What Is The Bible All About

66 Books- all inspired of God- 2 Tim. 3:16,17First 5- books of the LawNext 12- books of historyNext 5- PoetryNext 5- Major ProphetsLast 12-Minor ProphetsThe last 22 books take place in the timeline of the first 17.

Major Prophets

• Isaiah- first of the major prophets- called this due to the length of each.

• He begins his message about 740 and continues into the reign of Manasseh beyond 680.

• He prophesies to Israel first and then to Judah.

• Assyria is advancing to take Israel into captivity ( godless reign of Ahaz).

• He cooperated with Hezekiah in reforming Judah, and was probably killed by Manasseh.

Messages of Isaiah• He announces the destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of the

Davidic dynasty.• He speaks forcefully about the wickedness of the people. • He leaves a hope to the people. He is known as the Messianic

prophet and points to the hope of Israel and all men in The Messiah, Jesus Christ (Isa. 7; 9;53) He states how he will come, how He will die, and how He will arise.

• He shows how God uses foreign nations to accomplish His purposes and all will come to nothing.

• He speaks of the Babylonian captivity in 586 and calls Cyrus by name more than a hundred years before he is born.

• He comforts Judah and tells them that deliverance will come by means of Cyrus (Persians).

• He talks of a spiritual kingdom and holds that forth as the hope of Israel and all men. That kingdom will be established by the Messiah.

• The hope of Israel in Christ and His everlasting kingdom- the church are the central theme.

Jeremiah• Prophesied about 627-586 to Judah.• His message- Jerusalem is doomed. • He prophesies over 40 years and sticks to this message. He

witness a 20 year revival but after Josiah died in 609 the religious apostasy and moral decay of Judah continued at a face pace and ended in Babylon taking Judah captive.

• Throughout the books he tells of his personal suffering. Three times during his time the Babylonians take captives.

• His advice is often ignored by the people• He tells them to go into captivity- he suffers personally for

his message. He gets his message across in various ways. • His celibacy is a sign of the coming judgment of God on

Judah. He is spoken of as the suffering servant and the weeping prophet.

• Chapter 17:7-14- is a moving discourse about the virtues of trusting in the Lord.

• Jeremiah 2 and 3 speak of God’s tender care of them and he then calls them a degenerate vine. The term “backsliding” is a dominant word throughout the book.

Lamentations• Written by Jeremiah. In this book the weeping prophet

tells of his remorse for the doomed nation of Judah. It was written about 586 toward the end of his life. The fall of Jerusalem in 586 was perhaps the greatest catastrophe in Jewish history to that point.

• The Babylonians destroyed the temple and the entire city of Jerusalem.

• God is acknowledged as righteous in executing His punishment on His people but remorse is dominant that it had to come to that.

• Hope is expressed in the confession of sin and implicit faith in God and His justice.

• It is written in the form of a prayerful psalm. God’s anger against those who persist in disobedience is evident. He wants humility and repentance.

• The book is written in acrostic form. 22 letters in Hebrew alphabet. 22 verses in each chapter except the third chapter ( it has 66-repitition of alphabet letter three times).

Ezekiel• While Jeremiah prophecies with the people and stays with the

ones who will not go into captivity- Ezekiel prophesies to the ones who go into Babylonian captivity. He was taken to Babylon 597 -570

• He is sent to the rebellious nation of Judah ( chapter 2) and it told to warn them. He is set as a watchman to warn the people.

• His name means “God strengthens”. • He was born in Judah in the days of Josiah and taken into captivity

with the group that goes in 597. He is about 30 when he begins to prophesy.

• He warns of the coming destruction of Jerusalem in 586 and he does this to quell their hopes of a short exile.

• He tells them that the future hope of Israel (Judah) is in the Messiah. He assures the people that God is with them even in exile. They are assured they will be revived and will survive the assaults of their enemies in Babylon.

• Their return to the land after 70 years of exile is promised and the glory of God returning to the temple is promised (fulfilled in time of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Malachi).

