Life Principles from the Prophets of the Old Testament

The 'Following God series" is a wonderful study and tool. We are using it for our Home Bible Fellowship group; the study is lengthy but light and meaty enough for all!

Several Bible study groups in my church recently used this book as a guide. It is organized into daily material for 12 weeks (1 prophet/week) and focuses on their experiences more than teachings. The study is very in-depth. Each "day" will take 30-60 minutes for the diligent student. If you are planning a group around this guide, weekly discussions may be too often because of the depth. Strengths... highly in-depth and insightful. Our study group really enjoyed scouring through this OT material because it is not as familiar as other parts of the Bible. After the reader answers a question, the author writes his take on the question, which I found very helpful. In a lot of study guides, it's hard to know where the author is leading, but this method solves that problem. Excellent time line, cross-reference, and background information is provided throughout. It really tied together some OT themes and history for me. Weaknesses... Concerning OT prophets for whom scant biographical information is documented in the Bible, the authors had to stretch. It is particularly awkward in the Isaiah section, where the author pursues a pride theme for the prophet that is not evident in the text. But this problem only pops up in a couple spots and discerning readers will catch these weaknesses and bring them into the group discussion. Overall, excellent study guide. I have been consistently frustrated with study guides that are too superficial and ask obvious questions. This guide goes much deeper and offers well-researched background information. I look forward to trying other guides in this series.