God's Covenant Love in Scripture - A Father Who Keeps His Promises

Scott Hahn's ability to explain the scriptures provides a learning experience that brings such clear understanding to Biblical history. Great companion to the Genesis to Jesus bible study given at our parish.

I began my journey in earnest to learn more about my faith about a year ago. This was the third of Scott Hahn's books that I have read. They just blow my mind. He elevates my consciousness without his vocabulary being overburdening. I find it tough to read most theology, but Dr. Hahn writes in a way that is easily understood and enlightening.

Wonderful book! It is required reading for an Old Testament course I'm taking. Explains things very well and offers insight to Sacred Scripture. Written in the beautiful Scott Hahn style with perfect clarity and at a level one can easily understand.

I found this book to provide profound insight into several key passges in the Bible. I chose the audio version and was able to follow easily along while driving, though a more studious reader may want to instead have a Bible handy and reference where Dr Hahn quotes.

Very revealing to understand what the alliances God did with his chosen people. The Bible will become much clearer after this book and the link with the New Testament is a great discovery. This book es enlightening, but with motivation I believe it is essential.

Like most Lutherans , I never fully understood covenants or covental logic. Contracts was the best way to describe the interaction between God and man. Thank you Scott Hahn for opening my eyes to the glory of the Covenant!

When I read this book, I receive so much understanding about how God unfolded his salvation plan through history. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking an overview of the heart and mind of the Triune God.

Hahn's discussion of covenant though the whole of the Old Testament was eye opening. I had never seen the big picture before. I highly recommend this to any reader looking to get a better understanding of scripture.

When I read this book, I receive so much understanding about how God unfolded his salvation plan through history. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking an overview of the heart and mind of the Triune God.

Hahn's discussion of covenant though the whole of the Old Testament was eye opening. I had never seen the big picture before. I highly recommend this to any reader looking to get a better understanding of scripture.

I've always enjoyed reading the works of Scott Hahn. From the first time I cracked open he and his wife's book, "Rome Sweet Home," I've liked the simplistic complexity of his books. He can take some of the most difficult of subjects and put them into words that any layperson can understand. He also manages to throw in some "big" words but using great context clues, the reader can pick up on their meaning quite easily.

"A Father Who Keeps His Promises" stays within the boundaries of Hahn's writing style. He gives the reader a basis for understanding God's covenant love through some major players in the Bible and Jesus Christ. He starts in Genesis, working with Adam, and swiftly and easily bridges him to Noah, Abraham, Moses, King David, and finally, Jesus Christ.

In simple terms, Hahn shows us how God has always kept His promises, even though it may take a few years to follow through on them. He does it by using primarily Biblical teachings, but does utilize the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the writings of leaders, Catholic, Protestant AND Jewish, and other books of the Bible that may not be recognized in other churches.

By doing this, Hahn makes a strong argument for the infallibility of the Catholic Church and her teachings. He also disarms many arguments against Catholicism by using the one thing so many naysayers thump in the face of today's Catholic. He does this in a very inoffensive manner, which goes a long way in trying to get his point across.

In short, if you aren't familiar with Hahn's writings or his show on EWTN, I suggest that you start with "Rome Sweet Home" and then work your way into books like "A Father Who Keeps His Promises." It is highly recommended to Catholics, especially those who have come into the Church by way of a Bible-based background. Non-Catholics will also enjoy it for its rich and wonderful message that can be applied to their lives as well.

"A Father Who Keeps his Promises" is an excellent book for some one who wants to dive into scripture study for the first time, and for the more experienced scripture reader, who might want to broaden their scope of analysis. It analyzes the theme of the covenant between God and his people throughout the history of the Bible, beginning with Adam and ending with Jesus. The book is worth its price for Hahn's intrepretaiton of the culpability of Eve and Adam alone.

Obviously this is a lot of territory and time to cover. The book is an emphasis on themes, and does not analyze every minute detail or story behind the writing, or provide information about the writers. People searching for critical commentaries on the evolution of scripture as it was written should look elsewhere.

This book analyses how God progressively created covenants between himself and with an individual, then with families, then with a nation and finally with the world. It is a never-ending cyclical story of love, committment, reproach, forgiveness, and redemption. The book preaches love and hope.

Due to space constraints, everything in the Bible is not covered in thorough detail, but only the dominant main characters. However, nuances of the stories that involve the main characters are examined to significant depths, as well as typologies are occasioanlly stressed, to connect threads of thought in the New Testament or later parts of the Old Testament that are introduced, or prefigured in the Old Testament.