• His last message is one of hope to a captive people who are pretty depressed. He also gives them far-reaching hope in the Messiah and the eternal kingdom (the church).

Daniel- God Is My Judge• Central character of the book. He prophesies

from the perspective of a captive in the kings house (foreign territory). He and others are royal hostages put into service in about 604. His life spans the entire period of the captivity.

• God is with them and Daniel rises to a high position under Nebuchadnezzar and continues there into the reign of Cyrus of Persia in 539.

• The first 6 chapters deal with personal experiences with his three friends under the foreign king.

• The last 6 chapters deal with visions he has received relative to the international scene.

Message of Daniel• He reflects concern for the future of Judah.• He is assured of God’s establishment of an everlasting

kingdom (Dan. 2:44). He gives a world history lesson of over 400 years in this chapter as he interprets the king’s dream.

• He also stresses that God rules in the kingdoms of men and gives a nation to whomever He chooses.

• He is also provided with the resurrection hope and the personal assurance by God that he will stand.

• Chapters 2; 7 and 9 are vital passages that must be taken in context.

• Premillenialists misuse and abuse these passages to talk of present day things. They make the gross error of applying them to a physical revival of literal Israelites in Palestine.

• It is clear from the context and text that he is speaking of the time of the Messiah.

High Points in Daniel• His refusal to compromise with the worldly

power he serves. He prays 3 times daily and is persecuted for it.

• God’s presence in his life and the lives of those who love Him.

• He shows what it is like to “let your light shine before wicked men.” They respect him even though they do not adopt his ways.

• This book gives us great hope and a timeline as we see we are not looking back but forward to what would occur in the days of the Roman kings.

• It makes sense when taken in context and not twisted by the doctrines of men.

Minor Prophets• Hosea- name means “salvation.” He speaks of

the “whoredom” of Israel. God uses Hosea’s tragic marriage and the unfaithfulness of his wife to show the parallels of God with Israel.

• Israel is the one involved with whoredom with the other nations and gods. And God is the husband who is willing to redeem her back if she will repent.

• Written about 750 during the reign of Jeroboam II. Hosea prophesies of the Assyrian captivity of Israel

• My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge is a key verse in Hosea.

Minor Prophets Chronologically

• Obadiah Nahum• Joel Habakkuk• Jonah Haggai• Amos Zechariah• Hosea Malachi• Micah • Zephaniah

• Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther are contemporary with Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

Joel• Joel prophesies about 830 BC. • He prophesies about the doom of the nations and

the ultimate glory of God’s cause. • It is an appeal to the people to seek God through

repentance. In repentance they would find physical blessings as well as spiritual blessings.

• He is the prophet of Pentecost. • His book begins in gloom and points in anticipation

of a bright and glorious day to come when the spiritual kingdom of the Lord is established ( Ch. 2:28-32 is fulfilled on Pentecost in Acts 2:16 ff). Joel deals not only with God being with his people but also with the Gentile being brought in with the Jew under the New law of Christ. One law for Jew and Gentile.

Amos• His name means “burden-bearer.” Prophesied

during the reign of Jeroboam II after great revival of the people has brought in prosperity to Israel. This date is about 760.

• He sees through the corruption and announces God’s judgment on Israel. Elaborate sacrifices could never be a substitute for righteous hearts and practices.

• He uses five visions to speak of the impending judgment of God but he ends the book with a hope of the restoration of the remnant in Judah, after the 70 year exile in Babylon.

Obadiah

• He prophesies to the heathen nation of Edom.• Date- about 845 BC• This book is the shortest of the prophets. • He denounces Edom for its pride. • They will not be able to escape the judgment

of the Lord. Their redemption would come with the Messiah on the same basis as the Jew.

• This book shows that God cares about what the heathen are doing and holds them accountable for their sins.

Jonah• He prophesies in the days of Jeroboam II around 780

BC.• Differs from all other books of the prophets- written

from historical point of view. It is the history of a man, a nation and God in His dealings with all of them.

