The Bible can be likened to a telescope. A large telescope is a fascinating piece of technology, and a lot of time could be spent taking it apart and discovering exactly how it all works. But if that's all you would do with it, you're missing the point: the reason for its existence is to show us the stars. It's the same with the Bible: although it's very useful to learn something about how and when it was written, let's not forget that it was written for a purpose - to introduce us to the living God.
"Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another - showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us." (II Timothy 3:16,17, The Message)
Monday, 28 September 2009
The Old Testament
The Old Testament is still relevant! "Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:4)
It’s an ongoing story that we are a part of. But the Old Testament is difficult for us to get into! There are so many books that we just don’t know where to find who or what we are looking for, a lot of it seems to be boring lists and genealogies, the culture is alien to us, and the names are impossible to pronounce!
Layout
In our Bibles, the first five books are the books of the Law, sometimes called ‘the books of Moses’. When we read in the psalms (for example, Psalm 119:97) how wonderful the Law is, it is these five books that they are referring to. Whether or not Moses actually wrote them himself, their contents date back to his time. Almost every major doctrine has its roots in these books, which are (if you like) the foundation on which the whole of the rest of the Bible is built. The rest of the Old Testament is the superstructure (explanation, clarification & outworking), and the NT is ‘the icing on the top’ (the nicest and most easily digested bit, of course)
The next group of books, from Joshua to Esther, are what we would call “history”. They are pretty well in chronological order, and they tell the story of the nation of Israel from when they first settled in Palestine to when they resettled in Palestine after the Exile (more about this later).
The events in these books are recorded not just because they happened, but because they were significant. Long periods of time may be summed up in one or two sentences, while the reigns of David and Solomon occupy two whole books – and then get repeated all over again!
We learn about God largely through stories of individuals – Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samson, Ruth, David, and so on. We have to bear in mind that not everything we are told about them is good! (Daniel is the only OT hero who has no sins recorded) David did things right 90% of the time (apart from his relationship with Bathsheba), Abraham only about 50% of the time, and Samson did just about everything wrong! (but God used him nevertheless)
After this come the poetry and wisdom books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, & Song of Songs.
Finally there are the prophets: Isaiah to Malachi.
A word of warning: the OT contains many different forms of literature (law, history, poetry etc). Each of these needs to be interpreted in a slightly different way.
Timeline:(very roughly)
2000BC Abraham (give or take 100 years, best estimate 2100 BC)
1500BC Moses and the Exodus (traditionally 1450BC)
1000BC David
500BC the Exile (actually 586 to 538BC)
0BC Jesus
It’s an ongoing story that we are a part of. But the Old Testament is difficult for us to get into! There are so many books that we just don’t know where to find who or what we are looking for, a lot of it seems to be boring lists and genealogies, the culture is alien to us, and the names are impossible to pronounce!
Layout
In our Bibles, the first five books are the books of the Law, sometimes called ‘the books of Moses’. When we read in the psalms (for example, Psalm 119:97) how wonderful the Law is, it is these five books that they are referring to. Whether or not Moses actually wrote them himself, their contents date back to his time. Almost every major doctrine has its roots in these books, which are (if you like) the foundation on which the whole of the rest of the Bible is built. The rest of the Old Testament is the superstructure (explanation, clarification & outworking), and the NT is ‘the icing on the top’ (the nicest and most easily digested bit, of course)
The next group of books, from Joshua to Esther, are what we would call “history”. They are pretty well in chronological order, and they tell the story of the nation of Israel from when they first settled in Palestine to when they resettled in Palestine after the Exile (more about this later).
The events in these books are recorded not just because they happened, but because they were significant. Long periods of time may be summed up in one or two sentences, while the reigns of David and Solomon occupy two whole books – and then get repeated all over again!
We learn about God largely through stories of individuals – Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samson, Ruth, David, and so on. We have to bear in mind that not everything we are told about them is good! (Daniel is the only OT hero who has no sins recorded) David did things right 90% of the time (apart from his relationship with Bathsheba), Abraham only about 50% of the time, and Samson did just about everything wrong! (but God used him nevertheless)
After this come the poetry and wisdom books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, & Song of Songs.
Finally there are the prophets: Isaiah to Malachi.
A word of warning: the OT contains many different forms of literature (law, history, poetry etc). Each of these needs to be interpreted in a slightly different way.
Timeline:(very roughly)
2000BC Abraham (give or take 100 years, best estimate 2100 BC)
1500BC Moses and the Exodus (traditionally 1450BC)
1000BC David
500BC the Exile (actually 586 to 538BC)
0BC Jesus
OT: the Law
Genesis 1-11 is prehistory. It deals with the beginnings of the human race and explains, in a series of powerful stories, why we are as we are. God created a good world, but it was spoiled by sin, and the whole of human society is hopelessly corrupt as a result. As a consequence, God judges the world three times: He ejects Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, destroys Noah’s generation with a flood, and punishes the builders of the Tower of Babel by confusing their language.
