Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi (Apollos Old Testament Commentary | AOT)

by Anthony R. Petterson

Publishers:

Apollos; IVP

, 2015

Overview

The post-exilic prophetic books of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi are set in times of great adversity. God’s people are minnows in the vast Persian Empire, and the promises of the earlier prophets for a glorious restoration of Jerusalem seem far from their experience. These books, from beginning to end, restate God’s intention to establish his glorious kingdom, and explain what this means for the lives of his people. For Haggai and Zechariah, the immediate challenge was to rebuild the temple in view of God’s return. For Malachi, the challenge was covenant unfaithfulness which had infected the people’s attitudes towards God, and how this needed to change in view of future judgment. God used each of these prophets to remind the people of the true King and to re-order their lives and their community in the light of the reality of his coming kingdom. In this Apollos Old Testament Commentary, Anthony R. Petterson offers detailed commentary on these prophetic books, setting them in their wider biblical-theological context. He shows the connections between the post-exilic world and our own, and explains how these books contain a vital message for the church today, living in the gap between promise and reality. The Apollos Old Testament Commentary series aims to take with equal seriousness the divine and human aspects of Scripture. It expounds the books of the Old Testament in a scholarly manner accessible to non-experts, and shows the relevance of the Old Testament to modern readers. Intended primarily to serve the needs of those who preach from the Old Testament, they are equally suitable for use by scholars and all serious students of the Bible.

Contents

Top Highlights

“In this case, what is being said is that the coming of Shoot to sit and rule by (or ‘on’) Yahweh’s throne (as his co-regent), and his priestly service in this capacity, will issue in peace for the community.” (Page 187)

“The result (‘al-kēn) of consulting teraphim and diviners is that the people ‘have set out just like sheep—they will be afflicted for there is no shepherd’.” (Page 230)

“It is therefore highly significant that the book finds its historical location with reference to the reign of Darius. Darius was no Judean king, but the king of Persia (see ‘General introduction’). At this point in history, the people of God reckoned their national life with reference to a foreign king who ruled over them. The shadow of exile still hung over them.” (Page 105)

“The sellers say, ‘Blessed be the Lord! I have become rich!’ Their words indicate a perverse religious hypocrisy, where pious words mask greed. Their praise of Yahweh indicates that the sellers are Israelite. Their ability to sell the flock indicates that they are leaders, most likely kings who not only failed to feed and protect the flock, but often used the flock for their own gain and entered into political alliances with foreign shepherds that were costly and detrimental to the flock (e.g. Hoshea in 2 Kgs 17:3 and Ahaz in 2 Kgs 16:8). The selling was not a one-time event, but a pattern exhibited through Israel’s history.” (Page 245)

“It is very important to see the order in which this happens—Joshua is cleansed, clothed and then commissioned to serve God. Joshua does not have to obey in order to be cleansed and accepted—that is religion, not grace. There is nothing Joshua can do to be forgiven and cleansed. He cannot even offer sacrifices to be cleansed since his clothing marks him as unfit for priestly service. His cleansing is an act of God’s grace. Joshua is commissioned to serve because he has been accepted by God.” (Page 146)

Product Details

• Title: Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi
• Author: Anthony R. Petterson
• Series: Apollos Old Testament Commentary
• Volume: 25
• Publishers: Apollos, IVP
• Print Publication Date: 2015
• Logos Release Date: 2018
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. O.T. Haggai › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Zechariah › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Malachi › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9780830825240, 9781783592111, 9780830898480, 083082524, 1783592117, 0830898484, 083082524X
• Resource ID: LLS:AOT37HAG
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-01-20T00:50:04Z

About Anthony R. Petterson

Anthony R. Petterson is lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew at Morling College, New South Wales, Australia. Previously he served as pastor of Hornsby Heights Baptist Church, Sydney, and associate pastor of Grosvenor Road Baptist Church, Dublin. He is the author of Behold Your King: The Hope for the House of David in the Book of Zechariah, and study notes on Haggai and Zechariah for a new edition of the NIV Study Bible.