The Lectionary Commentary, Vol. 1: The Old Testament and Acts

by Roger E. Van Harn

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2005

Overview

An unprecedented, monumental work, the three-volume Lectionary Commentary offers superb exegetical essays on 513 biblical texts from the Revised Common Lectionary spanning the three-year liturgical cycle. Written by seventy-eight pastors, priests, and teachers from a variety of Christian traditions, these essays are meant primarily to serve as exegetical "jump starts" for busy preachers. Volume 1 covers the lectionary readings from Genesis to Malachi and from the first seventeen chapters of Acts. Unique to this volume is an excellent essay by Hughes Oliphant Old on preaching as worship.

Contents

Top Highlights

“In response to the Lord’s question about Job’s integrity, he had expressed severe doubt, ‘Is it for nothing that Job fears God?’ (1:9). The implication was that Job’s piety was self-centered. Should he lose his possessions, he would surely curse God. The Lord accepted this challenge, and not only Job’s possessions, but his children, were destroyed. Job’s reaction is framed in those memorable words: ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’ (1:21).” (Page 262)

“However, to preach only about the ‘holy Job’ of the prologue is to be unfaithful to the spirit of the entire book. The reply of Job in 2:10 (and in 1:21) would appear unrealistic to a modern person. These opening chapters are not intended to be a sop to the sufferer. They are an introduction to one of the Bible’s most profound wrestlings with the problem of suffering, and the congregation is not to be shielded from a serious consideration of this matter.” (Page 264)

“that confessed bondage in Egypt, deliverance from Egypt” (Page 136)

“8. Job’s restoration (42:7–17) is not the point of the book.” (Page 261)

“Even if it is on the lips of the satan, the question in 1:9 is perhaps the most important question in the Old Testament, and certainly it is central to Christian life. Why does one serve/love/adore/worship God? How much self-interest is involved? Is it because God is ‘good’ to such a person? Or does the biblical phrase ‘fear of God’ mean that one acts only out of fear and not out of love? Such questions as these are prompted by the conversation between the satan and YHWH, and they are central to the Christian concept of the love of God. Why do you love God?” (Page 264)

Praise for the Print Edition

An excellent tool for studying the texts of the lectionary.

—Clergy Journal

A remarkable achievement for its scholarly exegesis and its concern to provide a basis for exposition...Will pay handsome dividends for preachers and congregations.

—Expository Times

Product Details

• Title: The Lectionary Commentary, Vol. 1: The Old Testament and Acts
• Editor: Roger E. Van Harn
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 667

About Roger E. Van Harn

Roger E. Van Harn is retired from the pastorate of Grace Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Among his other books are Preacher, Can You Hear Us Listening? and Exploring and Proclaiming the Apostles' Creed.