Ezra is rarely if ever preached on. Haggai gets even shorter shrift: if anything, Haggai 1 is pressed into service to encourage a reluctant congregation to give to an ailing fabric fund. But the message of these books, and their emphasis on building for God and the need of obedience to his Word and openness to his Spirit, is one which needs to be heard clearly today.
This commentary by Robert Fyall highlights the contemporary parallels of the challenges Israel faced to those of today's church and demonstrates the relevance of the books of Ezra and Haggai for God's people in all times. With passage-by-passage exposition of the biblical text, this resource will be helpful for pastors, teachers and anyone who wants to dive deeper into these seldom discussed Old Testament books.
About the Bible Speaks Today (BST) Series:
Edited by J.A. Motyer and the late John R. W. Stott, the Bible Speaks Today commentaries are characterized by what Stott called a "threefold ideal . . . to expound the biblical text with accuracy, to relate it to contemporary life and to be readable." As such, each contributor in this series is both a noted scholar and a working pastor.
The BST series, now complete, covers all sixty-six books of the bible (Old and New Testaments) in fifty-five volumes. If you preach or teach from Scripture, the Bible Speaks Today series will help you apply the timeless biblical message to the everyday experiences of your listeners. And if you study the Bible on your own, these volumes will be a helpful resource focusing on the significance of God's Word for your own life and work.