Know Your Bible: a Survey of the Old and New Testaments

By Dr. Brian J. Bailey

As believers, it is vital that we are well-grounded in the truth of God’s Word in order to stand strong in the coming days. Having a comprehensive overview of the Bible is a must, and it will become a reality through reading this anointed book.This survey of the 66 books of the Bible includes a brief commentary on the Intertestamental period of biblical history. Dr. Bailey has zeroed in on key concepts in each of the studies, and has interspersed many wonderful insights from his vast experience. Through this well-written survey, you will easily grasp the salient truths that flow through the pages of God’s Book and gain a greater desire to study His Word.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zion Christian Publishers
• Release date: Apr 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781596650251

Book preview

Know Your Bible

A Survey of the Old and New Testaments

DR. BRIAN J. BAILEY

Know Your Bible

© 2006 by Brian J. Bailey

Version 1.2 (2022)

Design of Front Cover:

 © 2006 Zion Fellowship Inc.

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the

King James Version Bible unless otherwise stated.

Published by Zion Christian Publishers

Published as an e-book in 2022

in the United States of America

E-book ISBN 1-59665-025-7

For more information, please contact:

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Editorial team: Joyce Aw, Carla Borges, Sarah Brogan, Mary Humphreys, David Kropf, Justin Kropf, Sarah Kropf, Leslie Sigsby, Caroline Tham, Paul Tham, and Suzanne Ying.

We wish to extend our thanks to these dear ones for without their many hours of invaluable assistance, this book would not have been possible. We are truly grateful for their diligence, creativity, and excellence in the compilation of this book for the glory of God.

PREFACE

The central theme of the Bible is God’s wondrous compassion for the human race, which was created in His image and likeness but has fallen so far short of His nature and goodness. Through the disobedience of the first man Adam, sin (meaning all that is evil) entered into the world and shattered the communion between Adam and His Maker.

God Himself had to pay the price to redeem us back into fellowship with Himself. Thus, it was He who had to give His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for our sins. He therefore had to become man. God the Father prepared a body for His Son in the womb of Mary of Nazareth. Jesus was conceived by the third member of the Holy Trinity, the blessed Holy Spirit.

The Son of God called Jesus, meaning Saviour, lived a life without blemish. He then offered Himself without spot to His Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. Accepted and approved by God, Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God, who became the sacrifice for all who believe, upon the cross of Calvary outside the walls of Jerusalem. He was buried in a garden tomb, and He was raised on the third day as a sign for our justification.

The Lord Jesus lives forevermore seated at the right hand of God until He comes again with 10,000 of His saints to receive all who believe on His Name, and to punish all who reject Him with eternal fire.

This great salvation, which cleanses us through His shed blood on the cross of Calvary, is available to all. We must simply believe, confess we are sinners, ask Jesus to forgive us, ask Him to come into our hearts, and receive Him by faith. Then we will be born again by the Spirit of God and become a son or daughter of the Living God.

Jesus said, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (Jn. 3:16). We invite you, gentle reader, to do so now and receive Jesus as your Saviour.

Now we invite you to Know Your Bible by looking at a survey of the treasures of God’s Word, which is a guide for believers from earth to heaven. Do so prayerfully and your eyes will be open to the wondrous truths that are contained therein. Jesus said, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (Jn. 8:32).

Old Testament Survey

INTRODUCTION

The great need of biblical students of today is to have a comprehensive overview of the Bible that they may understand the salient truths that flow through the pages of God’s Book. In so doing, students can grasp more easily the central message of redemption and God’s plan for the ages, as well as His plan for each individual life. This survey has been written with that goal in mind.

The Bible contains 66 separate books that have been divided into two parts: the Old Testament (39 books) and the New Testament (27 books) respectively. First, we will consider how the Old Testament was written and compiled.

The Divisions

The Pentateuch

This is composed of the first five books, which the Jews call the First Five Books of Moses. The Western world knows them as Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The Historical Books

These comprise the following books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, and First and Second Chronicles.

The Restoration Books

The Restoration Books of Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah were written after the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity. They flow with the books written by the Restoration prophets, namely—Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The Poetic Books

These are the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs.

The Major Prophets

These prophetic books were so called because of the length of their content. They are the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah (including his Lamentations), Ezekiel, and Daniel.

