THE FOREWORD

This is the third of Prof David Dunn-Wilson's annual Lenten books published in recent years through FeedARead. Following on from looking 'Over My Shoulder' during his journey through Proverbs (2016) we shared in 'Wandering & Wondering' (2017) with David as we joined him in travelling through some of the 'B' Roads of the Bible.
For 2018 we are invited to attend the performance of a lifetime with David acting as our guide and as a sensitive theatre critic examining the contributions made to the biblical production by some of the less well-known performers. Many of these lesser-known performers have what might be described as 'walk-on' roles, but others make contributions without which some of the star performers would not have come to prominence in the ways that they have.
It is clear to me as a long-standing friend and enthusiast of much that David Dunn-Wilson has shared in his fruitful life and ministry that David, like the good wine, which we Methodists are not supposed to know much about, simply matures with age!
What that age is, I will leave the reader to guess, but his growing readership are left in no doubt that what he shares in these Lenten books, (which can be used and appreciated at any time of the year,) is the fruit of deep academic study as well as a rich personal experience of 'life in all its fullness'.
Please, settle down with David and enjoy the performance, which you will see is about to begin.
Richard Jackson (Rev. Dr).
AN INVITATION

I want to invite you to join me in looking again at the greatest performance ever seen. It is nothing less than God's Drama of Salvation. The Bible is its script and it has a cast of thousands. Some of its actors are stars. Players like Abraham, Moses, Peter and Paul have their names up there in lights. Others are so well-known that they almost always top the bill and are assured of an admiring audience.
But what do we say about all the rest? What about those who might be little more than 'spear carriers' in a Shakespearean play? Without its supporting cast, the drama could not happen yet many of these actors are almost forgotten. Therefore, I want to review some of their performances and I am inviting you to join me.
They are a very varied bunch - villains and victims, saints and sinners. Some I already know a little about, others I am meeting for the first time, but they all have their story to tell. Some of them I will like and some I will not, but I can learn from every one of them.
After I have met them, I'm going to write down my reactions and I hope that you will look 'over my shoulder' (to quote the title of an earlier Lenten book) and share in thinking about what I have written. Sometimes your impressions will be quite different from mine and that is fine. That happens in daily life. We don't all respond in the same way to the people we meet.
This is not intended to be a drama critic's scholarly tome. These reflections are merely sparks to light your blue touch-paper and ignite your own more personal responses to their performances.
I have set out the reviews in a pattern of forty days so that it can be used for daily Lenten devotions, but you don't have to use it like that. This is your book, not mine. Use it when and how you wish. All I ask is that you come with an open mind, ready to hear what God has to say to you through the drama of the Biblical story.
To help me think more about the lessons I learn, each day I have added an appropriate hymn. I gladly acknowledge that I owe this idea to my friend Dr. Richard Jackson. Nowadays, so many wonderful hymns are flowing from the contemporary 'hymn explosion', that it is easy for me to forget the treasury of 'classic' hymns. I'm sorry that most of my choices come from ages which were not gender-sensitive but,