Exodus 5:22 - 6:8 reveals God's design for building his kingdom, a design with four components: deliverance, community, knowledge of God, and the abundant life.
From these components Elmer Martens constructs a grid through which the entire message of the Old Testament can be read. God's Design presents an overview of the Old Testament all Bible students will find fascinating. God's design was articulated in the exodus, implemented in the pre-monarchy era, tested in the centuries of the kings, and reaffirmed through Israel's exile and return.
This edition adds two chapters, an introduction to the author's methodology, and an up-to-date bibliography. Martens retains features reviewers appreciated in the first edition: solid scholarship, interesting writing, helpful charts, mature theological reflections, and "solid judgment throughout."