THE MESSAGE OF NUMBERS

Written by R. Brown Reviewed By Nathan MacDonald

Many readers of Themelios will be familiar with the Bible Speaks Today series to which this latest volume on the book of Numbers belongs. In common with the rest of the series Raymond Brown provides an exposition of the entire book with an eye to the book’s ongoing relevance in the life of the Christian church. In the short introduction Brown argues for the book’s importance and for its Mosaic authorship, whilst the rest of the book is divided into a series of chapters on the text. A homiletic turn is clearly visible in Brown’s exposition of the text. Chapter 13, for example, is expounded under the headings, ‘Accept God’s promises’, ‘Remember God’s faithfulness’, ‘Recall God’s generosity’, ‘Receive God’s resources’. There is an occasional sense of straining the text in order to find something of significance for the church—but Numbers is no easy book as anyone who has tried to preach from it will testify. A useful book for preachers or for personal devotions.


Nathan MacDonald

St Andrews University