For most Christians today, there is no message of Leviticus, for Leviticus goes unread. Yet Leviticus was the first priority in Jewish instruction of the law of Moses. Jesus and his hearers knew Levit
The book of Ruth is a tale of charm and delight. Goethe called it "the loveliest complete work on a small scale, handed down to us as an ethical treatise and an idyll." Another writes, "No poet in the
What is life about? In the end, does it all amount to a wisp of vapor, a puff of wind, a mere breath---nothing you can get your hands on--the nearest thing to zero? So says the Preacher in the book of
Michael Wilcock sees Chronicles as first and foremost a sermon; its object -- to foster a right relationship between God and his people. The Chronicler finds in the records of Israel the "great overal
The book of Judges bustles with colorful characters. Ehud, a left-handed political assassin who cleverly dispatches a corpulent king.Deborah, a bold prophet and matriarch of Israel who musters tribes
The book of Joshua recounts the momentous events of Israel?s entry into Canaan, the promised land: Joshua?s commission and reassurance, crossing the Jordan river, the capture of Jericho and Ai, the gr
The destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BC is the likely setting for the book of Lamentations. This was the most traumatic event in the whole of Old Testament history, with its extreme
The study of the book of Zechariah is bound to be enriching, for it is imbued from beginning to end with the same heart-cry that Jesus turned into a prayer for all of us: "Your kingdom come."Here Barr
The book of Proverbs is the most practical book in the Bible. Its instruction in the art of living has been long tried and long proven. Its proverbial seeds of discernment are ready to be planted and
Ever since Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue of Nazareth, Christians have gravitated to this great prophecy as the interpretive center of the Old Testament. Here the story of Israe
At first reading the Song of Songs appears to be an unabashed celebration of the deeply rooted urges of physical attraction, mutual love and sexual consummation between a man and a woman.Tom Gledhill
"Go and marry a prostitute." These are the first words God spoke to his prophet Hosea. Why would he ask this of one of his special spokesman? Because he wanted to teach Hosea, the nation of Israel and
Times were hard for the first readers of the letter to the Hebrews. Many had been exposed to fierce persecution. They had been assaulted, their homes had been plundered, and some had even been cast in
What is the book of Revelation? Does it describe in veiled language events of its writer's own day, or is it largely a prophecy of events still to come? Is it a chart of the whole of history from Chri
Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference for 2014 (Old Testament Commentaries)The prophet Jeremiah addressed the people of Judah and Jerusalem over a forty-year period leading up to th
Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference for 2014 (Old Testament Commentaries)A replacement volume in the Bible Speaks Today Old Testament commentary series, Dale Ralph Davis's The Mes
The book of Jonah is mostly remembered for its oddity--a runaway prophet swallowed by a whale!But there must be more to the book than that. And indeed there is. For one thing, it is a book artfully co
Reading the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, we witness the transition of Israel from tribal confederacy to established monarchy. And, as Mary Evans shows in this passage-by-passage commentary, during such a
Numbers is one of the "lost" books of the Bible--lost because it is neglected by many Christians. Named for its two "numberings," or censuses, of Israel--the generation that left Egypt and the generat
Fullness and freedom--two aspects of Christian life that we all want to share. Paul wrote about them at length (and depth) in his letter to the Christians at Colossae, where certain new teachers were
One of Christianity Today's 1995 Books of the YearWhen Paul first penned his letter to the house churches of Rome, his purpose was to gain prayerful support for his coming mission to the western reach
Genesis shows us how and why we are. It uncovers the origins of evil. It illuminates the meaning of freedom. It expresses the harmony of creation. And it offers hope for the renewal of our natural wor
Abraham -- called out of Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan, there to found a great nation, a blessing to all peoples. Isaac -- his son, taken to be sacrificed by his father, until God provided a sub
The book of Malachi fittingly sits in Christian Bibles as the last book of the Old Testament, which it assumes, summarizes and applies. Yet it also looks forward to the New Testament with its promises
Ezekiel comes to us as a stranger from a distant time and land. Who is this priest who, on his thirtieth birthday, has a dazzling vision of God on a wheeled throne? Who is this odd prophet who engages
The book of Nehemiah is about starting over again. Nehemiah, one of Israel's great leaders, tells firsthand the powerful story of the rebuilding of ancient Jerusalem's walls after the exile. This rebu
According to Jackson Wu, an Eastern perspective is in many ways culturally closer to that of the first-century world, and in this work he helps us develop our “Eastern lenses" in order to shed light o
The book of Psalms is a favorite of Christians, even though we frequently read it in portions and pieces, hopscotching through the familiar and avoiding the odd, the unpleasant and the difficult. But
The book of Psalms is a favorite of Christians, even though we frequently read it in portions and pieces, hopscotching through the familiar and avoiding the odd, the unpleasant and the difficult. But
Where is God in times of disaster? How can God allow suffering? What are God's people to do about moral decay in society? While people throughout the ages have long pondered these questions, three of
Wisdom literature is needed now more than ever. In this NSBT volume, Richard Belcher surveys the problem of wisdom literature in Old Testament theology, focusing on the message and theology of the boo
Despite the themes of doom and destruction, the primary message of Jeremiah is one of the love and grace of a God who never gives up on those he has called to be his own. The prophet's life is charact
Today in the church there is a conflicting, confusing message being communicated. That confusion is there because we only know one side of the cross—the fact that Christ died for us. Here Kevin Kimbro
Rob Parsons' message is for anyone who cares about prodigals. He urges us to be released from false guilt, to stop judging each other, and to remember that God, the perfect parent, has trouble with hi
Professional church planter Patrick Lai provides an in-depth reference for tentmakers--business-as-mission practitioners operating in regions of great antagonism to the Christian message.
Have we really heard the message of Colossians? Is this New Testament book just another religious text whose pretext is an ideological grab for dominating power? Reading Colossians in context, ancient
The massive diversity and complexity of the Bible can make it a daunting project for anyone to tackle. Getting a grasp on the unity of the Bible, its central message from Genesis to Revelation, helps
