Saturday, December 27, 2014

The Bible: Is it Out of Order?



Hello Friends!

You may have noticed that the Bible isn’t always in chronological order. Why is this? Does it really matter? Are you concerned? These are all very good questions!

Let’s take a brief look at some of the important details surrounding these questions/concerns for our further clarification, edification and understanding of God’s Holy Word…

The Bible: Is it Out of Order?

The books of Psalms and Proverbs come after Nehemiah and Esther. However, much of Psalms and Proverbs is set before Nehemiah and Esther. In looking at the New Testament, 1 Thessalonians was actually one of the first books written. However, it appears after the book of John – one of the last books written. The examples could go on…

What is a Bible reader to make of this potentially confusing arrangement of books?

First of all – don’t panic! In large part, the Bible is organized chronologically. Reading the Old Testament straight through from Genesis to Nehemiah will provide you with a generally chronological account of human history from Creation through the Jewish return from exile.

Secondly, departures from a chronological presentation often are obvious even to novice Bible readers.

For example, 2 Kings ends with a description of the deportation to Babylon. The narrative portion of the next book – 1 Chronicles – begins with King Saul. Most readers will easily recognize this as a jump back in time. And though the Gospels of Mark, Luke and John each restart the narrative at the beginning of Jesus’ life and ministry, this point is hardly confusing. But if the order of the Bible’s books still seems puzzling, keep in mind why our Bible is arranged the way it is…

The Old Testament books are based on the order of the Septuagint – the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. It divides the books into three sections based on their literary style. They are as follows:

The “Narrative” books ~ Genesis through Esther

The “Wisdom” books ~ Job through Song of Solomon

The “Prophets” ~ Isaiah through Malachi

The New Testament similarly is arranged in three sections with the books sorted according to their literary style. They are as follows:

The “Historical” books ~ Matthew through Acts

The “Pauline Epistles” ~ Romans through Philemon

The “Non-Pauline Epistles” ~ Hebrews through Revelation (a book in the Apocalyptic genre and unlike any of the other New Testament writings!)

Remember: The sacred writings of other false world religions are also not presented in chronological order.

As adherents of varied religions have recognized, a strict timeline is not always the best way to convey “theological” principles. For instance:

The Qur’an is divided into 114 chapters – Suras – with the longer ones generally appearing first.

The Buddhist scripture the Sutta Pitaka opens with three sections of teaching attributed to Buddha and his disciples organized by length.

The Jewish people organized their Scriptures in a manner that was partially non-chronological for centuries before Christianity was “born.” In fact, the Hebrew Scriptures place the book of Ruth immediately following the book of Proverbs, suggesting that Ruth embodies the principles of godly womanhood described in the final chapter of Proverbs.

In closing:

Take heart when Bible books seem to be “out of order” so to speak. As you can see, what appears at first glance to be quite puzzling, has a very good explanation!

In fact, rightly understood, it can help you know God and His Word more fully…

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth – 2 Timothy 2:15

Praise the Lord!

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!
 
Blessings!
Shane <><

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