Last summer I finished reading through the Bible chronologically, marking two-and-a-half times that I'd read the Bible cover-to-cover. As I shared at the beginning of the read, I used The Chronological Study Bible published by Thomas Nelson.
As I’ve explained before, for me reading through the Bible all started in January 2011, when I read the New Testament in 30 days with my church. It was the catalyst for me then reading through the Old Testament and completing my first full read. Through it I gained greater perspective about God’s Word that really deepened my understanding of Him and our relationship. After it I decided to continue reading through the Bible in various ways perpetually. The experience truly has revolutionized how I consume Scripture.
The Story
Studying God's Word chronologically this read around really illuminated once again that the Bible is The Greatest Story ever told. I'll recount it, in a nutshell. It begins in Genesis with the true tale of the triune God of the Universe, in His boundless creativity, making a beautiful world and everything in it, including forming humanity in His image by one man and giving him the privilege of fellowship with God, just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit shared. God gave man the Garden of Eden as his dwelling place and responsibility. Then, knowing just what man was missing, God created for him a suitable helper (ladies, haaay!). In His omniscience, He also set boundaries of protection to maximize man (and woman)'s enjoyment of Him and His creation. Yet also in His love, God gave them the choice to obey His boundaries, or disobey.
Then the sunny story turns dark, with man deciding to cross the boundaries that God set by eating from the only tree in Eden that He had told them not to, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As a result, man faced the devastating effects of sin, including separation from God and banishment from Eden.
Man's sin sets off the rest of Scripture, which highlights God's love affair with a wayward humanity. Although man and woman would suffer consequences of sin, God promised a Savior. Each verse, chapter and book of the Bible knits the story of God reaching down to rescue and restore mankind to a relationship with Him, the Creator. His redemptive plan plays out in Scripture as humans like you and I underscore our need for salvation throughout it.
We witness it in the Old Testament, where God’s chosen people Israel consistently disobey His commands despite His warnings that the people’s lives would go well if they only followed them. They rejected God’s warnings by committing offenses such as not listening to God’s instructions in battles with other nations, whoring after other gods, envying other nations, ignoring and abusing the prophets God sent to call them to repentance when they strayed, and completely forgetting –even for a time losing – His laws. We see Israel (and Judah) suffer the consequences of those sins, at times in brutal ways. Yet through it all, God shows them mercy by holding back His wrath repeatedly, relenting in many cases. And when He does punish His people, it is to discipline and guide them in the right direction, as a loving Father would.
The Old Testament also highlights God's holiness. He is far greater than us and cannot look on sin. For His people, He instituted a high priest that could go into the Holy of Holies once a year in the temple, where He appeared, to offer sacrifices to atone for their sins. This ritual was a glimpse of the atonement that the sinless Messiah would bring when He came to earth to be the Ultimate sacrifice. We also see God use and deliver foreign nations as part of His redemptive plan.
The Promised Messiah Jesus is experienced in the New Testament, where He introduces a New Covenant. His life, ministry, death and resurrection, chronicled in The Gospels, finally bring the long-awaited way for man to freely access God and restore the relationship with Him that was lost at Eden.