The recorded history of God's people begins in chapter 12 of Genesis. God chose Abraham and called him to leave everything safe and familiar (home, family, culture, religion) and put himself completely in God’s hands, in return for the promise of a new homeland (which he himself would never own) and a son of his own (his wife being infertile). (Genesis 12:1-7) Abraham committed himself to God, purely on the basis of God’s promise, and thus laid the foundation not only of his own relationship with God, but also everyone else’s. (Galatians 3:6-9)
Abraham later had a son, Isaac, who became the father of Jacob. These three are sometimes referred to as ‘the patriarchs’. Jacob had twelve sons, whose descendants became the nation of Israel. (This is why the Bible talks about the 12 tribes of Israel – founded by Jacob’s 12 sons.) Jacob and his family were forced to relocate to Egypt because of a famine, and Genesis ends with them settled in Egypt.
Exodus 1 tells us that the Israelites spent about 400 years in Egypt, eventually becoming slaves to the Egyptians. Then God chose Moses to rescue them from Egypt and lead them to the `Promised Land'. At Mount Sinai God made a covenant (that’s a kind of solemn legal agreement) with them: He had rescued them from Egypt, so they now belonged to Him and had to live differently from the rest of the world. (Exodus19:3-8) The people agreed to this and so God gave them His law (beginning with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20), which they agreed to keep. However, they broke it almost straight away (Exodus 32:7-9). The rest of Exodus contains the instructions for building God’s first sanctuary, the Tabernacle. This was a portable tent (for obvious reasons), but its layout and furnishings were highly significant, as the writer to the Hebrews makes clear (Hebrews 8:1-5)
Leviticus deals with how sinful people can relate to a holy God: the rules for offering sacrifices and the principles of personal holiness (Leviticus 20:26, e.g. Leviticus 19:18).
Numbers contains the rest of the Law, interspersed with some of the events that took place in the wilderness. The Israelites reached the border of Canaan in Numbers 13, but they refused to enter the land, so God punished them, making them wait in the Sinai peninsula for a whole generation (Numbers 14:26-34). Then He led them up the eastern side of the Dead Sea, to approach Canaan from the east side of the River Jordan.
Deuteronomy is Moses’ final address to the Israelites before his death on the east bank of the Jordan. It contains a summary of the Law (so the Ten Commandments crop up again, in chapter 5), with some additional explanations and encouragements. And because it was addressed to the new generation (the children of those who had left Egypt), it also contains a number of exhortations to personal commitment: Deuteronomy 6:4,5
The recorded history of God's people begins in chapter 12 of Genesis. God chose Abraham and called him to leave everything safe and familiar (home, family, culture, religion) and put himself completely in God’s hands, in return for the promise of a new homeland (which he himself would never own) and a son of his own (his wife being infertile). (Genesis 12:1-7) Abraham committed himself to God, purely on the basis of God’s promise, and thus laid the foundation not only of his own relationship with God, but also everyone else’s. (Galatians 3:6-9)
Abraham later had a son, Isaac, who became the father of Jacob. These three are sometimes referred to as ‘the patriarchs’. Jacob had twelve sons, whose descendants became the nation of Israel. (This is why the Bible talks about the 12 tribes of Israel – founded by Jacob’s 12 sons.) Jacob and his family were forced to relocate to Egypt because of a famine, and Genesis ends with them settled in Egypt.
Exodus 1 tells us that the Israelites spent about 400 years in Egypt, eventually becoming slaves to the Egyptians. Then God chose Moses to rescue them from Egypt and lead them to the `Promised Land'. At Mount Sinai God made a covenant (that’s a kind of solemn legal agreement) with them: He had rescued them from Egypt, so they now belonged to Him and had to live differently from the rest of the world. (Exodus19:3-8) The people agreed to this and so God gave them His law (beginning with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20), which they agreed to keep. However, they broke it almost straight away (Exodus 32:7-9). The rest of Exodus contains the instructions for building God’s first sanctuary, the Tabernacle. This was a portable tent (for obvious reasons), but its layout and furnishings were highly significant, as the writer to the Hebrews makes clear (Hebrews 8:1-5)
Leviticus deals with how sinful people can relate to a holy God: the rules for offering sacrifices and the principles of personal holiness (Leviticus 20:26, e.g. Leviticus 19:18).
Numbers contains the rest of the Law, interspersed with some of the events that took place in the wilderness. The Israelites reached the border of Canaan in Numbers 13, but they refused to enter the land, so God punished them, making them wait in the Sinai peninsula for a whole generation (Numbers 14:26-34). Then He led them up the eastern side of the Dead Sea, to approach Canaan from the east side of the River Jordan.
Deuteronomy is Moses’ final address to the Israelites before his death on the east bank of the Jordan. It contains a summary of the Law (so the Ten Commandments crop up again, in chapter 5), with some additional explanations and encouragements. And because it was addressed to the new generation (the children of those who had left Egypt), it also contains a number of exhortations to personal commitment: Deuteronomy 6:4,5
OT: Joshua to Esther
Joshua: Under the leadership of Joshua, the Israelites finally entered the land God had promised to Abraham by crossing the River Jordan. They destroyed the Canaanite cities (beginning with Jericho) and divided the land up between the twelve tribes.
