Minor Prophets I (New International Biblical Commentary: Old Testament Series, 1

As I preach through some of the prophets of the Old Testament, I find that Elizabeth Achtemeier's material, whether in this book or her other resources, is very helpful. In this particular book she gives inspiring nuggets without wasting our time on textual critical issues or theories about sources and redaction. She even tosses in good application illustrations that I've found assist in preaching. Over and over I find myself evaluating my resources on whatever minor prophet I am preaching through, and I've learned to turn to Achtemeier's material first because she always seems to wind up being my most helpful resource. Let me illustrate: In Amos 5:1-16 we have a prophetic funeral lamentation over Israel's future coming judgment. In that passage Achtemeier points out that God is not as angry as he is sorrowful. Her string of cross references weave together to form beautiful side items in any sermon on Amos 5. For my last sermon on Amos 5 I found that almost every single cross reference she gave was not only relevant, but enabled me to put serious meat behind the most crucial point of the passage: Seek God and live! In her cross references for Amos 5 she took us to Psalm 24 and 27, fixing our attention on those elements of scripture that challenge all people to seek God. Addition: This commentary was the most helpful tool in my library for my recent sermon on Obadiah. The author was clear and focused. It was excellent because she enabled me to see a vital preachable theme when she focused my attention on the pride filled hearts of the Edomites. That led to a sermon on pride and humility using this book. My other tools obscured this point in their complex analysis and comments. If you are a bible preacher or teacher and you are working through the minor prophets, this is a resource that will practically help you more than others in developing your key exegetical idea and in applying that to people's lives. I am so glad I was able to lay hands on a copy. I recommend it highly.