Have you attempted to look for a daily Bible reading plan for 2024? The options are vast, and many good reading plans exist. Reading the entire Bible in one year is a noble venture that we should all aspire to one day out of joy instead of duty. As we try to find a daily reading plan, we focus on the necessity of reading every day without paying much attention to what we will get out of the reading. It usually becomes another New Year resolution that falls by the wayside over the months. Inevitably, missing a day or a week happens when one views Bible reading as a duty or chore.
May I suggest another option for daily Bible reading?
Try reading different sections of the Bible during the week and do not pay much attention to the length of the reading but to its content. The Bible is a literary masterpiece that holds a vast array of genres. The most apparent distinction is that it contains an "Old" and a "New" Testament. Others call it the First and Second Testament. That is an excellent place to start your daily reading. Why not read some content from the Old (First) and another day read from the New (Second)? That is just the start. Let's look closer at the literary diversity and the context we find in the Bible.
Within the Old (First), we have close to fifteen hundred years between writings. The Book of Psalms, for example, was written entirely in about a 900-year time frame. I'll break up some of the sections below:
May I suggest another option for daily Bible reading?
Try reading different sections of the Bible during the week and do not pay much attention to the length of the reading but to its content. The Bible is a literary masterpiece that holds a vast array of genres. The most apparent distinction is that it contains an "Old" and a "New" Testament. Others call it the First and Second Testament. That is an excellent place to start your daily reading. Why not read some content from the Old (First) and another day read from the New (Second)? That is just the start. Let's look closer at the literary diversity and the context we find in the Bible.
Within the Old (First), we have close to fifteen hundred years between writings. The Book of Psalms, for example, was written entirely in about a 900-year time frame. I'll break up some of the sections below:
Old Testament- 39 books
- Pentateuch (The Books of Moses, The Torah, The Law)
- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
- These are the first five books of the Bible and narrate the story of creation, fall, the formation of Israel as a nation, and God's law, which leads right up to Israel's conquering of the promised land.
- Chronology: 2100 B.C.-1400 B.C. (dates are approximate)
- The Writings
- Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
- These are generally viewed as the historical books of the Bible.
- Chronology: 1400 B.C.- 400 B.C. (dates are approximate)
- Poetic
- Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
- These serve as excellent examples of how Biblical hymns, songs, proverbs, and reflections are to be read.
- The Book of Job is difficult to date, and no one knows when it was written as it holds significant names of kings or events. The Book of Psalms was composed by various authors during different years. It begins with its oldest Psalm (90), which is the song of Moses in Ex. 33, dated 1490 B.C. The final edition came in 444 B.C. with the inclusion of Psalm 1. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon were primarily written by King Solomon.
- Prophetic
- Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
- Different prophets lived during centuries of Israel's History and the divided Kingdom of Israel to the north and Judah to the South. That is why you will read some prophets speaking directly to Judah (For example, Isaiah and Micah) while others focus on Israel (For example, Hosea and Amos).
- Chronology: Jonah is the first prophetic book dating 760 B.C. Malachai was active in Judah between 500 and 460 B.C.
New Testament- 27 Books
It is important to note that the New Testament Period is relatively short compared to the Old Testament. It takes place within the First-Century A.D. (1-100 A.D.).
- The Gospels
- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
- These are the first four books of the New Testament.
- The Gospels serve us as the story and testimony of Jesus, with key distinctions and emphasis in each one.
- Chronology: The Gospels were written roughly between 70- 80 A.D. The gospel of John between 90- 95 A.D.
- Historical
- The Book of Acts
- The book is named after the acts of the apostles. This book deals with the church's birth and the spread of Christianity in the first century.
- Chronology: Written by Luke during 60-70 A.D.
- General Epistles
- Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Revelation
- The authors wrote these letters in general terms, hence the name, instead of specific individuals or churches. The book titles, except Hebrews, take the author's name as the Letter's title.
- Chronology: The first New Testament book written is James, dating to the early 40s A.D. The last is the Revelation of John, which occurred in roughly 96 A.D.
- Pauline Epistles
- 13 epistles- Listed chronologically below:
- Galatians, 1 &2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Romans, Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Titus, 1 & 2 Timothy.
- Paul wrote these letters during his missionary journeys to the churches he planted or visited along the way. They were letters, in some cases of exhortation and others for encouragement.
- Chronology: Galatians 45 A.D., 2 Timothy 69 A.D.
- 13 epistles- Listed chronologically below:
With all this information, you can begin a reading plan to help you understand the context of what you are reading because you know when they were written. You also understand what literary genre they belong to. What has helped me over the years read through the Bible is to pick from an O.T. section like the Pentateuch and one from the N.T. like the Gospels. If you read a lot through the week, you can choose one reading from the Pentateuch, one from the Historical books, another poetic, and one from the prophetic. That's already four different readings in one week. Then, you can choose from the NT, a Gospel, a General, and a Pauline epistle.
The readings you choose can be a chapter, or entire section of a narrative, several Psalms, or one Proverb. There is no right way to do it, but you want to avoid getting to the point of having to do it. Instead, you should enjoy what you are reading so you can say what the Pslater says, "...The rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb." (Ps. 19:9-10)
The readings you choose can be a chapter, or entire section of a narrative, several Psalms, or one Proverb. There is no right way to do it, but you want to avoid getting to the point of having to do it. Instead, you should enjoy what you are reading so you can say what the Pslater says, "...The rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb." (Ps. 19:9-10)
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