On March 23-24 2012, the Evangelical Theological Society Southeastern Regional Meeting was hosted at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. The theme of the meeting was on Biblical Theology. The Plenary Speakers for the meeting were Paul House (Beeson Divinity School), Scott Hafemann (University of St. Andrews, Scotland), and Andreas Kostenberger (Southeastern Seminary).
The Plenary sessions have been made available here.
I have been a fan of Paul House’s (Professor of Old Testament, Beeson Divinity School) work ever since I first picked up and read his OT Theology book. Although sometimes a bit rigid, I appreciate the way he works through a single book of the OT on its own right, but thoughtful in the way he sees certain themes being alluded to in other parts of the Hebrew canon. It can be said that he has good canonical sensitivity.
With that, I was pleased to see Justin Taylor highlight House’s essay on the unifying themes of the prophets from his article in the ESV Study Bible. This essay is going to be reprinted in Understanding the Bible Well: A Guide to Reading the Bible Well. According to House a thematic progression can be discerned in the prophets that begins with the prophets belief that God is speaking through them. Second, the prophets operate within the context that Israel has been chosen by God to exist in a covenantal relationship with him. Third, much of the message of the prophets emphasizes that Israel has broken covenantal relationship. Fourth, the continued message of the prophets is that God’s judgement for covenantal unfaithfulness will eradicate sin. And fifth, the prophets see renewal beyond the judgement. You can read Taylor’s full post here.