Reading Through the Bible - OBADIAH

There are 2 main facts about the Book of Obadiah.

1st Main Fact

It is the shortest book in the Old Testament and the 4th shortest in the whole Bible (only 3rd John, 2nd John & Philemon are shorter).

Watch out for the 2nd main fact later in this blog post.

OBADIAH  - OLD TESTAMENT -  MINOR PROPHET 

31st book of the OT 

31st book of the Bible

It starts with a statement in v.1

"The vision of Obadiah."

and then continues straight into the prophecy that God gave to Obadiah about the country of Edom. 

What is it?

The Book of Obadiah is one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament which means it is Prophecy.

How Long is it?

It has only 1 chapter which contains 21 verses.

Who Wrote it?

Obadiah

There are differences of opinion here it could have been

1.  Obadiah the servant of King Ahab

2.  An Obadiah that lived around the same time as Jeremiah

When was it written?

It is not exactly clear when this book was written but there are thoughts of two possible periods of time

1.  around the time of Elijah during King Ahab's reign

2.  around the time of Jeremiah when there were similar messages to the country of Edom.

Why was it written?

It was written as a warning to the people of Edom

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"Obadiah warns the neighbouring nation of Edom that they will be judged for plundering Jerusalem."

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"Obadiah warns the neighbouring nation of Edom that they will be judged for plundering Jerusalem.."

Who or What does Obadiah talk about? 

The coming judgement of God on the people of Edom v 1-9

The cruel treatment of the people of Edom to the people of Israel v 10-16

The final Triumph of Israel v 17-21

What background/history is there to the story of Edom?

It comes from the time of Isaac's twin sons Jacob and Esau in the Book of Genesis.

Esau lost his birthright to Jacob and the brothers were estranged but later there was a reconciliation.  God gave them both land but Jacob still had the blessing.

Later Esau's descendants were the people of Edom and Jacob's name was changed to Israel so his descendants where the Israelites. 

What does Obadiah write as encouragement? 

Edom may seem to have won against Israel but God is the one who wins in the end.

How does it end?

It ends with verse 21

Then saviours shall come to Mount Zion

To judge the mountains of Esau,

And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

2nd Main Fact

It is the least popular book in the Bible!

I have to add here that there were no verses or short passages in this very short book that enticed me to make any Bible Verse graphics!!!

So if you read this Old Testament book the

The Overview Bible  says

"you’ll be able to say you read Obadiah—how many people do you know who can say that? (Probably not many … it’s the least popular book of the Bible.)"

OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE 

Reading Through the Bible - Reading Plan by Order of Size of Books

There are many ways to read the Bible and many time ordered plans to follow but if you need encouragement to even just get started reading the bible in any kind of structured way then you need a Reading Plan or List.

Perhaps you have realised that there are some Books of the Bible that you have only read parts of, then it is good to have some kind of Reading Plan to rectify that.

But the best one is a simple one that you can definitely manage to stick with and I'll give you 5 EXTRA TIPS to help you keep going.

You will also find more help about getting started and making your reading of the bible into a good daily habit in 10 Ways to Help Start A Good Daily Habit 

I know there are Books of the Bible that I have read various times and then there are some that I may only have read once.

I also know that it is more encouraging to get started if we can see some sort of goals reached quickly or some sense of satisfaction from having accomplished different steps and even be able to tick off some things from a to do list.

So I thought I would make out a Bible Reading Plan that does that, some Books of the Bible are read within a very short period of time and then when are reading others we can incorporate some of the tips at the end of this blog post.

A flexible plan, a doable plan, a very simple plan with no time limits and those 5 EXTRA TIPS so make sure to check those out at the end of the post.

Basically it all centres around 

My Order for Reading

My order for reading through the Bible is based on the length of the books starting with the shortest (chapter nos.) and a few other factors I will note throughout the way.

I am not dictating how much I will read each day or how much time I will spend reading because sometimes I know I will get bogged down in

 

1. taking notes - it always happens to me

2. writing reminders to myself that I want to make a new Bible Verse Graphic (or 2 or 3) from the chapter I am in

3. wanting to talk to Fred (my husband) about something from the day's reading

4. having less time available to read or being interrupted more that usual

5. looking up some other Bible references that may be connected or some other info.

Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long so I'm going to go by Order of Size and start with the shortest books but use the no. of chapters for size not actual quantity of verses or word counts.

Then because of the type of person I am I will probably do most in alphabetical order but there will be a few exceptions.

MY READING LIST 

Books consisting of 1 Chapter

JUDE  -  26th Book of the NT  

OBADIAH  -  31st Book of the OT

PHILEMON  -  18th Book of the NT

Nice to have the OT Book slotted in between the two NT Books

Books consisting of 2 Chapters

HAGGAI  -  37th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 3 Chapters

HABAKKUK  -  35th Book of the OT

JOEL  -  29th Book of the OT

NAHUM -  34th Book of the OT

TITUS  -  17th Book of the NT

ZEPHANIAH -  36th Book of the OT

Good to have that one NT Book in among the OT Books to give a bit of variety especially as they were all Minor Prophets

Books consisting of 4 Chapters

COLOSSIANS -  12th Book of the NT

JONAH -  32th Book of the OT

MALACHI -  39th Book of the OT

PHILIPPIANS -  11th Book of the NT

RUTH -  8th Book of the OT

Nice mix in this grouping

Books consisting of 5 Chapters

JAMES -  20th Book of the NT

LAMENTATIONS -  25th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 6 Chapters

GALATIANS -  9th Book of the NT

EPHESIANS -  10th Book of the NT

Books consisting of 7 Chapters

1, 2 & 3 JOHN -  23rd, 24th & 25th Books of the NT

MICAH -  33rd Book of the OT

If I had stuck to the no. of chapters for each individual Epistle of John then 2nd & 3rd John would have been in the first group as they each have only one chapter but then I would have been reading them before John's first Epistle so I felt it better to combine them and read in Chronological Order.

Books consisting of 8 Chapters

1 & 2 Peter -  21st & 22nd Books of the NT

1 & 2 THESSALONIANS -  13th & 14th Books of the NT

SONG of SOLOMON -  22nd Book of the OT

As in the previous group I am combining Peter's Epistles and the Epistles to the Thessalonians to read in Chronological order.

Books consisting of 9 Chapters

AMOS  -  30th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 10 Chapters

1 & 2 TIMOTHY -  15th & 16th Books of the NT

ESTHER -  17th Book of the OT

EZRA -  15th Book of the OT

As in 2 previous groups I am combining 1st & 2nd Timothy so that they are read

 in Chronological order.

This Picture is a free printable from Children's Ministry 
check them out for this and other printables

Books consisting of 12 Chapters

DANIEL -  27th Book of the OT

ECCLESIASTES -  21st Book of the OT

Books consisting of 13 Chapters

HEBREWS -  19th Book of the NT

NEHEMIAH -  16th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 14 Chapters

HOSEA -  28th Book of the OT

ZECHARIAH -  38th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 16 Chapters

MARK -  2nd Book of the NT

ROMANS -  6th Book of the NT

Books consisting of 21 Chapters

JOHN -  4th Book of the NT

JUDGES -  7th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 22 Chapters

REVELATION -  27th Book of the NT

Books consisting of 24 Chapters

JOSHUA -  6th Book of the OT

LUKE -  3rd Book of the NT

Books consisting of 27 Chapters

LEVITICUS -  3rd Book of the OT

Books consisting of 28 Chapters

ACTS -  5th Book of the NT  

MATTHEW -  1st Book of the NT

Books consisting of 31 Chapters

PROVERBS -  20th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 34 Chapters

DEUTERONOMY -  5th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 35 Chapters

1 & 2 CORINTHIANS -  7th & 8th Books of the NT

As in 3 previous groups I am combining 1st & 2nd Corinthians so that they

 are read in Chronological order.

Books consisting of 36 Chapters

NUMBERS -  4th Book of the OT

Click Here to get a FREE PRINTABLE of the chart above

Books consisting of 40 Chapters

EXODUS -  2nd Book of the OT

Books consisting of 42 Chapters

JOB -  18th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 47 Chapters

1 & 2 KINGS -  11th & 12th Books of the OT

As in 4 previous groups I am combining 1st & 2nd Kings so that they 

are read in Chronological order.

