The first book of Kings recounts the lives of the kings of Israel and Judea over a period of 400 years after the death of King David. His son, Solomon, features heavily in these chapters, first to show God's generous blessings to a faithful king and, later, as an example of the consequences of turning away from God. This book also details the split of the northern and southern tribes of Israel, and the subsequent appointment of the prophet Elijah...

The second book of Samuel follows the rule of King David, after the death of King Saul, and his establishment of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel. 2 Samuel shows both the shortcomings and successes of David as king, but also the forgiveness of God after true repentance. Notable stories include David's adultery with Bathsheba, the overthrow of King David by his son Absalom, and the journey of the Ark to Jerusalem.

The genre of Psalms is Songs and Poetry of all kinds. It is written by multiple authors, David wrote 73, Asaph wrote 12, the sons of Korah wrote 9, Solomon wrote 3, Ethan, and Moses each wrote one (Ps. 90), and 51 of the Psalms are anonymous. They were written over the span of approximately 900 years (Beginning at the time of Moses 1440 B.C. and through the captivity in 586 B.C.). The Psalms include praises of joy, laments, blessings, and thanksgivings....

This book follows the Israelite people on their journey to the Promised Land and depicts their continual disobedience and rebellion towards God, despite the many signs and miracles performed through Moses. To punish them for their waywardness, God instructs the Israelites to wander the desert for forty years, and it is in this time period that Numbers was written. As its name suggests, Numbers also contains a great deal of statistical information...

The New Testament is well-known for recording the miraculous life and death of Jesus, but it also contains the spread of Christianity by His disciples after the Resurrection. The majority of the New Testament is epistles written by the Apostle Paul and other notable Biblical figures to the new Church, urging them to remain strong in their faith and to not be lead astray by false prophets who sought to mingle Christianity with other beliefs. Finally,...

The genre of Proverbs is mainly "Proverbs" as the name describes, there are also some Parables and Poetry. This book was written mainly by Solomon, the wisest king ever to rule, however some of the later sections are written by Lemuel and Agur. It was written during Solomon's reign 970-930 B.C. He asked God for wisdom to rule God's nation and He granted the request. The main purpose of this book is to teach wisdom to God's people. Proverbs are short...

The gospel of Luke was not written by one of Jesus' disciples, but rather a physician by the same name. Due to his profession, Luke has a distinctly human aspect to his writing, which contains greater details of the people whom Jesus interacted with, particularly the sinners. Jesus' entire life is depicted in these passages, and portrays the Messiah not as an untouchable figure of greatness, but as the more attainable and relatable Son of Man.

The book of Nehemiah recounts the struggle of the Jewish people's return to Jerusalem after being held in captivity for 70 years. Unfortified and disorganized, the Jews look to Nehemiah, their temporary governor, to help them rebuild their city walls before the surrounding enemies attack. Nehemiah is an important example of the astounding successes that a good leader can achieve if he puts his trust in God.

Isaiah is the first of the prophetic books of the Bible and was written by the man of the same name during the time of the kings in Israel. Like many of the prophets during this period, Isaiah attempted to warn the Israelites of the consequences of turning away from God. This book is filled with the promise of judgment towards sin and disobedience, but also the assurance of reward for faithfulness. Additionally, Isaiah contains beautiful, descriptive...

The book of Micah is filled with judgment alongside the gift of hope and it is an encouraging reminder that God is always willing to forgive even the greatest of sins. It contains both the promise of destruction for the wicked kingdoms of Samaria and Israel, who had become haughty and rejected God for false idols, as well as a beautiful prophetic piece on the coming of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer.