"The Great Exchange: Bound by Blood" by Robert and Kay Camenisch. A Review

The Great ExchangeThe Great Exchange by Robert and Kay Camenisch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For Christians to practice the art of reading the whole Bible, from Old Testament to New, is a virtue quickly going by the wayside. The issue is not just reading the whole Bible, but the art of seeing the totality of the Sacred Scriptures as one story, with one central hero: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Robert C. and Kay W. Camenisch have provided Bible readers an exercise in just such an endeavor with their recently published, 224 page paperback, "The Great Exchange: Bound by Blood." This is a simply written, non-academic and non-technical volume, crafted for the person-in-the-pew.

"The Great Exchange" surveys Scripture from Abraham to the New Testament through the lens of covenant. The Camenisches work out the definition and seven marks of a covenant. Then from that position they walk the reader through the Abrahamic Covenant, Mosaic Covenant, and several others, showing how each one fits and follows the seven marks. In all of them, but especially the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant, there is a great exchange.

This particular manuscript is void of academic footnotes, and the heavily annotated end notes that normally load most books on the subject. Instead the authors keep the scholastic and Scriptural elucidations to a bare minimum to help the reader stay with the flow of the book. And since their approach is intentionally meant to give a survey of "how the blood covenant affects our relationship with God" (5), it is a highly devotional book. Speculative, introspective and allegorical explanations of the Bible's story come out in numerous places, some of which are very thought provoking.

"The Great Exchange" is easy to decipher and work through. This might make a good introduction to the Scriptures for the new believer in your life. It also could be a fine place for the more seasoned saint to relearn the art of reading the whole Bible as one story. It would be worth giving it a try.


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Comments

Unknown said…
Thank you, Michael. I appreciate youmaking time to read the book and give a thorough review. May the Lord bless you and your ministry.
April 5, 2016 at 8:40 AM
Unknown said…
Thank you, Michael. I appreciate youmaking time to read the book and give a thorough review. May the Lord bless you and your ministry.
April 5, 2016 at 9:17 AM
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