Understanding the Bible

The Bible portrays Jesus Christ, the Saviour 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 Other books soon are out-of-date, but this Book spans the centuries.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 Saviour, One who was to come "to seek and to save that which was lost" and "give his life 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. "Holy men [human element] of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost [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, 354-430 A.D., 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.

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Excerpted from What the Bible Is All About Bible Handbook King James Version Copyright © 1997 by Gospel Light Publications
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.