Judges: But they had many problems because they kept breaking God's law and worshipping the gods of the Canaanites (the Baals). It was a time of anarchy and declining moral standards. (Judges 21:25) The judges (e.g. Gideon, Samson) were men and women called by God and anointed with the Holy Spirit to rescue the people from the consequences of their sins.
We now come to the period of David and Solomon, which is significant for several reasons and is therefore covered in much greater detail. This was Israel’s golden age: the nation was united under a strong and godly leadership, and was blessed by God as a result.
I Samuel: Samuel was the last judge. Chapters 1-7 tell how he was born and was used by God to bring the people back to God. When he grew old, the people asked for a king. God chose Saul as the first king, but Saul was persistently disobedient. (I Samuel 13:13,14) God’s next choice was David. David had an eventful career, which is told in detail in the remainder of I & II Samuel.
II Samuel: After Saul died in battle, David eventually became king. He was Israel's greatest king, and God promised him that his dynasty would last for ever. (II Samuel 7:12,13) But David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and because of this the last part of his reign was rather turbulent – his son Absalom rebelled against him and there was a civil war.
I & II Kings: David died, and was succeeded by his son Solomon. Solomon was famed for his wisdom and his wealth (both of which were given to him by God) He built the first Temple in Jerusalem, to replace the Tabernacle. It was much larger and grander, but its layout and furnishings were basically the same.
BUT Solomon turned away from God (I Kings 11:1-4). So after his death, God caused his kingdom to split into two (read the story in I Kings 12). From I Kings 12 onwards, the separate stories of the two kingdoms are told side by side. The main part, in the north, became known as the kingdom of Israel; but the tribe of Judah in the south, with Jerusalem as its capital, remained loyal to David's family.
The kings of Israel (Jeroboam being the first one) encouraged their people to worship idols right from the beginning. (I Kings 12:26-30). Although they continued to think of themselves as God's people, in practice they ignored Him. The worst king of all was Ahab (I Kings 16:29-33). His wife Jezebel was a fanatical worshipper of Baal, and she persecuted the prophets of the Lord. At this point God sent Elijah to declare a 3-year drought and challenge the prophets of Baal to a `duel' on Mt Carmel (I Kings 17,18). Although Elijah was successful, Ahab did not repent. Elijah and his successor Elisha continued their prophetic ministry for many years (I Kings 17 - II Kings 13), but despite it all, Israel slid further and further into idolatry. Eventually, Israel was swallowed up by the Assyrian Empire in 700 BC. Most of the population were deported; the rest intermarried with refugees from other parts of the Assyrian empire to become the ancestors of the Samaritans.
Judah did much better because most of her kings were loyal to God and encouraged the people to keep the Law (e.g. good king Asa I Kings 15:11-14 – but e.g. bad king Ahaz II Kings 16:1-4). In 700 BC, during the reign of Hezekiah (a good king), the Assyrians invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem, but the city was miraculously spared when the Assyrian army was decimated by plague (II Kings 18,19). Despite this, all but one of the kings who came after Hezekiah ‘did evil in the eyes of the LORD', and the rest of the people followed suit. II Chronicles 36:11-19. Eventually the southern kingdom was invaded by the Babylonians, Jerusalem was burnt to the ground and the Temple was destroyed. The survivors were carried off into exile in 586 BC. It seemed to be the end of God’s people.
I & II Chronicles: A retelling of the story of Judah (so no more than an occasional mention of the northern kingdom) from the death of Saul to the destruction of Jerusalem, with a greater emphasis on the Temple.
Only 50 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, Babylon was conquered by the Persians and the Jews were allowed to return home. Ezra tells how they rebuilt the Temple on a smaller scale, despite much difficulty and opposition. Nehemiah tells how the city walls were rebuilt a century later, and how the people resolved to keep the Law again.
But they had lost their independence, and for the next 500 years they were ruled by foreign empires (Persia, Greece and finally Rome). The promise of a never-ending kingdom ruled by a descendant of David became focussed on the Messiah.
Finally, the book of Esther – one of the two books in the Bible that doesn’t mention God by name – tells the story of a Jewish girl who became the wife of the emperor of Persia, and how she saved her people from destruction.
Judges: But they had many problems because they kept breaking God's law and worshipping the gods of the Canaanites (the Baals). It was a time of anarchy and declining moral standards. (Judges 21:25) The judges (e.g. Gideon, Samson) were men and women called by God and anointed with the Holy Spirit to rescue the people from the consequences of their sins.
We now come to the period of David and Solomon, which is significant for several reasons and is therefore covered in much greater detail. This was Israel’s golden age: the nation was united under a strong and godly leadership, and was blessed by God as a result.