• Jesus verifies the validity of Jonah in Matt. 12:39-41 and Lk. 11:29-32).

• It is not just a big fish story! It is inspired and is a real event.

• God cares enough for Nineveh (Assyria) that he sends them a prophet to get them to repent. They do and he shows in Jonah the selectiveness and bigotry of His people. Jonah does see the value of the Ninevites. He wants them to be punished and destroyed. God does not. God is merciful to His own and to all those who will turn to the right ways.

Micah• His name means “who is like God?” • He predicts the fall of Samaria ( Israel- the northern

kingdom) in 722-21. He is a younger contemporary of Isaiah. He ends his prophetic work about the time of Hezekiah ( Jer. 26:18-19).

• He concerns himself also with the sins and dangers of Israel’s sister, Judah. He denounces both leaders and kings.

• In contrast to the destruction of Jerusalem- he speaks of the hope of restored Zion and universal peace (fulfilled in the spiritual kingdom of Christ- the church).

• God will judge His people now- but hope and blessing come in the Messiah later.

• He announces the place of the Messiah’s birth as Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2-15).

Nahum• His name means “consolation.”• He prophesies about the destruction of the Assyrian

empire and the justice of God on savage people.• Date- 663-612 (3:8- fall of No-amon of Egypt). • He is contemporary with Jeremiah, Habbakuk and

Zephaniah.• He is known as the patriot prophet. He propesies on

the single theme of the fall and destruction of “that great and dreadful people”- the Assyrians.

• The Assyrians worshipped the goddess, Ishtar and were thoroughly pagan. They would build pyramids of the human heads of their enemies and would skin people alive to punish them for their crimes.

• God used this brutal nation to afflict Israel but he held them accountable for their brutality.

Habakkuk• He prophesies about 612-606. • He is concerned about the violence and sin of the

people of Judah and announces that God will send the Chaldeans( Babylon) to punish them.

• The prophet is disturbed by God’s use of the heathen Babylonians to punish the less-heathen Assyrians. He is told by God that He will also punish the Chaldeans.

• The righteous are told to live by faith in God and not to lose hope.

• He ends his book with a psalm of peace and praise of God for His wisdom.

• God tells him that he will not understand all of His ways, even if He told him all of them. God is greater than man!

Zephaniah• “Jehovah hides”- meaning of his name. He is

a great-great grandson of Hezekiah. He is a prophet of royal blood.

• He is born in the trying times of Manasseh. The wicked son of Hezekiah who filled Jerusalem with blood. He prophesies during the time of Josiah about 626 BC

• He issues a call of repentance to the people of Judah. If God punishes the heathen He will punish Judah ( 3:1-8).

• He deals with idolatry, social injustice, luxury and wealth as issues God has with Judah.

Haggai• He is the prophet among the exiles who returned from

Babylon. He is a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah. He prophesies in the 2nd year of Darius (1:1), which would make it 520 BC

• His task was to induce the Jews to resume their work on the temple which had been begun and delayed for 16 years.

• The people begin their work on the temple less than three and a half weeks after he begins to speak to them.

• Rebuild the temple- NOW- saith the Lord• He points to the hope of the Messiah when he says the

temple would be filled with glory that would surpass anything previously seen. He pointed to Zerubbabel as the one God chose to help carry out His purposes.

• He ties faithfulness and material blessing together; States that discouragement is no excuse for neglect of duty; the time to work is now; finally the basis of all successful preaching is “God says”

Zechariah• He is the grandson of Iddo the priest. He stresses the

importance of Israel in God’s plan. Date- 520-518 BC• He assists Haggai in stirring the people to complete

the temple. He began his prophecy about a month after work had begun on the temple.

• He looks beyond the immediate temple to the Messiah and the spiritual temple. God would accomplish His purposes through Israel in bringing the Messiah and His church into existence. The Messiah would come from the nation of Israel and his kingdom (the church) would be a spiritual temple of God.

