Genesis begins by telling the story of the creation, and ends by telling the
story of Jacob’s family moving to Egypt.The story in Job, the great sufferer, is believed to have happened during the
time of the stories in Genesis.
The book of Exodus tells of the “exodus” of Jacob’s family (Israel) from Egypt.The book of Leviticus is a book of laws for Israel.Numbers
gives the history of Israel
wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.Deuteronomy, which means
“second law,” in another book of laws.
Joshua
leads Israel
in conquering the Promised Land.The
book of Judges tells of various
judges delivering Israel
from various oppressions.The love story
called Ruth probably fits somewhere
in the earlier period of the judges.
1 Samuel tells about Israel’s
first king, Saul, and his disobedience and rejection by God.The stories in both 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles
center on Israel’s
second king, David, a man after God’s own heart, and a man who wrote many of
the Psalms.
1 Kings and 2 Chronicles both begin
by telling the story of Israel’s
third king, the wise man Solomon.Many
of Solomon’s wise saying are recorded in the book of Proverbs.And Solomon is
believed to be the author of the love song called Song of Solomon.And in the
book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon
reflects on his life and concludes that man’s whole duty is to fear God and
keep His commandments.
After Solomon’s death, Israel was
divided into two kingdoms.The northern
kingdom kept the name Israel,
and the southern kingdom was known as Judah.This division is record in both 1 Kings and 2
Chronicles, and the remainder of those books, along with 2 Kings, tells about the kings that reigned over these two
kingdoms.All of the kings of Israel were
evil.Most of the kings of Judah were
evil, but a few were good.
During this period, several
prophets prophesy.Obadiah prophesies that Edom
would be punished for looting Jerusalem.Joel spoke
of God sending a locust plague on Israel.Jonah
preaches to Nineveh,
bringing about its temporary repentance.Amos, a shepherd and grower
of sycamore figs, spoke out against the sins of Israel.Hosea
marries Gomer, and her unfaithfulness illustrates Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.
Isaiah
speaks both of immediate and distance events, including saying much about the
coming of Jesus.Micah prophesied about the sinful way the rich treated the
poor.Nahum foretold the fall of Nineveh.Zephaniah,
who was related to royalty, spoke out against the his people’s wickedness.Jeremiah
records the decline and fall of Judah
to Babylon.Lamentations
records Jeremiah’s sadness over the fall of Jerusalem.Habakkuk discusses the
justice of God.
Daniel,
captive in Babylon,
enjoys great success and foretells many events.Ezekiel, also a captive, uses
dramatic stories, such as the famous vision of the valley of dry bones.
That vision symbolized the
return of the Jews from captivity to their homeland, an event recorded in the
books of Ezra and Nehemiah.At this time, Haggai emphasizes rebuilding the temple.Zechariah,
Haggai coworker, prophesies about the coming Christ.So does Malachi,
mentioning also John the Baptist, and having much to say about the sins of the
priests.Esther also fits into this time period.Esther, the wife of the Persian king Xerxes,
helped saved the Jews from annihilation.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell the
good news (gospel) about Jesus Christ, including His birth, ministry, death,
burial, and resurrection.
Acts
records a history of the early church, especially some acts of the apostles
Peter and Paul, such as Paul’s missionary journeys.Within the context of Paul’s missionary
journeys, Paul writes several books.Galatians and Romans both emphasize justification by obedient faith apart from
works of the Mosaic Law.1 & 2 Thessalonians both emphasize
a great day coming.1 & 2 Corinthian both deal with problems facing the church in Corinth. .James,
the “Proverbs of the New Testament” is believed to have been written during
this period as well.
By
the end of Acts, Paul is in prison, where he writes four more letters.Ephesians,
it has been observed, focuses on the church
of Christ, while Colossians focuses on the Christ over
the church.Philippians focuses on joy, and Philemon receives instruction on treating his recently converted
slave, Onesimus.
After
the events in Acts, Paul writes 1 &
2 Timothy and Titus, telling
these young men about church matters.About this time, Peter writes 1
Peter, which discusses Christian living, and 2 Peter, which emphasizes the danger of false teachers, a theme
also taken up in Jude.An unidentified author writes Hebrews,
encouraging Jewish Christians not to return to Judaism.1
& 2 John warns Christians of the false teachings of Gnosticism.3 John
encourages Gaius to keep up his good work.Revelation encourages
Christians to be faithful even to the point of death, as they would soon be
persecuted by the Roman Emperor Domitian.
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