I Samuel: Samuel was the last judge. Chapters 1-7 tell how he was born and was used by God to bring the people back to God. When he grew old, the people asked for a king. God chose Saul as the first king, but Saul was persistently disobedient. (I Samuel 13:13,14) God’s next choice was David. David had an eventful career, which is told in detail in the remainder of I & II Samuel.
II Samuel: After Saul died in battle, David eventually became king. He was Israel's greatest king, and God promised him that his dynasty would last for ever. (II Samuel 7:12,13) But David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and because of this the last part of his reign was rather turbulent – his son Absalom rebelled against him and there was a civil war.
I & II Kings: David died, and was succeeded by his son Solomon. Solomon was famed for his wisdom and his wealth (both of which were given to him by God) He built the first Temple in Jerusalem, to replace the Tabernacle. It was much larger and grander, but its layout and furnishings were basically the same.
BUT Solomon turned away from God (I Kings 11:1-4). So after his death, God caused his kingdom to split into two (read the story in I Kings 12). From I Kings 12 onwards, the separate stories of the two kingdoms are told side by side. The main part, in the north, became known as the kingdom of Israel; but the tribe of Judah in the south, with Jerusalem as its capital, remained loyal to David's family.
The kings of Israel (Jeroboam being the first one) encouraged their people to worship idols right from the beginning. (I Kings 12:26-30). Although they continued to think of themselves as God's people, in practice they ignored Him. The worst king of all was Ahab (I Kings 16:29-33). His wife Jezebel was a fanatical worshipper of Baal, and she persecuted the prophets of the Lord. At this point God sent Elijah to declare a 3-year drought and challenge the prophets of Baal to a `duel' on Mt Carmel (I Kings 17,18). Although Elijah was successful, Ahab did not repent. Elijah and his successor Elisha continued their prophetic ministry for many years (I Kings 17 - II Kings 13), but despite it all, Israel slid further and further into idolatry. Eventually, Israel was swallowed up by the Assyrian Empire in 700 BC. Most of the population were deported; the rest intermarried with refugees from other parts of the Assyrian empire to become the ancestors of the Samaritans.
Judah did much better because most of her kings were loyal to God and encouraged the people to keep the Law (e.g. good king Asa I Kings 15:11-14 – but e.g. bad king Ahaz II Kings 16:1-4). In 700 BC, during the reign of Hezekiah (a good king), the Assyrians invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem, but the city was miraculously spared when the Assyrian army was decimated by plague (II Kings 18,19). Despite this, all but one of the kings who came after Hezekiah ‘did evil in the eyes of the LORD', and the rest of the people followed suit. II Chronicles 36:11-19. Eventually the southern kingdom was invaded by the Babylonians, Jerusalem was burnt to the ground and the Temple was destroyed. The survivors were carried off into exile in 586 BC. It seemed to be the end of God’s people.
I & II Chronicles: A retelling of the story of Judah (so no more than an occasional mention of the northern kingdom) from the death of Saul to the destruction of Jerusalem, with a greater emphasis on the Temple.
Only 50 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, Babylon was conquered by the Persians and the Jews were allowed to return home. Ezra tells how they rebuilt the Temple on a smaller scale, despite much difficulty and opposition. Nehemiah tells how the city walls were rebuilt a century later, and how the people resolved to keep the Law again.
But they had lost their independence, and for the next 500 years they were ruled by foreign empires (Persia, Greece and finally Rome). The promise of a never-ending kingdom ruled by a descendant of David became focussed on the Messiah.
Finally, the book of Esther – one of the two books in the Bible that doesn’t mention God by name – tells the story of a Jewish girl who became the wife of the emperor of Persia, and how she saved her people from destruction.
OT: Poetry and wisdom books
Proverbs teaches us how to live
Psalms teaches us how to pray
Job teaches us how to suffer
Song of Songs teaches us how to love
Ecclesiastes teaches us how to enjoy
First, a brief explanation about the poetry in the Bible.
Hebrew poetry is based not so much on metre and rhyme as on rhythm and repetition. For example, Job 28:28:
“The fear of the LORD is wisdom
And to shun evil is understanding”
This means that it survives translation into any language with very little loss.
Job is an exploration of the age-old question – why do the innocent suffer? Job is as good a man as it is possible to be, yet God allows him to undergo a terrible experience of suffering. We see his situation from several angles: from Job’s position (he wants an explanation but he never gets one), from that of his friends (who are convinced that he must have committed some terrible sin, and tell him so, hence the expression “Job’s comforters”), and from God’s (who has allowed everything to happen in order to prove that Job’s faith is genuine). The conversation between Job and his three friends is very long and repetitive, but buried amongst Job’s words are some very famous lines: for example, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25).
Psalms is the hymnbook of the Bible - a collection of prayers and songs for almost any occasion and mood, from ecstatic praise to utter despair. There are also prophetic psalms (e.g. Psalms 22 & 110) and wisdom psalms meditating on issues such as death (Psalm 49) and injustice (Psalms 37, 73). In terms of date, they span the entire Old Testament period from Moses (Psalm 90) to the Exile (Psalm 137). About half of the psalms (73 to be exact) were written by David.
