Read an Excerpt
Know Your Bible
All 66 Books Explained and Applied
By Barbour Publishing Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Copyright © 2008 Barbour Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60742-360-7
CHAPTER 1
Genesis
Author
Not stated but traditionally attributed to Moses.
Date
Moses lived around the 1400s BC, but the events of Genesis date to the very beginning of time.
In Ten Words or Less
God creates the world and chooses a special people.
Details, Please
The Bible's first book never explains God; it simply assumes His existence: "In the beginning, God ..." (1:1). Chapters 1 and 2 describe how God created the universe and everything in it simply by speaking: "God said ... and it was so" (1:6–7, 9, 11, 14–15). Humans, however, received special handling, as "God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (2:7), and woman was crafted from a rib of man. Those first two people, Adam and Eve, live in perfection but ruined paradise by disobeying God at the urging of a "subtil" (crafty, 3:1) serpent. Sin throws humans into a moral freefall as the world's first child—Cain—murders his brother Abel. People become so bad that God decides to flood the entire planet, saving only the righteous Noah, his family, and an ark (boat) full of animals. After the earth repopulates, God chooses a man named Abram as patriarch of a specially blessed people, later called "Israel" after an alternative name of Abram's grandson Jacob. Genesis ends with Jacob's son Joseph, by a miraculous chain of events, ruling in Egypt—setting up the events of the following book of Exodus.
Quotable
God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (1:3)
The Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? (4:9)
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (6:8)
He [Abram] believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (15:6)
Unique and Unusual
Genesis quickly introduces the concept of one God in multiple persons, a concept later called the Trinity: "God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (1:26, emphasis added). Also early on, God gives a hint of Jesus' future suffering and victory when He curses the serpent for deceiving Eve: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (3:15).
So What?
Genesis answers the great question "Where did I come from?" Knowing the answer can give us meaning in a world that's otherwise hard to figure out.
Exodus
Author
Not stated but traditionally attributed to Moses. In Exodus 34:27 God tells Moses, "Write thou these words," and Jesus, in Mark 12:26, quotes from Exodus as "the book of Moses."
Date
Approximately the mid-1400s BC.
In Ten Words or Less
God delivers His people, the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt.
Details, Please
The Israelites prosper in Egypt, having settled there at the invitation of Abraham's great-grandson Joseph, who entered the country as a slave and rose to second in command. When Joseph dies, a new pharaoh sees the burgeoning family as a threat—and makes the people his slaves. God hears the Israelites' groaning, remembering "his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob" (2:24) and raising up Moses as their deliverer. God speaks through a burning bush, and Moses reluctantly agrees to demand the Israelites' release from Pharaoh. To break Pharaoh's will, God sends ten plagues on Egypt, ending with the death of every firstborn child—except those of the Israelites. They put sacrificial blood on their doorposts, causing the death angel to "pass over" (12:13) their homes. Pharaoh finally allows the Israelites to leave the country (the "Exodus"), and God parts the Red Sea for the people, who are being pursued by Egyptian soldiers. At Mount Sinai, God delivers the Ten Commandments, rules for worship, and laws to change the family into a nation. When Moses delays on the mountain, the people begin worshipping a golden calf, bringing a plague upon themselves. Moses returns to restore order, and Exodus ends with the people continuing their journey to the "promised land" of Canaan, following God's "pillar of cloud" by day and "pillar of fire" by night.
Quotable
God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (3:14)
Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go. (8:1)
When I see the blood, I will pass over you. (12:13)
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (20:3)
Unique and Unusual
God told the Israelites to celebrate the "Passover" with a special meal of bread made without yeast (12:14-15). Three thousand years later, Jewish people still commemorate the event.
So What?
The story of redemption is on clear display in Exodus as God rescues His people from their slavery in Egypt. In the same way, Jesus breaks our bonds of sin (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Leviticus
Author
Not stated but traditionally attributed to Moses.
Date
Approximately the mid-1400s BC.
In Ten Words or Less
A holy God explains how to worship Him.
