The Wayfinding Bible
from Tyndale House Publishers
This new Bible put out by Tyndale House Publishers is a
unique contribution to the Bibles that you fin on the market. There are three basic routes that you can
take in reading this Bible: flyover, the direct and scenic routes. The flyover route is 54 readings in the
Scriptures that give the reader a chronological understanding of the
Bible. The direct route comprises 215
readings that give a more robust selection of readings to grasp the meaning of
the entire Bible within a year’s time.
The last route, the scenic route, is 386 readings in God’s Word that
traces the known and not well known passages of the Scriptures to give the
reader a fuller and deeper understanding of both chronology and meaning of the
text. In my reading, I chose to take the
flyover route to see how different types of passages fit together both
chronologically and thematically. What
you will find in this Bible is a wealth of material that is helpful in
observing and exploring various points in history and theology that are often
hard to grasp and which need further elaboration.
In my flyover route, the editors included the beginning
story of God’s creation, the fall of Adam and Eve into sin and part of Noah’s
story as well as Genesis 15. What I
thought was very interesting and telling is that this route included Sarah’s
denial of laughter (Genesis 18:15) alongside Sarah’s remarks in Genesis 21:6
where she declares, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me.” Back in Genesis 18, God reminded Sarah that
she did laugh at the prospect of her bearing a son in her old age, but now she
declares in Genesis 21 that God has truly brought her laughter in the face of
the impossible. The notes include the
point that fulfilling the promises through their own sheer effort was folly for
Abraham and Sarah, but trusting that God could and would fulfill his promises
would inevitably lead to comfort. The
wayfinding format helped me see the overall picture of what God was
particularly doing to form a people for himself and bless that people and the
whole world by way of his covenant faithfulness.
Very illuminating and beneficial were the sections at the
beginning of each book labeled ‘Finding Jesus in Exodus’ or the book that was
to follow. Why? We often fail to see how Jesus is connected
to the OT story or we try to fit him into the story in rather artificial
ways. But, as the editors indicate, “He
(Jesus) is the ultimate Passover Lamb, whose blood was shed to save us from the
consequences of disobedience to God” (79).
The covenant ceremonies and
Passover celebration was a remembrance of the saving work of God, no less a
type of sacrifice that pointed to one who would die for his people and save
them to the uttermost. Understanding how
Jesus fits into the Old Testament story helps us to read the Bible organically,
as a story moving to a climax and with one hero at its foreground, God revealed
in three persons. These sections are
going to go a long way in helping people read the Bible well and as one story
rather than disparate sections mashed together.
I really enjoyed this Bible and hope to share it with others
as they read the Scriptures and grow in their knowledge of God and his Word.
Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for the copy of The Wayfinding Bible in exchange for an
honest review.
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