Organization of The Bible

We all know the Bible has a lot of wonderful stories in it.

Have we looked any of them up lately?

Have we read any of its stories to our kids or grand kids at bedtime?

If asked to read the story of Noah, or of Daniel in the lions' den, or of Samson and Delilah; or the story of the Good Samaritan, would we know where to find them without an embarrassing delay and fumble through the Bible?

We know the Bible details a lot of important historical events. But have we studied any of this history lately, or ever? Or is our knowledge of biblical history limited to what we watched as produced by film makers?

And we know the Bible has a lot of instructions in it about how we are to live, day to day, in this world. Have we personally looked up these instructions lately, or ever?

Is it the preacher's job on Sunday mornings to teach us about the Bible? The called ministers of God have an important burden placed on them, but it is not to be the sole source of our information on the Bible. We know we should individually read the Bible:

"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39.

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim. 2:15.

The problems we hear regularly (from ourselves?) is that the Bible is a little to thick, too complex, and too detailed. We do not know where to start. We do not understand the Bible's manner of organization, and its story sequence does not seem to follow correct timelines.

The Bible just looks complicated. And, just thumbing through its long grey pages with all that tiny print, it looks boring.

Not enough pictures, right?

Have we covered most of the excuses? I know all of them very well, I have used them all. And, I still use these excuses all too often.

The fact is that the Bible is a wonderful book. It has wonderful bedtime stories for our kids and grandkids, and excellent moral instructions for shaping our personal lives. The Bible teaches us a lot about handling our personal affairs, settling disputes within our families, and dealing with our neighbors.

Why, then, aren't we reading it more? Well, as for me, personally I've just been a little too busy lately ...., and I do not know where to start...etc. How are your excuses?

Let's start today with a quick tour of the Bible. Let's first look at the organization of the Bible. Later, in upcoming articles we will get into individual events of the Bible and point out where they are and discuss their significance.

Most are generally familiar that the Bible is the most popular book ever written. However, it is in fact, 66 books, separately written over a long period of time, and put together into one bound volume. The 66 books are separated into two basic categories: the Old Testament, and the New Testament.

The Old Testament is made up of 39 individual books and written over a period of about two thousand years. It covers the Creation of the earth and tells the story of the Jewish people up to the time of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament is composed of 27 books, written over a period of one hundred years. It is the record of the birth of Jesus, his life and ministry, and the ministry of his Apostles following the establishment of his Church after Jesus’ crucifixion.

The Old Testament is not one, long unbroken book. The Old Testament is organized into three different "kinds" of books: 17 historical books, followed by five books of a "poetical" nature, and then 17 books of prophecy.

The first five history books are known as the Law of Moses, or Pentateuch ("5 books). This is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Before Moses, there was no Bible.

Genesis tells the story of the Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, the Tower of Babel, and the ancestors of a man known as Abraham, followed by the descendants of Abraham who were God’s chosen people and include stories of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and the 12 tribes of Israel.

The book of Exodus continues with the story of the birth and life of Moses, and delivery of God’s people from Egyptian slavery in the crossing of the sea, followed by the Israelites events in the wilderness, Moses’ meeting with God at Mount Sinai and delivery of the Ten Commandments.

Leviticus is primarily the book of laws and of historic regulations for God’s people concerning sacrifice, diet and moral standards.

Numbers means a census of the people in the wilderness and covers many events in the 40 years of wilderness by the Israelites, including the building of the tabernacle.

Deuteronomy details the end of the 40 years, the speech by Moses before the Israelites were to enter the promised land of Canaan.

The next 12 books detail the history of God’s people, the troubles and their triumphs. Joshua deals with the conquest of the promised land. Judges picks up with continued history of Israel’s leaders, known as "judges", followed by the small book of Ruth. Following are the books of Samuel and Kings dealing with the history of Israel and its twelve tribes and the various kings who presided. These are complimented by the history in the books of Chronicles before Israel was defeated by Babylon and exiled from the land of promise.

The last three history books are Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther which provide additional history after the exile.

The next five books are often referred to as poetical books or books of wisdom. This includes Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. All five books are very different from each other, but are grouped in comparison to the historical books.

The remaining 17 books of the Old Testament are books of the prophets. This includes five major prophets ( Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel) and 12 minor prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi).

The books of prophets were written at various times throughout the history as detailed in the historical books. They do not follow the historical books in time line, but these books were written at various times during the history as detailed in the historical books.

The New Testament can be put into three basic categories. First there is the historical books of Christ, his life and ministry and death as detailed in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Following the historical books of Christ is the Book of Acts which details the ascension of Christ into heaven and the acts of Jesus’ apostles following his death in setting up the early church. The end of Acts really is the end of history facts of the Bible.

Following Acts are the 22 Epistles, or letters, written by the Apostles. The first 13 are referred to as Pauline Epistles and believed to be authored by the Apostle Paul. The remaining eight epistles were authored by various others.

The epistles generally provide interpretation of the Scripture and instruction to God’s people on lifestyle and doctrine.

The Bible is organized in a manner that actually makes it understandable and readable once we examine it. It is full of wonderful writings and significant events which are important for our understanding of the kingdom of God.

(Editor's Note: Nothing replaces an individual's own reading of the Scriptures. However, in following issues will appear a series of articles summarizing the major historical events of the Bible and where those specific events are found in the Scriptures, beginning with the book of Genesis. It is hoped such a series will be helpful and encouraging of others to individually read the Bible and study for themselves the important events, doctrines and teachings contained therein).

Next: The Creation, the Garden, and the Fall 

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