As I've studied this semester, I've realized that I knew VERY little about the Old Testament, and have just found the structure of it's composition fascinating. For those of you who have, like me, felt like the Old Testament is under-taught in churches, here is a brief overview of the first 2/3s of our Bible. I'll try to keep to the essentials. Let's start with a basic outline of the history you'll see:
- God chooses Abraham to father his chosen people;
- God delivers said people from slavery and gives them a promised land;
- They grow increasingly ungodly;
- They ask for a physical king to rule over them to be like the surrounding societies;
- Corruption enters and the kingdom splits ("Israel" in north, "Judah" in south);
- Corruption gets worse and they get overtaken by Assyrians (northern kingdom) and Babylonians (southern kingdom);
- They are carried off into exile in Babylon;
- Then they return to start rebuilding Jerusalem.
The OT takes us up to about 400 b.c. The history is contained in the books from Genesis through Chronicles. If you are looking for the story of Israel, these books tell that comprehensive tale.
The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
Came about in the time of Moses, so some of the pre-mosaic history (Geneis) could be somewhat debatable, but the Theological themes in these first 5 books are nonetheless true. In Genesis, the major storylines are: Eden, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (later Israel). Jacob's 12 sons will become the patriarchs to the 12 tribes of Israel. We end Genesis with Jacob's family in Egypt because of famine. Exodus picks up, and the nation Israel has been put to work in Egypt as slaves. The rest of the Pentateuch (PEN-ta-took) is the story of leaving Egypt (Exodus), Moses and the people at Mt. Sinai (Ex. & Leviticus), then Moses and the people wandering the desert for 40 years before finding Canaan (Lev., Numbers & Deuteronomy), which is now what we know as Israel.
The Historical Books (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1& 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah)
Joshua picks up where Moses leaves off and leads the nation across the Jordan into Canaan. They were told to completely drive out all inhabitants of this land. They failed to do so, the importance of which we'll get to later. There was a time when priests acted as Judges on the land. They gauged the spiritual health of the nation and declared the cost in sacrifices, preached corrective strategy, etc. They grew corrupt. Then came Samuel, a judge who was truly Godly. The people came to him and asked for a human, physical king. He anointed Saul. 2 Samuel is the story of David, Saul's successor. David's line would continue to reign; he'd be followed by his son, Solomon (1 Kings), and then the line would continue (2Kings) until the people were overcome and taken into Exile. A HUGE part of this story is religious apostasy that came from not completely driving inhabitants from the land and the religious compromise that was a result. God used the Assyrians and Babylonians as a tool for divine discipline. 1 & 2 Chronicles are the story of the Kingship of Israel, but written while in exile, which brings a different light to the author's purpose. You will see many stories carry over from Kings to Chronicles, but told with a different perspective. Ezra & Nehemiah recount the first two expeditions back to Jerusalem from Babylon after the exile and recap the beginnings of the rebuilding process. Ezra led the rebuilding of the temple, Nehemiah, the city wall.
What about Ruth and Esther? - Ruth and Esther are not integral to the story of Israel. They read very similarly, like a dramatic story, but are not necessarily a chronological part of the story. There is a lot of good material about living faithfully, the faithfulness of God, etc, and Ruth was part of Jesus' bloodline, but as far as being a significant and integral part of the history, they aren't really.
Poetical Books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes)
Called "poetry" because of the form in which they are written. These books are not meant to be read like a story, but to be meditated on and applied to life.
Job is about a faithful servant of God, whom God allows to be tempted by Satan to prove his faithfulness. If you read the whole book you will see a lesson underlying it all that sometimes good things happen to good people but we should not question God because we are infinitely less-informed.
Psalms are songs and praises. Some point to Jesus, some praise God, some are lamentations.
Proverbs are wisdom sayings, largely from Israel's most wise king, Solomon. They aren't promises, but proven by experience to be good sayings to live by, most of the time.
Song of Songs is a collection of love songs between a man and wife. They display the beauty that lies within a Godly marriage between man and wife.
Ecclesiates is a philosophical and theological book that deals, largely, with the insignificance of the physical life on earth.
The Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi)
These special people were the mouthpiece of God. They start during the Israelite monarchy, and go until the return from exile. Their messages can be cryptic, but almost always possess a certain duality of meaning: simultaneous focus on current issues in society and focus on looking forward to God's provision. These will not extend the history of the Old Testament, but will give more detail to certain parts. Some will speak of the monarchy, some (like Daniel) will give history of time in Babylon. They use a wide variety of literary styles to reach their audience, but their messages are almost always very united: the apostasy in our hearts is a problem, but if we repent and turn wholeheartedly to God, he will lift us up.
I always wished I knew more about the old testament. I hope this will help you because it was always something I wish I had. If you want to explore the Old Testament, I am a big fan of Samuel. Great stuff in there.
Happy Reading!