Details, Please
Leviticus, meaning "about the Levites," describes how that family line should lead the Israelites in worship. The book provides ceremonial laws as opposed to the moral laws of Exodus, describing offerings to God, dietary restrictions, and purification rites. Special holy days—including the Sabbath, Passover, and Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)—are commanded. The family of Aaron, Moses' brother, is ordained as Israel's formal priesthood. Leviticus lists several blessings for obedience and many more punishments for disobedience.
Quotable
Ye shall be holy; for I [God] am holy. (11:44)
The life of the flesh is in the blood ... it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (17:11)
Unique and Unusual
Leviticus's blood sacrifices are contrasted with Jesus' death on the cross by the writer of Hebrews: "Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice ... for this he did once, when he offered up himself" (7:27).
So What?
Though we don't live under the rules of Leviticus, we still serve a holy God—and should treat Him as such.
Numbers
Author
Not stated but traditionally attributed to Moses.
Date
Approximately 1400 BC.
In Ten Words or Less
Faithless Israelites wander forty years in the wilderness of Sinai.
Details, Please
Numbers begins with a census—hence the book's name. Fourteen months after the Israelites escape Egypt, they number 603,550 men, not including the Levites. This mass of people, the newly formed nation of Israel, begins a march of approximately two hundred miles to the "promised land" of Canaan—a journey that will take decades to complete. The delay is God's punishment of the people, who complain about food and water, rebel against Moses, and hesitate to enter Canaan because of powerful people already living there. God decrees that this entire generation will die in the wilderness, leaving the Promised Land to a new generation of more obedient Israelites.
Quotable
The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression. (14:18)
Unique and Unusual
Even Moses misses out on the Promised Land, punishment for disobeying God by striking, rather than speaking to, a rock from which water would miraculously appear (20:1–13).
So What?
God hates sin and punishes it. We can be thankful that Jesus took that punishment for us.
Deuteronomy
Author
Traditionally attributed to Moses, an idea supported by Deuteronomy 31:9: "Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests ... and unto all the elders of Israel." Chapter 34, recording Moses' death, was probably written by his successor, Joshua.
Date
Approximately 1400 BC.
In Ten Words or Less
Moses reminds the Israelites of their history and God's laws.
Details, Please
With a name meaning "second law," Deuteronomy records Moses' final words as the Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land. Forty years have passed since God handed down His laws on Mount Sinai, and the entire generation that experienced that momentous event has died. So Moses reminds the new generation both of God's commands and of their national history as they ready their entry into Canaan. The invasion will occur under Joshua, as Moses will only see the Promised Land from Mount Nebo. "So Moses the servant of the LORD died there.... And he [God] buried him in a valley in the land of Moab ... but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day" (34:5–6). Moses was 120 years old.
Quotable
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. (6:4)
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (6:5)
The Lord thy God is a jealous God among you. (6:15)
Unique and Unusual
The New Testament quotes from Deuteronomy dozens of times, including three from the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1–11. The Lord defeated Satan by restating Deuteronomy 8:3 ("Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"); 6:16 ("Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God"); and 6:13 ("Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve").
The Ten Commandments, most commonly found in Exodus 20, are restated in full in Deuteronomy 5.
So What?
Deuteronomy makes clear that God's rules and expectations aren't meant to limit and frustrate us but instead to benefit us: "Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey" (6:3).
Joshua
Author
Traditionally attributed to Joshua himself, except for the final five verses (24:29–33), which describe Joshua's death and legacy.
Date
Approximately 1375 BC.
In Ten Words or Less
The Israelites capture and settle the promised land of Canaan.
Details, Please
With Moses and an entire generation of disobedient Israelites dead, God tells Joshua to lead the people into Canaan, their promised land. In Jericho, the first major obstacle, the prostitute Rahab helps Israelite spies and earns protection from the destruction of the city: God knocks its walls flat as Joshua's army marches outside, blowing trumpets and shouting. Joshua leads a successful military campaign to clear idol-worshipping people—Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—from the land. At one point, God answers Joshua's prayer to make the sun stand still, allowing more time to complete a battle (10:1–15). Major cities subdued, Joshua divides the land among the twelve tribes of Israel, reminding the people to stay true to the God who led them home: "Now therefore put away ... the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel" (24:23).
