are some of the ideas I did savor and am still savoring.
“Knowledge of God includes knowing about God. But the emphasis, in God’s revelation of himself, always falls upon relationship rather than mere information.”
I loved a section about free will that emphasized our freedom to obey and pointed out that disobeying God always results in enslavement (to sin).
Williams works straight through the Bible, from creation to the end of time, to trace the lines of God’s promises and faithfulness to those promises.
I loved this, from a chapter on the patriarchs, after Abraham and Isaac both try to use the same lie to – they think – bring about God’s plan.
“Both fear the power of kings more than they trust the promise of God. If there is a moral message in the responses of the patriarchs, it is the proposition that often the greatest threat to the kingdom of God is the people of God.”
About the Mosaic law: “God calls Israel to keep the law, not in order to become God’s people but because they already are God’s people.” Williams describes the Bible as negative to legalism, but positive to the law; negative to moralism, but positive to morality.
About the prophets: “God is more interested in mercy than judgment. His judgment takes place for the sake of his grace. He means his discipline to restore his people to covenant relationship with him.”
About idolatry: “To portray God other than he truly is, as less than he has revealed himself, is to worship a false god. … Israel misrepresents Yahweh by shutting him up in the temple, divorcing religion from life.”
About prophecy: “The message of biblical prophecy is that God is faithful to his promises and able to see to it that his promises come to fulfillment.”
And this hit hard: “Whenever human beings sense that things are not as they ought to be, that something is amiss in their lives or in their societies, the kingdom of God is what they are hoping for. Wherever justice and mercy are sought, the kingdom of God pushes back the kingdom of evil. It may – by God’s common grace – take place completely outside the body of Christ. Indeed, the behaviors and attitudes of our unbelieving neighbors may sometimes come closer to the kingdom in some areas of life than those of believers. Conversely, wherever evil is done or pursued, whether by unbeliever or believer, the kingdom of the devil extends its grasp.”
The end – what is still to come, for people and for God’s beautiful world – was so full of hope I could feel it physically.
“To suggest that the sin of man so corrupted his creation that God cannot fix it but can only junk it in favor of some other world is to say that ultimately the kingdom of evil is more powerful than the kingdom of God.”
“Heaven will come to earth. God will dwell in the midst of his people. Death will be no more. Such a world is almost beyond comprehension. I, for one, cannot begin to imagine my own life radically cleansed of corruption, weakness, sin, dishonor, death, tears, mourning or pain.”
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
March 18, 2014
This was a really, really excellent book. I highly recommend that every reformed Christian read it. It's a little heady at times, but *so* worth it. I think Michael Williams avoided the pitfalls that I have seen in some covenant theologians and provided what I think was a very solidly biblical look at the covenant story.
There were a few sections that I did not agree with, mainly the one on the law. Michael Williams did a very good job of giving a Calvinistic (as opposed to Lutheran) view of the law, and upheld it's third use in keeping with the reformed tradition. He's not theonomic, and that is where I disagreed with some of his treatment, however, he did uphold it as a standard of holiness (and a positive, not negative standard at that) for the believer. I also thought his treatment of the eschaton was a little disappointing and fell short of the glory it could have had.
BUT my copy of this book looks like a sketch pad... it's underlined all over and has so much writing in the margins! A very thought provoking read that I would rank with other favorites like "The Calvinistic Concept of Culture" by Henry Van Til and "Plowing in Hope" by Bruce David Hegeman. I approached it with caution and some skepticism, but I was very pleasantly surprised. A must read.
There were a few sections that I did not agree with, mainly the one on the law. Michael Williams did a very good job of giving a Calvinistic (as opposed to Lutheran) view of the law, and upheld it's third use in keeping with the reformed tradition. He's not theonomic, and that is where I disagreed with some of his treatment, however, he did uphold it as a standard of holiness (and a positive, not negative standard at that) for the believer. I also thought his treatment of the eschaton was a little disappointing and fell short of the glory it could have had.
BUT my copy of this book looks like a sketch pad... it's underlined all over and has so much writing in the margins! A very thought provoking read that I would rank with other favorites like "The Calvinistic Concept of Culture" by Henry Van Til and "Plowing in Hope" by Bruce David Hegeman. I approached it with caution and some skepticism, but I was very pleasantly surprised. A must read.
