Finding the Lost Images of God

Ancient Context, Ancient Faith

by Timothy S. Laniak, Gary M. Burge (Editor)

The theme of God’s relationship with his chosen people is expressed and explained in numerous ancient word pictures throughout the pages of Scripture. Without an accurate grasp of the historical and social contexts that originally housed these images, however, modern eyes and ears can gloss over these profound biblical revelations and fail to hear their timeless teaching. Even worse, readers can wrongly understand what such images communicate about God and about the people of God, misusing the Bible by imposing modern assumptions upon it. Timothy S. Laniak provides the necessary background for accurately understanding the Bible’s images of God and of his people, tracing seven image pairs from Genesis and Exodus through their climax in Revelation. This complementary approach reveals a rich and multifaceted relationship between God and the people he loves and calls into his service. Finding the Lost Images of God draws on archaeology, ancient texts, anthropology and personal narratives to bring deeper understanding of the Bible’s imagery to students, pastors, lay leaders and other Bible teachers.

144 pages, Paperback

First published February 21, 2012

Reviews

[Jonathan Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This an enjoyable short study on the various pictures of God we see in scripture. Laniak provides a good deal of scripture and will cause you to think more deeply about God without the technical, scholarly jargon. Some of the images will be more familiar, some may be new, and others are a little stretched. I used this as a starting point for a Bible class entitled "Portraits of God" and added half a dozen more. My only real complaint is that the book is not longer.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful.

*Read for work.