Quotable
Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (1:9)
One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. (23:10) Choose you this day whom ye will serve ...as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (24:15)
Unique and Unusual
Joshua is one of few major Bible characters who seemed to do everything right—he was a strong leader, completely committed to God, who never fell into recorded sin or disobedience. Only one mistake mars his record: Joshua's experience with the Gibeonites, one of the local groups he should have destroyed. Fearing for their lives, they appeared before Joshua dressed in old clothes, carrying dry, moldy bread, claiming they had come from a faraway land. Joshua and the Israelite leaders "asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord" (9:14) and agreed to a peace treaty. When Joshua learned the truth, he honored his agreement with the Gibeonites—but made them slaves.
So What?
Joshua shows over and over how God blesses His people. The Promised Land was His gift to them, as were the military victories that He engineered.
Judges
Author
Unknown; some suggest the prophet Samuel.
Date
Written approximately 1050 BC, covering events that occurred as far back as 1375 BC.
In Ten Words or Less
Israel goes through cycles of sin, suffering, and salvation.
Details, Please
After Joshua's death, the Israelites lose momentum in driving pagan people out of the Promised Land. "The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem" (1:21) is a statement characteristic of many tribes, which allow idol worshippers to stay in their midst—with tragic results. "Ye have not obeyed my voice" God says to His people. "They shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you" (2:2–3). That's exactly what happens, as the Israelites begin a cycle of worshipping idols, suffering punishment by attackers, crying to God for help, and receiving God's aid in the form of a human judge (or "deliverer") who restores order. Lesser-known judges include Othniel, Ehud, Tola, Jair, and Jephthah, while more familiar figures are Deborah, the only female judge, who led a military victory against the Canaanites; Gideon, who tested God's will with a fleece and defeated the armies of Midian; and the amazingly strong Samson, who defeated the Philistines. Samson's great weakness—his love for unsavory women such as Delilah—led to his downfall and death in a Philistine temple.
Quotable
They forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them. (2:12)
The Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. (2:16)
The Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. (7:2)
Unique and Unusual
Several judges had unusual families by today's standards: Jair had thirty sons (10:4), Abdon had forty sons (12:14), and Ibzan had thirty sons and thirty daughters (12:9). Jephthah had only one child, a daughter, whom he foolishly vowed to sacrifice to God in exchange for a military victory (11:30–40).
So What?
The ancient Israelites got into trouble when they "did that which was right in [their] own eyes" (17:6; 21:25) rather than what God wanted them to do. Don't make the same mistake yourself!
Ruth
Author
Not stated; some suggest Samuel.
Date
Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David (who reigned approximately 1010–970 BC), probably lived around 1100 BC.
In Ten Words or Less
Loyal daughter-in-law pictures God's faithfulness, love, and care.
Details, Please
Ruth, a Gentile woman, marries into a Jewish family. When all of the men of the family die, Ruth shows loyalty to her mother-in-law, Naomi, staying with her and scavenging food to keep them alive. As Ruth gleans barley in a field of the wealthy Boaz, he takes an interest in her and orders his workers to watch over her. Naomi recognizes Boaz as her late husband's relative and encourages Ruth to pursue him as a "kinsman redeemer," one who weds a relative's widow to continue a family line. Boaz marries Ruth, starting a prominent family.
Quotable
Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. (1:16)
Unique and Unusual
Ruth, from the pagan land of Moab, married a Jewish man and became the great-grandmother of Israel's greatest king, David—and an ancestor of Jesus Christ.
So What?
We can trust God to provide what we need, when we need it—and to work out our lives in ways that are better than we ever imagined.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Know Your Bible by Barbour Publishing. Copyright © 2008 Barbour Publishing, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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