10 of those

The Letter to the Hebrews contains some of the New Testament’s best–loved passages as well as some of its most difficult. It has stirred the hearts of generations of Christians with its visions of the exalted Christ, his deity, humanity and sufferings, and his fulfilment of the Old Covenant by becoming a superior sacrifice and a High Priest of the New Covenant. Its examples of the faithful obedience of men and women like Abraham and Sarah who were ‘looking for a city whose builder and maker is God’ continue to spur on multitudes to greater devotion in their own journey of faith. Yet this same letter, with its solemn warnings, has also brought distress to many and caused some to question their own faith, if not their very salvation.

In a clear and concise manner informed by pastoral concern, David Gooding explains the meaning of Hebrews’ warnings as he expounds the letter as a whole. He carefully examines the position and temptations of its original readers in the first century. Many were undergoing such severe persecution that they might easily have wondered why, if Jesus really were the Messiah, they had to experience such pain and loss. He expounds its major themes in order to show that its unified message is that hope and enduring faith in Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, will never be put to shame. As he guides us step by step, he reaches outside the limits of the letter itself in order to explore rich fields of Old Testament history, prophecy, ritual and poetry from which the letter has drawn so many of its insights.

This practical and readable exposition elucidates Hebrews’ searching questions about the progress we are making in our own pilgrimage of faith. It is an invaluable help for understanding that both its beauties and its difficulties are intended to strengthen that faith. For, as the letter’s original readers discovered, faith finds its only secure resting place in the true and coming King whose kingdom will stand even when everything else is shaken to pieces.

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Some years back I got hold of David Gooding’s An Unshakeable Kingdom and read it with much profit and stimulation, as the exclamation marks and nota benes in the margins attest. This happy experience also moved me to lay my hands on every other Gooding publication I could find. Here then is a guide to Hebrews written with the expertise of the scholar, the clarity of the expositor, and the heart–beat of the preacher; like baby bear’s porridge, it is ‘just right.’

—    Dale Ralph Davis — Author, previously teaching elder at Woodland Presbyterian Church, Hattiesburg and Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississipi

Hebrews is without doubt the crown of the whole Bible. All its great lines of revealed truth flow into and converge here, and are given their full and final expression and application. David Gooding rises to the occasion. His unique gifts as a Bible analyst and expositor are given full play; his delight in the glories of our Lord Jesus Christ matches that of Hebrews itself. It is a bit invidious to single anything out for special mention, but I have never read anything more helpful or perceptive on the Psalm–list in Hebrews chapter one. The whole book is worthwhile for that alone! We owe a great debt to the Myrtlefield Trust for this republication.

—    Alec Motyer — Author, formerly Principal of Trinity College, Bristol