Proverbs is a collection of very practical teachings, to show us by example, by contrast, or by humorous illustration how to put our faith into practice in everyday life. For example, how to be a good wife, how to be a good parent, how to be a good neighbour, how to be a good king! My favourite character is the sluggard (Proverbs 26:13-16)
Ecclesiastes is another book that rarely gets read because it is rather rambling and it is not always easy to see what the writer is getting at. It begins with the famous line: “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” and ends with the exhortation to “Fear God and keep his commandments”. In between there are some surprisingly well-known bits and a general message that the best way to live is to live life to the full (Ecclesiastes 2:24,25).
Song of Songs (the other book that doesn’t mention God) is a collection of love poems celebrating human sexuality. Read and enjoy!
Psalms teaches us how to pray
Job teaches us how to suffer
Song of Songs teaches us how to love
Ecclesiastes teaches us how to enjoy
First, a brief explanation about the poetry in the Bible.
Hebrew poetry is based not so much on metre and rhyme as on rhythm and repetition. For example, Job 28:28:
“The fear of the LORD is wisdom
And to shun evil is understanding”
This means that it survives translation into any language with very little loss.
Job is an exploration of the age-old question – why do the innocent suffer? Job is as good a man as it is possible to be, yet God allows him to undergo a terrible experience of suffering. We see his situation from several angles: from Job’s position (he wants an explanation but he never gets one), from that of his friends (who are convinced that he must have committed some terrible sin, and tell him so, hence the expression “Job’s comforters”), and from God’s (who has allowed everything to happen in order to prove that Job’s faith is genuine). The conversation between Job and his three friends is very long and repetitive, but buried amongst Job’s words are some very famous lines: for example, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25).
Psalms is the hymnbook of the Bible - a collection of prayers and songs for almost any occasion and mood, from ecstatic praise to utter despair. There are also prophetic psalms (e.g. Psalms 22 & 110) and wisdom psalms meditating on issues such as death (Psalm 49) and injustice (Psalms 37, 73). In terms of date, they span the entire Old Testament period from Moses (Psalm 90) to the Exile (Psalm 137). About half of the psalms (73 to be exact) were written by David.
Proverbs is a collection of very practical teachings, to show us by example, by contrast, or by humorous illustration how to put our faith into practice in everyday life. For example, how to be a good wife, how to be a good parent, how to be a good neighbour, how to be a good king! My favourite character is the sluggard (Proverbs 26:13-16)
Ecclesiastes is another book that rarely gets read because it is rather rambling and it is not always easy to see what the writer is getting at. It begins with the famous line: “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” and ends with the exhortation to “Fear God and keep his commandments”. In between there are some surprisingly well-known bits and a general message that the best way to live is to live life to the full (Ecclesiastes 2:24,25).
Song of Songs (the other book that doesn’t mention God) is a collection of love poems celebrating human sexuality. Read and enjoy!
OT: the prophets
The prophetic books that we know were all written after about 750 BC (i.e. in the second half of the monarchy period and on through the Exile) down to about 400BC (roughly the time of Ezra and Nehemiah). They are not in chronological order!
There is great variety in the prophetic books. Some of them contain a fair amount of biography, others little or none. We therefore know quite a lot about Jeremiah and Daniel, but next to nothing about (for example) Joel and Malachi.
Hosea and Amos were the two prophets who preached to the northern kingdom of Israel. Hosea was commanded by God to marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him, so that he would understand how God felt when the Israelites were unfaithful to him.
Isaiah is perhaps the most famous of the prophets. He foretold many things about Jesus, such as his virgin birth, his death for our sins, and his ministry to the outcasts. (Luke 4:16-21)
Jeremiah lived during the dark times leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. He seems to have had a particularly hard time: he was once beaten and put in the stocks, once arrested and put on trial, later arrested again on a charge of treason and thrown into a cistern. He often had great struggles with his faith.
Habakkuk is another prophet who wrestles with God in prayer, first wanting to understand how a righteous God can ignore the sins of his people and then how God can use an even more wicked nation to punish his people by invading them. But by the end, Habakkuk is content to trust in God.
Ezekiel and Daniel were both exiles in Babylon, but in very different circumstances. Ezekiel lived amongst the exiles and preached to them, trying to bring home to them (often in very graphic ways) that they were suffering because of their sins. But at the end of the book there are some amazing visions of what God will do in the future: the valley of dry bones brought back to life, the Temple rebuilt, and the River of Life flowing from it. Daniel was employed by the emperor as an administrator and was able to witness to him by interpreting two dreams. In the first half of the book are the well-known stories of the fiery furnace, the writing on the wall, and the lions’ den. The second half is a series of visions concerning the future and the final triumph of God’s people (Daniel 7:13,14).