September 13, 2020
I told my wife that this is kind of like a Jesus Storybook Bible for grownups— inasmuch as it beautifully reminds us of how the entirety of the Bible is about Jesus and his love, and places Christ at the narrative center. To be a bit more precise, Williams traces the theme of covenant relationship through the Old and New Testaments, revealing it to be the through line of what God has done, is doing, and will do. His central premise is paradigm-shifting: That we are made not just for personal relationship with God, but also to service unto our neighbor and stewardship of creation. In fleshing out this theme, Williams helpfully recenters familiar Bible stories; for instance, he argues for the story of Noah not just as a story of sin and judgment, but ultimately of God’s preserving grace. A final chapter on the eschaton offers a stirring affirmation of earthly, bodily, holistic, cosmic restoration— all the sad things coming untrue. An invaluable book, and an amazing reminder of how beautiful the Bible really is.
July 27, 2020
Overall, it is quite decent for an introductory text on covenant theology. It highlights the Kingdom theme quite clearly, the graciousness of the Law and our need to obey it, the missional nature of God’s people in the OT and NT, the emphasis of renewal and regeneration both for man and creation.
However, the greatest weaknesses of all these positives are that they are stunted due to his Amillennialism. The book would be a much more mature work if its eschatology were more consistent and robust with the themes he highlights throughout this book.
However, the greatest weaknesses of all these positives are that they are stunted due to his Amillennialism. The book would be a much more mature work if its eschatology were more consistent and robust with the themes he highlights throughout this book.
July 15, 2019
Great book that explains covenant theology and how it is seen throughout the Bible: creation, the exodus, the fall, the flood, the patriarchs, the exodus, the law, etc, all the way to the eschaton. I was really struck by the idea that there will be a renewal of all things and we will experience that here in a restored creation.
I am so looking forward to that day....
I am so looking forward to that day....
March 1, 2023
This was a good, succinct treatment of the storyline of the Bible. It was a combination of biblical theology and covenant theology, following the story of redemption from Genesis 3:15 in the form of a promise to culmination in Christ. The author really focuses well on context when exegeting passages in scripture. He also didn’t shy away from areas of usual confusion or disagreement (continuity/discontinuity in the covenants, Pentecost, etc).
If you’re looking for a historical-redemptive-covenantal book based on scripture I’d recommend this book.
If you’re looking for a historical-redemptive-covenantal book based on scripture I’d recommend this book.
May 13, 2021
Take us to church, Dr. Williams! I read this for seminary, but I wish someone had handed me this book 47 years ago. If you don’t walk away from this book understanding the narrative of Scripture better and loving Jesus Christ more, then did you even read it? Still synthesizing everything this book contains. Will definitely be reading again.
November 4, 2020
This book became my secret shame, staring at me from the bookshelf, reminding me that I started it a long time ago (I think two years ago) and never completed it. So finally, IT IS FINISHED. It's a great book but was definitely messed with by my odd reading schedule. I took Covenant Theology 1 with Dr. Williams several years ago at Covenant Theological Seminary, and now they've combined 1 and 2 into one class. So I kind of imagine I'll never truly complete the coursework. However, today I celebrate because I've completed the book. At last.
July 4, 2024
This book traces covenant theology through the entire story of the Bible. For some, it is probably paradigm shifting. For anyone looking to learn about the Old Testament and the significance of it for believers today, I would definitely recommend this book, especially the middle chapters.
October 13, 2024
Extremely dense read. I learned a ton but it was definitely one of those that I had to really think on for a while after I read a section. Challenging and I gained lots of perspective so 100% enjoyed it!
April 9, 2021
Very good. Definitely a keeper.
February 18, 2015
This was a great book on biblical/covenantal theology. I have read a few books on biblical theology as of late: Dominion and Dynasty, Gospel and Kingdom, What is Biblical Theology?, and God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment. All of them have been really helpful, but this book by Dr. Williams was my favourite. He has given helpful introductions to many ideas within biblical/covenantal theology and has wet my appetite for continuing further study. I've ordered The Presence of the Future by George Eldon Ladd and am excited to read it after William's intro to its thought!
June 20, 2013
A surprisingly readable tome that draws from a century of Reformed covenant theology and biblical theology to present the Bible as a single, coherent story.
September 10, 2017
Such a great read. Enjoyed every page of this book.
