OT Organization
The entire Bible conveys the progressive revelation of the character and Person of God. First only revealed to Adam and Eve, God is revealed through His interaction with early mankind, revealed substantially more through His calling of Israel and giving to them His written Law through Moses, even more through Israel’s acceptance/rejection of Him (books of history), through those that wrote of the closeness of their relationship with Him (e.g. Psalms), and finally through God’s commentary on man’s behavior and His ultimate plan for them through the Prophets.
It may help to think of the Old Testament coming in basically 4 parts:
- The Books of the Law (Genesis – Deuteronomy). This covers the initial disclosure to man of God’s written Law.
- The Historical Books (Joshua – Esther). This covers man’s interaction with God and provides a kind of example of man’s inability to follow God’s Law and the need for a Savior.
- The “Journaling” (or Poetry) Books (Job – Song of Solomon). These reveal the inner workings of an obedient relationship to God through the personal writings of the likes of Job, David, Solomon, etc. They provide insight into the results of allowing obedience to God’s Word take root and grow and essentially provide insight into how the Law is applied in a faithful relationship with Him.
- The Prophets (Isaiah – Malachi). Think of these as God’s personal feedback to man on the quality of relationship being pursued; a commentary from God detailing why man has failed to achieve a proper relationship with God and His plan to resolve this issue through the sending of His Son through the new covenant to come.
