Book Review: "Federal Husband," by Douglas Wilson

This is a book that I really wanted to like; the author begins with a discussion of the nature of marriage as a covenantal relationship, tying marriage to--as it should be tied--the nature of God, the nature of the Church, and more.  As is typical with a book by Wilson, there are a number of observations which are--at least to those not at the target of the comment--side-splitting.

And yet I am profoundly disappointed by the book, and not just because I'm a dispensationalist, while Wilson is a strong covenant theologian.  No, I was disapppointed because uncharacteristically, Wilson does not hit his target full force. I learned about earrings, nose rings, piercings, beards, the necessity of work, how the family business/agrarian movement (e.g. what Vision Forum is promoting) and feminism are both wrong, but.....ironically, despite the first third of the book being devoted to the "federal" or covenantal nature of marriage, he really doesn't firmly make the connection between the nature of God's love for the Church and what ought to be a man's love for his wife, and how it ought to be expressed.

In short, while no one in evangelical, Reformed, or fundamental circles ought to ignore work by Wilson, this particular book fails due more or less by failing to organize itself around the central passages the Scripture uses to describe the institution of marriage.