1 & 2 Kings Kerux Commentary (David B. Schreiner and Lee Compson)

TITLE: 1 & 2 Kings: A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching (Kerux)
AUTHOR: David B. Schreiner and Lee Compson
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2022, (320 pages).
 

The Bible is often called the Book of Life. It is God's Word and gives us many reasons for faith, testimonies of hope, and expressions of love. With hundreds of pages on a modern printed Bible, it can be intimidating for most people to read. Not only that, the texts are considered ancient literature. The contexts can be quite difficult for modern readers to understand, let alone preach or teach. That is why many preachers and teachers go through some form of Bible school to be trained. For many others who do not get this privilege to set aside time for school, the next best thing is to use secondary resources as guides. Bible commentaries are particularly illuminating. Even if they are written from a different faith position from ours, they can give us a good grasp of understanding the ancient texts. The Kerux commentary series is geared toward helping preachers and teachers bring the Word of God to the people of God in a manner that is insightful, interesting, and impactful. There are typical introductions, outlines, summaries of chapters, as well as theological emphases. What makes this commentary unique is that it is based on the "Big Idea" preaching, first popularized by the late preacher Dr. Haddon Robinson. This is the common framework used by both Bible exegetes as well as homileticians. The key question to help unite the authors in the commentary is this: "What is prime in God's mind, and how is that expressed to a given generation in the units of thought throughout the Bible?" 

This commentary focuses on two challenging narratives in 1 and 2 Kings. How do we make sense of the evil and idolatry that is happening? Why were the kings in such a bad spiritual state? What led to the poor choices and the disastrous consequences of those choices? Can we see redemption in spite of such sinful states? This commentary gives insights into these questions and more. The chapter on "Overview of All Preaching Passages" gives preachers a ready-made template for any form of preaching on Kings. Even though it is a book that claims to be easy to use, there is a sizable amount of background material for one to study in depth. From authorial claims to ancient dates; historical settings to modern contexts; this commentary is a treasure chest of information and thoughtful material that brings out the message of 1 and 2 Kings powerfully. The tables and illustrations help readers to maintain a big idea of the book. The authors constantly compare the situations in both Israel and Judah. Some of the key strengths that make this commentary compelling are:

• Detailed overview of the book;
• Preaching framework;
• Overall theological focus;
• Preaching and teaching strategies;
• Creativity in presentation;
• Contemporary connections;
• Discussion questions to help readers reconnect with anything they might have missed.

What I like about this commentary is that the authors do not simply make claims. They support their claims with research and citations. For example, on the topic of child sacrifice, many readers would have accepted how evil kings like Manasseh would have engaged in child sacrifices. Are the narratives about child sacrifice mere figures of speech or literal? After pondering upon available materials, the authors then move to make the best possible conclusion. 

My Thoughts
Apart from selected narratives and stories, as a whole, First and Second Kings are not easy books to preach or teach. Historical-wise, it is hard to keep track of the chronological order. Scholars are also divided on the period of each reign. As far as interpretation is concerned, we do not have a lot of background material to understand the events leading to how the kings behaved. While the big picture is certain, the finer details can be quite challenging to piece together. A major reason is that there is not much material to work with. Then there is the challenge of interpretation. How on earth did kings ordained by God go so wayward? One of the amazing things about the Bible is how the narratives were told as is. God has called a spade a spade as far as the sinful behavior of the nation is concerned. Most of the time, He leaves the interpretation open for us. Bear in mind that his commentary is essentially an interpretation. A good scholar would not simply take the material as is but engage with his own thoughts and insights. This is probably the best way to use commentaries like this.

The amount of material included here should inspire many to teach and preach from these books. Of course, it would be most beneficial to those of us who had theological training. For the layperson who desires to teach, this resource would provide greater confidence. However, I would also add a word of caution. Studying the Bible for what it is should remain the primary goal. Commentaries should supplement and not replace the study of the Word. For all the good points about this work, there is always a temptation to skip the reading and jump straight into the commentary. How do we avoide that? through prayer and an open Bible. Unlike the authors, many of us might not have sat and pondered upon the text long enough. Along with the pressure of time and the busyness of life, people could become complacent about their need for their own inductive homework. This calls for discipline. Perhaps, a good way would be to study 1 & 2 Kings together with a group and to let the wisdom of the group guide our study. This is where the discussion questions could be profitably used.

Overall, I find this commentary a good balance between theory and practice. It is not too academic to bog down the reader with technical details. It is also highly readable and applicable for our modern life. So what is the prime message of the books of Kings? For me, it is about how God redeems the nation of Israel in spite of their sinfulness. Kings set the stage for God's larger plan of redemption.

David B. Schreiner (PhD, Asbury Theological Seminary) is an associate professor of Old Testament at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Ridgeland, Mississippi. He is the author of Pondering the Spade and publishes widely on issues of biblical history and interpretation. 

Lee Compson (MDiv, Grace Theological Seminary) is senior pastor at Milford First Brethren Church in Milford, Indiana. He is also the Regional Resource Coordinator for the Midwest Region of The Brethren Church. He is a contributing author to Glimpses of the Christ: Sermons from the Gospels.

Rating: 4.75 stars of 5.

conrade

---

This book has been provided courtesy of Kregel Academic without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.