Hahn includes excperts from the essential passages to which he refers, so it is not necessary to have a Bible to grasp the main points of the text, but a Bible is an excellent reference to further investigate the nuances that Hahn highlights. I have been reading the Bible for years, but have been greatly enriched by Hahn's insight; particularly with the story of the fall from Eden and the trickery of Jacob over Esau.

Although Hahn is listed as a "Catholic Apologist," this book is a great resource for all Christians. I highly recommend it to any one who reads the scripture, the beginners and the experienced alike. It might also appeal to Jews who are curious to explore how Christians relate the New Covenant as an extension and evolution of Jewish traditions.

I really enjoyed this book. True to form, Hahn used his friendly, conversational writing style in this book as a means of communicating with the reader.
In the book, Hahn walks the reader through many of the more important parts of the Old Testament, showing how in every major dealing with man, God played the role of loving Father as a means of caring (and disciplining) His people. In turn, the reader is led to a realization of the kind of love that God has for us - not the "love" of a courtroom judge, but rather, the love of a father in a family room who treats his people as His children.
Also in the book, he further demonstrates where some things fulfilled in the New covenant were foreshadowed in the Old (typology).
However, the most intriguing part of the book was his chapter about Christ's last words on the cross, "It is finished." Truly, the book is worth the price to have a copy of that extremely interesting chapter, and how Christ's words relate to the Eucharist, the sacrafice of the Mass, and the Passover Hogadah.
This is sure to be a very pleasant and encouraging read for the Catholic and non-Catholic alike.

Dr. Hahn has summarized his lectures and tape conferences in this amazing "user friendly" book on the Holy Bible. It is an excellent guide for anyone who finds the Old Testament confusing. Hahn clearly shows the unity of the Old and New Testaments and how the Bible is a family narrative of God the Father's love for His children. Once you read this book, you will see the Bible in a whole new light; and appreciate the Divine plan of God in salvation history. Noteworthy especially is Hahn's excellent synthesis and orthodox interpretation of the Book of Genesis; perhaps one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted Biblical books in the last few centuries. Non-Catholics will benefit from reading Hahn's book, for it shows how the Catholic Church has correctly interpreted scripture throughout the centuries; and it clears up misunderstandings that some non-Catholics have in regard to the belief that the Catholic Church "downplays" the Bible. This book shows the love and reverence that the Catholic Church has always had for Sacred Scripture.

As a parish director of adult faith formation, this is a book that I am continually placing orders for and promoting among my adult students in the parish. Why? Because this text is what I like to call "The Bible in a book." Scott Hahn, Ph.D. has taken years of his personal research and blended it with his unique writing style, which is accessible to the average layperson - not reserved for the Biblical scholar. The result is a text that summarizes Salvation History in 290 pages from an authentically Catholic, orthodox perspective.

Having read this text 4 times from front to back and sections many more times over, this is one of my all time favorite "Catholic" books. Each time I pick it up, it is as if I haven't read it before.. because it is so densely packed with great information. This text was my first real introduction to the Bible as an undergraduate student studying business. It lead me to further study and eventually to an M.A. in Theology, studying under Dr. Hahn himself at the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

One of the gems of this book is the compilation of endnotes in the back of the book, backed with references to Biblical scholarship. If these endnotes were sold as a separate book for the same price as the book itself, I would spend the money on them - they're that great. They really help the reader understand where Dr. Hahn gets concepts such as the firstborn sons of Israel holding a priestly office (before Exodus 32), Melchizedek's identification as "Shem" who outlived Abraham by 35 years, how the plagues wrought upon Egypt through Moses were judgements against each of Egypt's golds (e.g. the Nile, Frogs, Bulls, Rams), how the sacrifices of the Mosaic Law were physical renunciations of Egyptian idolatry (Egyptians worshipped those animals Israel was commanded to sacrifice), and the nature of Deuteronomy as a compilation of concessionary, lesser laws that permitted sins such as divorce/remarriage, usury, and the sort of warfare Israel perpetrated against the Canaanites.

Get this book.. it is worth well more than the few dollars the store charges for it!

In "A Father Who Keeps His Promises," Scott Hahn explains the concept of "covenant," and shows how this concept is an important key to understanding the Bible. He explains and discusses the different covenants which God made with man throughout history, and shows how God has always kept his promises, even though we often haven't kept ours. Hahn provides many interesting and valuable insights which the average 21st-century Christian probably wouldn't discover upon a casual reading of the Bible, and he does a very good job of presenting the "big picture" of salvation history. After reading this book, I feel that I have a much better understanding of how all the parts of the Bible fit together, particularly the Old Testament.