June 22, 2024
While not quite what I was expecting when I purchased this book, the content fully justified (hehe) my purchase. It illustrated the fundamentally linear nature of history by systematically going through the Old and New Testament covenants between God and His people. (The theonomic relationship between Old Testament law and New Testament grace was also a nice touch.)
Particularly in the last chapter, it gave a beautiful image of redeemed creation and why eschatology matters. Why escapist eschatological views (i.e. rapture, pre-millennialism, etc.) do not justly represent God’s good creation and thus the Creator.
“History is moving toward nothing less than a fully restored and glorified universe.”
Particularly in the last chapter, it gave a beautiful image of redeemed creation and why eschatology matters. Why escapist eschatological views (i.e. rapture, pre-millennialism, etc.) do not justly represent God’s good creation and thus the Creator.
“History is moving toward nothing less than a fully restored and glorified universe.”
November 13, 2025
This book did a great job of presenting covenant theology by tracking the story of God's covenant love for his people throughout the scriptures. It presents a lot of interesting arguments that challenged the way I thought about covenants in scripture. It pulls from theologians as well as ancient history sources to show the ancient near-eastern concept of what a covenant is (suzerain vs. other types), and then goes on to show these covenant themes throughout scripture. Perhaps my largest take away from the book was its discussion of the eschaton, that the end of the world will ultimately be a restoration of the broken creation, and thus the natural is not replaced by the spiritual, but rather brought together in perfect harmony. Thus we can say in our own lives that we need not forsake the natural aspects of life (creation, marriage, our bodies, etc.) in order to maximize the spiritual, but rather we can more fully experience the spiritual with and through proper association with the natural. So while it is good to increase our knowledge and spiritual relationship to God, we should fully enjoy the natural, and live in expectation of the restoration of the creation at the end of time.
Overall, a good read, if a little bit dense.
Overall, a good read, if a little bit dense.
April 12, 2020
If you want a firmer grasp of the creation-fall-redemption-consummation storyline that is essential to understanding the Bible, this is a great, approachable resource. Williams does a wonderful job showing me the beauty and scope of God’s covenant throughout the whole of Scripture. I’ll surely refer back to this one as I continue studying the Bible.
January 9, 2018
Learned a lot from this book. The author takes the reader through the Bible with a covenant lens on the eyes. Much exegetical insight here. The eschatology of the last chapter left me with questions and I will re-read that portion.
December 16, 2022
Has changed the way I read my Bible. Very grateful for Williams’ thoughts and extremely helpful perspectives.
March 18, 2024
Excellent examination of Covenants in the Scriptures, as well as an overview of God's working in history.
Logically presented and easy to read. Well referenced
Logically presented and easy to read. Well referenced
September 27, 2024
A quickmoving but thoughtful book about Biblical theology done thematically. Seems good and useful, especially in terms of helping us to see how the little things in the text all do tend to point toward a big picture. Very good on the continuity of the Old to the New Testaments.
April 28, 2025
Read for Covenant Theology- really enjoyed! Particularly his practical applications for how this theology plays out in the life of the church.
August 5, 2019
Conversational and wordy to a fault. Read _Christ of the Covenants_ instead.
May 11, 2021
Amazing explanation of God’s redemptive purpose for the world completed through Israel, Christ and the Church and the depth of his redemptive concern
October 12, 2021
Great content, but I just could not get into it. Something about the author’s style just made the book seem lifeless to me.
November 4, 2024
Read for a seminary class. Good introduction to biblical and covenant theology, but wish it had more practical in it. Also from a writing perspective it felt a bit repetitive wordy, all of the place.
April 22, 2013
In Dr. Michael Williams book, Far as the Curse is Found, he makes a case for reading the bible as one continuous story that arches from Genesis to Revelation. Each part of the overarching story reveals God as being constant in His personality and nature but yet expanding the story to further reveal Him in accordance with what He has already revealed about Himself. Dr. Williams integrates the biblical account of creation and God’s mission all within the flow of God’s covenant with creation and in particular with man. These elements in concert impact the identity of the people of God.
