Archive for July 19, 2009


Jul 19

Understanding Micah

2009 | by Parker Landis | Category: Gospel

Preaching through Micah was a blessing and a challenge to me.  The most encouraging comment (which I heard repeatedly) was that people were reading through Micah during the week and loving it.  However, I know that it can be quite difficult to understand Micah, so I wanted to share a few resources.

The first book (which Ryan has mentioned before) is called God’s Big Picture, by Vaughn Roberts.  This book explains how we fit the Old Testament and New Testament stories together.  Beginning with Eden and moving through the exodus, the kingdom of Israel, Jesus Christ, and his eventual return, this book surveys the major events in the Bible and shows how God was establishing His people, in His place, under His rule and blessing.  At 150 pages, it is a simple and short introduction, but still very helpful.  You can purchase it online through the link above, or at DSC’s resource center.

One resource that I mentioned during the first message is the ESV Study Bible.  Like most study bibles, it includes explanatory footnotes on difficult texts and helpful background material (historical, cultural, literary) on each book.  However, two things set this study bible apart from all others.  First, the ESV Study Bible has nearly 200 extra pages (in small print, nonetheless!) of practical, beneficial, and timely articles, including such topics as the reliability of the old and new testaments, Reading the Bible for Personal Application, and The Bible and Other World Religions (Islam, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, etc.).  The second reason that I choose this study bible is because I think they have drawn from the best group of scholars and pastors available today.  This is a very trustworthy group of authors.  Again, you can purchase a copy at DSC’s resource center or at the link above.

The final set of resources are commentaries which are more narrowly focused on Micah.  The first one is a short, non-technical, practical commentary from “The Bible Speaks Today” series.  It is written by by David Prior and includes commentary on Joel and Habakkuk as well as Micah.  You can purchase it here.

The commentary that I used while studying through Micah is slightly more technical (although you don’t have to know Hebrew) but is still very pastoral and has some extremely insightful application points weaved in with the rest of the commentary.  Like the previous book, this one also includes commentary on two other books.  It is from the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series, and you can purchase a copy here.