Created to Draw Near by Edward T. Welch

Created to Draw Near by Edward T. Welch ISBN-13: 9781433566387 Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Crossway Books Released: January 7th 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Many Christians prefer to keep God at a safe distance--a distant God makes fewer demands. They imagine God has rules just for the sake of obedience, missing the point that God delights in making them holy so they can draw near to him. God's plan from the beginning has been for his people to draw near to him as a kingdom of priests.

In 40 short, meditative chapters, Ed Welch traces iterations of the priestly job description from the garden of Eden to the heavenly city. Along the way, believers will discover their identity as royal priests and learn what it means that they were created to be made holy as they draw near to God.


My Review:
Created to Draw Near talked about what it means to be a priest of God, how God wants us to draw near to Him, and what He's done to allow us to draw near to Him. The author started by looking at the Garden of Eden, then talked about Moses and Mount Sinai, looked at the tabernacle and the symbolism found in the tabernacle and the priestly clothing. He looked at the sacrifices and the feasts and how Jesus is a later fulfillment of these. He explained how Jesus is our tabernacle, our high priest, the final sacrifice that allows us to draw near to God, how we are priests and saints, and other Old Testament/New Testament imagery. The author is very fond of finding symbolism in things, some of it widely accepted and some of it I've never heard before. At the end of each short chapter, there were two personal application questions. I appreciated that he used verses from and studied the Bible to make his points. I'm not sure that I agree with his repeated theme that mankind (including Adam and Eve before the Fall) were always meant to wear priestly clothing. He seems to believe that the fact that Adam and Eve were naked and didn't know it was a bad thing, and their nakedness always needed to be covered. Overall, though, I felt like he did a good job showing how Jesus fulfills the promises and symbolism found in the Old Testament.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.