How Is the Best Way to Read the Bible
Do you read the Bible similar most books, in guild from beginning to end? Or are in that location other recommended means to read information technology? This is a mutual question because the Bible is a long book. Information technology can seem disruptive and even intimidating at commencement to know where to start.
Everyone who wants to offset reading the Bible has been there. I want to share with y'all what I've learned from my experience of reading through the Bible and helping others practice the same.
Should you read the Bible in gild? Well-nigh people should non read the Bible in order. It is improve to start with the books that requite an constructive overview of the main message of the Bible. This works best for well-nigh people because the books of the Bible are not all arranged in the bodily order of events.
Of course, there isn't just one correct gild to read the Bible. The important affair is to engage with God's Word. You can always come back to read the books later. This is what I did when I first "read through" the Bible.
If you get stuck, just move onto another volume and then come back to it later. It might make a lot more sense and so.
There's a listing of the recommended order and other options below. It'southward a better way because many people who try to read the Bible in order from comprehend-to-embrace tend to get stuck and stop reading. But a few really determined or disciplined people are able to terminate it.
If y'all're ready to kickoff reading the Bible right away, you might want to jump ahead to that listing. If you're interested in a more detailed answer so you'll exist confident that information technology'due south the best way to become, permit's take a closer await.
Is the Bible Meant to Be Read in Order?
The Bible is not arranged in the gild to be read, but by the blazon or genre of the books.
In the Old Attestation, all of the books of the Police are grouped together – the showtime v books, from Genesis to Deuteronomy. Then there are the books of History. After that are the 5 books of Poetry. Finally, in that location are the Prophets.
The New Testament starts with iv accounts of the Gospel, the life of Jesus Christ. Then in that location is one book of history, the volume of Acts. It's followed past many Messages or Epistles. The final volume is the book of Revelation, which is the genre of Prophecy.
If you want to observe out more well-nigh how the Bible is bundled, you tin read this article: How the Bible Arranged: Its Primary Structure & Meaning.
Many people outset out doing well through Genesis and Exodus, but go bogged down somewhere near the third book, Leviticus. Leviticus goes into the details of the Police that you lot tin come back to at a later time. Instead of reading in order, you can skip to Joshua, the first book of History, to pick up the major storyline of the Bible for at present.
Then when yous get to 1 & two Kings, skip over i & two Chronicles for now because they embrace much of the aforementioned history. The slightly different perspectives and different purposes of those sets of books tin be explored later.
Then in the New Testament, since there are four accounts of the life of Jesus – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – yous tin just read Mark to start out. You tin can come dorsum to the other three accounts at a afterward time to compare and dissimilarity the different things that each account emphasizes.
Comparing the different Gospel accounts is a great study, but one account volition be okay for now. Skip on over to the volume of Acts, the History type of volume, in the New Testament, to come across where the major storyline picks up later Jesus' death and resurrection.
The recommended order below takes a sampling from each of the types of books in the Bible.
Best Order to Read the Bible for the First Fourth dimension
These 15 books are recommended to outset out with equally they cover all the major themes and storyline of the Bible. The listing includes books from every category or genre of the Bible.
Best Order to Read the Bible for the First Fourth dimension
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Joshua
- 1 Samuel
- 2 Samuel
- 1 Kings
- 2 Kings
- Ezra
- Nehemiah
- Habakkuk
- Proverbs
- Luke
- Acts
- Ephesians
- Revelation
Subsequently reading these fifteen books, you can read the remaining books in whatever sequence afterward that to enrich your overall understanding of the Bible and fill up in more of the details.
If you're interested in this approach and want more background information, you can check out this article which includes a brief summary of each of the books in this list.
If you're thinking of reading through the Bible or following the list of 15 books above, a great resources is: Unlocking the Bible: A Unique Overview of the Whole Bible (Yous can check out the reviews on this link to Amazon) . Information technology expalains every book of the Bible and helps y'all see where each volume fits in the big story line. I highly recommend it. Be sure to get the book and not the companion book which just has charts, diagrams, and images. The covers look very similar.
Some other Option: Read the Bible in Chronological Guild
Another pick is to read the Bible in the order that the events actually happened. This approach would be to take the books and sometimes smaller portions of the Bible and accommodate them in chronological club.
The arrangements of the books in the Bible are non chronological. For case, the historical book of Ezra can be enhanced past the prophetical books of Haggai and Zechariah even though they are not in the aforementioned section. Haggai and Zechariah were prophets that encouraged the people during the time of Ezra, so it'd exist helpful to know what they said when y'all read Ezra.
As an example, if yous read in the Bible in society, you lot would read all the historical books and and then reading the prophetical books afterwards. Rather than doing that, information technology makes more than sense to read the Historical books along with the Prophetical books that happened during the same fourth dimension as them.
The recommended list in the section above follows a roughly chronological order of the major events and storyline of the Bible. This 2nd selection puts the unabridged Bible into chronological order.
One manner to read the Bible in chronological gild is to find a Bible reading nautical chart that organizes it that way. Crossway has a practiced Chronological Bible Reading Program that's divided into 365 days. Click on the image below to download the PDF.
Taken from Crossway.org . Used past Permission of Crossway.
Another skillful style to read the entire Bible this mode is to become a chronological Bible similar the Ane Twelvemonth Chronological Bible NLT (Link to Amazon) . It's conveniently laid out into 365 daily readings in chronological guild.
NLT is a good translation for general reading. The convenience of having the Bible laid out in chronological lodge is neat for developing a Bible reading habit.
Some Bible apps take a Bible Reading Plan feature that includes a chronological characteristic. If you like the convenience of reading the Bible on your phone, this might be a good option. Some people prefer to read a newspaper copy without distractions. You accept both options available.
Keep in listen that there are some differences in interpretation of the club of events. Not every list and chart will concord, but the differences are by and large small. Don't let these pocket-size differences bother yous. The major pieces volition be just about the same.
Start Reading the Bible Today
There's no one correct order to read the Bible. Reading the Bible from comprehend-to-cover is also an choice, peculiarly if you're not new to the Bible. For almost people, I'd recommend the listing higher up.
Don't feel limited by the order or the details. If you lot discover something really interesting, feel gratuitous to stay there. Read the same book once more. Keep reading and encountering God in His Word. Let Him atomic number 82 you on this exciting journey.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for instruction, for reproof, for correction, and for grooming in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every skilful work.
2 Tim. 3:xvi-17 (ESV)
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
Source: https://pursuitbible.com/order-to-read-the-bible/
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