Hosea, Amos (Believers Church Bible Commentary | BCBC)
Overview
The Believers Church Bible Commentary Series is published for all who seek more fully to understand the original message of Scripture and its meaning for today—Sunday school teachers, members of Bible study groups, students, pastors, and other seekers. The series is based on the conviction that God is still speaking to all who will listen, and that the Holy Spirit makes the Word a living and authoritative guide for all who want to know and do God’s will.
Each volume illuminates the Scriptures; provides historical and cultural background; shares necessary theological, sociological, and ethical meanings; and, in general, makes "the rough places plain." Critical issues are not avoided, but neither are they moved into the foreground as debates among scholars. The series aids in the interpretive process, but it does not attempt to supersede the authority of the Word and Spirit as discerned in the gathered church.
The Believers Church Bible Commentary is a cooperative project of Brethren in Christ Church, Brethren Church, Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Brethren Church, and Mennonite Church.
Overall Outline
The commentaries are organized into sections according to the major divisions of the text. Each section comprises five parts:
- An introductory preview
- A summary outline of the section
- Explanatory notes
- The text in its biblical context
- The text in the life of the church
Hosea, Amos
Allen R. Guenther brings an evangelical believers church perspective to the study of two eighth-century B.C. prophets. He explores theological and practical implications of their message, which he applies to the contemporary church.
This work compares Israel's distinctive religion, influenced by Baal-worshiping Phoenician neighbors, with faith in Judah. In his own marriage, Hosea dramatizes God's redeeming love. Amos's exposure of shallow piety and injustice brings him into confrontation with the official priest at Bethel. For both prophets, the Lord's judgment is to lead on to repentance and restoration.
By highlighting Hosea's rich metaphors, Guenther portrays the emotional dynamics of God's deep hatred of his people's sin and even deeper desire for renewed covenant relationships. God's people failed to know God and act with integrity. Yet each major message ends with hope because of God's unfailing love. With equal clarity, Guenther probes how Amos uncovers the hypocrisy of Israel's worship, the unjust way they treat others, and their deceptive trust in God's protection. He shows the same problems today.
—Gary V. Smith, Bethel Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Title: Hosea, Amos
- Author: Allen R. Guenther
- Publisher: Herald Press
- Publication Date: 1998
- Pages: 434
