God
desires to communicate with his creation.
He chose a variety of means, modes, and methods, and he spoon-fed those
who chose to come to the table, because they were not able to take it all in at
once. He spoke through dreams and
visions, allegory and parable, preaching and teaching. He spoke through His Son, Jesus Christ. And He speaks to us in His Word, the
Bible.
Still,
there remain barriers to that communication.
Barriers of time, culture, language, geography, philosophy . . . all of
these distort the message and drive those who desire to hear from God to
distraction.
That’s
why we have commentaries. Scholars who
love the Lord and have been gifted with the time and talents necessary to tear
the Bible apart and put it back together again in a form that is easily
readable, and yet does not compromise the message God wishes to communicate.
This
latest series of commentaries is one that has been a long time coming. Drawing on the latest scholarship, yet
remaining steadfastly conservative and evangelical in their stance, the HEARING
THE MESSAGE OF SCRIPTURE commentary series approaches scripture with an eye to
disclosing the tools and techniques that the original authors of the various
“books” of the Bible used as they strove to communicate the message that God
wanted their generation to hear. From
the introduction to this commentary on Jonah, the editors speak concerning the
principles that guide the writing of each commentary in the series:
“Like effective
communicators in every age, biblical authors were driven by a passion to
communicate a message. So we must
inquire not only what that message was, but also what strategies they used to
impress their message on their hearers’ ears.”
Each commentary follows the same format: The Date of the Book, The Author, The Main
Idea, Literary Context, Translation and Exegetical Outline, Structure and
Literary Form, Explanation of the Text, and the Canonical and Practical
Significance are addressed. Then the
commentator will highlight what they consider to be the main theological themes
of the book, and illuminate how the style and structure of the book develop
those themes.
In other words, here is strong meat to go with the
Bread of Life. What a meal! Enjoy!
5 stars for a series that is serious about feeding
the Church
JONAH: GOD’S SCANDALOUS MERCY
(HEARING THE MESSAGE OF SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY SERIES)
Kevin J. Youngblood
ISBN 978-0-310-28299-0
Bible / Jonah / Commentaries
Revell Publishers
192 pages
$29.99 U.S.
