Lesson 273: "Introductions to the Books of the Bible 2"
1 Chronicles begins with an outline of history from Adam through the death of King Saul. The rest of the book is about the reign of King David. The books of Chronicles seem like a repeat of Samuel and Kings but they were written for the returned exiles to remind them that they came from the royal line of David and that they were God’s chosen people. The main theme is that god is faithful to His covenant. 2 Chronicles continues the history of David’s line. Chapters 1-9 describe the building of the temple during Solomon’s reign. Chapters 10-36 trace the history of the southern kingdom of Judah to the final destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the people to Babylon. Ezra tells about the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon. It begins with the decree of Cyrus, king of Persia, allowing the people to go back. The people enthusiastically began rebuilding the temple. But for 18 years they were delayed by enemies from the north. Finally a decree from Darius let them finish (Ezra 1-6). Chapters 7-10 tell about the people the law and reformed their religious life. Ezra probably is the author of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Nehemiah continues the history of the Jews who returned from exile. Nehemiah gave up his job as cupbearer to Artaxerxes, the Persian king, to become governor of Jerusalem. He led the people in repairing the city walls. This book shows how important prayer was in Nehemiah’s life. Esther tells the story of a beautiful Jewish girl whom King Xerxes of Persia chose to be his queen. When Haman plotted to murder all the Jews, Queen Esther’s cousin, Mordecai persuaded Esther to try to save his people. Risking her own life she appealed to the king and rescued the Jews. Although the name of God does not appear in the book, His care for His chosen people is clearly shown.
Poetry: The next five books of the Old Testament are books of poetry and wisdom. Hebrew poetry often uses pairs of lines. The second line either repeats the thought of the first or gives an opposite. Look for these pairs of lines as you read, especially in the book of Psalm. Job is named for its chief character, a “blameless and upright” man who was very rich. Even after losing everything he owned and suffering from terrible sickness, Job still was devoted to God. The book of Job questions the reasons for suffering, especially the suffering of good people. Job’s friends insisted he was suffering as punishment for his sin. He defended his innocence and expressed his trust in God. Then God spoke and showed His mighty power. Job finally admitted that God is too great and wonderful us to understand. Psalm is one of the most beautiful books of the Bible. The psalms are poems of praise, worship, thanksgiving and repentance. Many of them were written by King David. The rest were written by the sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses and other people who dedicated their writings to David. Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings and good advice for daily living. The book begins by reminding us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Many of these proverbs came from King Solomon and others were copied by the men of Hezekiah. Augur and Lemuel wrote the last two chapters. Ecclesiastes studies the meaning of life. The teacher looks at wisdom, pleasure, work, power, riches, religion and other things of our lives. He decides that all of life is meaningless and empty without God. Song of Songs is a collection of love poems between a lover (Solomon) and his beloved (his wife). It is a beautiful picture of ideal human love and marriage.
Continued next week with the prophecies:
Information from the Holy Bible New International Version; used by permission: