Making
sense of the Bible 2 (notes
are intended for the many migrants I have taught Australian English)
The divisions of
the Bible are important. The obvious division is Old Testament/New Testament.
Testament means 'covenant, agreement'.
It is evident in the narrative of the Bible, that the unchanging God
connects with different people in different ways at different times. (Hebrews
1)
The two covenants
are summarized in John Chapter 1:
"The law was
given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ".
Looking at the
Old, the first five books (Genesis to Deuteronomy) are called Torah. These were
given to the Hebrews by Moses (Israelites later called Jews).
The second section
is a candid record of the Israelite nation in the land of Canaan. It is not a
very impressive story, but details the good and the bad.
Job, Psalms,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of songs are prose, poetry, praise, wisdom and
romance books.
Isaiah through to
Malachi are the messages of the prophets who warned Israel and the nations to
turn to the Lord. They often spoke into the future of both judgement and
restoration. Included are many prophecies about the anticipated Messiah –
Jesus.
I encourage you to
look among the Psalms – they can cheer your day like nothing else.
Next time – New
Testament
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