Sweeter than Honey- Part 1

                                                                     FOREWORD

    Ever since I got saved, the Word of God has been the delight of my life. Though I spent my time in prayer and fasting, reading the Word of God has a prominent role in my fellowship with the Lord. Having been raised by a mother who was Catholic by birth, my sister and I were constantly reminded to read the Bible and pray. Before salvation, these felt like a chore. I wondered what the ancestors of the Son of God on earth had to do with me. Why were precious pages of the Holy Bible devoted to some men whose names were hard to pronounce, let alone to understand who they were and who they were related to? However, the new birth brought new life and light to the Word of God. The things that didn't make any sense earlier now brought understanding and revelation. The Word became my light in darkness, my comfort in sadness, my hope in despair and much more. Therefore, the desire to know it more and more grew in me. For I have found that the Word of God is indeed sweeter than honey. (Psalms 19:10). And nothing tastes sweeter until it is shared. 

    The Lord put in my heart to create a series of Bible study notes that would be helpful to those who themselves lack the time to study the Bible methodology. It is always good to know what the Bible holds in its entirety. Thus, I began a series of videos on our YouTube channel, KidsBibleTime. However, the creative work proved to be kid-friendly and not a one for grown-ups. Thus, I am writing this series for our adult minds. 

    In this series, I hope to share the Word of God in literary form, without delving into the spiritual depths, as they are deeper and broader than my humble spiritual knowledge and experience, which are limited compared to those of many giants in Christ. Nevertheless, this humble work shall also be a blessing to those to whom it was predestined. To God be all the glory. 

                                                INTRODUCTION

    As I desire for this series to benefit even those new to reading the Bible, the first few blogs may seem basic to frequent Bible readers, so I ask you to bear with me patiently. 

    The Bible is known as the Word of God, as the words in it are breathed by God and written by men. The Bible is believed to have been written over 1500 years by different authors in different timelines. The Bible contains 66 books, which are divided into two sections:-

a. Old Testament 

b. New Testament

     The word 'Testament' means covenant, agreement or a pact. Thus, the two testaments signify that there are two covenants or agreements, Old and New. 

    The Old Testament contains 39 books and the New Testament contains 27 books. These books are divided into chapters and verses for better understanding and easy reference. The chapter division was done by Stephen Langon, Archbishop of Canterbury, around 1200 AD. The verse division was done by Robert Estienne in 1551. 

       39 Old Testament books can be divided into 5 sections for our study purposes. They are:-

    1. The Pentateuch

• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy 

    2. History books

• Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth
• 1 Samuel
• 2 Samuel
• 1 Kings
• 2 Kings
• 1 Chronicles
• 2 Chronicles
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther

    3. Wisdom or Song books

• Job
• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Songs of Songs

    4. Major Prophets

•  Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel

    5. Minor Prophets 

•  Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi

     27 New Testament books can also be divided into 5 sections. They are:-

    1. The Gospels

• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John

    2. Acts of the Apostles

    3. Pauline Letters or Epistles of Paul

• Romans
• 1Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• Colossians
• 1Thessalonians
• 2 Thessalonians
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy
• Titus
• Philemon

    4. Other Epistles

•  Hebrews
• James
• 1 Peter
• 2 Peter
• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Jude

    5. Revelation, the prophetic book.  

        In the next blog, we shall continue to explore more about these books.