The Message of the Twelve: Hearing the Voice of the Minor Prophets

Abstract

Richard Alan Fuhr Jr. is associate professor of biblical studies at Liberty University Rawlings School of Divinity in Lynchburg, VA, and Gary E. Yates is professor of OT at the same institution. Together, they have produced a very readable and engaging introduction to the Minor Prophets in The Message of the Twelve. The book is not intended to be a detailed and critical introduction to these prophets. Rather, it is a primer for students, pastors, and interested laypeople on their dominant literary and theological messages. Those looking for a more critical interaction with issues of authorship, dating, provenance, and so on will need to turn to other sources. But for those looking for an accessible guide to the meaning and theological messages of the minor prophets, Fuhr and Yates have produced a reliable resource.The book is arranged intuitively, with the first 4 chapters dealing with introductory issues and the last 12 chapters covering the twelve prophets in canonical order. The first chapter provides an overview of the cultural, social, and historical context that serves as a background to the ministries of the prophets as well as their collected oracles. At first, I was skeptical of attempting a broad historical survey for all the twelve prophets in one chapter rather than dealing with each prophet’s historical background individually. But this concern was answered by Fuhr and Yates providing a brief reminder of the historical setting at the beginning of each prophet’s corresponding chapter. The wide-perspective historical survey in the first chapter helped to bring a coherence to the whole collection, while the specific summaries at the beginning of each chapter brought each prophet’s time and culture into focus. The second chapter explains the role of the prophet in Israelite society, emphasizing their role as “covenant enforcement mediators,” to borrow a descriptor from Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. The authors also helpfully emphasized the prophets’ role as forth-tellers and covenant preachers over their often popularly perceived role as foretellers of future events. The third chapter provides an overview of the literary elements common to the prophetic writings. The authors emphasize the importance of reading the prophets with an eye for literary genre as well as subgenres, which play an important role in shaping and conveying the message. Discussion of genre and subgenre can become pedantic and mechanical, but Fuhr and Yates avoid this pitfall by providing a narrative-style explanation of these important literary features. They also illustrate the various literary elements with the use of relevant examples. The fourth chapter addresses the unity of the Twelve Prophets as a collected anthology. The authors provide a case for taking the collection as a literary unit and the resultant themes, motifs, and patterns that emerge from doing so. They explain the arrangement of the individual documents in the collection through a combination of chronological and literary considerations. By and large, the 12 books are arranged chronologically, but the exceptions to this general pattern can be explained by literary elements such as similar literary and theological threads or key catchwords and phrases.The second and longest section of The Message of the Twelve is dedicated to an explanation of each prophet’s message. Each chapter begins with a brief review of salient historical and background information and a description of the document’s structure. A section-by-section running commentary and explanation fills out the bulk of each chapter. Finally, each chapter closes with a discussion of the book’s theological themes and application. This structure is by no means mechanical, however. When appropriate, this basic structure is interrupted by excurses that are relevant to that particular book. For example, in the authors’ treatment of Joel, they discuss the prophet’s use of other Scripture, the debate over the locust/army interpretive question in Joel 1–2, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the OT. Important discussions crop up frequently in the exposition of each prophet, such as the historicity of the Jonah story, Jonah as a type of Jesus, the telescoping of prophecy to include both near and far fulfillments, and Messianic prediction. The book concludes with a helpful guide that demonstrates and explains ways that the minor prophets are applicable to the modern church.Several elements commend this volume. First, the exclusive focus on the Minor Prophets is a welcome feature. Most introductions or summaries of the prophets include all the Latter Prophets, and the 12 “Minor” Prophets often receive minor treatment in these volumes. This section of Scripture is often neglected by pastors, teachers, and the average Bible reader. Many are intimidated by the unfamiliarity of the books’ literary styles and complex themes. Fuhr and Yates break down much of this unfamiliarity and open a window to the prophets that most will find very accessible. The writing style is not wooden or academic; the book flows in an engaging narrative style. Maps, charts, comparisons, and short excurses sprinkled throughout the book provide clarity and additional context for the reader. The authors’ attention to intertextuality and biblical theological links was encouraging. Literary elements that are not possible to bring over to English translations are brought into the discussion to elucidate the message of the prophets further. The authors hold a high view of Scripture. As a result, evangelical pastors, teachers, and students will find a friendly guide to these important, but often neglected, portions of Scripture.Finding much to criticize about this volume is a difficult task. There is the very occasional typo. For some, the structure may appear wooden and predictable. Those looking for a robust presentation and discussion of various interpretations of the prophets’ messages will need to look elsewhere. By and large, the book presents a univocal reading of the prophets. It is really beyond the scope of the book to engage in these multi-perspective interpretive discussions. The book doesn’t address critical issues of sources, authors, editors, debates about dating, and so on, but again, this is beyond the book’s purpose.Professors Fuhr and Yates are to be commended for their work on The Message of the Twelve. It is a well-written, engaging, clear explanation of the messages of the Twelve Prophets. It would be a welcome volume and useful resource in the library of every pastor, teacher, and serious student of Scripture. In the hands of a competent teacher, it would make a good guide for a church’s adult Bible study class. May every Bible reader develop a more robust understanding and love for the messages of these prophets.