Joel, Obadiah, Malachi

the NIV

APPLICATION

COMMENTARY

From biblical text … to contemporary life

David W. Baker

The NIV Application Commentary: Joel, Obadiah, Malachi

Copyright © 2006 by David W. Baker

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Baker, David W.

Joel, Obadiah, Malachi / David W. Baker.

p. cm.—(NIV application commentary)

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN-10: 0-310-20637-5

ISBN-13: 978-0-310-20637-8

1. Bible. O.T. Joel—Commentaries. 2. Bible. O.T. Obadiah—Commentaries. 1. Bible. O.T. Malachi—Commentaries. I. Title. II. Series.

BS1575.53.B35 2005

294’.707—dc22 2005019363

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without prior permission of the publisher.

Contents

Series Introduction

General Editor’s Preface

Author’s Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction to Joel

Outline of Joel

Select Bibliography on Joel

Text and Commentary on Joel

Introduction to Obadiah

Outline of Obadiah

Select Bibliography on Obadiah

Text and Commentary on Obadiah

Introduction to Malachi

Outline of Malachi

Select Bibliography on Malachi

Text and Commentary on Malachi

Scripture Index

Subject Index

NIV Application Commentary
Series Introduction

The NIV Application Commentary Series is unique. Most commentaries help us make the journey from the twentieth century back to the first century. They enable us to cross the barriers of time, culture, language, and geography that separate us from the biblical world. Yet they only offer a one-way ticket to the past and assume that we can somehow make the return journey on our own. Once they have explained the original meaning of a book or passage, these commentaries give us little or no help in exploring its contemporary significance. The information they offer is valuable, but the job is only half done.

Recently, a few commentaries have included some contemporary application as one of their goals. Yet that application is often sketchy or moralistic, and some volumes sound more like printed sermons than commentaries.

The primary goal of The NIV Application Commentary Series is to help you with the difficult but vital task of bringing an ancient message into a modern context. The series not only focuses on application as a finished product ...