Continuing with our discussion of the Bible and its organization and content, the following is a summary of what we covered in the last 3 posts on Bible Basics:
The Bible has 2 testaments: The Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament has 39 books divided into 5 sections: The Law, The History, The Poetry & Wisdom, The Major Prophets and The Minor Prophets.
The Law consists of: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
The History consists of: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
The third grouping of books in the Old Testament is the Books of Poetry and Wisdom which included the following:
- Job (Is the story of a man who has everything, loses everything, doesn’t understand why, is visited and counseled by friends who are totally off base about God, and finally God has to show up and make it clear that He doesn’t have to explain anything.)
- Psalms (The book of Psalms is the hymn (Him) book for the church. It includes songs of worship, praise, repentance, and others that pour out the psalmist greatest fears and defeats.)
- Proverbs (The book of Proverbs is sometimes called the book of “wisdom” because it contains proverbs which teach wisdom on any number of subject that affect the common man including marriage, raising children, handling wealth, handling poverty, adultery, and other issues in life.)
- Ecclesiastes (The book of Ecclesiastes is believed to be written by Solomon, and it reflects his search and study of the meaning of life. His conclusion is that the only true source of meaning and fulfillment in life comes from God.)
- Song of Solomon (This book, believed to be written by Solomon, is actually a song which on the surface appears to be the love story of Solomon and his Shulamite bride. It is often seen as having much to say about emotional love in the context of marriage, but it is also a picture of Jesus and His love for His bride.)
The books of poetry and wisdom do not follow a chronology or tell a history, rather they are superimposed on the history and show the struggles that men of faith like Job, David, Solomon and Asaph have in learning about God and how to draw closer to Him. These books show us insights into their thinking, their emotions, how they deal with trials and opposition, and how they worshiped the God that they served.
Rooted and Grounded 