Nancy Ganz has continued her Herein Is Love series with a volume on Numbers (previous volumes treated Genesis-Leviticus). This is another insightful commentary designed for children. It is useful for children’s curriculum as well as for considering how to preach from Numbers. Ganz writes with real theological depth and concern for application.
1 & 2 Kings by Peter Leithart (Brazos, hb., 304 pp.), in keeping with the series, provides a theological interpretation of 1-2 Kings. This does not mean he fails to engage the text itself (his interaction with the Hebrew text makes this clear). Rather, the focus is not simply on historical issues, but on what these books are intended to mean to the people of God. His introduction “1-2 Kings as Gospel” is well worth reading and will be a great help in preparing to preach through these books which are not often chosen for expository series. This commentary will be a great supplement to other tools when preaching in 1-2 Kings.
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Gerald Wilson’s Job commentary in the NIBC series (Hendrickson; pb., 494) has just come out. It is more technical and less theological.
Robert Louis Wilken’s has written the Isaiah volume in The Church’s Bible series (Eerdmans; hb., 504 pp.) and Mark Elliot has written Isaiah 40-66 in Ancient Christian Commentary series (IVP; hb., 349 pp.). Both series collect statements from early church authors on the scriptural text, though the CB includes sources from a wider era. Of these two, I find the Wilken’s volume more helpful because he uses longer citations which allow you appreciate the source more. Both of these series, however, are only supplemental to the task of preaching and do not rank as primary purchases.
Far more helpful in interpreting and preaching Isaiah is Gary Smith’s Isaiah 1-39 (B&H; hb., 696 pp.). Smith is clear and readable while also being very conversant with up to date scholarship. He provides a thorough analysis of each passage and closes the exposition of each passage with a section on “Theological Implications.” This volume is garnering significant praise from many quarters.
Lastly, the Minor Prophets are among the most neglected books of the Bible in preaching, so it is a great benefit to have Richard Phillips’ Zechariah, in the new Reformed Expository Commentary (P&R; hb., 351 pp.). This volume, like the rest of the series, contains sermons through the book rather than being a typical commentary. How could a 300+ page sermon series through Zechariah not be helpful to pastors! These sermons are thoughtful, theological, and applied well.