Be Amazed. Restoring an Attitude of Wonder and Worship

208 Pages·2011·1.05 MB·English

by  Warren W. Wiersbe

BE AMAZED
Published by David C. Cook
4050 Lee Vance View
Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.
David C. Cook Distribution Canada 55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5
David C. Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England David C.
Cook and the graphic circle C logo are registered trademarks of Cook Communications Ministries.
All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced
or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public
Domain.) Scripture quotations marked are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright
NASB
1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; are taken from the Holy Bible, New
NIV
International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by
permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved; are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright
NKJV
© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved; are taken from The Living
TLB
Bible, © 1971, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60189. Used by permission; and are taken from
NRSV
the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The author has added italics to Scripture quotations for emphasis.
LCCN 2010923217
ISBN 978-1-4347-6505-5
eISBN 978-0-7814-0442-6
© 1996 Warren W. Wiersbe First edition of Be Amazed published by Victor Books® in 1996 © Warren W.
Wiersbe, ISBN 978-1-56476-541-3
The Team: Karen Lee-Thorp, Amy Kiechlin, Sarah Schultz, Jack Campbell, and Karen Athen Series Cover
Design: John Hamilton Design Cover Photo: Veer
Second Edition 2010
Contents
The Big Idea: An Introduction to Be Amazed by Ken Baugh A Word from the
Author
Hosea in His Time
1. You Married a What? (Hosea 1—3) 2. What Will I Do with You? (Hosea 4—
10) Joel in His Time
3. Love So Amazing (Hosea 11—14) 4. Watching the Day of the Lord (Joel 1—
2:27) 5. Expecting the Day of the Lord (Joel 2:28—3:21) Jonah in His Time
6. Patience and Pardon (Jonah 1—2) 7. Preaching and Pouting (Jonah 3—4)
Nahum in His Time
8. The City Is No More (Nahum 1—3) Habakkuk in His Time
9. The Prophet Worrying (Habakkuk 1) 10. The Prophet Watching and Waiting
(Habakkuk 2) 11. The Prophet Worshipping (Habakkuk 3) Malachi in His Time
12. The Sins of God’s People—Part I (Malachi 1—2:16) 13. The Sins of God’s
People—Part II (Malachi 2:17—4:6) Notes
The Big Idea
An Introduction to Be Amazed
by Ken Baugh
Not long ago I decided to do something that has been haunting me for years. I
digitized twenty-one years of home movies. If you’re a non-techie, what that
means is that I copied a ton of home movies into my computer. I’m not done yet,
but I’ve made a significant dent in the huge box of videos. And as I was
importing each video into my computer, I watched the last twenty-one years of
my life flash by. I cried as I watched both of my girls take their first steps, I
laughed out loud as I watched clips from family vacations, fun times at
Disneyland, the beach, first dance jitters, and the thrill of victory and the agony
of defeat during countless dance recitals and sporting events. Right before my
eyes, my two little girls grew from babies into beautiful, godly young women. I
was also struck by the love I have for my wife and the incredible marriage we
have shared over the years. And I noticed that I used to be a pretty handsome
guy with a ripped stomach and a full head of hair—oh well, some things are
bound to change.
You probably have watched your own home movies and experienced similar
emotions as you watched your life pass before you, but something else happened
to me that I was not expecting. As I reviewed my life and that of my family, I
was also reminded of the incredible faithfulness of God. There were some pretty
difficult seasons over the last twenty-one years, and those were not captured on
tape, yet as I watched the movies, I remembered. I remembered the long and
trying years of seminary. I remembered the experience of a devastating layoff
from a church position that I loved. I remembered the uncertainty of moving to
Virginia from California as I accepted a new church position. And yet, as I look
back on those difficult seasons many years later, I can clearly see the hand of
God as He guided and provided for my family and me.
I’ve often heard it said that hindsight is 20/20, and I must say that I agree.
Not all of those why questions I asked of God years ago have been answered, but
in hindsight I have the evidence of God’s presence. Throughout my personal
history I can look back and see the fingerprints of God’s character all over my
life, and I am reminded yet again that history is actually His story, where we
discover His character, His attributes, and the purpose of life. As I look back on