Interacting with the bible as one continuous narrative, one might expect Williams to begin with the creation account in Genesis. Instead, he begins with Christ’s resurrection. This is of vital importance because Christ’s resurrection helps us interpret the events as they unfold from Genesis onward as it does a great deal to answer the covenantal promises that God makes to man as the story progresses. In particular, the resurrection of Christ is a preview of God’s restoration of His creation. Genesis is the first covenant of the biblical narrative where God creates all things and calls them good. God makes man and calls him into a relationship with Him, much like an earthly father to son relationship. Adam is given a mission: to bear God’s image, to be His representative, to mediate God’s rule to creation. The way that man was to do this was through covenantal obedience (p.50). But man listens to the serpent and broke the covenant with God. Instead of destroying man, God promises that the evil one will be crushed one day, that He will redeem His whole creation. This promise carries on through God’s covenant with Noah, then Abraham, and also prophets. Christ’s resurrection is God making good on His promise (p.14).
So, through the expansions of the covenant with Adam onward, God’s mission for man to mediate His rule to creation remains. The problem of man’s sin persists though. From Adam onward through successive generations, God reveals Himself to be the faithful covenant partner in spite of repeated covenant breaking by man. Even when God acts in judgment, He does so to preserve the material world, the structures and patterns of creation, and most notably, His promise of a redeemer and for the sake of His creation (pp.89, 99). After the tower of Babel and the divisions of peoples and languages, God’s mission to be known through a mediator is passed to Abraham (p.103). For God to make Himself known is to bless. So, God makes a covenant with Abraham that he will be made into a great nation, that God will bless him, and God will make his name great in order that through Him all the peoples on the earth will be blessed (pp.108, 109).
Dr. Williams also gives two pictures that help understand God’s people execute His mission throughout the covenants. The pictures are of centrifugal and centripetal motion in regards to the way that God’s people function as mediators of God’s covenant to the rest of the world. God did not place Israel, His people, in their land because it was prime real estate that was impervious to foreign attack or the most fertile land on all the earth. Rather, God placed Israel so that it would be on the major trade route of the ancient world. People from all nations would be exposed to God’s covenant people as they were drawn in as in a centrifuge as opposed to what we see in the centrifugal picture of God’s people in the New Testament in Matthew 28:19 and Acts (p.120). The nation of Israel is to carry out God’s covenant mediatory role to all the nations of the earth. God’s people do this by being God’s treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation (p.135).
The identity of God’s people is to be realized through this lens then. As people in covenant with their Creator, called to mediate knowledge of God to the rest of the world, God’s people are called to model the moral character of people who have been called as a treasured possession, a kingdom priests, and a holy nation “as a witness to the watching nations, giving winsome expression to [their] relationship with him, and to His redemptive concern for his world (p.147).” God’s people do this by living according to His law. Dr. Williams refers to John Calvin’s third use of the law as seeing it as “an operators manual to the covenantal machine (p.156).” Living guided by God’s law reflects the relationship between Him and His people. The law gives “contours of the love of God and neighbor…flow[ing] from covenant membership.” Further, because God is unchanging and in the covenant with Adam He called mankind to image Him, the law eternally binds man (p.161). In their every endeavor, God’s people just as then should now be identified by the way that they display “fairness, holiness, justice, and mercy (p.165).”
God’s people today have the benefit of being able to observe the many failures of God’s people recorded in scripture without blindly committing the same kinds of covenant violations, failing to bear God’s image and to act as mediators on His behalf. Israel got carried away with the fact that they were God’s chosen people and so it eventually surfaced as disdain for their neighboring nations. They thought by “their visible traditions—temple, priesthood, possessing the promised land, the sacrificial system, the Davidic monarchy, and even the office of prophet—guarantee[d] divine favor (p.197).” This is clearly a lesson of what not to do in realizing the identity of God’s people. We can find modern examples to parallel each of these parts of visible traditions in the church today. Christians can fall into the trap of thinking that they are truly God’s people because they go to the right church, that their church members and officers are the true ones, that they have the best country to live in, their church practices all the right liturgy and celebrates the sacraments just so, etcetera, that we are guaranteed God’s favor in all things. As the people of God, we should have our eyes open to the danger of “divorcing the internal from the external” aspects of living in covenant with God (p.212).
The truth of the matter is that modern people of God need to realize the thing they very much have in common with the people of God from ancient times. The people of God need to identify themselves as covenant breakers in need of grace from God. We must be people dependent on God Himself to be the one to maintain His covenant. We are to be people who identify with Christ, the only one who fulfills the covenant (p.224). We are to “bear the name of Christ (p.247).” God’s people are still to be “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God’s own…(p.250).” God’s people take their identity not from fallen Adam but from the sinless Christ (p.252).