Haggai and Zechariah are mentioned in the book of Ezra (Ezra 4:24 – 5:2). The rebuilding of the Temple after the Exile had ground to a halt, and God used them to encourage the people to restart the project. Zechariah 4:6-9
Joel may be from around this time as well. His prophecy relates to a devastating plague of locusts. He calls the people to prayer and fasting, but also promises them good times to come: Joel 2:25-29
Malachi is probably the last OT book to be written, around about the time of Nehemiah. The faith of many people seems to have been nominal, and he challenges them to take God seriously.
Jonah is a prophet who teaches us more through his somewhat stormy relationship with God than through what he actually preaches (just one sentence of his preaching is recorded: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown!”). God commands him to go and preach to the people of Nineveh (who were at the time Israel’s worst enemies), but he tries to run away from God – unsuccessfully, of course! And when he does eventually obey God and deliver his message, he is upset when the people of Nineveh repent! Despite his disobedience, his life is prophetic (Matthew 12:38-41).
The prophets were men called by God to deliver messages to His people. These were usually warnings of judgement, but they could also be messages of hope and encouragement. Sometimes the people listened (Jeremiah 26:17-19), but more often they took no notice (Ezekiel 33:30-32).
The Israelites tended to pride themselves on being God's `chosen people' - to the extent that they thought it did not matter how they behaved. We can still fall into the same trap today.
The prophets continually warned them that God would not tolerate the three 'I's:
· Idolatry (e.g. Jeremiah 10:1-5) The Israelites were continually tempted to copy the religious customs of their pagan neighbours – at first, the fertility cults of the Canaanites, later the religions of the superpowers, and always superstitions, astrology and other occult practices.
· Injustice (e.g. Amos 8:4-7) This is still a big issue!
· Inconsistency (e.g. Micah 6:6-8) They were much better at attending worship than at living holy lives.
He will judge not only His own people, but all the other nations as well. For this reason, most of the prophetic books contain passages addressed to other peoples such as the Egyptians, the Philistines, and so on. Obadiah is addressed entirely to the Edomites, while Nahum is concerned only with the Assyrians. These judgements are worked out in history, but also look forward to the great `Day of the LORD’ (Zephaniah 1:14-18).
But the prophets also kept reminding the people of Gods love and faithfulness. He would discipline them, but He would also keep His covenant promises (e.g. Jeremiah 30:10,11). At the darkest moments in their history, they would look forward to the time when God’s ‘Chosen One’ would be King and everything would be made right (e.g. Isaiah 65:17-19). And God also promised to deal with the problem of sin, once and for all (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-28).
There is great variety in the prophetic books. Some of them contain a fair amount of biography, others little or none. We therefore know quite a lot about Jeremiah and Daniel, but next to nothing about (for example) Joel and Malachi.
Hosea and Amos were the two prophets who preached to the northern kingdom of Israel. Hosea was commanded by God to marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him, so that he would understand how God felt when the Israelites were unfaithful to him.
Isaiah is perhaps the most famous of the prophets. He foretold many things about Jesus, such as his virgin birth, his death for our sins, and his ministry to the outcasts. (Luke 4:16-21)
Jeremiah lived during the dark times leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. He seems to have had a particularly hard time: he was once beaten and put in the stocks, once arrested and put on trial, later arrested again on a charge of treason and thrown into a cistern. He often had great struggles with his faith.
Habakkuk is another prophet who wrestles with God in prayer, first wanting to understand how a righteous God can ignore the sins of his people and then how God can use an even more wicked nation to punish his people by invading them. But by the end, Habakkuk is content to trust in God.
Ezekiel and Daniel were both exiles in Babylon, but in very different circumstances. Ezekiel lived amongst the exiles and preached to them, trying to bring home to them (often in very graphic ways) that they were suffering because of their sins. But at the end of the book there are some amazing visions of what God will do in the future: the valley of dry bones brought back to life, the Temple rebuilt, and the River of Life flowing from it. Daniel was employed by the emperor as an administrator and was able to witness to him by interpreting two dreams. In the first half of the book are the well-known stories of the fiery furnace, the writing on the wall, and the lions’ den. The second half is a series of visions concerning the future and the final triumph of God’s people (Daniel 7:13,14).
Haggai and Zechariah are mentioned in the book of Ezra (Ezra 4:24 – 5:2). The rebuilding of the Temple after the Exile had ground to a halt, and God used them to encourage the people to restart the project. Zechariah 4:6-9
Joel may be from around this time as well. His prophecy relates to a devastating plague of locusts. He calls the people to prayer and fasting, but also promises them good times to come: Joel 2:25-29
Malachi is probably the last OT book to be written, around about the time of Nehemiah. The faith of many people seems to have been nominal, and he challenges them to take God seriously.
