Sunday sermon
Friday, August 8, 2008
The Old Testament is a wonderful collection of 39 books and is extremely important to a Christian’s understanding of God’s eternal purpose to save man from sin. The New Testament quotes many Old Testament scriptures and makes many references to its events and stories. See Romans 15:4; I Corinthians 10; Hebrews 11; 2 Peter 1:20,21. We can’t appreciate Christianity without a basic knowledge and understanding of the Old Testament. Our study of the Old Testament will be greatly aided by some insight to its arrangement, purpose and chronology.
First, let’s consider the arrangement of the 39 books in our English Bible. We find five divisions in this small “library” of inspired writings: Notice the use of the numbers 5 and 12:
• Five books of law (Genesis through Deuteronomy) Also contains history.
• 12 books of history (Joshua through Esther)
• Five books of poetry (Job - Ecclesiastes) written in Hebrew poetic style.
• Five books of major (larger) prophets (Isaiah through Daniel)
• 12 books of minor (smaller) prophets (Hosea through Malachi).
The careful student soon discovers that not all the 39 books are in perfect chronological order. Perhaps this explanation will help:
Genesis introduces critical “beginnings” with key figures of Adam, Noah, Abraham and Joseph. Exodus through Numbers give the establishment of the Israelite nation with its laws, Tabernacle and priesthood. Deuteronomy recaps Israel’s history up to the entry into the Promised Land.
Joshua through II Kings gives the chronological history of Israel from the Conquest of Canaan until the Babylonian Captivity. In the books we have many intriguing stories involving the Judges, Kings, Priests and Prophets. In this section is recorded the rise and fall of Israel.
The next two books, I & II Chronicles, like Deuteronomy, are a recap of history already past. They are inserted after I & II Kings, but were written later, after the 70 year captivity of the Jews. The Chronicles emphasize the positive side of the Southern Kingdom (King David’s royal line). Ezra and Nehemiah record the history of the Restoration after Captivity and Esther belongs to the Captivity period.
Job begins the Poetry section, but belongs to a much earlier period. After the collection of Psalms, written mostly by David, the remaining three poetic books (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon) were written by Solomon.
This brings us to the five Major Prophetic books: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel. These are in chronological order. Lamentations was written by Jeremiah but is counted as one of the five. Isaiah and Jeremiah were prophets during the fall of Jerusalem and the beginning of captivity. Ezekiel and Daniel were prophets in Babylonian captivity.
The first six of the 12 Minor Prophets (Hosea through Micah) were active in Israel during the Assyrian period and the invasion of Northern Israel by this wicked and cruel empire. The next three smaller prophets (Hahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah) were active during decline of Assyria and the rise of the Babylonian empire. And the last three (Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi) were written after the return from Captivity (the Restoration Period).
The Old Testament books were all written by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 32:15-17) and provide the rich roots of our Christian heritage.
“Sunday Sermon” is a forum for Emporia area ministers to share their sermons, thoughts and observations. This week’s sermon is from the Rev. Bill D. Oakley of Emporia Church of Christ.