Synopses & Reviews
Unlike most Bible commentaries which offer only a one-way trip to the world of the Bible, the NIV "Application Commentary Series brings the ancient message of Scripture into a modern context. These helpful resources masterfully explain the text's original meaning, bridge the historical context between the biblical world and ours, and demonstrate the contemporary significance of the text to our lives today.
Synopsis
Eager submission to authority is not a popular topic in today's culture. This is why the message of 1, 2 Samuel is so relevant. As ancient Israel adapted to the new political realities of a human king, they had to learn afresh what it meant to proclaim, "Yahweh is King." 1, 2 Samuel offer portraits of one king who failed to submit to God and one who succeeded.
Emphasizing the two books at a unit, author Bill T. Arnold traces the contemporary relevance of ancient Israel's successes and failures in accepting God's kingship.
Synopsis
The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today's context.
To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's world, each passage is treated in three sections:
- Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context.
- Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible.
- Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved.
This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.
Synopsis
Why do the books of Samuel pack such broad appeal? Taken together as a single narrative, they certainly offer something for everyone: kings and prophets, great battles and greater heroes, action and romance, loyalty and betrayal, the mundane and the miraculous. In Samuel, we meet Saul, David, Goliath, Jonathan, Bathsheba, the witch of Endor, and other unforgettable characters. And we encounter ourselves. For while the culture and conditions of Israel under its first kings is vastly different from our own, the basic issues of humans in relation to God, the Great King, have not changed. Sin, repentance, forgiveness, adversity, prayer, faith, and the promises of God---these continue to play out in our lives today.Exploring the links between the Bible and our own times, Bill T. Arnold shares perspectives on 1 and 2 Samuel that reveal ageless truths for our twenty-first-century lives.Most Bible commentaries take us on a one-way trip from our world to the world of the Bible. But they leave us there, assuming that we can somehow make the return journey on our own. They focus on the original meaning of the passage but don't discuss its contemporary application. The information they offer is valuable---but the job is only half done The NIV Application Commentary Series helps bring both halves of the interpretive task together. This unique, award-winning series shows readers how to bring an ancient message into our postmodern context. It explains not only what the Bible meant but also how it speaks powerfully today.