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WHAT IS THE BIBLE?
An explanation of what the Bible contains, what it is about and what it means.
(This page prints on to 12 A4 sides)
1. Introduction
This article is designed for those who have not had any previous contact at all with the Bible. It will assume nothing. It explains what the Bible consists of, what Christians believe it to be, and how to read it to the best advantage.
The Bible (sometimes referred to as the 'Holy Bible' to denote its sacred nature) is the book from which Christians receive their beliefs. The word 'Bible' is derived from the Greek word 'biblia' which means books.
2. What the Bible consists of
Although the Bible has the form of a single book, it consists of 66 documents, divided into two sections. The documents are also usually called 'books' (eg the 'Book of Genesis').
The first section - called the ‘Old Testament’ - has 39 documents; the second part - called the ‘New Testament’ - has 27 documents. The two Testaments together are sometimes called ‘The Scriptures’ or the ‘Holy Scriptures’. The New Testament is sometimes published as a separate book.
The word 'testament' has come down from the Latin 'testamentum', but before that, in Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written, the word used was 'diatheke' which means 'covenant'. A covenant is an agreement between two parties, but in the Bible it has a special meaning which indicates a very important aspect of what the Bible actually is.
In the Bible a covenant is 'an initiative by which God, out of His undeserved kindness, sets down the conditions by which mankind may relate to him, and in which He commits himself to relate to mankind.'
So while there are indeed two parties to a Bible covenant, the emphasis is very much on God as the initiator and guarantor.
This confirms the nature of the Bible as a message or revelation from God to mankind, not a collection of ideas that man has had about God. We shall return to this issue later.
The Bible is not a set of men's ideas about God, but a revelation of Himself by God to man.
In view of this we could refer to the Old and New Covenants just as well as the Old and New Testaments but the latter has been in common use for centuries. The fact that there are two covenants - an old one and a new one - points to the coming of Jesus Christ who brought the new covenant. He is the main subject of the whole Bible, as we shall see.
3. The Nature of the Bible
The documents of the Bible were not received in some trance-like state of the people who wrote them down. Nor is the Bible of the same form as, for instance, the Koran or the Book of Mormon. Moslems believe that the Koran was given directly from God without human intervention. Mormons believe their Book was copied straight from miraculous golden plates given by God.
The Bible consists of documents written by human beings. Christians believe that God used, but in no way distorted, the real-life characters of the writers in recording what they wrote. But God so guided the writers that what is written is what God has inspired to be written. Hence, for example, there are four eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus Christ in the New Testament which record some of the same events with details that the writer himself saw or was impressed by that others do not record. Otherwise some record events that the others do not.
The documents of the whole Bible consist of real-life historical accounts, law books, poetry, wisdom writings, prophecies, eye witness accounts and letters. The whole Bible was written and compiled over a period of about 1,200 years. The authors of the documents were from varied backgrounds including statesmen, historians, leaders, prophets - who were priests, shepherds and farmers; governors, kings, a tax collector, a physician, a business man, a fisherman, and a theologically trained academic. Most of these people never met and yet there is a fundamental unity about the whole Bible. This is most remarkable and very compelling, and leads to the conclusion that the Bible is much more than just a human document.
4. Reading the Bible
If you open the Bible you will find each document (book) divided into chapters and verses. These were not in the original documents but were inserted later to make it easier to find your way about. A sequence of verses is often referred to as a 'passage'. A particular verse in the Bible may be referred to by a shorthand form, as follows - Name of Book (then a space) number of the chapter (then a colon) the number of the verse or verses.
For example, the 2nd verse of chapter 12 of the first book in the Bible, Genesis, would be written as Genesis 12:2. A group of verses, say 2 to 5, would be written Genesis 12:2-5. Also in common usage, the names of the books are abbreviated (some of them are rather long). So it would be Gen.12:2-5 or Gen 12:2-5 .
At the front of every Bible there is a Contents page and this is the easiest way to start finding what you want. There may also be a page giving the abbreviations used for the names of the books. You will soon get used to this system.
In many Bibles there is a list of 'references'. These references lead from one verse to another where the same idea is mentioned. The list may be found in a central column down the centre of each page or at the bottom of each page. These references have been added and are not part of the sacred Bible as originally assembled.
