Memorizing the Books
of the Bible Within Days-
Nothing is more embarrassing than sitting in the midst of a Christian assembly when suddenly Bible reading time comes for each participant to open his/her copy to find the appropriate passage and he/she cannot. Sitting in a prominent position can even be shaky and/or sweaty. Don’t you ever wish to find yourself in such a position. Wouldn’t you agree with me?
Do not worry. There is hope. Even the most skilled preacher was once there in your very position. We can help you remember all the sixty-six books in the Bible in a very few simple steps of classification in a matter of days.
First, we would like to give you a very brief background on the Bible. The word “Bible” itself comes from the Greek “Ta Biblia” that means “the books”. It was written by about 40 authors over a period of approximately 1,400 to 1,500 years. It is subdivided into two main parts namely “The Old Testament” pertaining primarily to the people of God, Israel, and “The New Testament”. The Old Testament counts 39 books and 27 in The New Testament. Each testament is further subdivided into specific parts, which we will detail to you below.
The 39 books of Old Testament is divided as follow:
1. The five (5) books of the Law or the Pentateuque. In these books, you will find the genesis of the human race, the path of a man who feared God, Abraham, the father of the chosen people, Israel, the trajectory of the Messiah à travers the ages, and the very foundation of the Old Testament, the Old Contract that God established between himself and the aforementioned people whom he chose to deal with. These five books are in this order: Genesis (50 chapters), Exodus (40 chapters), Leviticus (27 chapters), Numbers (36 chapters) and Deuteronomy (34 chapters). In modern day Israel, these books are still the same as they appear in the Torah, which is the Jewish Bible that contains the Old Testament only. Their authorship has been associated to Moses. The New Testament confirms that association in the following passages, John 5:46-47; Luke 16:31; 24:44.
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy
2. The twelve (12) history books. They contain the history of Israel in the midst of the hithen nations. They portray the judges, the kings, and the exploits of the people with the mighty hands of Jehovah. They are disposed in such order following the first five: Joshua (24 chapters) written by Joshua and probably some of the elders who outlived him, Judges (21 chapters) written by Samuel, Ruth (4 chapters) authorship unknown, 1 Samuel (31 chapters), 2 Samuel (24 chapters) according to 1 Chronicles 29:29, Samuel, Nathan and Gad together wrote these two books, 1 Kings (22 chapters), 2 Kings (25 chapters), the author of these two books is unknown, but he/she had access to the registry of the works of Solomon (1 King 11:41), the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel (1 King 14:19) and other references, and the book of the chronicles of Judah (1 King 14:29) and other references. 1 Chronicles (29 chapters), 2 Chronicles (36 chapters), were attributed to Ezra because of the similarity between the chronicles, the book of Ezra and even Nehemiah. It’s been said that the Chronicles contain facts that preceded the time of Ezra, but in spite of that he is considered to be the person putting the historical facts together, thus the compiler. The year of compilation is between 430 and 430 B.C. Ezra (10 chapters), written by Ezra as previously stated. Nehemiah (13 chapters), written apparently by the same author of the aforementioned book. Esther (10 chapters). The author is unknown although it’s been associated to many.
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
3. The
five (5) poetry books.
Following the twelve history books, you will immediately
find the five (5) poetry books. The
poetry style of a nation, the art of a time, and the mighty power of an
incomparable GOD. Job (42
chapters) authorship unknown. Psalms (150), David wrote 73, Asaph 12, the sons of Korah 11, Solomon 2, Moses and
Ethan 1 each, and 50 without any known author. Proverbs
(31
chapters),
Ecclesiastes
(12
chapters), and the
Song of Solomon (8
chapters) can
be plunged into to enjoy the art, the relationship, and incredible trust that
the servants of the Lord have placed in Him, and the immeasurable benediction
and wisdom that have been poured onto them. The three foregoing books were authored
by Solomon.
Job,
Psalms,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the
Song of Solomon
4. The five (5) Major prophesy books written by four big prophets. The Bible would not have been complete, had the prophets not written the entrusted message of prophecy from GOD. It certainly wouldn’t be clear, if the bridge were not built and the roads not prepared for the unquestionable coming of the Messiah promised to human kind since the fall of Adam and Eve. … And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel, said the Lord God (Gen. 3:15). The incarnation of Jesus, his death, his resurrection, the church age, the reappearance of Israel, and the second coming of the Lord are all written in these five (5) big prophecy books, which you should be very familiar with if you wish to know where we stand as Christians on the socio-politico-religious chest-board of the world. Isaiah (66 chapters), Jeremiah (52 chapters), Lamentations (5 chapters), Ezekiel (48 chapters), and Daniel (12 chapters). These books are the blue prints of the work that started some time before the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New until now and toward the end times. Beside Jeremiah and Lamentations that have been written by Jeremiah, each of the forgoing books carries the name of its author.
