UNDERSTANDING AND USING THE BIBLE T

1 SERVING THE NEEDS OF LEADERS IN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND FORMATION. UNDERSTANDING AND USING THE BIBLE . T his leaflet is designed to provide basic knowledge of the BIBLE . It may serve as a crash course in BIBLE basics, a reminder of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are collec- things you have forgotten, or encouragement tions of books. The thirty-nine books of the Old to continue in regular BIBLE study. Testament fall into three general categories . the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. THE WORD OF GOD. Law In many congregations, after the Scripture is The first five books of the Old Testament are read the worship leader will lift the BIBLE and called the books of the Law, the Torah, or the say something like, The Word of God for the Pentateuch.

2 People of God, and the congregation will re- spond, Thanks be to God. In these state- In these five books we find the stories of ments we acknowledge the important role that Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, the Scriptures play in the lives of Christians. Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, Jo- seph, and Moses. Some extremely important The BIBLE contains a wide variety of literature, stories that are found in these books are: including letters, poems, hymns, and stories. The creation of the world. However, for Christians the BIBLE is not simply a book of literature or history or science. It is a The flood and God's covenant with Noah book of faith and as such has a greater au- to never again destroy the world by water. thority for our lives than other important books God's promise to Abraham and Sarah that we might read.

3 In the BIBLE we find recorded they will become the parents of a great the faithful witness of God's people, through nation. which we come to know who God is and what The continued growth of the Hebrew it means to be the people of God. people. The twelve sons of Jacob (the grandson of Abraham and Sarah) become When we talk about the Word of God we are the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. referring to more than just the words that The family moves to Egypt, where it con- make up the BIBLE . Through the biblical record tinues to grow and prosper. we experience the presence of God. The bibli- The enslavement of the Hebrew people in cal stories are not just stories of ancient Egypt when they become so populous that people. As we immerse ourselves in the Scrip- they pose a political threat.

4 Tures we recognize ourselves in the stories The birth and life of Moses, who leads the and come to see God's claim on our lives. Exodus of Hebrew people out of slavery toward the land that God has promised. THE OLD TESTAMENT The giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, after the people have left The BIBLE is divided into two major sections, Egypt. the Old and New Testaments. The books of the Old Testament were written before the The preparation to enter the Promised time of Jesus. They are the Scriptures that Je- Land after traveling in the desert for forty sus knew. The Old Testament is also called years. 1. Prophets Writings Twenty-one books in the Old Testament make The Writings include several different types of up the Prophets. The Prophets are not found literature.

5 Several books in this category are in chronological order in the BIBLE but are in- poetry. Perhaps best known in this group of termixed with books that fall in the Writings books is Psalms. The psalms are poems and category. In the Prophets we see the continu- hymns that were used in worship. Some of the ing story of God's people. In some of the im- Writings include wise sayings, while others tell portant stories in these books, the stories of people's experiences with God. Some of the well-known stories, poems, and Joshua leads the Hebrew people into the proverbs found in the writings are: Promised Land. Psalm 23. This is the psalm that has The Hebrew tribes struggle to form a new brought comfort to people throughout the society that is ruled by God. The leaders dur- ages. It begins with The LORD is my shepherd, ing this time are called judges.

6 I shall not want.. The people begin to want to be like other The story of Esther, the Jewish woman nations and demand a king. Saul becomes the who becomes queen and through wisdom and first king of Israel. courage is able to save her people from de- Saul becomes a weak king. David ascends struction. to power as the second king of Israel. The story of Job, a man who remains faith- ful to God even though he experiences many David's son Solomon becomes the third tribulations. king of Israel. Under Solomon's leadership the Temple is built in Jerusalem. Proverbs 15:1, A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. This is one example of the many wise sayings that The Old Testament was first an oral work, are found in the Book of Proverbs. put in written form over the span of several centuries.

7 The earliest writing dates from Ecclesiastes 3. This is the poem that be- about the 8th C , though it refers to events gins, For everything there is a season, and a several centuries before. The last of the books time for every matter under heaven.. was written around the 2nd C The Song of Solomon. This is a book of love poetry. The story of Ruth, the non-Jewish woman After Solomon's death Israel divides itself who becomes the great-grandmother of King into two smaller kingdoms, Israel and judah . A David. In Ruth 1:16 we find the well-known series of kings reigns, many of whom fall away passage Where you go, I will go; where you from God. lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.. Prophets warn the people of Israel and judah that destruction will come if they do not return to God.

8 THE NEW TESTAMENT. The New Testament was written , in Greek, af- The Kingdom of Israel falls to the Assy- ter the death and resurrection of Jesus. There rians, and many of the people are exiled to are twenty-seven books in the New Testa- Assyria. ment. They can be divided into four catego- Two centuries later, the Kingdom of judah ries gospels, history, letters, and revelation. falls to Babylon, the Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed, and many are exiled to Babylon. Gospels The first four books of the New Testament Some of the people return from exile and (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are called begin to rebuild the Temple. the Gospels. The word gospel means good 2. news. The Gospels contain the good news of Revelation Jesus Christ, an intention stated plainly in The Book of Revelation was written at a time Mark: In the beginning of the good news of when the church was being persecuted by the Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1).

9 Roman Empire. It was dangerous to speak forthrightly about the Christian faith or to cri- In these books we find the stories of Jesus' ticize the government. Much in the same way birth, life, death, and resurrection. We also that African American slaves in the nineteenth find the stories that Jesus used when he century hid the directions for escaping in sto- taught his disciples and others who came to ries and songs, the Book of Revelation uses hear him. These stories are called parables. symbolic language to talk about faith. Al- They help us to understand what God is like though written during a specific time of perse- and how God wants us to live. cution, its basic message that God reigns su- Some of the stories in the Gospels are found preme and that Christ has the power to over- in only one of the books while other stories come all evil is important for Christians are found in more than one of the Gospels.

10 Throughout the ages. For example, the story of the wise men visiting the baby Jesus is only found in the Gospel of The writing span of the New Testament Matthew, while the story of Jesus driving the took less than a century, starting with money changers out of the Temple is found in all four Gospels. the letters of Paul, around 50 , then the Gospels (about 70 90 ). The last History of the books was written by about 120 . The Acts of the Apostles was written by the 135 same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke. Acts tells the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the formation of the early church after Jesus' resurrection. In this book we see FINDING A BIBLE PASSAGE. how the Christian church spread from its be- Some people are good at remembering BIBLE ginnings in Jerusalem all the way to Rome.