The Bible is available in several translations and in many languages. The translations are from the original texts in Hebrew (for the Old Testament) and from the Greek (for the New Testament) into modern English (and other modern languages, of course) to make the Bible easier to read. The most popular current English translation is the New International Version (often abbreviated to the NIV) and is used throughout this website. Other versions include the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the English Standard version (ESV). There are also what are known as 'paraphrases'. These are not word-for-word translations but include much interpretation using modern types of phrase to show the meaning. 'The Living Bible' is a good example of this type.
We shall now examine the two testaments in more detail so that you can understand what the Bible is about.
5. The Old Testament lays down the fundamental issues of the Bible
The Old Testament documents actually comprise the archives of the ancient people of Israel. The kernel of the documents relate the history of how the nation of Israel came into being from about 2,000 years before the coming of Christ. This story begins with the calling by God of a man called Abram (later modified to 'Abraham') who lived in Ur of the Chaldees, which was near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what is now southern Iraq. He - like his family and surrounding peoples - was a worshipper of idols. But God called him to worship Him - the One True God - and what followed laid the foundation for the mono-theistic religion of the Jewish race and nation, the Islamic religion and eventually of Christianity. This account of ancient Israel is not primarily about Israel, but about God and how He related to them.
However, before starting to relate this story, the Old Testament begins with an account of the early history of Man in order to lay down great truths without which the rest of the Bible cannot be understood. These truths also help us to understand the world and mankind as we see them today.
These great truths are:
(1) That the God spoken of in the Bible is the One True God who created the universe ('the heavens and the earth') - this is portrayed in the first book of the Bible, Genesis (which means 'beginnings'), chapter 1.
(2) That human beings were the high point and ultimate purpose of God's creation - this also is in Genesis 1 - in verses 26-30.
(3) That God created everything perfect - Genesis 1:31
(4) That God gave mankind a good earth to live in (typified by the 'Garden of Eden'), to look after and to develop. But He also provided a moral framework in which to live under His (God's) rule. This is pictured by a particular tree in the wonderful Garden of Eden (Gen 2:8) known as the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' (Gen.2:17). God instructed the first man and woman not to eat of that tree, because if they did they would be able to define good and evil and so set themselves up as rivals to God's moral rule over them. The implication is that only God can define good and evil. In other words, God was to be God with the rights of God; mankind was to be God's creation living under His rule.
God was to BE God with the rights of God; mankind was to be God's creation living under His rule.
5. At first all went well, with mankind living in close relationship with God. But eventually mankind became proud and disobeyed God by eating of the prohibited tree. In other words, mankind started to ignore the rule of God and make moral decisions for himself. This terrible act of treason is vividly described in Gen.3:1-13. The consequences were devastating: mankind was driven out of the Garden - signifying a break with God who created them; there was a breakdown in the relationship between men and women; and the moral guilt of mankind before their moral creator-God was established. This breakdown is what the Bible calls 'sin', and the acts of wickedness which mankind has been committing ever since are known as 'sins'. These theological truths explain why the world we live-in is the way it is.
What the Bible tells us, explains the characteristics of the world we live in and the human race of which we are part.
The next 8 chapters of Genesis describe how in antiquity (the ancient years of pre-history), sin invaded and pervaded every aspect of human life, both personal, family and in human civilisation. Mankind still bears the image of the creator God (Gen.1:26) and is capable of small and great acts of goodness, but is also contaminated and spoiled by sin which also makes us also capable of small acts and great acts of terrible wickedness. The immediate appeal of the Bible account is that it explains exactly the world as we know it and experience it.
The rest of the Bible is the outworking of God's plan to provide a way back for mankind into a full relationship with Him again. The Bible declares that we (ie all humankind) need to be reconciled to God because of our sinful nature. But because God is revealed in the Bible as a completely moral God who is unchangeable and implacably hostile to sin by His very nature (not by whim or resentment), reconciliation to Him is not easy. The life of Abraham, starting in Gen.12:1 is the beginning of the revealing of the way back to God.
