A Survey of the Bible

An Overview of the Sixty-Six Canonical Books of Sacred Scripture

Satta

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2008
• eBook ISBN: 9781498275569
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Among books, the Bible is unique. Compiled over a time period spanning some 1600 years, it includes contributions from over forty different writers. Yet it has a unified message and a clear theme--redemption through sacrifice, and most especially redemption through the sacrifice of the Christ, the Messiah, the Promised One from God. This coherence across time and space is the product of a single, unseen author--the Holy Spirit. Using the personality and style of each of the different sacred penmen, the Spirit so guided their work as to produce documents that expressed the divine mind precisely. Thus the Scripture, in the original autographs, was entirely without error in everything to which it spoke whether pertaining to matters of faith or fact--right down to the very words.However, this amazing book--God's message to the human race--remains rather mysterious and even inaccessible to many Christians. I hope that these summaries will help interested students of the Bible acquire a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the sixty-six canonical books of sacred Scripture, making their own Bible study more productive and meaningful.

1

The Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy)

Genesis

The book of Genesis is the book of beginnings. It reveals the beginning of the universe, the beginning of our world, and the beginning of life in all its varied forms, including the beginning of human life (Gen 1–2). God created it all out of nothing by the power and authority of his word. While we marvel at the created order and the vastness of the universe, God summarized its formation in only two chapters.

• It also reveals that human beings are special, being made in the image of God (Gen 1:26–27). This means that we have an intellect, emotions, and a will.

• It describes the fall, the beginning of corruption, and God’s redemptive plan to restore fallen humanity to fellowship (Gen 3:15).

• It reveals God’s patience with sinners and judgment of sin, most particularly in the cataclysmic, worldwide flood of Noah (Gen. 6—8).

• It recounts the beginning of the nation of Israel.

• God called Abraham, promising him a special land, a vast number of descendants, fame throughout the earth, and the eventual appearance of a Savior.

• This promise is called the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 12:1–3).

• It was an unconditional covenant with conditional blessings attached. In this way it mirrors our salvation experience, which is a gift with additional benefits for obedience and faithful service.

• The book of Genesis then recounts the slow and steady development of the nation of Israel right up to their entrance into Egypt under Joseph.

• Much of Genesis is constructed around biographies—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, detailing the tests, struggles, experiences, and victories associated with each character. We discover that the great patriarchs were not perfect, nor did they have easy lives, but they were men of great faith and perseverance.

• The Abraham narrative stretches from Genesis chapters 12 through 25. Here we learn the value God places upon faith, as Abraham and Sarah waited twenty-five years for the birth of their promised son.

• We also encounter one of the great tests of Abraham’s life in Genesis 22, in which God told Abraham to offer up his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Incredibly, the patriarch followed God’s instructions precisely, preparing to sacrifice his precious son of promise for whom he had waited so long. The New Testament offers insight into Abraham’s thoughts at this crucial time of testing: “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead. . .” (Heb 11:19). God stopped Abraham from harming his son by providing a different sacrifice.

• When Abraham died, the great nation he was promised amounted to one son and a pair of twin grandsons. However, God’s promises are always reliable, and Israel did develop into a great nation, principally during their time of enslavement in Egypt. Furthermore, Abraham’s name is revered among the three great world religions today—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Also, Messiah, the Prince, came through Abraham’s descendants, just as God promised. Indeed, God is always trustworthy.

• The story then continues with Isaac in chapters 24 through 27. Sadly, Isaac and Rebekah played favorites with their children; Isaac loved Esau, and Rebekah loved Jacob. This led to division in their home and eventually to a cruel piece of deception on the part of Rebekah and Jacob, deceiving Isaac to transfer the birthright to Jacob (Gen 27). Esau was outraged, and this fact led Jacob to flee home for a long time. He stayed with his uncle Laban, learning that we reap what we sow—as Jacob deceived, he was likewise deceived by his uncle.

• The Jacob narrative is found in chapters 28 through 35. While serving his uncle, Jacob fell in love with Rachel. He served Laban for seven years to acquire her in marriage; however, Laban deceived his nephew. Jacob ended up marrying Leah rather than Rachel. Distraught, Jacob confronted Laban, who told him custom demanded that the eldest first be wed.

• Jacob would work another seven years for Rachel (Gen 28). Polygamy always produced intense feelings of animosity. As his parents, Jacob played favorites too. Upon his eventual return home, Jacob, fearing his brother’s wrath, deployed his family members according to his affection for them. The text records, “And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last of all” (Gen 33:2). To his credit, he at least went out first to humbly meet Esau, discovering that his brother had forgiven him, warmly welcoming him back home.

• Much of the rest of the book deals with Joseph (Gen 37—50), recounting how he was called by God, hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned, and eventually released, elevated to a position of authority, and finally reunited with his family in the land of Egypt.

• Wonderfully, Joseph held no bitterness against his brothers, living contentedly together with his reunited family for many years. This was because he realized that all he had experienced was part of God’s plan for him and his family, writing, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen 50:20). And Joseph lived to the ripe old age of 110 years, enjoying his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren! He never allowed the root of bitterness to entrench, and God blessed him for it.

Key verse: “And he believed in the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). This is the first occurrence of the condition of justification with God.

Exodus

Exodus details the exit of the Jews from their bondage in Egypt until the completion of the Tabernacle and the appearance of the Shekinah glory of God.

• The three main sections of Exodus are: (1) The deliverance from bondage (Exod 1—19), emphasizing redemption; (2) the giving of the law (Exod 20—24), emphasizing obedience; and (3) instructions for building the Tabernacle (Exod 25—40), emphasizing worship.

• During their four hundred years of bondage, God fulfilled his seed promise to Abraham. The nation had multiplied from around seventy to about two million in number (Exod 1:7). This approximate calculation is derived from Numbers 1:46, in which there were 603,550 men tallied among the tribes who were twenty years and older and ready to go to war.

• Four hu...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy)
• Chapter 2: The Historical Books (Joshua through Esther)
• Chapter 3: The Poetical Books (Job through Song of Solomon)
• Chapter 4: The Prophetical Books (Isaiah through Malachi)
• Chapter 5: The Gospels and Acts
• Chapter 6: The Pauline Literature (Romans through Philemon)
• Chapter 7: Hebrews through Revelation