Additional Ot And Nt Book Summaries

Front 1

Joshua

Back 1

Conquest

Front 2

Judges

Back 2

Cycles of Judgment and Repentance

Front 3

Ruth

Back 3

Kinsman-Redeemer

Front 4

1 Samuel

Back 4

Kingdom

Front 5

2 Samuel

Back 5

David

Front 6

1 Kings

Back 6

Division

Front 7

2 Kings

Back 7

Exile

Front 8

1 Chronicles

Back 8

Positive Portrait of David

Front 9

2 Chronicles

Back 9

Positive Portrait of Judah

Front 10

Ezra

Back 10

Return from Exile: Continues OT narrative of 2 Chronicles by demonstrating how God fulfills his promise to return his people to the Land of Promise after seventy years of exile. This second exodus of the people notes that only a remnant chose to leave Baylon. Ezra relates the story of two returns from Babylon - the first under Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple and the second under Ezra to rebuild the spiritual condition of the people.

Front 11

Nehemiah

Back 11

Walls: Nehemiah leads the final return to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. His concern for Jerusalem and her inhabitants prompts him to call on the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in spite of opposition from her neighbors and resistance from within.

Front 12

Esther

Back 12

Queen

Front 13

Lamentations

Back 13

Lament: The prophet Jeremiah weeps over his suffering and the disobedience and the impending judgment of God’s people; affirms God’s faithfulness in spite of circumstances.

Front 14

Hosea

Back 14

Adultery: Written to the N Kingdom of Israel. Outwardly the nation was enjoying a time of prosperity and growth; but inwardly, moral corruption and spiritual adultery permeated the lives of the people. The prophet Hosea was instructed to marry an unfaithful wife, and he found his own life a vivid illustration of the unfaithfulness of God’s people and the faithfulness of God. Hosea repeatedly echoes the threefold message: God abhors the sins of his people; judgment is certain; but God’s love stands firm.

Front 15

Joel

Back 15

Locusts: Disaster struck the southern kingdom of Judah in the form of a cloud of locusts. In a matter of hours, the fields were stripped bare, and the Prophet Joel seized the opportunity to proclaim God’s message. The Locusts were seen as a foreshadowing of the coming day of the Lord. In light of this, the book warns of approaching judgment, calls for repentance and gives God’s people hope of the coming day of salvation that will follow judgment.

Front 16

Amos

Back 16

Judgment: Addresses the excessive pursuit of luxury, self-indulgence, and oppression of the poor, which characterized the period of prosperity and success in the Northern Kingdom of Israel under Jerobam II. Israel can not be content to be complacent about her standing before God. As she embraces the judgment coming against the nations so she must acknowledge that she is under the same (if not higher) obligation to honor the Lord. Vision of plumb line, basket of ripe fruit. Prepare to meet your God.

Front 17

Obadiah

Back 17

Doom of Edom: Shortest book in the OT. Edom is condemned for cruelty towards Judah. Obadiah, pronounced condemnation against Edom and prophesied their total destruction because of their persistent opposition to God’s people.

Front 18

Jonah

Back 18

Grace and Mercy in Nineveh

Front 19

Micah

Back 19

Lawsuit: Burdened by the abuse of the poor, the book of Micah rebukes anyone who would use social status or political power for personal gain. Micah divides into three sections: (1) expose the sin of his countrymen, (2) pictures the punishment God is about to send, and (3) holds out the hope of restoration once that discipline has ended. Micah points to a restoration of God’s work in Judah. Has similarities to Isaiah.

Front 20

Nahum

Back 20

Fall of Nineveh: In contrast to Jonah, whose ministry resulted in Nineveh’s repentance, the prophet Nahum proclaims the downfall of the great Assyrian city of Nineveh. The Ninevites have forgotten their revival and have returned to their habits of violence, idolatry, and arrogance. As a result, Babylon will so destroy the city that no trace of it will remain - a prophecy fulfilled in painful detail.