6. What the Old Testament is about
The page on this website called 'Bible Time-line' will also be helpful alongside this section. Click to go there.
If you look at the Contents page of a Bible showing the list of 39 books (documents) in the Old Testament, it will look something like this:
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Notice that three of the books are in two parts (Samuel, Kings and Chronicles). These are so arranged because the original texts were too big to go on one normal-sized scroll. This arrangement is preserved in modern Bibles.
The first six books, coloured RED, describe the growth of the nation of Israel from one man (Abraham) until it became a nation of over a million people settled into the land of Canaan on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This took about 700-800 years and included a very significant period of about 400 years in Egypt in which the fledgling nation was at first very prosperous but later became enslaved by the Pharaohs. Eventually after about 400 years the nation of Israel, then almost a million, escaped from Egypt led by their great leader Moses. The documents declare that this 'escape' was the result of the intervention of God. The people are called 'Israel' after one of their ancestors. After 40 years of nomadic life in the wilderness of the Middle East the nation entered and settled in Canaan, which to them was called 'The Promised Land'.
The five books coloured BLUE describe the fortunes and affairs of the nation of Israel over the next 600 years, during which time a monarchy came into being. The first King was Saul, the second was David - during whose reign Israel prospered - and the third was Solomon, who was famous for his wisdom. After Solomon the nation split into two kingdoms (Judah and Israel). Eventually as a act of judgement for their corruption of worship and their rank social injustice, God allowed Israel (the northern kingdom) to be over-run by Assyria and it was never re-established. The population of the southern kingdom of Israel suffered a similar punishment when they were taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon for a period of 70 years. After this a remnant of Israel returned to re-settle Palestine.
The two books coloured dark green (Ezra and Nehemiah) describe the re-settlement of Israel back into Palestine. The previous two books (coloured dark purple) written during the time of the re-settlement are a second account of the history of the period of the kings. Historically this is the end of the story of Israel recorded in the Old Testament. There is then a period of 400 years during which the Bible is silent until the coming of Jesus Christ which opens the New Testament.
The books coloured LIGHT GREEN are the prophecies of the Prophets sent by God to Israel and Judah because they had neglected to keep the covenant God had established with them. The Prophets warned them of God's pending judgement if they did not return to obey Him.
The books in BRIGHT PURPLE are books of wisdom, mostly written by Solomon. 'Psalms' (in BROWN) is a collection of poems and songs written by King David and others, often for use in worship. 'Ruth' and 'Esther' (in BLACK) are accounts of two women, one who was the great-grandmother of David and the other a brave Queen who was a Jewess but the wife of the King of Persia during the exile in Babylon. She interceded to prevent the extermination of the Jews.
This then is the historical and political story of the Old Testament. But of far more importance is .....
. The Spiritual Message of the Old Testament
It has already been explained (in section 5.5) that the Old Testament begins by describing the origin of mankind as the highest creation of Almighty God, who made the whole universe. But mankind disobeyed the rule of God and thus became morally guilty (Gen.3). The next 8 chapters of Genesis describe how this moral contamination corrupted every part of human existence - men and women, family, community, civilisation.
We are meant to understand that this moral condemnation of man's guilt by God was not a result of His whim but of His eternal unchanging holy (perfectly good) character which could not and cannot be other than implacably hostile to sin and evil. As was indicated earlier ...
God was to be God with the rights of God; mankind was to be God's creation living under His rule.
Because of God's totally perfect holiness and moral purity it is not easy for God to forgive sin. But God is also shown in these first chapters to be merciful. He constantly acts to draw mankind back to Himself. The rest of the Bible concerns the plan of God to provide a way of 'salvation'; a way by which anyone can be forgiven and reconciled to Him.
It begins with the calling of Abram (later 'Abraham') at the beginning of Gen.12, when God makes Abram certain promises. These include the promise that he will be the father of a great nation, that this nation will have a land of its own, and that all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him (Abram). The nation that he fathers is, of course, Israel, and it is through His dealings with Israel that God reveals how His plan of salvation is going to be achieved.
