Introductions to the Books of the Bible
Old Testament
GENESIS : The book of beginnings describes creation , the first rebellions against God , and God ’ s choosing of Abraham and his family .
EXODUS : God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and led them to the wilderness of Sinai . There , he gave Moses the laws to govern the new nation .
LEVITICUS : God set up laws for the Israelites , mostly regarding holiness and worship .
NUMBERS : Because of their rebellion and disobedience , the Israelites wandered in a wilderness for 40 years before entering the promised land .
DEUTERONOMY : Before his death , Moses made three farewell speeches , recapping history and warning the Israelites about making more mistakes .
JOSHUA : After Moses ’ death , Joshua commanded the armies that conquered much of the territory in Canaan .
JUDGES : The new nation fell into a series of dismal failures . God raised up leaders called “ judges .”
RUTH : This story of love and loyalty between two widows shines out brightly during a dark period .
1 SAMUEL : Samuel appointed Israel ’ s first king , Saul . After his own failure , Saul tried to prevent God ’ s chosen king , David , from taking the throne .
2 SAMUEL : David , a man after God ’ s own heart , brought the nation together . But after committing adultery and murder , he suffered family and national crises .
1 KINGS : Solomon succeeded David as king . At his death , a civil war tore apart the nation . Successive kings were mostly bad , and the prophet Elijah had dramatic confrontations with King Ahab .
2 KINGS : This book records the actions of the rulers of the divided kingdom . None of the northern kings followed God consistently , so Israel was destroyed by Assyria . The southern kingdom , Judah , lasted longer , but Babylon conquered Judah and deported its citizens .
1 CHRONICLES : The book includes the most complete genealogical record in the Bible , plus many incidents from the life of David .
2 CHRONICLES : This book records the history of the rulers of Judah , emphasizing the good kings .
EZRA : After being held captive in Babylon for decades , the Jews were allowed to return to their homeland . Ezra , a priest , led the people as they rebuilt the temple .
NEHEMIAH : Nehemiah returned from Babylon after the temple had been rebuilt . He focused on rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem and joined Ezra in leading a religious revival .
ESTHER : This story is set among captive Jews in Persia . A courageous Jewish queen stopped a plan to exterminate her people .
JOB : Job suffered great personal tragedy . The entire book deals with the question , “ Why do people suffer ?”
PSALMS : These prayers and hymns cover the full range of human emotion ; together , they represent a personal journal of how to relate to God . Some were also used in public worship ser vices .