Front 21

Habbakkuk

Back 21

Faith: Habakkuk prophesied during the decline of Judah. Although repeatedly called to repentance, the nation stubbornly refused to change her sinful ways. Asking how long this intolerable situation would continue, Habakkuk is told by God that the Babylonians will be his chastening rod on the nation - an announcement that sends the prophet to his knees. Though perplexed, Habakkuk acknowledges that the just in any generation shall live by faith, not by sight, and he concludes by praising God’s wisdom even though he doesn’t fully understand God’s ways. Why no justice? How can God use Babylon?

Front 22

Zephaniah

Back 22

Day of the Lord: A minor prophet with a major interest in the appointed day of the Lord for the judgment of all humans. The book centers around the initial warning that the day of the Lord is coming and applies the coming judgment to Judah, Assyria, and several other surrounding nations. The book closes with a vision of the future of Jerusalem and the hope of blessing and solace in the Messiah.

Front 23

Haggai

Back 23

Build the House of the Lord! Haggai confronts those who prefer to build their own “paneled houses” while the temple of God remains in a ruin state. The result of these circumstances is that the Lord has withheld blessings from the land until the priority of the Lord’s house is restored. Once work begins, God freely restores his blessings upon the people of the land.

Front 24

Zechariah

Back 24

The Messiah is Coming: Zechariah is sent by the Lord to encourage the people of God to remain diligent in their rebuilding of the temple because it will one day be the habitation of the Messiah. The majority of the book is visionary and imagistic

Front 25

Malachi

Back 25

Messenger of the Lord: Malachi is God’s messenger to his rebellious people. His message is one of judgement and confrontation for the corruption of the priests, the self-righteousness of the people, and the generally accepted wickedness of the culture. The format of the book is dialogical, in which Malachi asks a question, the people provide an answer, and there is a response from the Lord. Some of the topics addressed in Malachi include divorce, tithing, worship, and hypocrisy. Malachi ends with a promise of a redeemer after the fashion of the great prophet Elijah.

Front 26

1 Thessalonians

Back 26

Keep on—Christ is coming: Paul writes with gratitude and affection to a church that he had visited only briefly. He offers words of encouragement to a faithful but struggling church, and focuses particularly on the encouragement offered by the return of Christ.

Front 27

2 Thessalonians

Back 27

Hold on—Christ is coming:

Front 28

1 Timothy

Back 28

Order in the Church: Now aged, and experienced, Paul writes his young protege in the faith, Timothy, a young pastor facing heavy responsibility. Paul’s letter provides Timothy with encouragement in ministry.

Front 29

2 Timothy

Back 29

Lead the Church: Paul’s second letter provides Timothy with encouragement towards continued faithfulness in ministry and Paul’s last words to Timothy.

Front 30

Titus

Back 30

Teach the Church: Written to an associate of Paul who worked as Paul’s apostolic representative. This brief letter focuses on Titus role and responsibility in the organization and supervision of the churches on the island of Crete.

Front 31

Philemon

Back 31

Reconciliation: The briefest of Paul’s letters, it is a model of courtesy, discretion and loving concern for the forgiveness of one who would otherwise face sever consequences.

Front 32

James

Back 32

Faith Expressing itself through Works: Exposes hypocritical practices and to teach right Christian behavior. Faith without work is dead, and dead faith is worse than no faith at all. James integrates true faith and everyday practical experience by stressing that true faith must manifest itself in works of faith.

Front 33

1 Peter

Back 33

Faith withstanding suffering: Offers encouragement to suffering Christians. Addresses Christians facing persecution for their faith. As a comfort, Peter reminds them of their heavenly inheritance and he encourages them to live lives of submission to God.

Front 34

2 Peter

Back 34

Faith upholds the truth: To warn Christians about false teachers (who denied Christ’s return) and to exhort them to grow in their faith and knowledge of Christ. The best antidote for error is a mature understanding of the truth.

Front 35

1 John

Back 35

Fellowship with God: Reassures Christians in their faith and counters false teaching. John wrote this fatherly epistle out of loving concern for his “children” whose steadfastness in the truth was being threatened by the lure of worldliness and the guile of false teachers.

Front 36

2 John

Back 36

Elect lady

Front 37

Jude

Back 37

Preserve the Faith: Reminds the church of the need for constant vigilance--to keep strong in the faith and to defend in against heresy. Many NT epistles defend against the problem of false teachers, but Jude is relentless and passionate in his denunciation of apostate teachers who have invaded the church.