Obviously, we want them to follow the messages, to listen to the messages, and to learn the messages. Seems pretty simple. But listening is easier when you are following along in your Bible, and learning is easier when you are listening. Telling a child to follow along is pointless if that child has no idea where they are heading.
New Testament? Old Testament? The Book of Obadiah? Learning your way around the Bible is crucial to being able to learn from the Bible and realizing there is organization to the structure will help. Our God is a God of order and the books of the Bible are in an order that makes sense. Knowing and understanding this order can make a lot of difference in our understanding of Scripture. Most people are aware that the Bible has two major divisions, the first and largest is the Old Testament.
The Old Testament records the history and writings of Israel in the centuries prior the coming of Jesus. It was written over centuries. The New Testament, by comparison, is smaller fewer books and covers a relatively short period of time. The entire New Testament probably was written within a 70 year period or less.
The first five books of the Bible are referred to as the Books of the Law because they are generally attributed to Moses and contain the Law of Moses. These books contain a good deal of history as much as anything as well as speeches and even songs, so it would be a mistake to imagine these are purely legal documents. It is here we learn about creation, the flood, Babel, the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, Sinai, and the 40 year wilderness wandering. Here we read about the conquest of the Promised Land, the period of the Judges, the united kingdom, the divided kingdom, the Babylonian captivity and the restoration of the Israelite people to their homeland.
It is at this point that Old Testament history essentially comes to a close. The reason some cannot understand is because they have no grasp of the structure of the Bible.
The Bible is set forth and organized in a systematic and well-ordered manner. It is not arranged chronologically, i.
The books of the Bible are categorized by subjects or types of literature. The following simple outline is immensely helpful in recognizing how the Bible is organized:. Old Testament. One can easily remember the number of books in each section with the easy count of 5, 12, 5, 5, A knowledge of these divisions will always be helpful in understanding the content and structure of the scriptures.
It is noteworthy that the books of the New Testament are arranged in the precise order of the plan of salvation. First century historian, Flavius Josephus, also noted the threefold division. He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms" Luke Philo of Alexandria, who lived in the first century A. Like Jesus he calls the third section "the Psalms.
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets Matthew The New Testament uses both the twofold division as well as the threefold division in referring to the Old Testament books. The twenty-seven books are roughly chronological but they are not placed in the order in which they were written. This is named after the early Church Father, Augustine. Augustine concluded that the gospels were written in this chronological order - Matthew the first and John the last.
Most modern scholars assume that Mark was written first. In the western Church, the letters of Paul are placed before the general letters.
In the eastern Church this is reversed - the general letters come before Paul's writings. The thirteen letters of the Apostle Paul are not ordered as to when they were written but rather according to their length. The Book of Romans is the longest letter that Paul wrote to the churches while Colossians is the shortest.
First Timothy is the longest letter that Paul wrote to an individual while Philemon is the shortest. The books of the Bible are not in any sacred order but rather they are in a logical order. However, two of them, Genesis and Revelation, must stand in their present position. The Book of Genesis must be the first book of Scripture because it records the beginning of all created things. In the same manner, the Book of Revelation must stand last because it chronicles the end of all things present as well as the promise of a new heaven and a new earth.
The Septuagint is arranged by similar subject matter. There is Law, historical books, poetry, wisdom, and prophets. Jerome in the Latin Vulgate followed this sequence. Most Christian Bibles today keep this order. It is closer to a chronological sequence. Some of the books in Scripture have their name based upon the various topics in which they write about. This would include the books of Kings and Chronicles.
Other books, such as Psalms and Proverbs are named for the literary form in which they are written. Paul's letters are named after either the churches to whom he was writing such as Thessalonica or the individuals to whom he addressed such as Timothy. The four gospels were named after the individuals whom it is believed authored the works. It appears that Hebrews, or Jews, wrote all the books of the Scripture.
Scripture says that the Jews were entrusted with the very words of God. What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way!
First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God Romans , 2. The one exception is writings of Luke. He wrote the gospel that bears his name as well as the Book of Acts. It seems that Luke was a Gentile. Paul spoke of him in this manner. Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings Colossians These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me Colossians After Paul mentioned the various Jews who provided comfort to him he then went on to mention a number of Gentiles.
Luke is in this group of people. Therefore it seems Luke is associated with the Gentiles, or non-Jews, who sent their greetings. The books of the Bible are divided for sake of convenience and the logical historical development - there is no sacred order. Because the order of the books is human-made it is not necessary to read the Bible in this sequence.
In the Protestant Bible there are sixty-six books - thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament.
The contents of the books are exactly the same. The difference is in the way they are divided. There are twenty-seven books in the New Testament. They can be divided into four gospels, one book of history, twenty-one letters, and one book of prophecy. The four gospels are placed in their present order based on the opinion of Augustine as to when they were written. The letters of Paul are placed in order according to their length rather than the time they were written.
The eastern and western Churches have a different order with respect to Paul's writings and the general letters. The western Church places Paul's writings before the general letters while the eastern churches reverses this. While there is no sacred order of the books of Scripture Genesis and Revelation must stand first and last since they detail the beginning and the end of all things. The books were named after their subject matter, literary style, person or group addressed, or the name of the author.
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