Chapter One
Understanding the BibleThe Bible portrays Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World
Selected Bible Readings
Sunday: God-Given (2 Timothy 3:10-17)
Monday: Should Be Treasured (Deuteronomy 11:1-9;
Joshua 1:8,9)
Tuesday: Should Be Kept (Psalm 119:9-18)
Wednesday: A Lamp (Psalm 119:105-117)
Thursday: Food (Isaiah 55:1-11; Matthew 4:4)
Friday: Fulfilled (Luke 24:36-45)
Saturday: Complete (Revelation 22:8-21)
"Behind and beneath the Bible, above and beyond the Bible, is
the God of the Bible."
The Bible is God's written revelation of His will to humanity.
Its central theme is salvation through Jesus Christ.
The Bible contains 66 books, written by 40 authors, covering a
period of approximately 1,600 years.
The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew (a few short
passages in Aramaic). About 100 years (or more) before the
Christian Era the entire Old Testament was translated into the
Greek language. Remember, our English Bible is a translation
from these original languages.
The word "Bible" comes from the Greek word biblos, meaning
"book."
The word "testament" means "covenant," or agreement. The
Old Testament is the covenant God made with people about their
salvation before Christ came. The New Testament is the agreement
God made with people about their salvation after Christ
came.
In the Old Testament we find the covenant of law. In the New
Testament we find the covenant of grace that came through Jesus
Christ. One led into the other (Galatians 3:17-25).
The Old commences what the New completes.
The Old gathers around Mount Sinai-
The New around Mount Calvary.
The Old is associated with Moses-
The New with Christ (John 1:17).
The authors were kings and princes, poets and philosophers,
prophets and statesmen. Some were learned in all the arts of the
times and others were unschooled fishermen. Other books soon
are out-of-date, but this Book spans the centuries.
Most books must be adapted to age, but old and young alike
love this Book.
Most books are provincial and only interest the people in
whose language it was written, but not this Book. No one ever
stops to think it was written in what are now dead languages.
The Old Testament begins with God (Genesis 1:1).
The New Testament begins with Christ (Matthew 1:1).
From Adam to Abraham we have the history of the human
race.
From Abraham to Christ we have the history of the chosen
race.
From Christ on we have the history of the Church.
"Most people's knowledge of history is like a string of graduated
pearls without the string," said a historian. This statement
seems to be especially true of Bible history. Many people know
the Bible characters and the principal events, but they are hopelessly
lost when they are called upon to connect the stories in
order. Anyone who has experienced the thrill of learning to place
the individual characters in their right setting as to place and time
can realize the difference it makes in the enjoyment of God's
Word.
Pick up the "pearls" in the Scriptures and string them into
order from Genesis to Revelation so that you can "think through"
the Bible story.
Interesting Facts
Old Testament Books
Law-five
Historical-twelve
Poetical-five
Prophetical-seventeen
(Major, five; Minor, twelve)
New Testament Books
The New Testament was written to reveal to us the character and
teaching of Jesus Christ, the mediator of the New Covenant, by at
least eight men, four of whom-Matthew, John, Peter and Paul-were
apostles; two-Mark and Luke-were companions of the
apostles; and two-James and Jude-were brothers of Jesus. The
books were written at various times during the second half of the
first century.
The books in the New Testament may be grouped thus:
Gospels-four
History-one
Prophecy-one
Epistles-twenty-one
(Pauline, thirteen; General, eight)
God, humanity, sin, redemption, justification, sanctification,
glorification: In two words-grace, glory. In one word-Jesus.
Christ quotes from twenty-two Old Testament books: in
Matthew, nineteen times; in Mark, fifteen times; in Luke, twenty-five;
in John, eleven.
The book of Hebrews quotes the Old Testament (quotations or
allusions) eighty-five times.
Revelation quotes the Old Testament 245 times.
The King James Version contains these interesting elements:
Number of verses-31,102
Number of words-775,693
Longest chapter-Psalm 119
Shortest chapter-Psalm 117
Longest verse-Esther 8:9
Shortest verse-John 11:35
Longest book in the Old Testament-Psalms
Longest book in the New Testament-Luke
Most chapters in the New Testament-Matthew.