my personal history, I see God’s attributes of love, patience, mercy, and power,
to name a few.
The twelve books we call the Minor Prophets (because of their length, not
their importance) represent God’s story spanning 450 years as He revealed
Himself to His people and the world. The commentary you hold in your hand
will introduce you to six of those twelve prophets. I believe the Big Idea that
runs through these books is how God reveals Himself throughout history to His
people and a watching world. Let me outline three of God’s attributes that you
will see over and over again through these six prophetic books.
Attribute 1: The Sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God is a running
theme throughout each of the Minor Prophets as God shows Himself to be in
control of all things. The important thing to remember about God’s sovereignty
is that He allows all things to happen in accordance with His divine purposes.
Because you and I are His children, everything that happens to us is not the
result of random events that just happen—everything that happens is part of
God’s ultimate plan. Now, make no mistake, God is not the author of evil. But
He does allow evil things to happen to His people and works them into His
divine purposes. I have discovered in my life and in the lives of countless others
to whom I have ministered that what I may call “bad” is a tool in God’s hand
that He uses for my good and His glory.
The apostle Paul reminds us, “And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”
(Rom. 8:28 ). This is no glib cliché or pat answer to “Why do bad things
NIV
happen to good people?” Instead, it is the truth of God’s sovereign, omnipotent
reign over my life and this world that allows Him to take any situation and use it
for His glory.
Attribute 2: The Holiness of God. For God to be holy simply means that He
is morally perfect in every way and as such cannot tolerate sin. To sin is to miss
the mark of moral perfection. God cannot sin because He is perfectly holy, and
“in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ). God is literally the definition
NIV
of holiness. His holiness raises a significant problem for every human being,
because we are all sinners and as such are separated from a holy and righteous
God. Yet God enables every person to become holy in His sight through
repentance and acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as the payment for
sin.
Throughout the Minor Prophets you will hear the prophets urgently calling
God’s people to repent in light of looming judgment. As a holy God, He must
judge sin. So He sends these prophets to His people to urge them to repent and
trust in Him for salvation. As you study the writings of these prophets, look for
this common theme of repentance, the solution that God offers.
Attribute 3: The Love of God. The very fact that God sends a prophet to His
people to warn them of coming judgment is evidence that God is love. He is
gracious and merciful, not wanting His people to perish. God is a loving
heavenly Father, and He disciplines His children when they sin. This discipline
at times seems harsh, but He uses it to bring us to repentance. The writer of
Hebrews reminds us, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.
… God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness” (Heb.
12:7, 10 ). Throughout the Minor Prophets, God shows love to His people by
NIV
giving them a chance to repent and, when they don’t, bringing judgment not to
punish but to discipline them and lead them to repentance. As you study the
writings of these prophets, look for the fingerprints of God’s love through His
judgment and discipline.
The Minor Prophets span 450 years of history: It’s God’s story as He reveals
Himself both to His people and to a watching world. Look for His attributes as
you study, and make note of how often you see His sovereignty, holiness, and
love. Then look back over your own personal history and Be Amazed at how
God has worked in your life as His beloved son or daughter.
***
Dr. Wiersbe’s commentaries have been a source of guidance and strength to me
over the many years that I have been a pastor. His unique style is not overly
academic, but theologically sound. He explains the deep truths of Scripture in a
way that everyone can understand and apply. Whether you’re a Bible scholar or
a brand-new believer in Christ, you will benefit, as I have, from Warren’s
insights. With your Bible in one hand and Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary in the
other, you will be able to accurately unpack the deep truths of God’s Word and
learn how to apply them to your life.
Drink deeply, my friend, of the truths of God’s Word, for in them you will
find Jesus Christ, and there is freedom, peace, assurance, and joy.
—Ken Baugh
Pastor of Coast Hills Community Church
Aliso Viejo, California