I have a confession to make. My scriptural knowledge is fairly weak in the realm of the Old Testament. That must be why I was called to teach the book for Seminary this year! I have been preparing for the calling all summer, and along the way, have learned a wide variety of things. One of them has dramatically shifted my understanding of the Old Testament. That is: the Old Testament is not in chronological order.
I always assumed that the first part of the Bible was like most of the Book of Mormon or New Testament, that each book preceded the one before it. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the latter portion of the Old Testament is arranged much like the four gospels of the New Testament – they tend to repeat each other in timing and events, and often overlap them. In fact, 1 & 2 Chronicles emphasizes the spiritual side of events found in 1 & 2 Kings, and the prophets in the later books also lived during that same time period.
Understanding this has significantly changed my approach to studying the Old Testament. As I study the section known as “the prophets” (from Isaiah to Malachi), I can refer back to Kings and Chronicles to put what I have read into historical perspective. While the spiritual and gospel truths remain the same, understanding more about the information given to me can only help my testimony grow stronger.
It is somewhat embarrassing to admit this to a wide audience, I must confess. I didn’t come into the church with a strong knowledge of the Bible, but I’ve gone through at least two Sunday School lessons on the Old Testament. I wonder now if I just missed this information – the most probable explanation – or if it simply wasn’t presented. My hope is that by sharing this somewhat obvious “duh” thing, it will help illuminate your study of the Old Testament. At the same time, I’ve taken it to emphasize my personal need to spend more time studying the “original testament” of Christ.
The church provides a timeline of Old Testament events. You can view it here.
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