"Joshua: No Falling Words" by Dale Ralph Davis. A Review

 


This is a 5-Star book by Dale Ralph Davis, now retired Presbyterian minister and professor of Old Testament. It's readable as a devotional work, it's scholarly for research, and it'll preach! The author's easy manner can almost be disarming because he doesn't slack off from the harder details. one who picks up this volume and dives in will not be disappointed, and will walk away with a better comprehension of Joshua, and greater appreciation for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Davis does a masterful job helping readers, teachers, and preachers grasp what's going on in the scroll of Joshua, and why it matters. He helps students to see the big picture of each section, and then draws their attention into the specific features of every episode. Afterward, he often turns the caring eyes of his searching analysis on the hearts and lives of those reading, until you come to actually believe that the scroll of Joshua is God speaking to his people in every age, even our present situation.

I'm preaching through Joshua at my church presently and have enjoyed getting reacquainted with this work. But instead of reading it as sermon prep, I have read it on Sundays as an extra devotional time. It's just one of those kinds of books. I highly recommend it for academics, pastors, parishioners, and seminarians.

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