Lesson
1
Books
of the Old Testament
1. The Bible is
Inspired of God
II Peter 1:21 says,
"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of
God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Clearly, the Old
Testament was inspired of God. According to II Timothy 3:16, all Scripture is
given by inspiration of God.
In the Greek language,
the language in which the New Testament was written, the word inspired means "God-breathed." Notice that Scripture
was not written by the will of mankind. In other words, mankind did not decide
to write about God. Thus, the Bible is not mankind's book about God, but God's
book to mankind. Another key word in II Peter 1:21 is moved. In the original language, it means "to be
carried along," much like a ship is carried over the surface of the sea as
the wind blows its sails.
2. The Bible is
Revered as The Word of God
We should approach our
study of the Bible with great reverence, because it is the Word of God and not
the word of mankind. Therefore, each word is of absolute necessity.
God warned Moses,
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye
diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God
which I command you" (Deuteronomy 4:2). A similar command is found in
Proverbs 30:6: "Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and
thou be found a liar." Just before the close of the Bible, God inspired
John to add these words to the Book of Revelation: "And if any man shall take
away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part
out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which
are written in this book" (Revelation 22:19).
3. God's Word is to
be Preserved
God did not just give
His Word to mankind, but He promised to preserve it forever so that all we
would have access to His revelation. "The words of the LORD are pure
words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt
keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever"
(Psalm 12:6-7). On the same subject of the divine preservation of God's Word,
Jesus said, "And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one
tittle of the law to fail" (Luke 16:17). A tittle is a very small mark in
the Hebrew language, the language in which the Old Testament was written.
The Bible is such a
powerful book ,and a study of it can change the whole perspective of a person's
life. In the story of Mutiny on the Bounty, one incident is worth telling again. The mutineers
sank their ship and landed with their native woman on the lonely island of
Pitcairn. There were nine white sailors, six natives, ten women, and a girl of
fifteen. One of the sailors knew how to distill alcohol, and the island became
filled with drunkenness and vice.
After a time, only one
of the sailors was left living, surrounded by native women and their children.
The sailor found a Bible in one of the chests taken from the Bounty and began teaching it to the survivors. The result
was that his own life was changed, and finally the lives of those on the whole
island.
In 1808, the United
States ship Topaz visited the
island and found a thriving, prosperous community, without whiskey, without
crime, and without an insane asylum. The Bible had totally changed the lives of
those in the colony! So it has been from age to age! "The entrance of thy
words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple" (Psalm
119:130).
There is an easy
method to remember the number of books in the Old Testament. The word
"Old" has three letters; the word "Testament" has nine
letters. Put three and nine together and you have 39—the number of books
in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament was
penned by thirty-two men, as the Holy Ghost moved upon them. It spans a period of
some 3,600 years of mankind's history, and required about 1,500-1,600 years to
complete. Its thirty-nine books can be divided into four sections: Law
(five-books); History (twelve books); Poetry (five books); and Prophecy
(seventeen books, the first five of which are called major prophets, and the last twelve are usually called minor
prophets).