Daniel Timmer - Obadiah, Jonah and Micah

Inter-Varsity Press, England

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InterVarsity Press, USA

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Daniel C. Timmer 2021

Daniel C. Timmer has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

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Inter-Varsity Press, England, publishes Christian books that are true to the Bible and that communicate the gospel, develop discipleship and strengthen the church for its mission in the world.

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InterVarsity Press , USA, is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.intervarsity.org.

Scripture quotations are the authors own translation unless otherwise indicated.

The publisher and author acknowledge with thanks permission to reproduce extracts from the following:

THE WEIGHT OF GLORY by C. S. Lewis copyright C. S. Lewis Pte Ltd 1949.

REFLECTIONS ON THE PSALMS by C. S. Lewis copyright C. S. Lewis Pte Ltd 1958.

Extracts reprinted by permission.

Every effort has been made to seek permission to use copyright material reproduced in this book. The publisher apologizes for those cases where permission might not have been sought and, if notified, will formally seek permission at the earliest opportunity.

First published 2021

Set in Garamond 11/13pt

Typeset in Great Britain by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire

eBook by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Produced on paper from sustainable sources.

UK ISBN: 9781783599769 (print)

UK ISBN: 9781783599776 (digital)

US ISBN: 9780830842742 (print)

US ISBN: 9780830842766 (digital)

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

The decision to completely revise the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries is an indication of the important role that the series has played since its opening volumes were released in the mid 1960s. They represented at that time, and have continued to represent, commentary writing that was committed both to the importance of the text of the Bible as Scripture and a desire to engage with as full a range of interpretative issues as possible without being lost in the minutiae of scholarly debate. The commentaries aimed to explain the biblical text to a generation of readers confronting models of critical scholarship and new discoveries from the Ancient Near East while remembering that the Old Testament is not simply another text from the ancient world. Although no uniform process of exegesis was required, all the original contributors were united in their conviction that the Old Testament remains the word of God for us today. That the original volumes fulfilled this role is evident from the way in which they continue to be used in so many parts of the world.

A crucial element of the original series was that it should offer an up-to-date reading of the text, and it is precisely for this reason that new volumes are required. The questions confronting readers in the first half of the twenty-first century are not necessarily those from the second half of the twentieth. Discoveries from the Ancient Near East continue to shed new light on the Old Testament, whilst emphases in exegesis have changed markedly. While remaining true to the goals of the initial volumes, the need for contemporary study of the text requires that the series as a whole be updated. This updating is not simply a matter of commissioning new volumes to replace the old. We have also taken the opportunity to update the format of the series to reflect a key emphasis from linguistics, which is that texts communicate in larger blocks rather than in shorter segments such as individual verses. Because of this, the treatment of each section of the text includes three segments. First, a short note on Context is offered, placing the passage under consideration in its literary setting within the book as well as noting any historical issues crucial to interpretation. The Comment segment then follows the traditional structure of the commentary, offering exegesis of the various components of a passage. Finally, a brief comment is made on Meaning , by which is meant the message that the passage seeks to communicate within the book, highlighting its key theological themes. This section brings together the detail of the Comment to show how the passage under consideration seeks to communicate as a whole.

Our prayer is that these new volumes will continue the rich heritage of the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries and that they will continue to witness to the God who is made known in the text.

David G. Firth, Series Editor

Tremper Longman III, Consulting Editor

It is an honour to contribute this volume to the Tyndale series of Old Testament commentaries. Not only is the series itself widely respected, but the previous volume dealing with Obadiah, Jonah and Micah was written by three very capable exegete-theologians (David W. Baker, T. Desmond Alexander and Bruce K. Waltke) who continue to advance evangelical scholarship in many ways. My first expression of gratitude, therefore, is to Dr David G. Firth, Series Editor, for the confidence in me he demonstrated by inviting me to write this volume.

Each of the books that this commentary treats presents different challenges to the reader. In keeping with the vision of the series I have tried to make clear what the text means while making its theology intelligible and providing a basis for further reflection by readers who seek their own and others spiritual transformation under Gods inspired word and by the Holy Spirit. One emphasis of crucial interpretative and practical importance that is shared by all three books is that ones identity is determined above all by ones relationship to the living God. This was no less true centuries before Jesus Christs incarnation than it is now, and this truth provides a wonderfully wide theological horizon in which even books like Obadiah, which at first glance might appear to be xenophobic or worse, find their place in relation to Gods plan to save people from every nation, tribe, people and language through Jesus Christ (Gen. 12:3; Rev. 7:9). This emphasis on a God-defined identity is particularly relevant in contexts where postmodern views attempt to relocate identity to ones choices, ideology or actions.

The arguments and conclusions that this commentary presents have benefited enormously from interaction with students at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, and more recently at the Facult de thologie vanglique in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I am grateful for their interaction in and out of class and for their willingness to explore these relatively unpopular books with me. I am likewise thankful to Mrs Laura Ladwig, Library Director at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, and Miss Kim Dykema, Assistant Librarian, for their unfailing help locating and obtaining resources that were essential to the writing of this commentary. I am also indebted to Drs David G. Firth and Philip Duce (IVP Senior Commissioning Editor) for their helpful feedback and flexibility as the volume came to completion and to Dr Rima Devereaux and Mrs Suzanne Mitchell for their expert, efficient help in preparing the manuscript for publication. Special thanks are also due to Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, and especially to Dr Joel Beeke (President), Dr Michael Barrett (Academic Dean) and Dr Adriaan Neele (Director of the Doctoral Program), for creating an environment in which teaching, scholarship and the Christian life are integrated and inseparable and in which the time and support necessary for projects like this are available.