In the Book of Exodus God reveals, first, that He has adopted them as 'His treasured possession' and, second, through Moses gives them a set of laws to live by. These consist of moral laws, ceremonial laws for when they worship God, and social laws for the cohesion and smooth running of their national life. The law is often thought of in the summary terms of the 'Ten Commandments' which are found in Exodus 20.These laws were given them while they were still nomads in the desert travelling from Egypt to the 'Promised Land' Canaan - (known as Palestine today). But these laws continued to be the basis of their national life and personal lives when they settled into the land and eventually set up a monarchy. The relationship set by God with the people of Israel is know as the 'Covenant'. The moral law reflected God's character. The ceremonial law spelt out how the holy God could be approached by sinful men. In particular it insisted that only the giving of a life as a sacrifice could open the way to God. This life was that of a perfect animal - referred to as 'the lamb without spot or blemish'. While at first consideration this might be seen as merely a tribal custom such as one would find in any primitive people, it turns out to be of enormous significance for the message of the rest of the Bible.
The family line of the Promises made to Abraham is carefully traced through the Old Testament so that, for instance, the initial kings, particularly David (their most famous King) were direct descendants of Abraham.
Unfortunately after a few hundred years the people of Israel began to neglect the Covenant obligations (the laws) which God had set them and He became angry with them. The nation split into two kingdoms, Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Only Judah continued to have kings which were descendants of Abraham. But even Judah turned away from the Covenant. As described in the last section, God sent prophets to warn them to turn back to him, but they would not. So in an effort to refine the nation and restore His rule over them, God used foreign powers to conquer them. The northern kingdom was completely eliminated by the Assyrians and was never formed again. Judah in the south was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and the people taken into captivity in Babylon where they stayed for 70 years before returning as a remnant to rebuild their nation in Palestine.
The spiritual message that emerges from God's dealings with Israel is multifaceted, but may be summed up in a number of key revelations by God Himself. For example in Exodus 3:14 God reveals His name ..
God said to Moses 'I AM WHO I AM'.
This statement is very profound for it speaks of the uncreated, self-existent, self-sustaining God of the universe.
And Exodus 34:6,7
'The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generations.'
In other words, God is vitally involved with His creation, extending mercy to humankind - and yet a God not to be trifled with.
An explanation of what the Bible contains, what it is about and what it means.
(This page prints on to 12 A4 sides)
1. Introduction
This article is designed for those who have not had any previous contact at all with the Bible. It will assume nothing. It explains what the Bible consists of, what Christians believe it to be, and how to read it to the best advantage.
The Bible (sometimes referred to as the 'Holy Bible' to denote its sacred nature) is the book from which Christians receive their beliefs. The word 'Bible' is derived from the Greek word 'biblia' which means books.
2. What the Bible consists of
Although the Bible has the form of a single book, it consists of 66 documents, divided into two sections. The documents are also usually called 'books' (eg the 'Book of Genesis').
The first section - called the ‘Old Testament’ - has 39 documents; the second part - called the ‘New Testament’ - has 27 documents. The two Testaments together are sometimes called ‘The Scriptures’ or the ‘Holy Scriptures’. The New Testament is sometimes published as a separate book.
The word 'testament' has come down from the Latin 'testamentum', but before that, in Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written, the word used was 'diatheke' which means 'covenant'. A covenant is an agreement between two parties, but in the Bible it has a special meaning which indicates a very important aspect of what the Bible actually is.
In the Bible a covenant is 'an initiative by which God, out of His undeserved kindness, sets down the conditions by which mankind may relate to him, and in which He commits himself to relate to mankind.'
So while there are indeed two parties to a Bible covenant, the emphasis is very much on God as the initiator and guarantor.
This confirms the nature of the Bible as a message or revelation from God to mankind, not a collection of ideas that man has had about God. We shall return to this issue later.
The Bible is not a set of men's ideas about God, but a revelation of Himself by God to man.
In view of this we could refer to the Old and New Covenants just as well as the Old and New Testaments but the latter has been in common use for centuries. The fact that there are two covenants - an old one and a new one - points to the coming of Jesus Christ who brought the new covenant. He is the main subject of the whole Bible, as we shall see.
