Topic: THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
The bible is made up of 66 Old Testament Books and 27 New Testament Books. It contains the word of God and the message of the Christian religion.
The Old Testament amongst other things, contain the story of the creation, Abraham and the fathers of Israel, Judges, Kings, Prophets of Israel, Book of wisdom, Proverb and Psalms.
The New Testament contains the Life and teaching of Christ, stories of the early teaching of church, the letter of Paul, the pastoral letters and revelation.
NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- John
- Acts
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 11 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- 1 Thessalonians
- 11 Thessalonians
- 1 Timothy
- 11 Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
- Hebrews
- James
- 1 Peter
- 11 Peter
- 1 John
- 11 John
- 111 John
- Jude
- Revelation
In the new testament portion of the bible, the power and love of God are shown through the life and teaching of Jesus Christ and through the message of the apostles after the death of Christ. The first three books of the new testament are Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the synoptic gospel because they contain parallel stories of life and teaching of Christ as recorded by his very close disciples.
The gospel of John contains similar accounts of the life and teaching of Christ but these are not arranged in the kind of historical order that we have in the synoptic gospel books. The miracles of Jesus are presented as signs of his powers and each of this is used as an aspect of Jesus life and work.
The Acts of apostles which is the fifth book of the new testament contains the history of the early church which is the most significant aspect of the Christian message. Here we can see the importance of the Holy spirit in guiding the early Christians in their teaching of the gospel Romans 1 – 11. From Thessalonians and Hebrews, 1 Timothy to 11 peter and Jude we have the pastoral epistles. These are intended to keep alive the faith and belief of individual Christian and the last book of the Bible Revelation contains a final account of God’s revelation of himself and more particularly about what the end of the world will be like.
OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Number
- Deuteronomy
- Joshua
- Judges
- Ruth
- 1 Samuel
- 11 Samuel
- 1 King
- 11 King
- 1 Chronicles
- 11 Chronicles
- Ezra
- Nehemiah
- Esther
- Job
- Psalm
- Proverbs
- Ecclesiastes
- Song of Solomon
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Lamentation
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
- Hosea
- Joel
- Amos
- Obadiah
- Jonah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Haggai
- Zechariah
- Malachi
The Pentateuch is the term commonly applied to the first five books of the Bible; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy . The Pentateuch was the first collection of literature acknowledged as Scripture by the Hebrew community. The writing of these books has been ascribed to Moses. It holds supreme rank in the Old Testament canon in respect and holiness.
The Historical books include Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. These books share a prophetic view of history describing how the obedience or disobedience of God’s people is directly tied to the blessings and curses of the covenant.
The Poetic and Wisdom writings include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Unlike classical and modern poetry, ancient Hebrew poetry has no distinctive scheme of accentuation, meter, or rhythm to differentiate it from prose. To the Hebrews, wisdom included skill in living and the powers of observation. It also included the capacity of human intellect and the application of knowledge and experience to daily life. All of this came from a viewpoint that was firmly rooted in “the fear of the Lord,” which is the beginning of wisdom.
The Major Prophets include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. These books were declared “major” because of the amount of text, and not because they were considered more important than the “minor” prophetic books. The Old Testament prophet tended to be revealed during times of crisis. God used the prophets to provide direction and wisdom during times of crisis. They were also used by God to remind the people of their covenantal promises.
The Minor Prophets include Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The books of the major and minor prophets were considered to be part of the “classical prophecy” era of the Old Testament
MORAL LESSON
- Know the Books of the Bible: As Christians we have to know the teachings of the books of the Bible (old and new testament) and order of arrangement.
- Knowing the contents of each Book: We should also have an idea of what each book or group of books contain. If we read the bible everyday and we go to the church regularly, we will gradually know the names of these books as well as summaries of their contents without necessarily memorizing them.
- The Bible as the word of God: We should all recognize the Bible as the medium all through which God has revealed himself to us
PRAYER: O Lord give me the grace to meditate on your words, Amen
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