Zondervan Bibles, “God’s Justice: The Flourishing of Creation & the Destruction of Evil” (reviewed by Jeffrey Needle)

Review
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Title: God’s Justice: The Flourishing of Creation & the Destruction of Evil
Publisher: Zondervan Bibles
Genre: Study Bible
Year: 2016
Pages: 1780
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-43713-0
Price: $39.99

Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle for the Association for Mormon Letters

Just a half mile from my home is a branch of the Family Christian Bookstore chain. Over the years, the chain has morphed from a for-profit enterprise into an admirable retail outlet devoted to funding various projects through their profits. As a result, I like to shop there whenever I can. I can depend on an honest and worthwhile experience.

No matter when I visit, I know I’ll be confronted with an almost overwhelming assortment of study Bibles. Every conceivable translation, every imaginable approach — just walk the aisles, and you’re bound to find something that will make you happy. I myself own about 20 study Bibles. Each one offers something unique and helpful.

It seems that publishers are trying to outdo each other with new features, new wrinkles in the idea of what a study Bible should be. They inevitably add concordances, glossaries, maps, study aids, cross-references — I’m waiting for the study Bible that will do my laundry for me. I will surely buy THAT one!

The current item, “God’s Justice,” takes a unique approach — less is better. No maps, no concordance, no cross-references, no dancing girls. Just the text of the New International Version — and, importantly, a slew of notes that focus on the social nature of God and His concern for His creation. The extent of the notes floored me, and made me remember that the Bible has an abundance of guidance for socially-conscious Christians, and that they ought to be involved with more than just infighting and proselyting from each other.

Take for example a note on — “Thousands of years before ecology was even a word, this psalm celebrated the exquisite variety of creation, with its components intertwined and mutually dependent, and all with God as the underlying active agent. This world is made by God, depending on him moment by moment for its ordinary existence. Humankind holds an honored place, but so do wild creatures like the wild goats (v. 18) and the leviathan (v. 20), ‘which were formed to frolic.’ All are part of God’s kingdom. Maintaining this ecological balance is one form of God’s justice.”

Wow! Here’s a study Bible that calls Christians to a greater appreciation for the earth and its creatures, and says that maintaining “this ecological balance is one form of God’s justice.” How many good Christians could benefit from understanding this fundamental point?

As you can see from this one note, the publishers take a rather wide view of the concept of “justice.” Allow me to cite the introduction at some length:

“The book you hold in your hands is the story of a God who sees disease and wants it healed, who hears the cry of the oppressed and is determined to make things right. Many people restrict the Bible by thinking it’s just a book of rules and religion. But it is so much more. It is a book about the holy and sovereign God revealing who he is, and providing a way for all mankind to be restored to a relationship with God, through Jesus, and then join in his restoration project. The Bible tells the story of God’s amazing kind of justice, with love and mercy inextricably intertwined.

“Injustice and evil remain potent and subtle, and each new generation faces unprecedented challenges. We have no script for the next chapter. We must use our creative powers to build on the story so far until we reach a good ending.”

What a great discussion these words would provide for Latter-day Saints who hunger for a more just, a more balanced world.

Of course, the ironies of the injustices in life are not ignored. Here’s the footnote to — “Job describes the easy, prosperous life of the wicked. Why, he asks, doesn’t God afflict them? The complaint is very similar to that of Psalm 73. From Job’s perspective, the fact that the wicked often do well…makes utter nonsense of the three friends’ claims that justice works out visibly and logically in every case.”

There is an interesting twist here. God’s justice sometimes doesn’t work according to our timetables. We don’t set the agenda, He does. And we can’t always hold God responsible for not living up to our expectations. He works, indeed, in mysterious ways. But this does not relieve us one whit of our part in trying to end the injustices to be found in this world.

Seeing the Bible as a call to social activism is counter-intuitive to the broad perception of evangelical Christianity’s perceived mission in the modern world. But Latter-day Saints will have no problem here. After all, King Benjamin’s speech in the Book of Mormon epitomizes the Christian’s concern for the poor, the hurting, the alienated. The inclusiveness of God’s concern for all people is trumpeted through the Book of Mormon’s pages, and will be familiar to all who have read that book.

In addition to the abundant notes, which often reflect variant readings, each book of the Bible is preceded by an introduction, focusing on its teachings relating to the overall goal of exploring God’s justice. The insights are often revealing, offering the reader a new approach to an old story. And each book ends with suggestions on reflecting on what was just read, and suggested prayers to accompany the study.

With each reading, this Bible brings the totality of the Christian’s involvement in the betterment of this world to light in innovative and exciting ways. And even though the NIV is not my favorite text, I find more and more interesting study Bibles using this widely-available translation. Consequently, I find my own collection of NIV Bibles growing apace.

This wonderful study Bible will find a welcome place on the shelf of any Latter-day Saint who acknowledges the need to change the world in a positive way. One aspect of the Church’s world mission is to make the world better by making people’s lives better, helping with food, medical aid, and spiritual comfort. In this way, Mormonism joins with the wider Christian world in a clarion call for fixing the world by addressing its deepest problems. Whether they be the abuse of women and children, the ruining of the planet through pollution and the wasting of resources, the desperate need for food and water in many places — the list goes on and on.

And this study Bible never lets up in its insistence that God lives through His people to bring equity and justice to a world badly in need of their positive influence and ability to bring about needed change. The ability, indeed, is there. It’s the willingness that’s needed, and this Bible offers any honest-hearted reader the impetus to begin working toward that change.

I strongly commend this work to any Christian, any Latter-day Saint, who wants to explore positive and constructive ways to make the world a better place.

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