3. The Nature of the Bible
The documents of the Bible were not received in some trance-like state of the people who wrote them down. Nor is the Bible of the same form as, for instance, the Koran or the Book of Mormon. Moslems believe that the Koran was given directly from God without human intervention. Mormons believe their Book was copied straight from miraculous golden plates given by God.
The Bible consists of documents written by human beings. Christians believe that God used, but in no way distorted, the real-life characters of the writers in recording what they wrote. But God so guided the writers that what is written is what God has inspired to be written. Hence, for example, there are four eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus Christ in the New Testament which record some of the same events with details that the writer himself saw or was impressed by that others do not record. Otherwise some record events that the others do not.
The documents of the whole Bible consist of real-life historical accounts, law books, poetry, wisdom writings, prophecies, eye witness accounts and letters. The whole Bible was written and compiled over a period of about 1,200 years. The authors of the documents were from varied backgrounds including statesmen, historians, leaders, prophets - who were priests, shepherds and farmers; governors, kings, a tax collector, a physician, a business man, a fisherman, and a theologically trained academic. Most of these people never met and yet there is a fundamental unity about the whole Bible. This is most remarkable and very compelling, and leads to the conclusion that the Bible is much more than just a human document.
4. Reading the Bible
If you open the Bible you will find each document (book) divided into chapters and verses. These were not in the original documents but were inserted later to make it easier to find your way about. A sequence of verses is often referred to as a 'passage'. A particular verse in the Bible may be referred to by a shorthand form, as follows - Name of Book (then a space) number of the chapter (then a colon) the number of the verse or verses.
For example, the 2nd verse of chapter 12 of the first book in the Bible, Genesis, would be written as Genesis 12:2. A group of verses, say 2 to 5, would be written Genesis 12:2-5. Also in common usage, the names of the books are abbreviated (some of them are rather long). So it would be Gen.12:2-5 or Gen 12:2-5 .
At the front of every Bible there is a Contents page and this is the easiest way to start finding what you want. There may also be a page giving the abbreviations used for the names of the books. You will soon get used to this system.
In many Bibles there is a list of 'references'. These references lead from one verse to another where the same idea is mentioned. The list may be found in a central column down the centre of each page or at the bottom of each page. These references have been added and are not part of the sacred Bible as originally assembled.
The Bible is available in several translations and in many languages. The translations are from the original texts in Hebrew (for the Old Testament) and from the Greek (for the New Testament) into modern English (and other modern languages, of course) to make the Bible easier to read. The most popular current English translation is the New International Version (often abbreviated to the NIV) and is used throughout this website. Other versions include the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the English Standard version (ESV). There are also what are known as 'paraphrases'. These are not word-for-word translations but include much interpretation using modern types of phrase to show the meaning. 'The Living Bible' is a good example of this type.
We shall now examine the two testaments in more detail so that you can understand what the Bible is about.
5. The Old Testament lays down the fundamental issues of the Bible
The Old Testament documents actually comprise the archives of the ancient people of Israel. The kernel of the documents relate the history of how the nation of Israel came into being from about 2,000 years before the coming of Christ. This story begins with the calling by God of a man called Abram (later modified to 'Abraham') who lived in Ur of the Chaldees, which was near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what is now southern Iraq. He - like his family and surrounding peoples - was a worshipper of idols. But God called him to worship Him - the One True God - and what followed laid the foundation for the mono-theistic religion of the Jewish race and nation, the Islamic religion and eventually of Christianity. This account of ancient Israel is not primarily about Israel, but about God and how He related to them.
However, before starting to relate this story, the Old Testament begins with an account of the early history of Man in order to lay down great truths without which the rest of the Bible cannot be understood. These truths also help us to understand the world and mankind as we see them today.
These great truths are:
(1) That the God spoken of in the Bible is the One True God who created the universe ('the heavens and the earth') - this is portrayed in the first book of the Bible, Genesis (which means 'beginnings'), chapter 1.
(2) That human beings were the high point and ultimate purpose of God's creation - this also is in Genesis 1 - in verses 26-30.