We are to live as in the centrifugal picture of God’s people. We bear God’s image and act as His mediators to both Jew and gentile (p.254), empowered by the Holy Spirit to take the gospel to the ends of the earth (p.261). We are to recognize that the church with Christ as its head is an extension of covenantal representation to the word (p.266). We are identified as people who are committed to scripture to fulfill God’s mission (p.269). Finally, we are people who are expectant of God’s regeneration of His creation. We expect that God will rehabilitate His first creation (p.279). We are people who long not for a restored creation or coming heaven alone but we are people who eagerly await the return of our perfect covenant keeping Lord, Jesus Christ (p.302).
Interacting with the bible as one continuous narrative, one might expect Williams to begin with the creation account in Genesis. Instead, he begins with Christ’s resurrection. This is of vital importance because Christ’s resurrection helps us interpret the events as they unfold from Genesis onward as it does a great deal to answer the covenantal promises that God makes to man as the story progresses. In particular, the resurrection of Christ is a preview of God’s restoration of His creation. Genesis is the first covenant of the biblical narrative where God creates all things and calls them good. God makes man and calls him into a relationship with Him, much like an earthly father to son relationship. Adam is given a mission: to bear God’s image, to be His representative, to mediate God’s rule to creation. The way that man was to do this was through covenantal obedience (p.50). But man listens to the serpent and broke the covenant with God. Instead of destroying man, God promises that the evil one will be crushed one day, that He will redeem His whole creation. This promise carries on through God’s covenant with Noah, then Abraham, and also prophets. Christ’s resurrection is God making good on His promise (p.14).
So, through the expansions of the covenant with Adam onward, God’s mission for man to mediate His rule to creation remains. The problem of man’s sin persists though. From Adam onward through successive generations, God reveals Himself to be the faithful covenant partner in spite of repeated covenant breaking by man. Even when God acts in judgment, He does so to preserve the material world, the structures and patterns of creation, and most notably, His promise of a redeemer and for the sake of His creation (pp.89, 99). After the tower of Babel and the divisions of peoples and languages, God’s mission to be known through a mediator is passed to Abraham (p.103). For God to make Himself known is to bless. So, God makes a covenant with Abraham that he will be made into a great nation, that God will bless him, and God will make his name great in order that through Him all the peoples on the earth will be blessed (pp.108, 109).
Dr. Williams also gives two pictures that help understand God’s people execute His mission throughout the covenants. The pictures are of centrifugal and centripetal motion in regards to the way that God’s people function as mediators of God’s covenant to the rest of the world. God did not place Israel, His people, in their land because it was prime real estate that was impervious to foreign attack or the most fertile land on all the earth. Rather, God placed Israel so that it would be on the major trade route of the ancient world. People from all nations would be exposed to God’s covenant people as they were drawn in as in a centrifuge as opposed to what we see in the centrifugal picture of God’s people in the New Testament in Matthew 28:19 and Acts (p.120). The nation of Israel is to carry out God’s covenant mediatory role to all the nations of the earth. God’s people do this by being God’s treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation (p.135).
The identity of God’s people is to be realized through this lens then. As people in covenant with their Creator, called to mediate knowledge of God to the rest of the world, God’s people are called to model the moral character of people who have been called as a treasured possession, a kingdom priests, and a holy nation “as a witness to the watching nations, giving winsome expression to [their] relationship with him, and to His redemptive concern for his world (p.147).” God’s people do this by living according to His law. Dr. Williams refers to John Calvin’s third use of the law as seeing it as “an operators manual to the covenantal machine (p.156).” Living guided by God’s law reflects the relationship between Him and His people. The law gives “contours of the love of God and neighbor…flow[ing] from covenant membership.” Further, because God is unchanging and in the covenant with Adam He called mankind to image Him, the law eternally binds man (p.161). In their every endeavor, God’s people just as then should now be identified by the way that they display “fairness, holiness, justice, and mercy (p.165).”