5. The twelve (12) Minor Prophets. The Old Testament concluded with twelve (12) prophecy books commonly referred to as Minor Prophets. They are not minor in importance, as they predicted many of the same themes as the big ones, but they are referred to as such because of the length of their works. These short books are a gold mine of knowledge and wisdom, which each and every Christian should in reality dig into for the benefits of their soul and that of the other fellow believers. Hosea (14 chapters), Joel (3 chapters, Amos (9 chapters), Obadiah (1 chapter), Jonah (4 chapters), Micah (7 chapters), Nahum (3 chapters), Habakkuk (3 chapters), Zephaniah (3 chapters), Haggai (2 chapters), Zechariah (14 chapters), and Malachi (4 chapters). Each and every one of them carries the name of its author. Read them as you seek the guidance of the Lord and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit for your own edification.
Hosea,
Joel, Amos,
Obadiah, Jonah,
Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,
Zechariah, and
Malachi.
It might seem to be
too much information to ingest, but if you follow this simple rule
of 5 Law + 12
History + 5 Poetry + 5 Major Prophets + 12 Minor Prophets = 39 books of the Old
Testament or
the pattern of (5, 12, then, 5, then 5,
12). You can master the names of the books, their
classifications, and their location fairly quickly and efficiently.
The New Testament, as its name says, is the new contract that God has made with His children of all nations. By contrast, the Old Testament was only between He and his people, Israel, but none other (Ps. 147: 19-20). It is composed of twenty-seven (27) books.
Following is the categorization of the books of the New Testament:
1.
The first four (4) books are commonly referred to as the synoptical
gospels because they all
relayed the same message essentially although in different fashion. Each one bears the name of its
author. Matthew (28 chapters),
Mark (16 chapters), Luke (24
chapters), John (21 chapters).
Acts
except the book of the Hebrews that is said to be disputable, although his style is very evident. Romans (16 chapters), 1 & 2 Corinthians (1 Corinthians 16 chapters & 2 Corinthians 13), Galatians (6 Chapters), Ephesians (6 Chapters), Philippians (4 Chapters), Colossians (4 Chapters), 1 & 2 Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 5 Chapters & 2 Thessalonians 3 chapters), 1 & 2 Timothy (1 Timothy 6 chapters & 2 Timothy 4 Chapters), Titus (3 Chapters), Philemon (1 Chapter), Hebrews (13 Chapters).
Romans,
1 & 2
Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2
Thessalonians, 1 & 2
Timothy, Titus,
Philemon,
Hebrews.
4. James is a six (6)-chapter book written by James for the depiction of more useful christian precepts.
(1 Peter and 2 Peter); they each contains respectively
five (5) and
three (3) chapters.
1 Peter and 2 Peter
Testament. The following
epistles are his: 1
John
(5 Chapters),
2 John (1
Chapter), 3 John
(1 Chapter).
1
John,
2
John, 3
John.
7.
Jude
wrote a one-chapter book that also bears his name.
Jude
8.
The last book of the Bible is the Revelation of
Jesus-Christ
(22 Chapters) dictated to the apostle John.
Revelation
Although the books are many, but there are always ways to help memorizing them for the sake of each Christian as it deems necessary in studying the Word. The New Testament can be approached this way: 4 Gospels, The book of Acts, Paul’s 14 Epistles, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1,2 & 3 John, Jude, and Revelation = 27 Books of the New Testaments. We would suggest that you reduce the list in this fashion, or any other easier way for yourself and place it on your refrigerator on an index card so you can look at it every time you pass by the kitchen or you can keep it in your pocket for easy access anytime you can have a few free minutes. Within a matter of days, you should be able to locate basically any book in the Bible and know which one comes after the other.
If you make it a habit to read your Bible everyday and pray The Father in
the name of Jesus to help you memorize the location of each book, and also to
keep their contents in your heart that you might not sin against Him (Ps.
119:11), you certainly will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that
brings forth its fruit in its season (Ps. 1:2). Search the Scriptures because they
indeed testify of Jesus (John 5:39).
After searching them, accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, be baptized and be
saved in His Name and in His Name alone (Mark 16:16).
Paul Mathias,
@ HCN where Jesus-Christ is King and Lord.