Jonah is a prophet who teaches us more through his somewhat stormy relationship with God than through what he actually preaches (just one sentence of his preaching is recorded: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown!”). God commands him to go and preach to the people of Nineveh (who were at the time Israel’s worst enemies), but he tries to run away from God – unsuccessfully, of course! And when he does eventually obey God and deliver his message, he is upset when the people of Nineveh repent! Despite his disobedience, his life is prophetic (Matthew 12:38-41).
The prophets were men called by God to deliver messages to His people. These were usually warnings of judgement, but they could also be messages of hope and encouragement. Sometimes the people listened (Jeremiah 26:17-19), but more often they took no notice (Ezekiel 33:30-32).
The Israelites tended to pride themselves on being God's `chosen people' - to the extent that they thought it did not matter how they behaved. We can still fall into the same trap today.
The prophets continually warned them that God would not tolerate the three 'I's:
· Idolatry (e.g. Jeremiah 10:1-5) The Israelites were continually tempted to copy the religious customs of their pagan neighbours – at first, the fertility cults of the Canaanites, later the religions of the superpowers, and always superstitions, astrology and other occult practices.
· Injustice (e.g. Amos 8:4-7) This is still a big issue!
· Inconsistency (e.g. Micah 6:6-8) They were much better at attending worship than at living holy lives.
He will judge not only His own people, but all the other nations as well. For this reason, most of the prophetic books contain passages addressed to other peoples such as the Egyptians, the Philistines, and so on. Obadiah is addressed entirely to the Edomites, while Nahum is concerned only with the Assyrians. These judgements are worked out in history, but also look forward to the great `Day of the LORD’ (Zephaniah 1:14-18).
But the prophets also kept reminding the people of Gods love and faithfulness. He would discipline them, but He would also keep His covenant promises (e.g. Jeremiah 30:10,11). At the darkest moments in their history, they would look forward to the time when God’s ‘Chosen One’ would be King and everything would be made right (e.g. Isaiah 65:17-19). And God also promised to deal with the problem of sin, once and for all (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-28).
The New Testament
The New Testament books were written over a fairly short time period of about 50 years, from AD45 (Galatians) to AD95 (Revelation). At this time, most of Europe and the Mediterranean lands were ruled by the Roman Empire. Greek was the official language of the eastern half of the empire, and this was the language in which the NT was originally written.
In our Bibles today, the gospels (plus Acts) make up the first section of the NT. Then we have the letters written by the apostle Paul (Romans to Philemon), then a series of letters written by other apostles, and finally Revelation.
About half of the NT was written by Paul. Luke and John come about joint second in the ‘league of contributors’.
In fact, there were many other ‘gospels’ and letters written in the 1st and 2nd centuries. But the ones that we know today as the New Testament were the ones recognised by the early Church as being authentic apostolic writings that had been used by the churches since very early times. The four gospels, Acts, and the letters of Paul were accepted as authoritative by the end of the 2nd century, and the remainder of the NT was defined by the end of the 3rd century.
In our Bibles today, the gospels (plus Acts) make up the first section of the NT. Then we have the letters written by the apostle Paul (Romans to Philemon), then a series of letters written by other apostles, and finally Revelation.
About half of the NT was written by Paul. Luke and John come about joint second in the ‘league of contributors’.
In fact, there were many other ‘gospels’ and letters written in the 1st and 2nd centuries. But the ones that we know today as the New Testament were the ones recognised by the early Church as being authentic apostolic writings that had been used by the churches since very early times. The four gospels, Acts, and the letters of Paul were accepted as authoritative by the end of the 2nd century, and the remainder of the NT was defined by the end of the 3rd century.
NT: the gospels
Jesus Himself did not write any books. Virtually everything we know about his life and his teaching is what is written in the four gospels. The gospel writers were selective in what they wrote (John 20:30,31); they say nothing about Jesus’ physical appearance, for example, because for them it was unimportant what he looked like. They did record what was significant: the miracles that pointed to who he was (John calls them ‘signs’), and the teaching that showed them (and us) how to live. And they all devote a great deal of space (about one quarter each of Matthew and Luke, one third of Mark’s gospel, and almost half of John) to the last week of Jesus’ life – his death and resurrection being the most important thing of all.
Matthew, Mark and Luke have a great deal in common, and are sometimes known as the Synoptic gospels. John is very different in style and content. Apart from the Resurrection, only one miracle is recorded in all four: the feeding of the five thousand.
To begin with, information about the words and deeds of Jesus was spread around by those who had known Him personally. It was only when those who had witnessed his ministry began to grow old and die that it became necessary to write down their testimony.
So, who wrote the gospels?
Matthew and John were members of the original band of apostles, and had witnessed these events at first hand.
Mark was closely associated with both Paul and Peter (he is mentioned several times elsewhere in the NT – Acts 12:12; Acts 13:5; Acts 15:37,38; II Timothy 4:11), and his gospel is thought to be based on the testimony of the apostle Peter.
Luke is the odd one out! He was a Gentile (the only Gentile writer in the NT) and a friend and travelling companion of Paul. We know from Acts (Acts 21-26) that Luke spent about two years in Palestine while Paul was imprisoned there, and he would have had plenty of opportunity to collect eyewitness reports and other information about Jesus’ life.
