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Bestselling Bible Book Series for Beginners!

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How to Plug into the Bible (And What to Do Next)

Bible for Dummies is intended to be a parody based on the concept of the “Dummies” series of computer manuals produced by IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. It is not intended to infringe on any copyrights held by that company. Bible for Dummies has been written for the use of friends and members of Bible Presbyterian Church, Merrill, Wisconsin, and has been reproduced in limited numbers for their benefit and distributed to them at no cost. Most quotations from the Bible are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, (NIV) copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Chapter 1

The Bible is a Story (a True Story!) But Not a Textbook In This Chapter a The Bible is neither an “answer book” nor a “spiritual cookbook” a The three themes of the Bible a The divisions of the Old Testament and New Testament

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he Bible is not a textbook on religion nor a systematic treatise on theology or philosophy. Nor does it contain — like a cosmic Dear Abby column — neat lists of specific answers to each day’s problems. It is first of all a story: a true story to be sure, but still a story. The Bible is the progressive story of God’s creating us and our world and then relating to us. If you think of the Bible primarily as a reference book (or a quick answer book, or a spiritual “cookbook”), you will probably be disappointed because its wisdom on any one subject is rarely concentrated in a single place. It is more like a long novel with an involved plot and many characters. You often learn things almost incidentally as the story line unfolds. And the farther along you go in the story, the more you learn. Earlier events, confusing when you come upon them, begin to make sense as you work your way through the chapters. All this is not to say that you will not find help in the Bible for life’s problems, but only that you will rarely find it in the “sound bite” form that Americans have come to expect from their media.

The Old Testament The opening chapters of the Bible foreshadow the book’s three major themes: Creation, Fall, and Redemption. God creates a good world (including men and women), but Adam and Eve rebel against God and bring about their own downfall as well as the spiritual and physical pollution of the whole created order. But God — in a demonstration of His gracious character — does not give up on His people. Instead, He provides for their salva-

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Bible for Dummies tion. It is a cycle that will be repeated continually through the story: people will rebel against Him, and God will graciously provide a way of forgiveness and restoration for those who wish it. Early in Genesis (the first book of the Bible), the story begins to focus on one man, Abraham, and on his family. Abraham’s son Isaac has a son Jacob, and Jacob’s 12 sons and their families will eventually form the nation of Israel. What Christians call the Old Testament is simply the story of God’s dealings with His people, the nation of Israel.

Divisions of the Old Testament The story is told in many ways. Sometimes the authors (the Old Testament has at least 30) use historical narrative. But even behind what may, on the surface, appear to be simply dry history lies His story — God at work through the events of history to reveal himself and His will to His people and work out His purposes in the world. Other times God speaks directly to and through men called prophets. “Thus says the Lord,” is a familiar refrain of these ancient preachers. Their books — some quite long and others just a few verses — are extended sermons of judgment and hope, of condemnation and salvation. Still other writers use poetry and song to reveal their inner thoughts and God’s responses. They tell of God’s glory and their own pain and doubts. They talk of wisdom and foolishness and the common sense in day to day living that God gives His people. These then are the divisions we traditionally give to denote the Story’s style in the Old Testament: Law (Genesis to Deuteronomy); History (Joshua to Esther); Poetry or Wisdom Literature (Job to Song of Solomon); and Prophecy (Isaiah to Malachi). These divisions can be helpful as long as you remember that they are not absolute: history is found in Law, poetry in Prophecy, and even prophecy in Poetry! But through all the divisions, through all the different styles, authors, and historical periods, the Old Testament is really just the story of how God reveals Himself to and interacts with His people Israel.

The New Testament What Christians call the New Testament is simply the continuation of the story of God caring for His people — with an even more personal touch. God who in the Old Testament was content primarily to speak through events (usually as interpreted by the prophets) and to speak through the

Bible for Dummies

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The Old Testament has four divisions

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Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy

HISTORY

Joshua Judges Ruth I & 2 Samuel 1 & 2 Kings 1 & 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther

POETRY

Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon

PROPHECY Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

e Th t d Ol tamen s Te

The Old Testament contains 39 “books.” The prophets are usually subdivided into “Major” prophets (Isaiah – Daniel) and “Minor” prophets (Hosea – Malachi).” They are minor only because of their brevity. Jewish theologians have traditionally classified the Hebrew Scriptures into three divisions: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.

prophets, now speaks through His own Son, Jesus Christ. (See Hebrews 1:1.)

Divisions of the New Testament Jesus continues the Old Testament story as He is born into a Jewish household in Israel and focuses His ministry on “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” He heals and performs other miracles, but mainly He preaches (so

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Bible for Dummies much so that John simply calls Him “the Word” in the opening verses of his Gospel). But as before so now, the people of Israel generally reject His words and rebel against His teaching. This time in their rebellion they (Gentile Romans as well as Jews) crucify Jesus and bury His body. But again God has the last word, for Jesus rises from the dead and ascends to His Father in heaven. Yet before He leaves, Jesus commissions His followers (called “disciples”) to go to Israel and beyond to the whole world, declaring the good news of His death and resurrection and His forgiveness to all who will turn from their sin and believe in Him. So the New Testament continues the story of God’s interaction with His people. This time they are not just one family or one nation but one people arising out of many families and many nations. As those people come together in groups (“churches”), questions of belief and practice arise. So God gives instructions to these churches through those who were with Jesus and were eyewitnesses of His resurrection (the “apostles”). Finally, in the last book of the Bible (Revelation), God reveals through one of His apostles that though Jesus has ascended to heaven He will be with His people — just as before — through their struggles and suffering. We

The Languages of the Bible The Old Testament comes out of the culture and language of the Middle East and was written in Hebrew (a small part of Daniel written in Aramaic, a sort of “modern Hebrew”). Hebrew is read from right to left. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” looks like this:

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