The Ancient Path: Understanding Your Journey from Creation to Creator

"The Ancient Path" is exquisitely written, with insights into biblical truths that go deep into your heart. The poetic flow of this work, and the sheer beauty of it, makes the passages moving as well as memorable. Joshua Jost's description of creation and of how God brought life into being is masterful, as is every chapter from "In the Beginning" to "The Son." There is a wise, discerning mind, a life devoted to the Lord, and a child's wonder coming together on each page. I found Chapter 2, "Forbidden Fruit," very illuminating, with reasons why Eve added "touch" to God's commandment of not eating from the tree of good and evil, as "the serpent laid before them the ultimate temptation of sin: the pursuit of knowledge for power" (page 35), and Chapter 3, "The Father," is enthralling, as Abraham waits...and waits...for the destiny God said was his to come. "If hope were our destination, and faith the feet that carry us there, covenant is our path, laid straight before us" (page 52). Only in his early 30's, but with the wisdom of the ancients, truth shines brightly in the cottage Jost shares with his family in northeast Scotland. "...only those who listen with ears of faith will see with their eyes the promises they hope for" (page 135). There is an intimacy with the Lord, and a passion for His Word in the pages of this slim but mighty book, that can only be written by someone who knows Him well. With the overwhelming love that comes from this knowing, and by yielding one's life to Him, we see the good fruit that ensues. This book is the good fruit Jost shares with us; we are enlightened and lifted up, and very much rewarded in the reading of it.

One of the problems I have with my reading pace is that I don't allow my imagination to wander much to create "color" in a narrative. That's the main reason I enjoyed The Ancient Path by Joshua M. Jost so much. It forced me to slow down and see familiar Bible stories and passages in a new light, with color, character, and meaning injected into them. Contents: In The Beginning; Forbidden Fruit; The Father; Pulled From The Water; Land Of Hope; City Of Peace; Prophets Of Wisdom And The City Of Confusion; The Son Ancient Path is a reflective work by the author, who traces his own journey and struggle with age-old questions. Starting with Genesis and moving through the time of Christ, Jost paints a picture of how God was working from the very beginning to reveal his Son. He does so by taking events and personalities, such as Moses and Abraham, and interweaves their story with his questions and reflections of God's grace and teaching. The style was such that I found myself slowing down, entering the scene that was being narrated, and thinking about the implications of what was just described. And if an author can get me to do that, it's saying something... You could almost look at each chapter as being a devotional that would take you about 15 to 30 minutes to read, but that would give hours of material for thought and consideration. I came away from the book feeling refreshed and humbled, and I'm honored that I had the chance to read and review the book.

The Ancient Path is a book well worth reading for anyone seeking an understanding of the Christian Faith, new to the Christian Faith and surprisingly, although perhaps it should not be so, to those well established in their faith, versed in doctrine but for whom the experience has become rote and dry. Those particularly of the Reformed tradition will find this work to be a welcome addition to the normal fare of logic, theology and the tracing of Covenants through familiar Old Testament figures who point to and culminate in the person of Jesus Christ. What on the surface appears to be a brief fly-by of familiar Bibilcal figures, becomes in fact an appeal to embrace not only the history and theology, but also the heart and soul of what their relationship with God was and how we should seek not just to know more of them, but to be like them. The writing style is conversational, image laden and times waxes poetic using similes, metaphores and literary devices that appeal to the inner eye as a path to spiritual truth and renewal which while decidedly not anti-intellectual, challenges the reader to cease relying so much upon their intellect and to come into the warmth of a personal knowlege of the God central to all characters. The book reads authentically and genuinely as the heart work of someone who has wrestled with the traditional issues of faith and has come forth stronger for the battle, more committed to cardinal truth but who has added the essential quality of peace, acceptance and at the core of their walk, relationship. It is a quality rarely seen and expressed well in so much of the apologetics and self-help literature that appeals to the mind and expects the heart to follow. Here the heart leads and the mind supports. This book can easily be read at a single reading and walked away from, but to do so would miss much. Here is a book to dwell upon, meditate and feed upon. This would serve well as a devotional series, or a home fellowship study. It is worth returning to redigest again and recenter. The only element that may throw some is the paucity of Scriptural references, despite the fact that clearly Scripture is quoted and incorporated throughout the work. This is apparantly quite intentional, for just the reason that this is a book to be taken in whole, not in parts with pauses to pursue cross texts. There is a time and place for that, but not here. Here the meal is served, not prepared. I recommend this book enthusiastically. Bart Breen

