A Bible Overview

You may know someone who has expressed an interest in reading the Bible but needs some help in deciding what to read. You may feel that the entire Bible is overwhelming; you'd like a list of the best chapters for this person to read. The following is an article that you can give him or her.


The Best of the Best

As a college instructor, I cringe whenever my class comes across a Biblical allusion in an essay or story. I know what’s going to happen—nothing. Very few know anything about the Bible today, so I have to explain the reference, which, of course, ruins the impact on the students.

We are a Biblically illiterate group of people these days. Yet most people will acknowledge the value of the Bible—its unforgettable stories, uplifting poetry, timeless wisdom, and spiritual insights. One problem is that many have an erroneous picture of the Bible, thinking it’s all one big sermon. Of course, if they read it, they would discover the stories, poetry, proverbs, letters, and other literary forms that make this book so varied and interesting.

Let’s say someone decides to read the Bible. If this person is typical, he or she plunges into Genesis, enjoying the stories of the well-known Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. But somewhere along about Leviticus, our hypothetical reader bogs down and quits, having lost interest. What people need is a list of Biblical highlights that will allow them to become familiar with the Bible’s best parts. I prepared such a list for my Biblical literature class at the college where I teach. It ended up being about one-third the length of the total Bible, and it could be read in less than thirty hours.

A list by itself would be useful, but in the following paragraphs I have added an overview of the Bible, which places the important chapters in the context of the entire book. This list can give any interested person a head start toward a life-long reading habit in this perennial best seller.

The first part of the Old Testament gives the early history of the human race as well as the history of a select people—the Jews. Genesis contains a fascinating collection of great stories—the first people, the flood, crimes and punishments, the faithful Abraham, the sneakiness of Jacob, Joseph’s rise to power against tremendous odds (Genesis 1-4, 6-9, 13, 15-19, 21-22, 24-25, 27-30, 32-33, 39-45). The book ends with the Jews moving to Egypt; Exodus tells of their miraculous escape from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of the hero Moses (Exodus 1-17, 19-20). Life could have been good for the Jews, but like so many of us they blew many opportunities (Numbers 11-14, 20). Finally, after a long delay, they entered the land promised them and conducted a fierce campaign of total war (Joshua 2, 6-8, 24).

Even after gaining a foothold in the land, the Jews had to fight constantly against local tribes antagonistic to the newcomers. They turned repeatedly to leaders who rescued them from their problems, yet they soon forgot the lessons learned and fell into further difficulties (Judges 4-7, 13-16). Right in the middle of this struggle and uproar comes a small book that has been praised as a perfectly written love story of a foreigner in the land of the Jews (Ruth). The people later cried out to God, wanting a king like those around them in spite of God’s warnings against such a request. Their first king turned out to be a failure, but the story of his fall reads like a Greek tragedy. He was followed by the most famous political figure the Jews would ever have—David. The stories of Saul, the first king, and David’s meteoric rise to power have fascinated people for centuries (1 Samuel 8-31 and all 2 Samuel).

Solomon, David’s son, took the kingdom to new heights, but a tragic civil war split the nation. The kings of both sides were mostly huge disappointments. In the midst of the internal troubles two men, Elijah and Elisha, appeared on the scene to confront the evils of the spiritually bankrupt regimes. But the people ignored all the danger signs until fierce enemies invaded the land (1 Kings 1-3, 6, 10, 12, 17-22 and 2 Kings 2, 4-6:23, 17-19, 25). After an extended captivity many Jews returned to their land, but conditions there were harsh—enemies surrounded them, the words of Moses had been forgotten, city walls lay in ruins. Two strong leaders overcame these difficulties, providing great lessons in leadership (Ezra 3 and Nehemiah 1-2, 4-6, 8-9, 13). The history books end with an amazing escape from sure annihilation at the hands of a rabid Jew-hater (all Esther).

The next section of the Old Testament is composed of poems, some of which are among the best ever written. We encounter the sufferings of a righteous man, we hear his complaints directed to God, and we are struck by God’s reply (Job 1-14, 38-42). For centuries people have taken comfort and courage from the Psalms, seeing in these poems a full range of emotions as the writers addressed their God (Psalms 1, 8, 19, 22, 23, 51, 68, 90, 103, 139). Proverbs and Ecclesiastes provide examples of wisdom literature—thoughts on life by those who have experienced it fully (Proverbs 1, 4, 10, 31 and all Ecclesiastes). Song of Solomon has made many church leaders uncomfortable with its erotic love poems exchanged between a man and a woman (Song of Solomon 2, 4).

The last section of the Old Testament is devoted to the writings of the prophets, men who delivered blistering social and spiritual rebukes aimed at Jews and other nations. The most famous is Isaiah with his beautiful phrases warning of impending disasters and his visions of a better future (Isaiah 6, 25, 36-40, 52-53, 55). Other prophets offered similar visions, prophecies, and warnings (Ezekiel 1-4, 37-39 and Daniel 7-12). The first half of Daniel is unusual for this prophetic section; it contains some of the best-known Bible stories (Daniel 1-6). For those who believe there’s no humor in the Bible, there is one other prophet they should read, one who runs from his duty and ends up whining to God (all Jonah).

The New Testament is split into three sections also. The first are the historical books, similar to the initial section in the Old Testament. Three different authors give the reader varying views of the life of Jesus, much like impressionistic painters creating works of art that resemble the world but are not exact replicas of it. People can read any of the three, but I would suggest Luke because it gives a lot of details (it’s the longest of the three gospels mentioned), he emphasizes the international appeal of Jesus, and he shows Jesus interacting with outcasts of the time—women, children, the poor, and the oppressed (Matthew, Mark, Luke). Readers should also complete the book of John because it is a very different gospel, much less a history and more of a meditation on the theological significance of Jesus (all John). To finish the history of Jesus and his church, people need to read portions of Acts, which really is the second part of Luke’s history that started with his gospel. Here readers encounter the courage, joy, conflicts, and outreach of the early believers. It’s also a chance to encounter one of history’s most resilient and determined characters—Paul (Acts 1-4, 6-8:3, 9, 15-17, 26-28).

The second section of the New Testament is composed of letters sent by Christian leaders to their churches or to individuals they knew well. The reader is getting only one half of a discussion, so he or she must be prepared to figure out what the writer is reacting to. People should start with the longest one that lays out a clear, complete explanation of salvation and the Christian life (all Romans), but there are others that discuss important specific issues—church worship, spiritual gifts, and the coming resurrection (1 Corinthians 11-15), an emphasis on salvation by grace rather than works (Galatians), the church and personal relationships (Ephesians), the return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4-5), faith (Hebrews 11-12), difficult areas in the Christian life (James), and the importance of obedience and love as characteristics of the Christian (1 John).

The last section of the New Testament is composed of only one book, but what a book it is. Revelation is a visionary roller-coaster ride that has puzzled people for centuries. It is full of strange symbols, unusual animals, and awful future events. After all the upheaval and destruction, the ending leaves the reader with a comforting vision of God’s triumph and the creation of a new world (Revelation 1, 4-6, 11-13, 17, 19-22).

That’s it. If people follow the above reading suggestions, they will have worked their way through most of the most important Bible passages in less than thirty hours. Considering how much time is invested in forgettable novels, this is not a huge undertaking. It’s a chance to improve knowledge of one of the world’s literary treasures. Later, the reader may feel confident enough to go back and read more of the Bible. It’s a book that will reward anyone willing to invest the time.