I constantly get asked by church members about resources for Bible study. Most of them read their Bibles daily, but would like to have a resource or two from trusted Bible scholars. A problem arises when they step into a book store and realize there are commentaries on every book of the Bible that range from pamphlet size up to several hundred pages. Which one should they buy? Which one can they trust? Which one will be accessible, yet teach them? If this is you here are some suggestions:
1. New Bible Commentary
Edited by two of my favorite Bible teachers, D.A. Carson and Alec Motyer, the New Bible Commentary is your one stop shop for studying every book of the Bible. Tim Keller, Pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC, recommends that new Bible students buy this commentary, a journal and spend 2-3 years reading slowly through the Bible from cover to cover. At around $20 this you can’t go wrong.
2. The Bible Exposition (BE) Commentary Series
For a more devotional style commentary I’d recommend Wiersbe’s BE series. The commentaries are around $10 apiece and you can also buy study guides that follow them. I’ve used the commentary study guides for small group curriculum (at the time of this post my small group is working its way through the study guide on the Minor Prophets).
3. Expositor’s Bible Commentary
Where the New Bible Commentary will be brief and Wiersbe will lean more towards devotion then in-depth study, the Expositor’s Bible Commentary series is your step up into more academic material. Don’t worry. You can handle this. I own and use every commentary in this series every time I preach.