Hebrews Through New Eyes: Christ and His Rivals

Through New Eyes Bible Commentary

by Douglas Wilson

Though often considered one of the more difficult and arcane of the New Testament books, Hebrews is a treasury of robust New Covenant teaching with roots going all the way down into the Pentateuch. In this commentary, Doug Wilson provides a pastoral tour of the book of Hebrews, stopping to point out and contextualize every Old Covenant reference along the way, all the while demonstrating Jesus' supremecy over anyone or anything that would compete for His glory. Written in a conversational style, with the thoughtful Christian in mind, Hebrews Through New Eyes is a handy guide for your Bible study group, Sunday School class or personal Bible reading

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2014

About the author

I write in order to make the little voices in my head go away. Thus far it hasn't worked.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilson begins his commentary on Hebrews with a chapter on typology, and learning how to recognize typology in the Bible. He then orients his readers to the book itself, before launching into a chapter by chapter exposition of the book.

In discussing biblical typology, Wilson orients readers to "allow the Bible to teach us how to read the Bible." He writes, "To the extent that commentators recognize that the New Testament handling of these [Old Testament] passages even exists, it is usually treated as a problem, and not as the solution it is." This seems implausible, at first, since it is hard to understand how commentators could ignore New Testament interpretations of the Old Testament, but it is a problem. For example, Mark Dever calls Moses a murderer in his "Overview of the Old Testament: Promises Made" without bringing Acts 7:20-27 to bear upon his interpretation of Exodus 2:11-14. This is exactly what Wilson is talking about--a blindness to how we're being taught how to read the Old Testament by the New Testament writers.

To this end, he brings consistency to Paul's teaching about the "type/antitype relationship ... between Israel in the wilderness and the church in her wilderness period". Wilson defines the church's wilderness period as the time "between the resurrection of Jesus and the destruction of the temple." This is a powerful insight that then propels his hermeneutic in different ways than most commentators.

He also calls Hebrews "a New Testament Deuteronomy", adding that it "invokes Deuteronomy and its themes." He develops these themes throughout the book, showing that the writer of Hebrews (he argues in an appendix that the writer is Paul) is exhorting his readers to press on "beyond basic Christian doctrine"--not to "abandon this foundation" but "to build on it."

I found this a very helpful work and heartily recommend it.

[Becky Pliego · Rating 5 out of 5]

2017: Excellent-

2015: I find that this is a commentary that one must study, not just read. By this I mean that having your Bible at hand and taking notes will be very beneficial as you study this book.

2014: So good. This commentary answered many of the questions I had on this Epistle. Pastor Wilson is a wonderful teacher which is something I really appreciate.

[Abigail Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

My guy Doug spitting the WISDOM. But in all seriousness good stuff. The chapter that hit me most talked about trials…persevere in the faith in the midst of trials and temptations. SEE CHRIST-keep our eyes on Jesus who with the JOY set before Him endured the cross. Our trials DO have an ordained purpose. So get up! Whenever a saint is tempted to lose his faith, the tendency is to retract into his own world…fight the good fight. Stand firm in the faith.
We renew our covenant with God weekly in worship—approach God diligently…that is why there is order to worship!!: call to worship, confession, consecration, communion, and commissioning.
Good stuff here:
In order for Christians to obey their rulers, they must identify their rulers
In order for rulers to give account for the congregation, they need to know their names
Pastors stand and give an account for the people they shepherd-how can they do that when they don’t know the individuals in their congregation (anti mega church yup yup!!!!!!!!!)
If the army is prepared for the Lord in the midst of the camp, then no one can stand against it

[Jesus Salgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful and a lot of thought provoking wisdom!

[Timothy Dehne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

[Adam Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the fact that it took me 4 months to finish this book fool you -- I got sidelined on a couple of awful counseling books that scared me off of reading for a good chunk of that. This book was actually a relatively easy and enjoyable read, full of nuggets that have been very helpful to me in thinking about the book of Hebrews.

Of all the Reformed/Calvinists I've read, Wilson comes the closest to giving a coherent account of the apparent conflict between the "perseverance/security" passages and the "warning against apostasy" passages, although his approach raises an ethical problem with his practice of paedobaptism (which, in fairness, he does not make a point of in the book, so kudos to him for sticking to the text and what the text demands).

