The Bible is arranged by genre not by chronology. Knowing this can help us better understand the purpose and intent of each book.
The Bible is not in chronological order, but it does have an order to it.
We need to understand the context of the Bible, including culture, to understand why it is not in chronological order.
Not being in chronological order does not mean it is not true.
Western culture thinks linearly. The culture in which the Bible was written did not. How does understanding this impact your reading of God’s Word?
Story is powerful, and understanding God’s story as expressed in the Bible is accomplished by grouping books by genre instead of chronologically. How does your culture think and tell stories, and what does this communicate about its values?
Chronologically is not the only way to tell a story. How do you typically think through and tell a story, and how can you respect someone else’s story-telling train of thought?
What is communicated or emphasized by writing in a non-linear way?
Why is it important not to impose a modern or Western thinking onto something that is not from modern times or a Western culture?
How can we take the truths of God’s Word while also appreciating the order in which it was compiled?
We love stories. It’s one of the main ways we communicate, and the best stories have a good beginning, middle, and ending. In Western cultures, we often get confused when a book or movie jumps from timeline to timeline, giving us no clues to where or when we are. This is because in Western thought, time flows in one direction on a linear, logical path.
The Bible, however, was written by authors with a Mid-Eastern view, in which time flows in circles and creates patterns as it moves. The Scriptures overall are not arranged in chronological order, but are divided by the type of literature in order to help readers understand the patterns better. For instance, David’s sin with Bathsheba is included in the historical writings (2 Samuel 11) to record the events and witness the pattern of consequences, but the king’s psalm of repentance from the sin (Psalm 51) is placed in the poetic writings which deal with Israel’s emotional and spiritual relationship with God.
The Old Testament includes the Books of Moses (Genesis to Deuteronomy), the Books of History (Joshua to Esther), the Wisdom Books (Job to Song of Songs), and the Prophets (Isaiah to Malachi). In the New Testament, the twenty-seven books include four Gospels (Matthew to John), one book of history (Acts), the Epistles or Letters (Romans to Jude) and one book of prophecy (Revelation).
Sometimes the fact that the Bible is not in chronological order makes it harder to study. To help, many publishers now offer a chronological Bible that arranges the Bible's books in this order. This is one way in which readers can better understand the historical flow of the biblical narrative.
Other resources, such as the basic chronological order of the Bible from the ministry Grace to You, exist to help with this: (http://www.gty.org/resources/questions/QA176/When-were-the-Bible-books-written). When using these resources, keep in mind that the events within each book may not be in chronological order and that dates of each book's composition are approximate and sometimes disputed.
Overall, the Bible is not in chronological order because the arrangement was not based on Western thinking. When we understand the purpose of the books being arranged by genre, we can better understand the author’s intent and more accurately understand the message of the books.
He is a cross pendant.
He is engraved with a unique Number.
He will mail it out from Jerusalem.
He will be sent to your Side.
Emmanuel
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