The Minor Prophets

The Minor Prophets comprise twelve books, which contain less material than those which are termed Major Prophets. They are the books of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The Pentateuch

Pentateuch is a Greek word meaning five volumes and is used to describe the first five books of the Bible. Sometimes this section is referred to as the Book of the Law. This name is given in Scripture, as we read in 2 Chronicles 31:3: He appointed also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. Nehemiah 8:18 also says, Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

Jews also refer to this collection of writings as the Torah, which means teaching, doctrine, or instruction. It is easily the most important part of the Old Testament since its teachings form the foundation upon which all other Scripture is based. The Ten Commandments (found in Exodus 20 and repeated in Deuteronomy 5) are referred to by Jesus; and He declares that He came to fulfil them (Mt. 5:17). We are to keep these commandments, and they are to be written in our minds and upon the fleshly tables of our heart (Jer. 31:33).

The Book of Genesis

Introduction

The first book in the Bible is so named because it starts with the Hebrew word Bereshith, which means in the beginning. Genesis is the Greek word which means beginning or origin. In this book we find the beginnings of all things, some of which are:

1. Beginning of heaven and earth (1:1)

2. Beginning of vegetation and animal life (1:12)

3. Creation of man and woman, also marriage (2:21-24)

4. Beginning of sin (3:1-24)

5. Beginning of redemption by the shedding of blood (3:21)

6. Beginning of murder (4:8)

7. Beginning of polygamy (4:19)

8. Beginning of music (4:21)

Outline

1. Seven days of Creation 1:1-2:3

a. First day – night and day 1:5

b. Second day – heaven 1:8

c. Third day – earth, seas, and vegetation 1:9-13

d. Fourth day – sun, moon, and stars 1:14-19

e. Fifth day – fish and fowl 1:20-23

f. Sixth day – all living creatures and man 1:24-31

g. Seventh day – God rested – Sabbath Day 2:1-3

2. Garden of Eden 2:4-25

3. The Fall 3:1-20

4. Redemption foreshadowed 3:21

5. Cain and Abel 4:1-24

6. The line of the godly from Seth to Noah 5:1-32

7. Crossing of the lines of the godly and ungodly 6:1-7

8. Choosing of Noah and the building of the Ark 6:8-22

9. The Flood 8:1–9:29

10. Genealogies of Noah 10:1-32

11. Tower of Babel 11:1-9

12. Generations from Noah to Abraham 11:10-32

13. Life of Abraham 12:1–18:33; 20:1–25:10

14. Life of Isaac 25:10–28:5; 35:27-29

15. Life of Jacob 25:26–37:34; 42:1-36; 45:25–50:24

16. Life of Joseph 30:24–50:26

Main Themes

The Creation

The event of Creation—hotly contested by those who call themselves evolutionists—is proven by the fact that in the world, and with animal life in particular, everything brings forth of its own kind because God has ordained it (Gen. 1:11, 21, 24-25). This destroys the very foundation of the theory of evolution, which assumes that there is a transmutation or an evolving of the species over time, of which there is no evidence.

Man’s efforts to go beyond what God the Creator has ordained, has resulted in failure. For example, God worked for six days, and then He rested on the seventh and called that day holy (Gen. 2:3). Thus mankind and animals alike are ordained to work for six days and rest on the seventh, which day is termed the Lord’s Day.

The atheists of the French Revolution, seeking to change the decrees of God, tried to cause man and animal to work a ten-day cycle, but found that they had to revert to the seven-day cycle because all were overcome with fatigue. Another example of this is when scientists of the Soviet Union refused to acknowledge creation and sought to perpetuate evolution. The result was that scientific research in their country fell 50 years behind western nations.

Do the evolutionists believe their theories? Hardly so! Charles Darwin, upon his deathbed, asked that the windows of his room be opened so that he might listen to the hymns being sung by a church congregation nearby. When asked, Mr. Darwin, what about your theories and beliefs in evolution? Darwin replied that they were a figment of youthful imaginations (Bowden, Malcolm 259-276, section  6.6).

The agnostic, Aldous Huxley, (whose grandfather was another proponent of evolution), frankly confessed: I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics; he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves...For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political (Huxley, Aldous 270).

In other words, in response to the question of whether he believed that there was a God, he said in effect, I do; but I held to a vain hope that there was none to assuage my evil conscience and so continue in my sinful ways.

Creation means there is a Creator to whom we must give an account of our life lived here upon earth. His decree that we propagate after our kind also extends to the spiritual—what and who we are will determine the fruit that we produce wherever we go. Let us live godly lives befitting sons and daughters of a holy God, promoting holiness and the fear of the Lord in the lives of others.

Writing to the Romans, the Apostle Paul declared, For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse (Rom. 1:20).