The book has a strong liturgical angle: the issue of our right approach, attitude, and practice of gathered worship echoes through several passages, and culminates in some soaring and convicting argumentation in the closing chapter (XV) that calls into the question the flippancy with which we structure our services and the unintentionality with which many approach the Eucharist. (In my own experience, it is not the regulative reformed but the otherwise free-wheeling normative pentecostal/charismatics who come closest to thinking about service order and treating communion in a way consistent with Wilson's exhortation. So, again, points to him for amplifying what the text says above cheering for his own team.)

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book. I'm sure there's far more in it than I got out of it. For some reason I had a hard time following the train of thought throughout the book.
I don't say that this is any fault to the author, in general Douglas Wilson is a great author, one of my favorites, actually.
Considering the fact that he's a Presbyterian and I'm a Baptist, I appreciate the way he handled the "Baptim and New Covenant" chapter, while not always agreeing. And I did appreciate his highlighting the contrast and parallels of the old and new covanent and the way that he drew out the fact that Hebrews is a new testament Deuteronomy.

Because I didn't get as much out of it as I was expecting it wouldn't be my first reccomendation, but I by no means discourage anyone from reading and enjoying it.

[Abigail Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed Wilson’s use of Scripture to interpret Scripture. It made me revel in the glorious nature of the Word. The words that came to my mind as I finished this commentary were: “Praise God for his faithfulness and goodness.”

[Sean Kewley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible exegesis on Hebrews, focused on covenantal worship between God and His people. Wilson describes the covenantal relationship in plain language, and derives the liturgy from the text in a profound way. Wonderful book. I highly recommend it.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more of a survey of the main themes of the Epistle than and verse-by-verse commentary of it, and that is very helpful. Wilson's preterism unlocks the book and provides considerable light on a number of difficult and misunderstood passages.

And with Wilson's ability to soar on the theme of Christ's superiority and the heavenly reality of corporate worship this book is well suited to his expositional gifts.

Loved it and benefited considerably.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reading commentary

[John Rimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a thin work it does breeze through parts, but it spends good time in the parts of Hebrews that other commentaries whiz past (e.g. Melchizedek, apostasy passages). Great at connecting the Old Testament citations to their New Testament uses, as well as setting the historical context regarding the impending destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple. I read it as a supplement to my devotional readings in Hebrews. Very good.

[Aurora Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

The epistle to the Hebrews might be one of the most anti-semetic documents in the New Testament, its entire central thrust being that the Jews have lost their privileged position because of Jesus and now are under wrath and judgment for rejecting the Christian message. It should be no surprise, then, that this book was one of the biggest commentaries Wilson has written.

[Courtney Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wilson employs a fresh take on Hebrews that boils the whole book down into manageable pieces. Instead of a line by line exegetical work he works with larger chunks of passages and pulls out overall themes. The ending felt a little rushed but the content was top notch.

[Eric Keel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series of commentaries. Hebrews is such a meaty book and Wilson does a fantastic job of addressing the old testament passages and covenant before moving on to the New. Extremely helpful!

[Bradley Endsor · Rating 4 out of 5]

good introduction that gives you a clear picture of what the author is trying to do.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but don't read the 33-page appendix of OT quotations next time.

[Abby Moreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

[Felipe Sabino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente comentário.

[Adam Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best expositional overviews of the book of Hebrews I've ever encountered. This is a high water mark, even judging it against Wilson's other books. The first three chapters, which deal with typology and the two Testaments, is literally worth the price of the entire book and seminary students should be required to read it before being sent into the world.

[Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book/commentary on Hebrews. It doesn’t read like a typical commentary, but rather it reads more like a collection of sermons/articles on each chapter in Hebrews. Sound, biblical theology with very helpful explanations and illustrations. This book is as great as anything I have read on Hebrews.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this commentary on Hebrews. The method Doug lays out for reading scripture early on is very helpful in its own right. However, I felt like this book was at least a hundred pages too short. Some things needed further explanation. But I also felt like some lengthy, difficult passages of Hebrews were skimmed over entirely.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful exposition of Hebrews. Does justice to the apostasy passages without giving up the farm.

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff. Practical, and a good introductory example of how to read and apply, the Bible typologically.

[Ak Hauck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wilson doing his thing....and doing it well.

[James Aaron Kirkpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes the book of Hebrews clearer.

[Lucas Bradburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found his arguments for preterism and a Pauline authorship unpersuasive, generally I thought it offered some good insights and applications of the text of Hebrews.

[Steven Hoffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great