Reading the Bible

The 14 narrative books and time periods Book #1. Genesis                                       - Early World & Patriarchs Book #2. Exodus                                        - Egypt Book #3. Numbers                                      - Desert Wanderings Book #4. Joshua & Book #5.                       - Conquest  Book #6. I Samuel  & Book #7. II Samuel   - Royal Kingdom II Book #8. I Kings            - Divided Kingdom Book #9. II Kings           - Exile Book #10. Ezra & Book #11. Nehemiah       - Return Book #12. I Maccabees   - Maccabean Revolt Book #13. Luke              - Messianic Fulfillment Book #14. Acts               - The Church

Notes witnesses in Jerusalem Read Acts 1:1 to 8:5. The authority of Peter witnesses in all Judea and  Samaria Read Acts 8:6 to 13:1 witnesses to the end of the earth From Acts 13:2 to 28 Summary witnesses in Jerusalem witnesses in all Judea and  Samaria witnesses to the end of the earth Questions Who wrote the Acts of the Apostles? What outward signs or symbols accompanied the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? What was Saul's plan on his way to Damascus? What was Christ's answer to Saul's question, "who are you, Lord?"?the circumstanc Describe the circumstances surrounding the first non-Jewish baptism. From what city was the new missionary activity initiated? Upon Barnabas and Saul's retrn they found a debate taking place on circumcision, what answer did Peter provide? Why was there anger at the speech of Demetris? What did Paul do, then? How are the Acts of the Apostles and many of these letters related: - Acts 9:24-25 and

Notes Persecution & Revolt The relatively benevolent Persian Empire was struck down in 331 B.C. by the Greeks under Philip of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. The Holy Land came under the control of a series of increasingly hostile foreign kings. The history of this period, which closes out the Old Testament period and takes us to about 100 years before Christ, is told in the two books of Maccabees. Maccabees, like the other books in the Bible, aim to give a religious interpretation of the history of the period. The message is a familiar one - how God uses foreign kings to mete out punishment upon Israel for violating the Law, and how Israel is saved by returning to the covenant faith of its fathers (see  2 Maccabees 6:12 ;  7:32-38 ;  1 Maccabees 2:20 , 27 , 50 ;  4:10 ). Summary Persecution & Revolt Questions What was the desolating sacrilege? What happened to the Israelites who remained true to the Lord? Who was Mattathias and how

Notes Restoration & Rebuilding Jeremiah prophesied that the exile in Babylon would last 70 years (see  Jeremiah 25:12 ; 29:10 ). It actually lasted a little more than half that long. In 538 B.C. Babylon was defeated by the Persians, led by King Cyrus. Cyrus issued an edict to let God’s people return to Jerusalem and even helped fund the rebuilding of the Temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzer (see  Ezra 1:2-4 ;  6:3-5 ;  Isaiah 44:24 , 28 ;  45:1-3 , 13 ). The remnant that returned to Jerusalem was not necessarily the most pious and God-fearing people. The prophet Malachi gives us a unique window on the spiritual state of the returning exiles - decrying the corruption of the priesthood and the moral laxity of the ordinary people. The full story of the return of Judah and the restoration of Jerusalem is told in the books ofEzra and Nehemiah. If you want to reconstruct the history of this period, read the books in this order: Ezra 1-6; Nehemiah 1-7, 11-13; Ezra 7-10; Nehemiah

Notes Good Kings,Bad Kings Kings of Israel and Judah The Last Five Kings of Judah Judah (and Benjamin) Israel (Ten Northern Tribes)  King Reign  Character  Prophets  King  Reign  Character  Prophets   1. Rehoboam  931-913  17 years  Bad  Shemaiah   1. Jeroboam I  931-910  22 years  Bad  Ahijah   2. Abijah  913-911  3 years  Bad     2. Nadab  910-909  2 years  Bad    3. Asa  911-870  41 years  Good     3. Baasha  909-886  24 years  Bad       4. Elah  886-885  2 years  Bad     5. Zimri  885  7 days  Bad     6. Omri  885-874*  12 years  Bad  Elijah  Micaiah   4. Jehoshaphat  870-848*  25 years  Good     7. Ahab  874-853  22 years  Bad   5. Jehoram  848-841*  8 years  Bad     8. Ahaziah  853-852  2 years  Bad     6. Ahaziah  841  1 years  Bad     9. Joram  852-841  12 years  Bad  Elisha  7. Athaliah  841-835  6 years  Bad     10. Jehu  841-814  28 years  Bad     8. Joash  835-796  40 years  Good  Joel   11. Jehoahaz  814-798  17 years  Bad  Jonah  Amos  Hosea   9. A

Notes Solomon The covenant with David didn’t justify Solomon’s outrageous and cruel behavior. God’s covenant was never meant to put the Davidic king above the Law of Moses. David explained this to Solomon himself (see  1 Kings 2:2-4: 8 :25; 9:4-5;  Psalm 132:12 ). God’s promise was not a blank check. If Solomon or any Davidic king violated God’s Law he would be punished - although his kingdom would not be wiped out (see  2 Samuel 7:15-16 ). Jeroboam Jeroboam’s idolatry, unfortunately, sets the pattern for the remainder of Kings and Chronicles. Don’t worry if you can’t follow the succession of kings and reformers in the remaining books of the Bible. Try to focus on the patterns of sin, punishment, and reform. Notice that David is the measure for every king (see  2 Kings 16:2 ;  22:2 ). And pay attention, especially, to how God still tries to "father" His family despite their weakness, their faithlessness and their disarray. The Prophets