The Lost Letters to the Twelve Prophets: Imagining the Minor Prophets' World

Description

Understand the Prophets Like Never Before with Amazing Insights from One of Today's Foremost Old Testament Scholars For many Christians reading the Old Testament, trying to understand Israel's prophets is like listening to just one side of a phone conversation--you only get half the idea of it. You hear the answer, but how do you know what question the prophet is answering In The Lost Letters to the Twelve Prophets, John Goldingay uncovers the questions behind the prophets' answers that make their meaning and relevance intelligible to us. Written as a series of imaginary letters to the twelve Minor Prophets, The Lost Letters to the Twelve Prophets asks the kinds of questions that Hosea, Micah, Zechariah, and others were answering. The letters make clear the issues these prophets of Israel were dealing with or deliver the news they were responding to in their Old Testament writings. For example, To Hosea: Why did you marry someone you knew might be unfaithful To Joel: It looks as if a locust epidemic is on the way: what should we do To Amos: What should we do about the war crimes of peoples around us To Obadiah: The Edomites have occupied our land and pushed us out: what's up with that To Jonah: When is God going to fulfill his undertaking to destroy Nineveh To Micah: Will God always be angry with us as a people To Nahum: When is God going to fulfill his undertaking to destroy Nineveh To Habakkuk: When is God going to do something about injustice in Judah To Zephaniah: What do you mean by "the day of the Lord" To Haggai: When is God going to fulfill his promises about rebuilding the temple To Zechariah: Should Jeshua be High Priest when he has been in an unclean land To Malachi: Why does serving God seem pointless These and other questions help readers peer behind the veil of Minor Prophets' utterances and unlock their significance for today's Christians. Each chapter: begins with a brief paragraph of background about the prophet recounts questions or reports that have been addressed to the prophet in the form of a letter sums up message of the prophet responding to that question offers a brief comment or explanation after each passage The Lost Letters to the Twelve Prophets offers an imaginative, fun, and engaging way for students, pastors, and all serious Bible readers get a better grip on what is happening in these often misunderstood biblical books and get more out of their Bible reading and study.

John Goldingay is the David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of Old Testament Theology vol. 1 (2003), Walk On (2002), Men Behaving Badly (2000), To the Usual Suspects (1998), After Eating the Apricot (1996), Models for Interpretation of Scripture (1995), and Model for Scripture (1994), as well as commentaries on Daniel and Isaiah.