• Zechariah promises the Messiah and tells of how the Messiah would be suffer as a good shepherd, a prince of peace, who would establish spiritual Israel and subdue all nations in the church.

Malachi• His name means, “messenger of the Lord.” His

message is addressed to the post-exilic Jews after the temple is rebuilt and when sacrifices are offered again.

• He warns the people of their religious laxness. The date is the period of Nehemiah and Ezra 445-432

• They have dishonored God by 1. Neglect 2. mixed marriages and 3. Apostasy and half-hearted service.

• He tells them to repent and assures the righteous of divine promises.

• The book closes with the promise of Elijah the prophet coming again. This would be Christ and the one who would come before Him to prepare the way would be John the Baptizer.

Message and Lessons Of Malachi

• God’s people had again failed to take God’s Law seriously. They had been back in the land for over 100 years but instead of becoming better in worship to God, they had drifted and then insolently asked- How have we sinned?

• Worship was in a state of decay- seconds to God. Will a man rob God?- Answer- YES

• The promise of the Messiah is the last message we get from this last prophet of the OT.

• This hope and thought would be in their hearts and minds for over 400 years until the opening of the NT and the coming of John the Baptizer and Christ (the Messiah).

Ezra• Covers the period of 539-432. Provides a history of the

remnant after the Exile. • Main events- rebuilding temple, the walls of Jerusalem.• Ezra was a mild-mannered reformer and a scribe. Most

touching is the occasion of the reading of the law to the people after they had not heard it in many years- they weep when they hear it.

• Also the contrast between the new temple and the grandeur of the Old one (not to be compared).

• He is not satisfied with lazy service which he observes. • He also deals with the mixes marriages of the people.• The once noble people are now a pitiful shambles. Ezra

is a reformer and leads the people in spiritual revival, and many fail to follow his lead.

Nehemiah• Devoted Jew serving the Persian king, Cyrus.• He is appointed governor of Jerusalem and sets out to

restore the walls. He rallies the people to work and in 53 days they finish the rebuilding of the walls.

• He then deals with their timid fear of God’s enemies from without.

• He has no compassion for their lack of faith and puts them to work with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. He tells them God will fight for them if they serve Him.

• He is intolerant of evil and plucks out the beards of those who violate God’s laws. He is zealous and cannot stand disobedience.

• He leads people in physical and spiritual rebuilding • Along with Ezra they meet at the watergate and have

a restoration of proper worship.

Esther• This book is about a Jewish maiden who becomes

queen of Persia.• When the Jews are threatened with extinction

(through trickery), Esther takes her life in her hands and appeals to the king on behalf of her people and they are saved from extinction. Of course God is behind all of this.

• This book shows God’s providence and how he cares for those who love Him and serve Him. His ways are not our ways, but His ways are best.

• God is able to accomplish his purposes without ever taking over the free will of anyone.

Conclusion• Israel and Judah have fallen away from God on their own• God has sent prophets to warn them to repent• They refuse to do so.• They go into captivity (Assyria- Israel; Babylon- Judah).• God brings back a remnant after 70 years Judah returns • The people are glad to be back and are zealous for

awhile, but they soon fall back.• The captivity has purged fully the outward idolatry of the

people, but they are still prone to serve themselves above God.

• God ends the OT with the only hope for anyone and that is the hope in the Messiah.

• No mere man can atone for the sin. No amount of sacrifice can atone for it. Only the blood of Jesus can do that. He is coming- The Messiah is coming- is the last written message of the OT.

Steps Of Downfall of Israel & Judah

• 1. Hosea 4:6- Lack of Knowledge• 2. Hosea 5:5- Pride• 3. Hosea 6:4- Instability (wishy-washy service)• 4. Hosea 7:8- worldliness• 5. Hosea 9:9- Corruptness• 6. Hosea 11:7- Backsliding (all call to God but

no one exalts Him). • 7. Idolatry• Their history is our history- Their mistakes

and sins are ours. No one can atone for their sins or ours except the Messiah (Jesus Christ- the Son of God- Immanuel).

• HE IS COMING!