Old Testament-Principal Places
The twelve principal places around which the history of the Old
Testament is written are:
1. Eden (Genesis 1-3)
2. Ararat (Genesis 8:4)
3. Babel (Genesis 11:1-11)
4. Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 11:28-12:3)
5. Canaan (with Abraham) (Genesis 12:4-7)
6. Egypt (with Joseph) (Genesis 37-45, esp. 41:41)
7. Sinai (Exodus 19:16-20:21)
8. Wilderness (Numbers 14:26-35)
9. Canaan (with Joshua) (Joshua 1:1-9)
10. Assyria (captivity of Israel) (2 Kings 18:9-12)
11. Babylon (captivity of Judah) (2 Kings 24:11-16)
12. Canaan (Palestine-return of the exiles) (Ezra 1:1-2:70).
As you build the story of the Bible around these places you see
the whole history in chronological order.
Still another way to think through the Bible is by following the
great facts in order.
Old Testament-Principal Facts
1. Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:3)
2. Fall of man (Genesis 3)
3. Flood (Genesis 6-9)
4. Babel (Genesis 11:1-9)
5. Call of Abraham (Genesis 11:10-12:3)
6. Descent into Egypt (Genesis 46-47)
7. Exodus (Exodus 7-12)
8. Passover (Exodus 12)
9. Giving of the Law (Exodus 19-24)
10. Wilderness wanderings (Numbers 13-14)
11. Conquest of the Promised Land (Joshua 11)
12. Dark ages of the chosen people (Judges)
13. Anointing of Saul as king (1 Samuel 9:27-10:1)
14. Golden age of Israelites under David and Solomon-
united kingdom (2 Samuel 5:4-5:1 Kings 10:6-8)
15. The divided kingdom-Israel and Judah (1 Kings 12:26-33)
16. The Captivity (2 Kings 17; 25)
17. The Return (Ezra).
New Testament-Principal Facts
1. Early life of Christ (Matthew 1:18-2:23; Luke 1-2)
2. Ministry of Christ (Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John)
3. Church in Jerusalem (Acts 1-2)
4. Church extending to the Gentiles (Acts 10-11, 13-20)
5. Church in all the world (Romans 10-11,15; Ephesians 2:22-23).
Principal Periods
I. Period of the patriarchs to Moses-Genesis
A. The godly line-leading events
1. Creation
2. Fall
3. Flood
4. Dispersion
B. The chosen family-leading events
1. Call of Abraham
2. The descent into Egypt-bondage
II. Period of great leaders: Moses to Saul-Exodus to Samuel
A. Exodus from Egypt
B. Wandering in wilderness
C. Conquest of Canaan
D. Rule of the Judges
III. Period of the kings: Saul to the captivities-Samuel,
Kings, Chronicles, the prophetical books
A. The united kingdom
1. Saul
2. David
3. Solomon
B. The divided kingdom
1. Judah
2. Israel
IV. Period of foreign rulers: Captivities to Christ-Ezra,
Nehemiah, Esther, Prophecies of Daniel and Ezekiel
A. Captivity of Israel
B. Captivity of Judah
V. Christ-the Gospels
VI. The Church-Acts and the Epistles
A. In Jerusalem
B. Extending to the Gentiles
C. In all the world
How to Study the Bible
Remember that in God's Word the foundation of Christianity is
laid in the revelation of the one and only true God. God chose a
people (the children of Israel) to show forth this truth and to preserve
a record of Himself.
1. Look for purpose-God's plan for salvation.
The Bible tells us of the origin of sin and how this curse separated
us all from God. We discover how utterly impossible it was
for the law to bring to us the salvation we need, for by the deeds
of the law could no flesh be justified, for "all have sinned"
(Romans 3:20-23). Then we find the promise of a Savior, One who
was to come "to seek and to save what was lost" and "give his life
as a ransom for many" (Luke 19:10; Matthew 20:28). We see all
through the ages one purpose is evident, that of preparing a way
for the coming of the Redeemer of the world.
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.
There is no royal road to learning and certainly there is no
royal road to knowledge of the Bible. The Spirit of God will lead
us into all truth, to be sure, but God's command is that we do our
best to be approved, workmen unashamed (2 Timothy 2:15).
3. Read attentively.
Give to the Bible attention with intention, and intention will
necessitate attention. Perhaps there is so little attention in Bible
reading today because there is so little intention. We must come
to it with a purpose and have a clearly defined object; we must
know what we are about.
