Evaluation

Overall Score: 8.1/10

A clear, church facing guide that helps us preach Obadiah with gravity and hope.

Publication Date(s): 2018

Pages: 800

ISBN: 978-1433546525

Faithfulness to the Text: 8.2/10

We find Max Rogland careful with context, and steady in tracing Obadiah’s message without forcing the text into our preferred themes.

Christ Centredness: 7.9/10

We are helped to preach the Lord’s kingship and rescue in ways that point forward to Christ without flattening the prophet’s own voice.

Depth of Insight: 8/10

We gain solid help with structure and key motifs, especially the moral logic of pride, violence, and divine judgement.

Clarity of Writing: 8.3/10

The writing is clear, the sections are easy to consult, and the flow supports weekly sermon preparation.

Pastoral Usefulness: 8.2/10

The exposition presses toward proclamation that strengthens the church, especially where God’s people feel small or opposed.

Readability: 8.1/10

It is substantial, but it reads smoothly, and the tone invites repeated use rather than a single quick skim.

Summary

At a Glance

Length: 800 pages
Type: Expository (Mid-Level)
Theo. Perspective: Broadly Evangelical
Overall score: 8.1 / 10
Strength: Strong sense of the book’s message, and very usable for preaching and teaching.
Limitation: Those wanting extended technical discussion on historical details may want a specialist companion.

In Obadiah, ESV Expository Commentary, Max Rogland helps us preach a short book with weight. He keeps the argument moving, sets the text in its covenant setting, and shows why the Lord’s justice is never a side theme for the church. Volume 7.

We are guided through the structure with clear signposts, and we are repeatedly brought back to the main point of each unit, so we do not turn a few verses into a grab bag of ideas.

Why Should I Own This Commentary?

We should own this volume when we need help handling judgement language with reverence and pastoral steadiness. It encourages careful reading, then moves us toward proclamation that comforts the oppressed and warns the proud.

The exposition is pitched for preaching. We are helped to trace key threads, to keep the book’s logic in view, and to land applications that are shaped by the text rather than by current controversies.

For training, it models how to treat a small prophetic book as Scripture that forms the church, not as an odd appendix to the Old Testament.

Closing Recommendation

We recommend Obadiah, ESV Expository Commentary for pastors and teachers who want a mid level guide that is alert to context and ready for the pulpit. It is especially useful when we want our sermons to hold together both the Lord’s righteousness and his refuge for his people.

As pastoral next steps, we can visit the Bible Book Overview, browse Top Recommendations, and use the Reformed Commentary Index to build a wiser working library.

Where to buy

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