Summary of the Bible study on the "Overview of the Bible."
The Bible books can be divided in Ten Major Blocks.
_1. Pre-History
_ The events in Genesis 1–11 bear no date and are therefore known as Pre-history.
Five important events occur during this time:
Creation
Adam and Eve
Cain and Abel
Noah and the Flood
The Tower of Babel
The first 11 chapters of Genesis describe how human beings miss the mark.
The
rest of the Bible tells us how God accompanies human beings on their
journey through life in order to create a community of believers—a
family of faith!
_2. The Patriarchs and Slavery (±2000 – ± 1250 BC)
_ Abraham was the first father of the community. He and his descendants
(such as Isaac and Jacob) are known as the patriarchs. “Patriarchs” is a
Hebrew term that means “first father” or “ruling father.”
Genesis
ends when Joseph and his family settle in Egypt, where they live for
430 years. During this time, they multiply in numbers and become slaves.
In these chapters in Genesis, we see the wondrous ways God goes about establishing a new community of faith.
There were four main characters: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
_ The period of the Judges covers the events between the entry into the
Promised Land and the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. During
this phase, the tribes were not as closely united as they would later
become.
Before the monarchy was established, the Judges
(leaders sent by God) rules over the Israelites. The most well-known
judges were Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephtah and, of course,
Samson. The story of Ruth also takes place during the time of the
Judges.
This period ended on a note of despair, because there
were no Judges left in Israel and the people were left to act according
to what was right and wrong in their own sight.
Bible books: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua
_ The period of the Judges covers the events between the entry into the
Promised Land and the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. During
this phase, the tribes were not as closely united as they would later
become.
Before the monarchy was established, the Judges
(leaders sent by God) rules over the Israelites. The most well-known
judges were Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephtah and, of course,
Samson. The story of Ruth also takes place during the time of the
Judges.
This period ended on a note of despair, because there
were no Judges left in Israel and the people were left to act according
to what was right and wrong in their own sight.
_ The previous period in Israel’s history ended on a note of despair.
Idolatry and lawlessness prevailed. The guidance of a king therefore
became a matter of urgency.
Samuel anointed the first two kings, namely Saul and David. Initially, He warned the people that they did not need an earthly king because God was their king (1 Sam. 8:5,20). Solomon became the third king.
God
continued to systematically execute His plan of salvation and His
promise to Abraham. God promised that David’s kingdom would last forever
(2 Sam. 7:14-16).
Bible books: 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1–11, 1 Chronicles—2 Chronicles 9, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon
_ Unfortunately, the once-united kingdom of Israel split into two. Solomon’s disobedience caused the division of the kingdom.
The Northern Kingdom
(Israel) consisted of 10 tribes and had 19 kings before they were taken
into exile by Assyria in 722BC. All 19 kings committed evil.
The Southern Kingdom
(Judah) consisted of 2 tribes and had 20 kings before they were taken
into exile by Babylon in 586BC. Eight of the 20 kings were good, while
12 were bad.
Now the question is: How will God fulfill his promises to Abraham and Israel?
_ The exile changed the people’s way of worshipping. Because they were
now far away from the Jerusalem, the Temple and sacrifices could no
longer be the focal point of their worship. Instead, prayer, confession
and teaching became the focus of their worship.
The gatherings in
their homes preceded the assemblies in the synagogues. The Temple
priests who were also taken into exile acted as interpreters of the Law.
The question remains: How will God fulfill his promises to Abraham and Israel?
_ In 549 B.C., Cyrus the Great founded the Persian Empire, and he
eventually conquered Babylon. Persia was now the new world power.
The
two centuries the Persians reigned were of great importance to God’s
people, as the Persians encouraged their repatriation and also
subsidized it
It was during this time that the exiles who returned
home were called “Jews” for the first time. This word derives from the
Hebrew word Yehudi, which is related to Judah, the tribe in which Jesus
was born.
Bible books: Haggai, Zechariah, Joel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi
_ Where does the Old Testament end? The Old Testament ends with
the return of the Lord’s people from exile in Babylonia. At that time,
Persia was the great world power and ruled over the returned exiles.
Where does the New Testament start?
When we open the New Testament, everything is completely different.
Rome is now the world power, and once again a king is on the throne.
This king is not from the house of David but is a descendent of Esau.
His name is Herod the Great. The priests are also not descendents of
Aaron.
The reason for this completely different picture is
because 400 years had passed from the time the last book of the Old
Testament was written to the start of the New Testament.
These
years are called the “Silent Years” because they are not reflected in
the Bible. Fortunately. there are sources that tell us what happened
during those years.
The first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are called the gospels (meaning good news).
The authors of the gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) tell the narrative of the life and ministry of Jesus.
Letters of the New Testament
The
letters of the New Testament are written by church leaders to help
people to understand how their faith influences their daily life and
hope for the future.
The Bible books about the early church can be divided as follow:
The Acts of the Apostles, which describes the first years of the Christian Church
The letters of Paul (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus
and Philemon)
The general letters (Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1–3 John and Jude)
John’s visions (Revelation)
The New Testament confirms that God has fulfilled his promise to Abraham.
It
has been aptly remarked that the Old Testaments are the New Testament
in prophecy and the New Testament is the Old Testament in fulfillment
(Jer. 31: 31-34, cp. Heb. 8: 7-13).