(3) That God created everything perfect - Genesis 1:31
(4) That God gave mankind a good earth to live in (typified by the 'Garden of Eden'), to look after and to develop. But He also provided a moral framework in which to live under His (God's) rule. This is pictured by a particular tree in the wonderful Garden of Eden (Gen 2:8) known as the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' (Gen.2:17). God instructed the first man and woman not to eat of that tree, because if they did they would be able to define good and evil and so set themselves up as rivals to God's moral rule over them. The implication is that only God can define good and evil. In other words, God was to be God with the rights of God; mankind was to be God's creation living under His rule.
God was to BE God with the rights of God; mankind was to be God's creation living under His rule.
5. At first all went well, with mankind living in close relationship with God. But eventually mankind became proud and disobeyed God by eating of the prohibited tree. In other words, mankind started to ignore the rule of God and make moral decisions for himself. This terrible act of treason is vividly described in Gen.3:1-13. The consequences were devastating: mankind was driven out of the Garden - signifying a break with God who created them; there was a breakdown in the relationship between men and women; and the moral guilt of mankind before their moral creator-God was established. This breakdown is what the Bible calls 'sin', and the acts of wickedness which mankind has been committing ever since are known as 'sins'. These theological truths explain why the world we live-in is the way it is.
What the Bible tells us, explains the characteristics of the world we live in and the human race of which we are part.
The next 8 chapters of Genesis describe how in antiquity (the ancient years of pre-history), sin invaded and pervaded every aspect of human life, both personal, family and in human civilisation. Mankind still bears the image of the creator God (Gen.1:26) and is capable of small and great acts of goodness, but is also contaminated and spoiled by sin which also makes us also capable of small acts and great acts of terrible wickedness. The immediate appeal of the Bible account is that it explains exactly the world as we know it and experience it.
The rest of the Bible is the outworking of God's plan to provide a way back for mankind into a full relationship with Him again. The Bible declares that we (ie all humankind) need to be reconciled to God because of our sinful nature. But because God is revealed in the Bible as a completely moral God who is unchangeable and implacably hostile to sin by His very nature (not by whim or resentment), reconciliation to Him is not easy. The life of Abraham, starting in Gen.12:1 is the beginning of the revealing of the way back to God.
6. What the Old Testament is about
The page on this website called 'Bible Time-line' will also be helpful alongside this section. Click to go there.
If you look at the Contents page of a Bible showing the list of 39 books (documents) in the Old Testament, it will look something like this:
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Notice that three of the books are in two parts (Samuel, Kings and Chronicles). These are so arranged because the original texts were too big to go on one normal-sized scroll. This arrangement is preserved in modern Bibles.
The first six books, coloured RED, describe the growth of the nation of Israel from one man (Abraham) until it became a nation of over a million people settled into the land of Canaan on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This took about 700-800 years and included a very significant period of about 400 years in Egypt in which the fledgling nation was at first very prosperous but later became enslaved by the Pharaohs. Eventually after about 400 years the nation of Israel, then almost a million, escaped from Egypt led by their great leader Moses. The documents declare that this 'escape' was the result of the intervention of God. The people are called 'Israel' after one of their ancestors. After 40 years of nomadic life in the wilderness of the Middle East the nation entered and settled in Canaan, which to them was called 'The Promised Land'.
The five books coloured BLUE describe the fortunes and affairs of the nation of Israel over the next 600 years, during which time a monarchy came into being. The first King was Saul, the second was David - during whose reign Israel prospered - and the third was Solomon, who was famous for his wisdom. After Solomon the nation split into two kingdoms (Judah and Israel). Eventually as a act of judgement for their corruption of worship and their rank social injustice, God allowed Israel (the northern kingdom) to be over-run by Assyria and it was never re-established. The population of the southern kingdom of Israel suffered a similar punishment when they were taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon for a period of 70 years. After this a remnant of Israel returned to re-settle Palestine.
The two books coloured dark green (Ezra and Nehemiah) describe the re-settlement of Israel back into Palestine. The previous two books (coloured dark purple) written during the time of the re-settlement are a second account of the history of the period of the kings. Historically this is the end of the story of Israel recorded in the Old Testament. There is then a period of 400 years during which the Bible is silent until the coming of Jesus Christ which opens the New Testament.
The books coloured LIGHT GREEN are the prophecies of the Prophets sent by God to Israel and Judah because they had neglected to keep the covenant God had established with them. The Prophets warned them of God's pending judgement if they did not return to obey Him.
