A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
by Fred G. Zaspel
As part of my wider reading/preparation for a current series of lessons through Genesis, I have just recently re-read (more carefully this time) Daniel Hays’ excellent book, From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race, and I enjoyed it so much I wanted to give it a brief plug here for our readers.
Race and racism are topics that are more prominent in our conversation and headlines today than any time in memory, and Christians need a healthy, biblical grasp of the Scripture’s teaching. That’s what this book provides. In brief, accessible survey Hays provides a whole-Bible overview of the subject. The work is solid and informed, and his survey moves quickly toward its cumulative climax in Scriptures teaching about the eschaton. Quite simply, you are not done preparing for the race discussion until you read Hay’s excellent study.
In this contribution to the New Studies in Biblical Theology series, J. Daniel Hays explores a biblical theology of race. He works from Genesis to Revelation, showing the continuity and development of this theme across the canon. Hays’s balanced exegesis and sensitive applications make this volume well worth reading. He demonstrates the meaning of the biblical material in its cultural context and then applies it to contemporary race relations. God’s redemptive plan has always been focused on all nations and it culminates in multi-ethnic eschatological glory. The true basis of union for all peoples, alike created in God’s image and descended from Adam, is found in Christ and the Spirit as the universal message of the gospel is received by faith.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 The Ethnic Make-Up of the Old Testament World
Chapter 3 Creation, Blessing, and Race (Genesis 1-12)
Chapter 4 Israel, the Torah, Foreigners, and Intermarriage
Chapter 5 Israel and Black Africa during the Monarchy
Chapter 6 Racial Issues in the Prophets
Chapter 7 The Ethnic Make-up of the New Testament World
Chapter 8 Race and the Theology of Luke-Acts
Chapter 9 Race, Pauline Theology, and the Apocalypse
Chapter 10 Conclusions and Applications
In Sum
Below are the seven points of “Conclusion and Application” from chapter 10.
- The biblical world was multi-ethnic, and Blacks were involved in God’s unfolding plan of redemption from the beginning.
- All people are created in the image of God, and therefore all races and ethnic groups have the same status and unique value that results from the image of God.
- Genesis 10 and the Abrahamic promise combine to form a theme that runs throughout Scripture, constantly pointing to the global and multi-ethnic elements inherent in the overarching plan of God.
- Racial intermarriage is sanctioned by Scripture.
- The gospel demands that we carry compassion and the message of Christ across ethnic lines.
- The New Testament demands active unity in the church, a unity that explicitly joins differing ethnic groups together because of their common identity in Christ.
- The picture of God’s people at the climax of history portrays a multi-ethnic congregation from every tribe, language, people, and nation, all gathered together in worship around God’s throne.
Note: See our Summary of this book here, and see our Author Interview here.