OPENING UP JOEL
By Michael Bentley
DayOne. 96 pages. £5.00
ISBN 978-1-84625-919-7
This little book is packed with expository highlights and practical wisdom.
Michael Bentley seems to have got under the skin of the prophet Joel. In an intriguing way, this devotional commentary mirrors both the style and the heart of the prophet. In the same way that Joel’s three chapters interleave the past, present and future, Bentley helps us to join the dots between the Old Testament text, its New Testament gospel meaning, and contemporary Christian living, while encouraging us to anticipate all that we do not yet see. Pursuing the prophet’s explanation of the locust plague, this book traces the devastating consequences of rebellion, and continues to call for repentance, before celebrating God’s promises of restoration and transformation.
Each chapter eases the reader through the essentials of the text, illustrating its principles and adding insightful personal reflections, until it springs an unexpected twist to bring the same message home to today’s readers.
Attractively presented and helpfully set into 12 straightforward chapters, which match the sections of the narrative, this book is best read alongside the Bible text. It is a challenging devotional read; and with good suggestions for further study and discussion it will be a useful discipleship tool. This book refuses to leave the reader content to analyse the prophecy, but keeps urging today’s preachers and people to respond to God’s unfailing Word.
Dr. Paul Adams,
senior pastor of Banstead Baptist Church, Surrey