Books consisting of 48 Chapters

EZEKIEL -  26th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 50 Chapters

GENESIS -  1st Book of the OT

Books consisting of 52 Chapters

JEREMIAH -  24th Book of the OT

Books consisting of 55 Chapters

1 & 2 SAMUEL -  9th & 10th Books of the OT

As in 5 previous groups I am combining 1st & 2nd Samuel so that they

 are read in Chronological order.

Books consisting of 65 Chapters

1 & 2 CHRONICLES -  13th & 14th Books of the OT

As in 6 previous groups I am combining 1st & 2nd Chronicles so that they

 are read in Chronological order.

Books consisting of 66 Chapters

ISAIAH -  23rd Book of the OT

Books consisting of 150 Chapters

Psalms -  19th Book of the OT

I was delighted to start with Jude as I had recently bought a book on this Epistle and of course I needed to read the actual Bible Book 

before the book written about it.

Click Here to get a FREE PRINTABLE of the chart above

For those interested in the length of time involved in reading the books of the Bible then you will find lots of interesting details on that in this post at Crossway

and even if you thought you weren't so interested you should really take a look because you will be surprised just how quickly you can read them (even the longest ones).

5 TIPS when Reading Through the Bible

• As the books start to get longer in length set yourself a reasonable goal of a small number of chapters in each reading, even only one it is not a race.

• When you are in the more complex (or more boring) books read less at each time. 

• Do not feel like you have to even read a set number of full chapters each time - perhaps the end of a timeframe, or the end of a certain story comes in the middle of a chapter and then you could end your reading to coincide with that content. 

• A good idea to help break up the longer or more complex books is to read a few Psalms or chapters of Proverbs in between the other books. (My husband is usually reading through the Psalms or Proverbs at the same time as reading other books of the Bible)

• If you are feeling like it is becoming a chore any day just read a little and then go take a break that day and sing some praise songs.

Click Here to get a FREE PRINTABLE of the 5 TIPS above

If you are already a subscriber to this blog you will find the link to all my Free Printables 

in any of the emails you have received from me.

If you want to know exactly about the ordering of size of the books of the Bible taking word count into consideration then you will find a table with that info at The Overview Bible

Reading Through the Bible - JUDE

Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is one of the shortest.

JUDE  -  NEW TESTAMENT  -  EPISTLE 

26th book of the NT 

65th book of the Bible

It starts with a great greeting v.1-2  -  believers are beloved by God and kept for Jesus

and also pronounces a blessing on the believers.

I love the blessings pronounced in God's Word and they are still blessings to us as well.

What is it?

The Book of Jude is one of the Epistles in the New Testament which means it is a letter.

How Long is it?

It only has 1 chapter which contains 25 verses.

When was it Written?

It is generally thought to have been written between 60 & 80 AD

Who Wrote it?

Jude

The first half of verse 1 tells us who Jude was

"Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,"

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"Jude is the half-brother of Jesus who did not believe in Him until after the resurrection."

Jude was of the same earthly family as Jesus but was also a believer.

He himself said he was the brother of James and this is the James who was the brother of Jesus.

Other verses in the bible name brothers of Jesus as James and Judas and Simon but it is also known that the name Judas could also be used as Jude.

Who was it Written to?

It was written to believers as we see in verse 1

 "To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ"

Why was it Written? 

It was written as a warning to the believers about ungodly people who portray themselves as believers to change the meaning of God's Word and that the believers are to stand firm in the Word.

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"A letter encouraging Christians to contend for the faith, even though ungodly persons have crept in unnoticed."

which is what verses 3 & states

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"The purpose of this book is to address false teaching.   An attempt by an early Church leader to keep errors out of Believers' thinking."

Jude verse 3 reminds me of advice Paul gave to the people in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 16 v 13

What is it normally well-known for?

Instruction about scoffers in the end times and those who will infiltrate the church with false teaching.

verses 17 -19

"But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit."

Who does Jude refer to from the Old Testament?

Angels v 6 & 9

Moses  v 9

Enoch  v 14

What new info is found here and not in the Old Testament?

Enoch prophesied that the Lord would come in judgement against the ungodly.

What does Jude write to encourage the believers? 

He writes about their faith, prayer, the love of God and the mercy of Jesus in verses 20 & 21

How does it end?

The best way possible in verses 24 & 25

 in a prayer of praise to God

reminding the saints of what is before them,

 the upholding hand of God.

This prayer is also a great example of how the early believers ended their letters in praise of God.

OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE