REC: Jonah & Micah
Jonah is a figure of such contemporary features that he could be a member of one of our churches. Moreover, Jonah reminds us that the chief characteristic of redeemed people is not that they never sin, for sadly we still do, but that they are ready to repent of their sin when reminded of God’s grace.
The prophet Micah lived several generations later than Jonah. Whereas God called Jonah to cry out to the wicked idolaters in Nineveh, he called Micah to cry out against the wicked sinners of Jerusalem. Unlike the earlier prophet, who wrestled against God’s gospel message for pagan unbelievers, Micah was brokenhearted in his fervent desire for Jerusalem to repent and believe.
What this means is that a study of Jonah will connect us with our mission to the world. A study of Micah will inform us to face our challenges within today’s church.
As are all the books in the Reformed Expository Commentary series, this exposition of Jonah and Micah is accessible to both pastors and lay readers. Each volume in the series provides exposition that gives careful attention to the biblical text, is doctrinally Reformed, focuses on Christ through the lens of redemptive history, and applies the Bible to our contemporary setting.
Richard D. Phillips (MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary) is the senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church of Greenville, South Carolina. He is a council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, chairman of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, and coeditor of the Reformed Expository Commentary series.