Let us appreciate the splendours and wonders of His creation by walking through the grassy glades and contemplating the awesome beauty of mountain scenery and the skies above. Then shall we exclaim as David did in Psalm 8, O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

The Patriarchs

Adam

Genesis 1:26-27 states, And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. The first man was made in the image of God, meaning that he possessed the same kind of body and features as God. After our likeness also signifies similarity in the area of emotions—with capabilities of love, hatred, and all the other attributes that form our character.

Adam was created in the state of innocence, not knowing good and evil. However, God is holy. Briefly stated, holiness signifies innocence which has been tried and tested. For this reason, Adam was placed in the beautiful Garden of Eden in which were the trees of Life and Knowledge. God had given the commandment that they were not to eat of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or they would die.

Satan, in the form of the serpent, was permitted to tempt them. This he did, attempting to discredit the character of God by saying, Hath God said? (Gen. 3:1). Eve, the wife of Adam, was beguiled by his words concerning the fruit and gave some fruit to her husband. Thus they sinned and fell from the state of innocence. Driven from the garden, lest they take of the fruit of the Tree of Life and live forever in their sinful state, they were clothed upon with skins of animals.

This slaying of animals to clothe them depicted the sacrifice of the Lamb of God—the Lord Jesus Christ who would die for our sins. Christ is called the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, since God knew from the beginning that man would sin and need a Saviour. We read in John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Cain and Abel, the first two sons of Adam and Eve, offered sacrifices unto God. God refused Cain’s offering because his life was evil, while the sacrifice of the righteous Abel was accepted. Cain then slew Abel because of this (Gen. 4:1-16). From Cain came the line of the evildoers, while another son Seth (who was given to replace Abel) produced the line of the godly. It was because the two lines intermarried that there came forth violent ones, until the whole earth was filled with corruption. God determined to destroy all flesh, but Noah found favour in God’s sight (Gen. 6:1-8).

Noah

Noah was one of the three most righteous men of the Old Testament, along with Daniel and Job (Ezek. 14:14). God commanded Noah to build an ark to save his family (eight souls in all) when all other flesh was destroyed through the Flood.

The ark, which speaks of safety from times of trouble, has spiritual truths revealed through its measurements. It has one door, speaking of Christ being the one and only Door to heaven, and one window speaking of the necessity for the Christian to have a singleness of eye upon heavenly and eternal things rather than the things of this world. The length was 300 cubits—the number 300 speaking of walking with God (Gen. 5:22). The ark also had three levels, portraying the three stages in the Christian life: little children, young men, and fathers (1 Jn. 2:12-14).

Abraham

There were ten generations from Adam to Noah and now another ten generations from Noah to Abraham, the father of the chosen nation (later to be called Israel).

After many trials, including the offering of Isaac, his firstborn through Sarah (Gen. 22:1-19), God designated Abraham, The father of many nations. In fact, through his son Ishmael, Abraham became the father of many Arab nations as well. He also had six sons by Keturah (Gen. 25:1). The Lord made a covenant promise to Abraham to give him the land from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates, and from the river Jordan to the Mediterranean. God promised that this would be accomplished through Isaac.

Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith. Being fully persuaded that what God had promised He was able also to perform, it was imputed to him for righteousness. This became the basis for our salvation, for the righteousness of God will be imputed to us if we believe that Jesus died for our sins (Rom. 4:20- 25).

Isaac

This miracle son of Abraham and Sarah, born in their old age, inherited the promises. Isaac then had twin sons—Esau and Jacob—by Rebekah. When Esau, the firstborn, was tired and hungry, he sold his birthright to Jacob for a pot of soup. Esau was a fornicator and a blasphemer; he despised his birthright and was denied repentance by the Lord (Heb. 12:16 17). Forever after, he and his descendants (Edom) became the enemies of Jacob (whose name was later changed to Israel). Together with Moab and Ammon (descendants of Lot), Esau’s descendants form the population that occupies what is known today as the kingdom of Jordan.

Jacob

Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel (meaning a prince with God), became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. These tribes would later inherit the land of Canaan as God had promised Abraham.

Joseph

He was the chosen heir of Israel when he was a lad of 17 years of age. To signify this, his father gave him a coat of many colours. His brothers were jealous of him, especially when this choice had been confirmed by God through two dreams—revealing to him that he would rule over his brethren. Although Joseph’s brothers sold him into Egyptian slavery, God was with him. He became the overseer of the household of Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh’s guard.

