Imagine for a moment that you and a friend are both sitting with your backs to a third person. The two of you have drawing easels in front of you and the 3rd person, whom you can’t see, is giving you directions on how to draw a picture of an object in their hand. They are to do this without telling you what the object is or what it is used for. You are not allowed to ask questions. What would your drawing look like if you didn’t know you were really drawing a tiger, and ocean liner, or a stained glass window? We suspect that you would be a little frustrated and confused.
When we read the Bible there are times when everything seems clear but there are also times when we really have no idea what God has drawn for us. In this introduction to the Bible course, we will try with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to give you a basic understanding of the contents and some tips on how to develop some clarity when reading the Bible.
Open your Bible to the index and try to read aloud all the books of the Bible?
- How many books are there in the entire Bible?
- How many of those books listed in the Old Testament?
- How many books are listed in the New Testament?
The Old Testament covers a time period from the beginning of the creation of everything up until several hundred years before Jesus was born. The New Testament begins about a year before Jesus was born and then reaches out depending on which scholar you believe to between 70 & 120 CE (Common/Christian era).
You can divide up the Bible into different classifications of literature the following way:
Law Books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
History: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
Poetry: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel
Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
Gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke, John
History: Acts
Paul’s Letters: Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
Other Letters: Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1 & 2 & 3 John, Jude
Prophecy: Revelation
Is the Bible written by God or is the Bible just a big old book written by humans to press flowers in or to hold doors open? The Bible was written by many different human beings. They all had different personalities, interests, and differences that reveal themselves in the books. Some of the authors were scholars with hot resumes and others were people you surely wouldn’t give your school term paper to write for you. Take a few moments to look up the following scriptures to discover what the Bible itself says about the authors:
II Timothy 3:16
Luke 1:1-4
Jeremiah 36:1-2
2 Peter 1:20-21
I Corinthians 16:19-21
Bible Reading
At the end of each session we’ll ask you to turn to a passage of scripture and read it and reflect on four questions:
1. What do I think this passage meant for those who read it the first time?
2. What does this passage mean for me right now?
3. What are you going to do or how are you going to act differently in the future as a result of what this passage says?
4. What questions do I have about this passage that I need clarification on?
Bible Passage: Genesis chapters 1 & 2
You are invited to post your comments or questions on the Beginners Bible Study Blog and to join us in person once a month on the first Sunday of the month following worship to discuss this blog further.
