With a new year beginning, I would like to issue you a challenge:
Read through the bible with me.
I have read through the bible a number of times since my return to following Christ. I began reading the bible traditionally, Genesis through Revelation, and that method definitely has its benefits.
However, in more recent years, I have switched to reading the bible in chronological order. This helped me to better understand and piece events together with the flow of the bible particularly in the historical and narrative books. Reading chronologically helped me grasp things and discover things that have been both eye-opening and rewarding.
What is the bible?
The bible isn't just a book; it is a library of books. It is sixty-six books in fact (more on that in a minute) that were written over approximately 1,500 years, across 3 continents, in 3 different languages, in a myriad of different literary styles, and by 40 different authors that ranged from lowly shepherds to mighty kings, and yet it has a single underlying story from start to finish.
More importantly, it is the definitive source of understanding who God is, what He wants from us, and what He offers to us and answers the great questions of life all philosophies and religions seek answers to: Where did I come from? Who am I? Why am I here? How should I live? Where am I going?
The earliest copies of the biblical texts were individual scrolls written on papyrus sheets or animal skin parchment. Sometime around the 4th century, the writings were compiled into our modern book format (the codex) so that all of the writings were contained in a single volume.
The books were categorized by type. The Old Testament books are grouped by categories of Law, Historical, Poetic, and Prophetic. The New Testament books are grouped by categories of the Gospels, Historical, Letters, and Apocalyptic.
The Biblical Structure
Here is the traditional layout of the bible structured categorically.
The traditional categorical Old Testament layout:
+ Books of the Law (or The Books of Moses, or Pentateuch [Greek] or Torah [Hebrew])
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
+ Historical Books
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings,
1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
+ Poetic Books
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
+ Major Prophets
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel
+ Minor Prophets
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
The traditional categorical New Testament layout:
+ The Gospels
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
+ Historical Book
Acts
+ Letters (or Epistles)
Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians,
1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James,
1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude
+ Book of Vision (or Apocalyptic)
Revelation
I mentioned earlier that the bible contains 66 individual books. Depending on your denominational affiliation, you may notice the absence of the apocryphal books, also called deuterocanonical (meaning: second canon) books, or intertestamental books.
It is a misconception that the accepted books of the bible were canonized at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. The council convened in order to combat Arianism which pushed the idea that Jesus was not divine but a created being. The evidence of that was the issuance of the Nicene Creed which affirms the triune nation of God in the person of the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
According to Christian apologist Frank Turek, by 108 AD 25 of the 27 New Testament books had already been accepted and quoted by the early church fathers. Christian scholar Bruce Metzger stated "The Canon is a list of authoritative books more than it is an authoritative list of books." In short, the church didn't determine the canon; the church discovered the canon.
Protestant denominations, for the most part, fully reject all apocryphal books from biblical inclusion as being uninspired and containing fallacies. Among denominations that receive them, such as Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodoxy, and Oriental Orthodoxy, there is not a uniform agreement of which apocryphal books to accept or reject.
While used as the basis of teaching and doctrinal declarations by the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches through the Middle Ages (and into today), Reformers, such as Martin Luther, brought to light unbiblical teachings based on the texts of the apocryphal books. These books contain issues contrary to accepted scripture, gnostic false teachings, and other erroneous content giving evidence of being of a non-inspired nature. It was in response to the Reformers that the Roman Catholic church officially canonized the apocryphal books.
While they may be educational for cultural, historical, linguistic, and literary studies, they are not divinely inspired and therefore not equal to scripture. In Luther's translation of the bible, he relocated them between the Old and New Testaments, saying, "These books are not held equal to the Scriptures, but are useful and good to read." This relocation would make it easier for later Protestant publishing to remove them entirely leaving in place only the canonized and authoritative books.
The Reading Plan
Provided at the end of this post is a chronological reading plan I have put together that is an amalgamation of multiple chronological lists I have used over the years, relying heavily on a plan located in PDF form at BlueLetterBible.org. Not all of the lists I used fully agreed on placing Job within Genesis, some planned for six reading days each week with a seventh day to rest or catch-up, and some didn't cover the entire calendar year. I edited the lists together attempting to squash together as many of the aspects I liked from each while trying to keep daily readings to manageable lengths (where I could) without having to resort to splitting chapters and breaking the flow of reading as best as I could.
I kept Job wedged within chapters of Genesis just prior to Abram's calling out of Ur. Based on internal content, it is believed by many scholars to be from the patriarchal period and therefore widely accepted to be the earliest book of the bible. The books of 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, and the books of the prophets are interwoven so that the timeline flows sequentially. The same applies to the post-exilic prophets Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi along with Esther as the time of that book is from the rule of the Persian emperor, Ahasuerus. The Gospels are interwoven in the same manner. Having these narratives presented in this way, to me, makes it is easier to follow and understand events especially in the portions where the same events are written of in different books. The Psalms are mostly placed during their time of authorship, however some are interspersed in the timeline based on their topical content.
I have arranged the reading plan layout into five columns.
Column 1 is the day of the month.
Column 2 is a link to that day's passages in ESV (focused on a more literal word-for-word translation method).
Column 3 is a link to that day's passages in NLT (focused on a thought-for-thought translation).
Column 4 is how many verses are in that day's reading.
Column 5 is the scripture references for that day if you want to read offline or from a preferred translation.
Note: The exact number of verses per chapter may be slightly off as the counts were acquired from online sources. I have corrected some, but I will update the counts as I can.
If you see any beneficial changes for timing or contextual streamlining, please let me know.
So I challenge you:
- Set a time that is convenient for you every day.
- Set a recurring daily alarm on your phone for your reminder.
- Commit to reading.
Whether you take up this method, another chronological method, or stay with a traditional reading, I urge you to get into daily reading and stay faithful to it. Even if you might be starting later in the year, just begin on the current day and stick with it. You'll pick up at "In the beginning" when the new year rolls around.
I hope you gain more knowledge and inspiration in your reading that ultimately brings you to a better understanding of God and closer relationship with Him!
"Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You."
"Your word as a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path."
(Psalm 119:11, 105)
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
- - -
- - -
Posts