There are so many books being published these days. Very few books are giving us new insights into eternal things. Many authors and artists today write and perform because they think they have an idea that will sell. They haven't truly received a word from the Lord... only a carnal desire to be noticed and receive the short-lived benefits of being known by the masses. Joshua Jost has a word from the Lord. His desire was to write a book that would encapsulate the totality of the Bible's message and present it in a powerful poetic short story depicting the love of God. His hope was to write a book that would create in his readers a hunger to "return to the Bible itself." He has accomplished his goal. This undertaking was indeed colossal to say the least. It is an enormous task to briefly tell the story of biblical history and include the most important aspects in order to get it right. And this Scottish author gets it right! Jost begins with the familiar Garden of Eden scene and follows the ancient path through the prophets to the Son of God. He wonderfully weaves together the Old and New Testaments in a creative retelling of Holy Scripture. The most noticeable theme is the love of the creator for his creation. Jost uses his words like a painter uses his brush. He beautifully depicts the love of God in the midst of the destructive power of sin. Concerning the first sin of Adam and Eve, he writes, "The Father burned with anger, not the anger that brings hatred, but the anger that brings tears-- anger directed, not toward them, but toward what separated them from Him." However, it is the Father's love that is his motivation. It is this love that we many times spurn because of its penetrating light of truth. Jost writes, "Like a refining fire it will burn away rags of pride and your facades, the true nakedness of your soul and the miserable pain of your wanderings-- and then clothe you in eternal radiance. This same fire that once kindled your greatest fears will become your greatest comfort." Jost boldly proclaims that it is because of the love of God that the Father took the risk to give his creation the freedom to choose him. It is the very nature of love to have the ability to choose. And upon man's failure and fall from his intimate love relationship with God, the Father takes the initiative and makes a promise to restore what was lost; that we may once again know his love and, in return, give his love as a testimony to his greatness! Jost has clearly not written to us a theology book. Yet, theology is most definitely present. The reader is beckoned to reflect on the character of God and the biblical themes of good, evil, righteousness, and sin. I found myself rethinking and birthing new thoughts about the seriousness of sin and the undying love of God to reconcile himself with humanity. Too often, I think we have subconsciously believed that God has simply chosen not to associate himself with sin. Jost reminds us

The Ancient Path is the author throwing into the blender rich theological insight, personal reflection, poetry, unanswered questions, and well-developed word pictures to come out with his a captivating, exhilarating, and thought-provoking work. At the most basic level, the book walks through the major narratives of the Old Testament, asking the question, "What is love?" But, it isn't a book that wrestles with the question as an objective technician, trying to accurately unlock the meaning of the ancient message. (Though such a process was used) Instead, it is his journey and his musings over the beauty that he found on such a path of exploration. What is rare about the book, but where its power lies, is the years of pondering that is encountered in the reading. Not only does he take a complicated theme and presents it in an easily understood and interactive form, but he also goes one step further than most Christian authors do these days: he struggles with it personally and allows the reader to do the same. There are numerous amount of paragraphs scattered throughout the book that could be expanded into lengthy books, but instead of doing so, he implants the mystery in the mind of the reader to give him the opportunity to ponder. That's what is refreshing. It isn't just the impartation of knowledge or observation, or a collection of different people's thoughts. It is a man's journey through the Old Testament, asking deep questions, and reflecting on how the answers would penetrate his life. At times, you are reading a journal. At other times, a commentary. And then at times, poetry. It is a book that attempts to hit the mind, the heart, and the soul simultaneously, and succeeds in doing so. Being in full time ministry and schooled in theology, this was a book that refreshed my love for God, the beauty of ministry, and the power of wonder. It was a return to the heart of what Christianity is: a beautiful, powerful, awesome, and overwhelming relationship with God.