God’s people today have the benefit of being able to observe the many failures of God’s people recorded in scripture without blindly committing the same kinds of covenant violations, failing to bear God’s image and to act as mediators on His behalf. Israel got carried away with the fact that they were God’s chosen people and so it eventually surfaced as disdain for their neighboring nations. They thought by “their visible traditions—temple, priesthood, possessing the promised land, the sacrificial system, the Davidic monarchy, and even the office of prophet—guarantee[d] divine favor (p.197).” This is clearly a lesson of what not to do in realizing the identity of God’s people. We can find modern examples to parallel each of these parts of visible traditions in the church today. Christians can fall into the trap of thinking that they are truly God’s people because they go to the right church, that their church members and officers are the true ones, that they have the best country to live in, their church practices all the right liturgy and celebrates the sacraments just so, etcetera, that we are guaranteed God’s favor in all things. As the people of God, we should have our eyes open to the danger of “divorcing the internal from the external” aspects of living in covenant with God (p.212).
The truth of the matter is that modern people of God need to realize the thing they very much have in common with the people of God from ancient times. The people of God need to identify themselves as covenant breakers in need of grace from God. We must be people dependent on God Himself to be the one to maintain His covenant. We are to be people who identify with Christ, the only one who fulfills the covenant (p.224). We are to “bear the name of Christ (p.247).” God’s people are still to be “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God’s own…(p.250).” God’s people take their identity not from fallen Adam but from the sinless Christ (p.252).
We are to live as in the centrifugal picture of God’s people. We bear God’s image and act as His mediators to both Jew and gentile (p.254), empowered by the Holy Spirit to take the gospel to the ends of the earth (p.261). We are to recognize that the church with Christ as its head is an extension of covenantal representation to the word (p.266). We are identified as people who are committed to scripture to fulfill God’s mission (p.269). Finally, we are people who are expectant of God’s regeneration of His creation. We expect that God will rehabilitate His first creation (p.279). We are people who long not for a restored creation or coming heaven alone but we are people who eagerly await the return of our perfect covenant keeping Lord, Jesus Christ (p.302).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2021
Really great read on covenant theology. I love Robertson's Christ of the Covenants. This felt like a less academic version: if Robertson is a seminary level book, this might be your Bible college student or thoughtful reading congregant's introduction to the Reformed Covenant framework.
Williams orders the book similarly to many works on covenant theology. After chapters on the resurrection, he moves from the covenant of works, to Genesis 3:15, through Abraham, Noah, Moses, David, Jeremiah and Christ.
Dr. William's unique emphasis seems to be the cosmic scope of redemption: we are not saved from creation but from sin. Sin does not only impact humans but all creation is impacted. Thus, Christ's work will make all things new, "far as the curse is found." I went into this book expecting this thesis to be the entire focus. Instead, only the last two chapters explicitly picked up this theme. As a result, the application of this truth was lacking. I wanted the book to address the implications of that truth. How should Christians view their vocation since we will inhabit a redeemed earth? How does our work as bakers and bankers get dignity in this cosmic redemption framework? These questions were not addressed unfortunately.
Williams orders the book similarly to many works on covenant theology. After chapters on the resurrection, he moves from the covenant of works, to Genesis 3:15, through Abraham, Noah, Moses, David, Jeremiah and Christ.
Dr. William's unique emphasis seems to be the cosmic scope of redemption: we are not saved from creation but from sin. Sin does not only impact humans but all creation is impacted. Thus, Christ's work will make all things new, "far as the curse is found." I went into this book expecting this thesis to be the entire focus. Instead, only the last two chapters explicitly picked up this theme. As a result, the application of this truth was lacking. I wanted the book to address the implications of that truth. How should Christians view their vocation since we will inhabit a redeemed earth? How does our work as bakers and bankers get dignity in this cosmic redemption framework? These questions were not addressed unfortunately.
January 28, 2018
I first read this book freshman year of college, and it was one of those books that I found to be quite helpful in developing a deeper understanding of theological truths I'd sort of known for years. As someone who loves stories, looking at Scripture as telling a single coherent covenant story really helps me to grasp how things fit together and flow from the Old to the New Testament, which deepens both my love for the Bible and my amazement at how God worked and continues to work in the world. I also just finished a year-long read-through of the entire Bible, and appreciated coming back to this book after that to be reminded of how the story that I'd just read in full ties together across history. 4.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up for the impact it had on my thinking when I first read it.
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