Judah among the Empires: God’s Purposes in Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah

by Daniel C. Timmer

Daniel C. Timmer helps today’s Christians understand the Minor Prophets. Many Christians shy away from reading the Minor Prophets because they fear they are too difficult to understand. In Judah Amongst the Empires, Daniel C. Timmer helps today’s Christians understand how the Minor Prophets show us God’s relationship with His chosen people. Through introductions, commentary, and Christological connections, readers will learn to love these glorious books. Use this book to guide your personal studies or a small group. This Bible study includes material on Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. “The Minor Prophets have been unfortunately named since there is nothing ‘minor’ about them. Like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel, they treat the same grand themes of sin, judgment, and salvation, all against a covenantal backdrop. Yet they are too often neglected. . . Enter Daniel Timmer’s delightful short work, Judah among the Empires, which does a great job of retrieving these prophets and their messages for the modern church. Ideal for preachers and home group leaders.” ― Jonathan Gibson, associate professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia Preface Introduction 2. Judgment and Salvation (Nahum 1:2–8) 3. God’s Enemy Is Not Assyria (Nahum 1:9–15) 4. The Judgment of Nineveh (Nahum 2:1–13) 5. Misused Power, Misplaced Confidence, Triumphant Justice (Nahum 3:1–19) 6. Habakkuk and His Complaints (Habakkuk 1:1–2:1) 7. God’s I Will Eliminate Evil (Habakkuk 2:1–20) 8. Trusting God through Bad Times (Habakkuk 3) 9. From Creation to Sin and Judgment (Zephaniah 1:2–3, 14–18) 10. Sin and Its Outcomes, with a Call to Repent (Zephaniah 1:4–13, 2:1–3) 11. The Judgment or Salvation of the Nations (Zephaniah 2:4–15) 12. Sin, Judgment―and Salvation! (Zephaniah 3)

111 pages, Paperback

Published March 24, 2023

Reviews

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource!

[Kevin Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timmer is a prolific scholar in the area of the minor prophets and this is a thoroughly Reformed introduction to these books. It would have been nice to have a conclusion with some unifying principles and further reflection but the recommended further reading and study questions after each chapter make up for it.

[Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book focused more on the theme of the bible when it comes to the major prophets and Jerusalem siege and what happened on the two great kingdoms and why there was a kingdom split. The book is a good reference or commentary for the bible of you are studying major and minor prophets.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to teach from Nahum, Habakkuk and Zechariah. There were some nuggets here but this did not really move me to love these three prophets like I hoped it would

[Adam Bloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, short, and fast-paced commentary on three of the "minor" prophets. For how short it is the author does a good job; the material allows for quite a bit of modern application, too.