Many say, "The Bible is so great. I don't know where to begin
and don't know how to go on." This is often said quite earnestly
and sincerely. It is true that unless we have some method, we
shall assuredly lose the very best results, even though we may
spend much time with the Book.
G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945, the well-respected Bible
teacher) once stated, "The Bible can be read from Genesis 1 to
Revelation 22 at pulpit rate in 78 hours." A lawyer challenged him
on that. Morgan told him to go on and try it before he challenged.
The lawyer went home and read the Bible in less than 80
hours.
4. Make a reading plan (or use one of the reading plans provided
at the back of this book).
Do you want to read through the Bible? Leave 80 hours for it.
Schedule that time. How much time can you give each day? How
many days a week? This is a highly practical proposition and
should be seized by the very busiest. We are all busy and must
take time for it. If we are going to know the Bible, we must give
time to it and arrange for it. We must adjust our lives so that time
is made. Unless we do, we shall never come into any worthy
knowledge of the Word; for it is impossible from pulpit ministry
to acquire that needful knowledge of the Word. The Bible reveals
the will of God so as to lead us into it. Each book has a direct
teaching. Find out what it is and conform to it. This is our purpose.
We are going to consider a book of the Bible in each chapter
of this book.
Now the Bible, although it is a library of books, is also "the
Book." It is a story, a grand story that moves on from commencement
to finish. Here surely is something that is phenomenal in literature.
Suppose, for instance, you were to cover the great fields
of knowledge, such as law, history, philosophy, ethics and prophecy,
and you were to bring these different subjects all together and
bind them up into one book. What, to begin with, would you call
the book? Then what unity could one possibly expect to find in
such a jumble of subjects? Such an infinite number and variety of
themes and styles as are found in the Bible, brought together
across not a few generations in the history of the people, but
across centuries, makes the likelihood of any unity being present
amazingly small. No publisher would risk publishing such a book,
and if he or she did, nobody would buy it or read it. That is, however,
what is done in the Bible.
Remember, the books of the Bible were given to us by 40 different
authors over a period of about 1,600 years. All these are
brought together and bound and are called "the Book." We can
begin at Genesis and read on through to the end. It is not jarring.
We can pass from one style of literature to another as easily as
though we were reading a story written by one hand and produced
by one life, and indeed we have here a story produced by
one Mind (2 Peter 1:21) though not written by one hand.
5. Appreciate the Bible's uniqueness.
Although divine, it is human. The thought is divine, the revelation
is divine, the expression of the communication is human.
"But men [human element] spoke from God as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit [divine element]" (2 Peter 1:21).
So we have here a book unlike all others. The Book, a divine
revelation, a progressive revelation, a revelation of God to
humanity communicated through men, moves on smoothly from
its beginnings to its great end. Way back in Genesis, we have the
beginnings; in Revelation we have endings; and from Exodus to
Jude we see how God carried out His purpose. We can't dispense
with any part of it.
Bible history takes us back into the unknown past of eternity
and its prophecies take us into the otherwise unknown future.
The Old Testament is the foundation; the New Testament is the
superstructure. A foundation is of no value unless a building be
built upon it. A building is impossible unless there be a foundation.
So the Old Testament and New Testament are essential to
one another. As Augustine (Saint Augustine, A.D. 354-430, one of
the most influential Christians who has ever lived) said:
The New is in the Old contained, The Old is in the New explained.
The New is in the Old latent, The Old is in the New patent.
The Old Testament and New Testament constitute a
divine library, one sublime unity, origins in past to issues
in future, processes between, connecting two eternities.
One Book, One History, One Story
The Bible is one book, one history, one story, His story. Behind
10,000 events stands God, the builder of history, the maker of the
ages. Eternity bounds the one side, eternity bounds the other
side, and time is in between: Genesis-origins, Revelation-endings,
and all the way between, God is working things out. You can
go down into the minutest detail everywhere and see that there
is one great purpose moving through the ages: the eternal design
of the almighty God to redeem a wrecked and ruined world.
The Bible is one book, and you cannot take it in texts and
expect to comprehend the magnificence of divine revelation.
You must see it in its completeness. God has taken pains to give
a progressive revelation and we should take pains to read it from
beginning to end. Don't suppose reading little scraps can ever be
compensation for doing deep and consecutive work on the Bible
itself. We must get back to the Book and then we will not tolerate
such work. One would scorn to read any other book, even the
lightest novel, in this fashion.
Continues.
