The author of this book, the theme of which is expressed in the subtitle “Discovering a Loving God in the Old Testament,” was for many years a missionary in Singapore and Thailand, professor of world mission at Andrews University, and more recently president of Walla Walla College. Apart from the introduction and chapter one, in which Dybdahl raises the question whether God has a split personality, the author divides the book into six sections: (1) Grace in Old Testament Stories; (2) Grace in Institutions, Rituals, and Symbols; (3) Grace in Texts and Words; (4) Responses to Grace; (5) Objections to Old Testament Grace; and (6) a concluding chapter entitled “What New Testament Christians Can Learn About Righteousness by Faith in the Old Testament.”

In the introduction Dybdahl offers the reason for this book. Many Christians consider the Old Testament to be a book of laws rather than of grace. In this book, the author supplies the reader with a pair of glasses that provide new ways of looking at the Old Testament. He endeavors to show that not only the New Testament, which portrays Jesus as a loving, forgiving Savior, but also the Old Testament with its judgments on the nations of Canaan as well as on some Israelites, e.g., Nadab, Abihu, and Uzzah, is a revelation of God’s grace.

Those who have struggled to see how all these stories fit together to give us a consistent picture of a God, who is worthy of our worship, will find this book very helpful. For example, the way Moses in the Pentateuch records the history of the patriarchs and of Israel teaches a very important truth – grace always precedes duty. “God always begins in love and grace and saving – not in requiring. The requirements of God can be understood only by those already experiencing the saving grace of God. Only freed slaves can offer the kind of obedience desired by a loving God” (p. 27).

Dybdahl honestly wrestles with some of the difficult texts in the Old Testament (e. g., the wars of Israel and the sins of David) and finds God’s grace shining through them all. Each chapter also includes a modern story that illustrates how God’s grace works in our world in the same way it did in biblical times. This reviewer found the section on “Responses to Grace” (worship, remember, and obey) particularly insightful.

Dybdahl does not claim to answer all the questions about the Old Testament. “I don’t know all the answers,” he says. “Learning to live with questions may in the end be more fruitful than arriving at final answers. I won’t ever know how to explain fully why God seems to have behaved as He did, but He’s God, and I’m man. I don’t think He minds my asking, but I do believe He may not expect my human mind to fathom it all” (p. 130). While the reader may not agree with everything the author says, pastors and church members alike will be blessed by a thoughtful reading of this volume.