However, one who is going to be entrusted with leadership must be tested in many ways. Therefore, Joseph was falsely accused of impropriety by Potiphar’s wife. Thrown into prison, there he languished in irons. Yet God was with him, and all the prisoners were entrusted to his care by the jailor of the prison. Because of his correct interpretations of the dreams of Pharaoh’s butler and baker, he was subsequently brought forth from prison to interpret dreams that God had given Pharaoh concerning a future famine (Gen. 39:1–41:14).

Pharaoh (recognising Joseph’s wisdom) appointed him the second ruler of the land in order to prepare for the coming famine. Joseph built storehouses during the time of plenty, so that he would be able to feed the Egyptians in the time of famine, as well as those from neighbouring countries who were also suffering from famine. Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent his sons into Egypt to buy corn. They had to petition the ruler to buy from his storehouses and came face to face with their brother Joseph, whom they did not recognise. After revealing his identity, Joseph treated them with compassion and kindness (Gen. 41–45).

Then Joseph revealed his spiritual secrets through the names of his sons. Manasseh, the firstborn’s name means God hath caused me to forget all the sorrow of my father’s house. What a precious truth; to have victory over all the injustices of life by holy forgetfulness! It makes it possible to forgive, because we do not harbour thoughts of the wrongs that have been committed against us.

From this place of victory, we enjoy the blessings of the second son, Ephraim, which means double-fruitfulness. Joseph did indeed inherit the birthright. He had a double blessing in the Land of Promise, having two portions by his sons. Both Ephraim and Manasseh became tribes of Israel.

Joseph provided for his brethren and his father, Jacob, who had come down to Egypt to dwell in the best of the land. There they multiplied greatly from the 70 souls that had come down, and became a great nation of some 3 million souls. When Joseph was dying, he extracted a promise from the children of Israel that when God brought them into the Land of Canaan again, they would take his bones and bury them in the place of his inheritance.

May we learn much from the life of this godly man, who although separated from his brethren in the purposes of God, was called a fruitful bough (Gen. 49:22). This may be our very path to fruitfulness too.

Conclusion

The book of Genesis is a book of beginnings. In it we see not only the beginnings of mankind, but also the beginnings of doctrines that influence our lives both here and in eternity. One is the great doctrine of redemption through the shedding of the Blood. Secondly, is the truth of salvation by faith in God’s Word. We further learn that the righteousness of God is counted to those who believe what He says, and by their works they reveal their faith (Jas. 2:21-22).

Another doctrine that is revealed is the necessity of trials to form the character of a man of God, and the essentiality of sexual purity to attain high office. Genesis covers all these, as well as others affecting eternal judgment. For example, Cain, who is spoken of as being of the wicked one, is used as a warning even to our generation (1 Jn. 3:12).

(We commend our expanded book on Genesis, ably edited by Dr. Paul Caram, for your consideration and further study of these truths.)

The Book of Exodus

Introduction

The theme of the book is revealed in its name, Exodus. It is an account of the children of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt from the time of Joseph until their deliverance through Moses and their arrival at Mount Sinai. It was the beginning of the journey from Egypt to Mount Zion. This journey was conceived in the heart of God before the foundation of the world.

The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:11 that they undertook this journey for our edification, upon whom the ends of the earth have come. Well did Saint Augustine say, The New Testament is latent in the Old; the Old Testament becomes patent in the New. In other words, the New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.

Outline

1. Iron Furnace of Egypt 1:1-22

a. Pharaoh who knew not Joseph 1:8

b. Taskmasters 1:11

c. Genocide 1:16-22

2. Preservation of Moses 1:1-25

a. Becoming the son of Pharaoh’s daughter 2:10

b. Being trained in the court of Pharaoh Acts 7:22

c. Killing an Egyptian defending an Israelite 2:12

d. Fleeing to the wilderness 2:15

e. Marrying the daughter of a priest of Midian 2:21

3. Encounter of God with Moses at the Burning Bush 3:1–4:31

a. Name of God – I AM THAT I AM 3:14

b. Three signs 4:3-9

c. Being sent to Pharaoh of the hardened heart 4:21

4. Pharaoh who knew not the Lord 5:1-23

a. Increase of the burden of the children of Israel 5:1-19

b. Children of Israel complain to Moses 5:20-21

c. Moses turns to God 5:22-23

5. Moses sent back to Pharaoh  6:1–12:51

a. God reassures Moses 6:1–7:7

b. The signs 7:8-13

c. Ten plagues 7:14–11:10