Be Heroic is a study of minor prophets Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah… sometimes forgotten among the heroes of the faith. These men were willing to put it all on the line and carry God’s message during difficult times. The Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple were also heroic. Their story is told in these books. Warren Wiersbe writes: “God is challenging us to be heroic in a world that desperately needs everyday anonymous heroes who will sacrifice and serve only to hear their Master say, “Well done!” Will you be among them?” We can learn a lot from the examples of the heroes of the faith recorded in these three books! ( )

First sentence: “Thank God He gives us difficult things to do!” said Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest. The first time I read that statement, I shook my head in disagreement, but I was young and inexperienced then, and it seemed smarter to do the easy things that made me look successful.

This is the third commentary series highlighting the minor prophets of the Old Testament. This one focuses on Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah. These are all postexhilic in nature. The Babylonian Captivity is ending and Jews are beginning to return to resettle, rebuild, re-establish.

Wiersbe goes through these three books, chapter by chapter. He also shares some conclusions tying together these books of the Bible.

This is one of the rare times I read the book cover to cover but my mind was on vacation. I don't know where my brain was when I was turning pages over the course of a week. It wasn't like I retained the information but took too long to review (which happens sometimes). I do not blame Wiersbe for my empty mindedness. (This also happened with Beauty by Robin McKinley that I was reading over the same week.)

I would recommend this one to those that like his "Be" series commentaries. I have read a handful of his commentaries and enjoyed them. Some I've learned quite a bit from. ( )

The title of this one is a bit misleading. When I think of Old Testament minor prophets, I think of Hosea through Malachi. Wiersbe included Ezra which is normally counted among the historical books and Haggai and Zechariah which are minor prophets. I expected this to cover the twelve minor prophets, but it covered only two of the twelve plus one other Old Testament book. I always enjoy Wiersbe's insights, but I felt this installment was not quite as strong as some of his devotional commentaries. It's still worth reading. ( )