Acts is ‘Part 2’ of Luke’s Gospel, giving some of the history of the early church. Many of the events in it were witnessed by Luke himself; you know this when the account starts to refer to ‘we’ and ‘us’.
Matthew, Mark and Luke have a great deal in common, and are sometimes known as the Synoptic gospels. John is very different in style and content. Apart from the Resurrection, only one miracle is recorded in all four: the feeding of the five thousand.
To begin with, information about the words and deeds of Jesus was spread around by those who had known Him personally. It was only when those who had witnessed his ministry began to grow old and die that it became necessary to write down their testimony.
So, who wrote the gospels?
Matthew and John were members of the original band of apostles, and had witnessed these events at first hand.
Mark was closely associated with both Paul and Peter (he is mentioned several times elsewhere in the NT – Acts 12:12; Acts 13:5; Acts 15:37,38; II Timothy 4:11), and his gospel is thought to be based on the testimony of the apostle Peter.
Luke is the odd one out! He was a Gentile (the only Gentile writer in the NT) and a friend and travelling companion of Paul. We know from Acts (Acts 21-26) that Luke spent about two years in Palestine while Paul was imprisoned there, and he would have had plenty of opportunity to collect eyewitness reports and other information about Jesus’ life.
Acts is ‘Part 2’ of Luke’s Gospel, giving some of the history of the early church. Many of the events in it were witnessed by Luke himself; you know this when the account starts to refer to ‘we’ and ‘us’.
NT: the letters
The Letters of Paul
These were probably the first of the NT documents to be written. We can be fairly certain of when they were written because we know so much about Paul’s ministry from the book of Acts.
Paul travelled around the Roman Empire, planting new churches and then moving on. Before too long the new Christians would encounter problems, or misunderstandings would arise. Paul could not easily return to them because travel was slow and difficult. So he would write letters advising them on various matters, and send these by messenger.
Later in his career, Paul was arrested by the Romans in Jerusalem, and spent the next four or five years in prison. It was while he was in prison that he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. (All these letters contain references to him being a prisoner)
The letters to Timothy and Titus are sometimes called ‘the pastoral letters’ because they are addressed to church leaders rather than to churches, and deal with such matters as appointment of leaders and church organisation and discipline. II Timothy is thought to be Paul’s very last letter, written from prison shortly before he was executed.
Paul’s letters usually contain a mixture of basic doctrine and practical application. They were written to address particular situations and even individuals, so it will never be forgotten that there was a long-running dispute between two members of the church in Philippi, or that a man called Philemon had to work out how to apply his Christian faith to dealing with a runaway slave. The teaching in them is not systematic; the nearest thing we have to a formal exposition of Christian theology is the first eight chapters of Romans.
The General Letters
Hebrews is a very Jewish letter, presumably written to Jewish Christians, but we do not know the author. Its main subject is how Jesus’ death has superseded the Jewish Law.
The remaining letters are known by the names of their authors: James, Peter, John and Jude. Peter and John were two of the twelve apostles. James and Jude were brothers of Jesus.
Revelation is a bit different – the record of a prophetic vision given to the apostle John. Its message is conveyed in pictures and symbols, most of them derived from the Old Testament.
These were probably the first of the NT documents to be written. We can be fairly certain of when they were written because we know so much about Paul’s ministry from the book of Acts.
Paul travelled around the Roman Empire, planting new churches and then moving on. Before too long the new Christians would encounter problems, or misunderstandings would arise. Paul could not easily return to them because travel was slow and difficult. So he would write letters advising them on various matters, and send these by messenger.
Later in his career, Paul was arrested by the Romans in Jerusalem, and spent the next four or five years in prison. It was while he was in prison that he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. (All these letters contain references to him being a prisoner)
The letters to Timothy and Titus are sometimes called ‘the pastoral letters’ because they are addressed to church leaders rather than to churches, and deal with such matters as appointment of leaders and church organisation and discipline. II Timothy is thought to be Paul’s very last letter, written from prison shortly before he was executed.
Paul’s letters usually contain a mixture of basic doctrine and practical application. They were written to address particular situations and even individuals, so it will never be forgotten that there was a long-running dispute between two members of the church in Philippi, or that a man called Philemon had to work out how to apply his Christian faith to dealing with a runaway slave. The teaching in them is not systematic; the nearest thing we have to a formal exposition of Christian theology is the first eight chapters of Romans.
The General Letters
Hebrews is a very Jewish letter, presumably written to Jewish Christians, but we do not know the author. Its main subject is how Jesus’ death has superseded the Jewish Law.
The remaining letters are known by the names of their authors: James, Peter, John and Jude. Peter and John were two of the twelve apostles. James and Jude were brothers of Jesus.
Revelation is a bit different – the record of a prophetic vision given to the apostle John. Its message is conveyed in pictures and symbols, most of them derived from the Old Testament.
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