The Minor Prophets: An Expositional Commentary: Micah - Malachi

Minor Prophets Expositional Commentary

by James Montgomery Boice

An inspirational commentary on the message of the Minor Prophets. Volume 2 surveys the work of Micah through Malachi and is now repackaged with a contemporary cover.

Genres: Christian, Reference, Theology

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1986

About the author

James Montgomery Boice was a Reformed theologian, Bible teacher, and pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 until his death in 2000. He was also president and cofounder of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, the parent organization of The Bible Study Hour on which Boice was a speaker for more than thirty years.

Reviews

[Steven Gattuso · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Montgomery Boice writes "The Minor Prophets-an Expositional Commentary". Volume 2 covers the last seven of the twelve minor prophets. These are Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Dr. Boice preached the minor prophets for twelve years, he found their teaching so essential to the life properly lived. The hallmarks of their teaching are God's sovereignty, holiness, and love. God is sovereign, that is, he directs all human history, even while men act freely. Nothing happens outside his will.
This raises very difficult questions. How does a God who loves allow evil and indiscriminate suffering? How much of this is men's doing, God only allowing the evil for a time? Could God have created a world not subject to natural disasters?
Habakkuk was troubled by such questions and brought them before God. He wonders why "the wicked surround the righteous, so justice goes forth perverted". Hab.1:4
God's answer does not comfort him. God told Habakkuk he would send the Chaldeans to punish Israel for her wickedness. Habakkuk was hoping God would bring about repentance and renewed faithfulness in Israel. God instead will send a vicious and wicked people to chastise Israel.
Now Habakkuk wonders aloud to God, "... why dost thou look on faithless men, and art silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he"? Hab.1:13
God's answer is complex. In time, God will likewise punish that wicked nation, the Chaldeans. In time, the just will see their God. But in the interim, and ultimately, man must live by faith in a sovereign, holy, and loving God.
In Malachi, God deals with divorce and faithlessness, saying among other things, "...I hate divorce..." Mal.2:16. Dr. Boice acknowledges the sanctity of marriage, but allows for remarriage under some circumstances.
But in Mark and Luke, Jesus clearly states that remarriage constitutes ongoing adultery. The sole exception appears in Matthew, where there has been "porneia", that is, fornication. Matthew addresses a predominantly Jewish readership, as many have shown. In the Jewish tradition, the time of betrothal was regarded as marriage, even before the exchange of vows. So unfaithfulness during this time allows for an annulling of vows even before the exchange of vows. Mark and Luke are not contradicted. In God's eyes, there is no acceptable remarriage after divorce as long as the original spouse lives. Read, if you will, David Pawson's "Remarriage is Adultery, Unless..."
In Zechariah, there are two shepherds. The second is clearly evil, described as "worthless". But the first is seen by many, if not almost all expositors, as the Good Shepherd.
Their reasoning seems to me forced. There are three shepherds destroyed by this Good Shepherd. These are said to be the prophet, priest, and king functions subsumed by our Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus. But this shepherd is paid thirty shekels of silver for his services, clearly foreshadowing Judas, the betrayer of Jesus. Also, in Zech.11:15, in passing from the description of the first shepherd to the second, the Lord says, "...Take once more the implements of a worthless shepherd". Doesn't this imply the worthlessness of the first?
And what is this covenant made by the first shepherd with all the peoples which is to be annulled? Is it the end-times covenant ushering in the tribulation? This is the Antichrist's doing. Both shepherds seem to me worthless. Are they in fact two shepherds, or two depictions of the same shepherd, the first seeming good, perhaps until some change comes? The annulling of the covenant sounds to me like Daniel 9:27. Is this the change?
Zechariah is very difficult. At one point, Martin Luther writes, "Here, in this chapter, I give up. For I am not sure what the prophet is talking about."
Nor am I sure. But the interpretations I've seen thus far of this chapter seem forced, unconvincing. If I subsequently think differently, I hope to make changes to this review.
Notwithstanding my criticisms, this is a work well worth reading. The teaching is sound, clearly stated, and enlivened by many real life narratives.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a 3.5 star rating. This second volume was better than the first. Did not always agree with his theology of end times.

[Danny Vaden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

[Caleb Plattner · Rating 5 out of 5]

See previous review

[Mariah Delposen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a helpful commentary on more difficult books to interpret. A little dated at times but I appreciated how the author explained the books verse by verse and included many cross-references.