You have been put on notice: SEBTS professor Heath Thomas’s ‘Until He Looks Down and Sees’: The Message and Meaning of the Book of Lamentations (The Grove Biblical Series) has been published and is the best one-stop theological introduction to the book of Lamentations. This theological commentary is part of The Grove Biblical Series, which also includes contributors such as N.T. Wright, Christopher J.H. Wright, Richard Bauckham, and Craig Bartholomew.
As Thomas points out, Lamentations appears to be a book without a happy ending—its final comment is distinctly ambiguous. And yet it is best known for a verse that promises hope: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases … Great is Your Faithfulness!” (Lam. 3:22-23) Inspired by this verse, Robert Chisholm wrote the famous hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” Sadly, the full testimony of this powerful book is largely lost to the modern church.
Therefore, the aim of this very accessible mini-commentary is to help those who read Lamentations (and particularly those who preach from it) to hear its message and meaning. To do so, we must learn to read the book with integrity, which means learning to read the book in its entirety instead of merely reading selectively a few of our “pet” verses. We learn how to read Lamentations as Christian Scripture, allowing it to transform us into the image of Christ. In a nutshell, we learn to read the whole book in a way that it speaks to our whole lives.
While I’m at it, if you are a prospective college student, seminary student, or an advanced degree candidate, allow me to invite you to come study under Dr. Thomas at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is Assistant Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Fellow in Old Testament Studies at The Paideia Centre for Public Theology (Ancaster, Ontario, Canada).
Dr. Thomas holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies (Old Testament) from the University of Gloucestershire in Cheltenham (UK). His research interests lie in biblical lament tradition, the relationship between faith and law, biblical prophecy, and a number of specific book-related research projects (Lamentations, Habakkuk, the Psalter, Job, and Jeremiah). He also has a sustained interest in the relationship between the Hebrew lament tradition and a Christian theology of suffering. Heath also enjoys fly-fishing, oddly enough, and reading the prose of Umberto Eco.
I didn’t see this on Amazon, but found available thru Grove Books in the UK. I guess it’s no problem paying in pounds, but my bank charges an international transaction fee. Is there any prospect for this becoming available later on Amazon?? Craig Baugh
Comment by Craig Baugh — September 30, 2010 @ 10:04 am
Craig, great question. I checked and you are correct. Amazon is not offering it b/c it is published in UK without an American partnership. But you can purchase it straight from Grove Books for about $5.
Comment by Bruce Ashford — September 30, 2010 @ 11:19 am
Bruce, I would also like to add a word or two about Dr. Thomas’ mad fly-fishing skills, his pretty hair (of which I am ever envious), his oldest son’s first touchdown, and his indebtedness to his older brother in Norfolk.
Seriously, the book on Lamentations is an extremely helpful resource for pastors like myself. I’m preaching through Habakkuk right now, and his insights into the message and meaning of that book has been a help to me as well.
Love, love, love my brother!
Eric
Comment by Eric Thomas — September 30, 2010 @ 4:01 pm
Sorry, I meant the “mad fly-fishing skills” he learned from his older brother in Norfolk to whom he is indebted. Grin.
ET
Comment by Eric Thomas — September 30, 2010 @ 4:34 pm
Eric,
The point you made about Dr. Thomas’ “pretty hair” is an entirely good point. I almost entitled the blog “Even Pretty Professors Can Write Important Books.”
BA
Comment by Bruce Ashford — September 30, 2010 @ 6:31 pm
I would like to add a little remark on studying under Dr. Thomas at SEBTS. I am currently taking Old Testament 1 with him and I must say it has been one of the most beneficial classes I have taken in my understanding of the Old Testament in relation to the New. When looking at the creation account I literally wanted to ask if we could just stop the class to worship and it wasn’t just because Dr. Thomas has pretty hair. But seriously, I would echo Dr. Ashford’s encouragement to take one of Dr. Thomas classes, you would not regret it.
Comment by Michael Davis — October 2, 2010 @ 7:46 am