My only complaint about this book is that it almost seems to be missing a chapter. After spending most of the book covering the Old Testament, Hahn skips suddenly to Jesus's Last Supper and Crucifixion. This sudden jump didn't quite make sense to me, as I expected to find some discussion of Jesus's incarnation and ministry. But the book is still well worth reading, in spite of this small complaint. If you are looking for a single book which will give you a better understanding of the overall themes of the Bible, then I would recommend this book.

Dr. Hahn has a genius for making complicated concepts easy to understand. He leads us through the Old Testament and shows us how the old covenant leads up to and culminates in the Last Supper and crucifixion; and the new covenant begins with the resurrection and is perpetuated through the Eucharist. I have a much better understanding of the crucifixion and the Eucharist now that Hahn has put it into the context of Jewish history. My only complaint is Hahn's casual -- sometimes chatty -- writing style and occasional paraphrasing of biblical exchanges into modern American vernacular. While I understand that this book was written for a broad audience, I was still mildly irritated; that said, Hahn's brilliant insight makes this quip hardly worth mentioning.

Scott Hahn continues his audio/video tape ministry with an excellent book on the walk through salvation history. This is an easy-to-read book that really helps explain the big-picture of God's promises and love for us. Beginning with Genesis and ending with the New Testement, Dr. Hahn walks his readers through the bible highlighting key coventants with the Old Testement saints and His people and how they build up to the Messiah and His Church. While I had already viewed Dr. Hahn's video tapes on this subject ..."Salvation History", a book is much easier for me to dig into! Buy this book and enjoy Scott's wit and expertise. I wholeheartedly agree with Peter Kreeft in his quote, "I know of no more authentically Biblical, more reliably Catholic, or more exciting theologian in th eworld today than Scott Hahn."

Taken from Scott Hahn's doctoral thesis, this is an excellent introduction to the concept of covenants and oaths (Latin 'sacramentum,' Greek 'mysterion') as the foundation of a family relationship with God.
In its original form, as presented here, Hahn identifies six covenants. Because the nature of the oath (from the Hebrew that means 'to swear a seven') begs for a seventh one, he initially thought that it occurred at Judgement Day. That doesn't fit, though. Of necessity, Jesus' covenant at the Triduum MUST be the seventh, as the quintessential moment both in and out of all time, His oath literally THE Oath of Oaths.
Hahn later recognized this and added one through Ezra in his classes at Steubenville. However, the Ezra (return from the Babylonian Captivity) solution is unsatisfying because that supposed covenant failed to expand to include anyone new.
His error is in lumping Creation from Genesis 1 together with God's covenant with Adam & Eve. He does so because he sees the one through Moses as two-fold (established, rejected, re-established) and relates early Genesis in the same way. Yet, Pope John Paul II asserts that Genesis 1 is a covenant unto itself (Theology of the Body).
Once Hahn sees Genesis 1 as a separate covenant from Genesis 3-4, he can account for all seven of them without reliance on Ezra to plug the hole. Perhaps we will see a later revision to this book, as Dr. Hahn is someone of immense humility who searches to understand the truth, and has already altered the thesis presented here in that pursuit.
This is otherwise a consistent, coherent, well explained book that I urge every Catholic to read. It forms an incisive basis for understanding the nature of salvation history from Creation to Jesus.

If, as St. Jerome has told us, ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ, Hahn's "A Father Who Keeps His Promises" is an excellent way for believers to get to know the Jesus of the Bible.

This book is a magnificent tool for Catholics who long for a deeper understanding of the mysteries and interconnectedness of the Holy Scriptures. Hahn walks the reader through the covenants established between man and God, and helps to demonstrate how each covenant paved the way for Jesus Christ.

From Adam to Noah to Abraham to Moses to David to Jesus, Hahn helps the reader see the great plan and providence of God throughout Salvation History and helps explain how this seemingly new explanation has been faithfully preserved by the liturgy of the Church.

Perhaps the most valuable insights Dr. Hahn showed me was his understanding of the nature of Adam and Eve's sin in Garden and his contrast between those prehistorical events to the Passion and Death of Christ. If you read nothing other than these opening chapters, you'll do your Faith a great service.

Buy this book. It is a masterpiece.

This is another excellent book by Scott hahn. I've gotten alot out of every book of his I've read. This book tells the story of Gods covenant relationship with his people. You see how over and over God is faithful, but we keep falling away. The book starts with Genesis and Gods covenant with Adam then, Noah, Abraham,Moses,David, and finally Jesus. The last 40 pages or so talks about how Jesus fulfills the covenant. It is my favorite part of the book it goes in depth about the church being the bride of Christ and the eucharist being a renewal of the covanant. This book gave me a deeper understanding of Gods love and mercy and how God has continued to love us even when we fail.