These five Old Testament books, traditionally known simply as "the Scrolls," are among the most neglected parts of the Christian Bible. In Judaism, the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther were eventually adopted as lectionary readings for five of the major festivals. In Christian tradition, however, no consensus has emerged about their… Read more…
From a close study of key Old and New Testament texts and interaction with historical and contemporary theologians, Bradley Green shows how different aspects of the Christian life are each God-elicited, real and necessary. Reaffirming the best Reformed voices, this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume provides a biblical theology of the nature, role and p… Read more…
In gospel proclamation today, the critical New Testament element of repentance can be far too often ignored, minimalized, or dismissed. Yet John the Baptist, Jesus himself, and those he commissioned to spread his gospel all spoke of the urgent need to repent.
Michael Ovey was convinced that a gospel without repentance quickly distorts our … Read more…
"They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha. . . . And they crucified him. . . . Some women were watching from a distance." (Mark 15:22, 24, 40).
At the climax of Mark's Gospel, Jesus of Nazareth is put to death on a Roman cross. The text tells us that, in that lonely hour, a group of women were watching the crucifixion "from a di… Read more…
"Be thankful" (Colossians 3:15) is a recurring exhortation in the letters of the apostle Paul. No other New Testament writer gives such a sustained emphasis on thanksgiving—and yet, major modern studies of Paul fail to wrestle with it.
David Pao aims to rehabilitate this theme in this comprehensive and accessible study, a New Studies in … Read more…
In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, David Peterson challenges the common assumption that the New Testament views sanctification as primarily a process.
He argues that its emphasis falls upon sanctification as a definitive event, "God's way of taking possession of us in Christ, setting us apart to belong to him and to fulfi… Read more…
'Now my eyes have seen you." (Job 42:5)
Few biblical texts are more daunting, and yet more fascinating, than the book of Job—and few have been the subject of such diverse interpretation.
For Robert Fyall, the mystery of God's ways and the appalling evil and suffering in the world are at the heart of Job's s… Read more…
Though written thousands of years ago, the book of Deuteronomy is unmatched in its relevance for the affluent Western church of today. Moses' words were meant to equip God's people for living godly lives in a prosperous, pluralistic world. The cultural changes now taking place in our own social setting make the parallel between Israel and the churchâ… Read more…
The biblical theme of spiritual adultery stands in all its bluntness for a deeply offensive sin—the unfaithfulness of God's covenant people in departing from Yahweh, their husband, and going after false gods.
Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. begins by showing how the Genesis vision of human marriage provides the logic and coherent network of m… Read more…
The Old Testament book of Ruth is understandably a firm favorite in the church for small-group study and preaching: a heart-warming story of loyalty and love, a satisfying tale of a journey from famine to fullness. In the academy, the book has been a testing ground for a variety of hermeneutical approaches, and many different ways of interpreting it have bee… Read more…
The Lord's commitment to make himself known throughout the nations is the overarching missionary theme of the Bible and the central theological concern of Exodus.
Countering scholarly tendencies to fragment the text over theological difficulties, Ross Blackburn contends that Exodus should be read as a unified whole, and that an appreci… Read more…
The book of Isaiah has nourished the church throughout the centuries. However, its massive size can be intimidating; its historical setting can seem distant, opaque, varied; its organization and composition can seem disjointed and fragmented; its abundance of terse, poetic language can make its message seem veiled—and where are those explicit prophecies ab… Read more…