The books in BRIGHT PURPLE are books of wisdom, mostly written by Solomon. 'Psalms' (in BROWN) is a collection of poems and songs written by King David and others, often for use in worship. 'Ruth' and 'Esther' (in BLACK) are accounts of two women, one who was the great-grandmother of David and the other a brave Queen who was a Jewess but the wife of the King of Persia during the exile in Babylon. She interceded to prevent the extermination of the Jews.
This then is the historical and political story of the Old Testament. But of far more importance is .....
. The Spiritual Message of the Old Testament
It has already been explained (in section 5.5) that the Old Testament begins by describing the origin of mankind as the highest creation of Almighty God, who made the whole universe. But mankind disobeyed the rule of God and thus became morally guilty (Gen.3). The next 8 chapters of Genesis describe how this moral contamination corrupted every part of human existence - men and women, family, community, civilisation.
We are meant to understand that this moral condemnation of man's guilt by God was not a result of His whim but of His eternal unchanging holy (perfectly good) character which could not and cannot be other than implacably hostile to sin and evil. As was indicated earlier ...
God was to be God with the rights of God; mankind was to be God's creation living under His rule.
Because of God's totally perfect holiness and moral purity it is not easy for God to forgive sin. But God is also shown in these first chapters to be merciful. He constantly acts to draw mankind back to Himself. The rest of the Bible concerns the plan of God to provide a way of 'salvation'; a way by which anyone can be forgiven and reconciled to Him.
It begins with the calling of Abram (later 'Abraham') at the beginning of Gen.12, when God makes Abram certain promises. These include the promise that he will be the father of a great nation, that this nation will have a land of its own, and that all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him (Abram). The nation that he fathers is, of course, Israel, and it is through His dealings with Israel that God reveals how His plan of salvation is going to be achieved.
In the Book of Exodus God reveals, first, that He has adopted them as 'His treasured possession' and, second, through Moses gives them a set of laws to live by. These consist of moral laws, ceremonial laws for when they worship God, and social laws for the cohesion and smooth running of their national life. The law is often thought of in the summary terms of the 'Ten Commandments' which are found in Exodus 20.These laws were given them while they were still nomads in the desert travelling from Egypt to the 'Promised Land' Canaan - (known as Palestine today). But these laws continued to be the basis of their national life and personal lives when they settled into the land and eventually set up a monarchy. The relationship set by God with the people of Israel is know as the 'Covenant'. The moral law reflected God's character. The ceremonial law spelt out how the holy God could be approached by sinful men. In particular it insisted that only the giving of a life as a sacrifice could open the way to God. This life was that of a perfect animal - referred to as 'the lamb without spot or blemish'. While at first consideration this might be seen as merely a tribal custom such as one would find in any primitive people, it turns out to be of enormous significance for the message of the rest of the Bible.
The family line of the Promises made to Abraham is carefully traced through the Old Testament so that, for instance, the initial kings, particularly David (their most famous King) were direct descendants of Abraham.
Unfortunately after a few hundred years the people of Israel began to neglect the Covenant obligations (the laws) which God had set them and He became angry with them. The nation split into two kingdoms, Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Only Judah continued to have kings which were descendants of Abraham. But even Judah turned away from the Covenant. As described in the last section, God sent prophets to warn them to turn back to him, but they would not. So in an effort to refine the nation and restore His rule over them, God used foreign powers to conquer them. The northern kingdom was completely eliminated by the Assyrians and was never formed again. Judah in the south was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and the people taken into captivity in Babylon where they stayed for 70 years before returning as a remnant to rebuild their nation in Palestine.
The spiritual message that emerges from God's dealings with Israel is multifaceted, but may be summed up in a number of key revelations by God Himself. For example in Exodus 3:14 God reveals His name ..
God said to Moses 'I AM WHO I AM'.
This statement is very profound for it speaks of the uncreated, self-existent, self-sustaining God of the universe.
And Exodus 34:6,7
'The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generations.'
In other words, God is vitally involved with His creation, extending mercy to humankind - and yet a God not to be trifled with.