The Essential Bible Companion: Key Insights for Reading God's Word

by John H. Walton, Mark L. Strauss, Ted Cooper, Jr.

Overview

At your fingertips: the most vital information you need for reading and truly understanding the Bible. The Essential Bible Companion is a unique, easy-to-use reference guide that gives you clear, crisp insights into the Bible, book by book.

Developed by two world-class Bible scholars and the creator of The Bible in 90 Days curriculum, this compact reference tool visually lays out the key details for each book of the Bible, including:

• Essential background information, such as the underlying purpose, the key terms and concepts, and the key teachings about God in that book.
• An easy-to-reference timeline of the book with callouts for notable events.
• Important people to know.
• Key verses, maps, and historical introductions.

Between the brief introductions you might find in a study Bible and the overwhelming amount of detail in an exhaustive reference handbook or commentary, The Essential Bible Companion strikes the perfect balance of manageable information that doesn't distract or detract from Scripture itself.

This richly informative volume will assist you on your journey toward a well-grounded biblical faith.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310266624
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	04/27/2006
Series:	Essential Bible Companion Series
Pages:	152
Sales rank:	237,597
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.55(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John H. Walton (Ph D, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament; Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context; Covenant: God’s Purpose, God’s Plan; The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament; and A Survey of the Old Testament.

Mark L. Strauss (Ph D, Aberdeen) is university professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary, where he has served since 1993. His books include Four Portraits, One Jesus; How to Read the Bible in Changing Times; The Essential Bible Companion; and commentaries on Mark and Luke. He also serves as vice chair of the Committee on Bible Translation for the New International Version translation.

Ted Cooper Jr. founded the Bible in 90 Days ministry in 2002, following almost 20 years in the computer industry. A lifelong agnostic, in 1999 Ted read the Bible from cover to cover in three months. Not only did this experience transform Ted into a believer, it led him to develop a unique curriculum to help others succeed in doing this reading. Ted’s ministry has helped churches, communities, small groups and individuals in 49 states and 13 foreign countries host The Bible in 90 Days curriculum. Churches hosting The Bible in 90 Days include: Assembly of God, Baptist, Bible, Catholic, Christian, Church of Christ, Community, Episcopal, Evangelical Free, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Non-denominational, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, United Methodist, and Vineyard. Ted has served on a number of professional and charity boards, and is an elder at First Presbyterian Church of Houston. Ted and his wife Becky live in Houston with their three children. To contact Ted, visit please the ministry

Read an Excerpt

Key Concepts
¦ The law is part of God's revelation of himself;
giving it is an act of grace.
¦ God's presence comes on his terms and in his time.
¦ Deliverance is God's business.
¦ 'Then you will know that I am the LORD your
God.'
Key Terms
Exodus--When God delivers the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and brings them to the land he promised them.
Plagues--Ten acts of judgment against Egypt to persuade the Egyptians to let the Israelites leave.
Passover--The commemoration of the tenth plague when God punished the Egyptians with death of their firstborn sons but spared the Israelites.
Decalogue--Another name for the Ten Commandments---the central laws that God gave to Moses on stone tablets.
Election--God's choice of individuals or groups to serve as his people in relationship with him.
I AM--The name God gives himself at the burning bush. It is from the same verb ('to be') as the name 'Yahweh' and identifies God not only as the one who is but also as the one who 'causes to be.'
Burning Bush--The place where God revealed himself to Moses, identified himself, and explained his plan and
Moses's role in it.
Pharaoh--The title of the supreme ruler of Egypt. No name is given in Exodus, so we do not know which pharaoh let the Israelites leave.
Tabernacle--The portable tent sanctuary constructed by Israel according to God's instructions.
Ark of the Covenant--A chest made of wood overlaid with gold that contained important signs of God's favor,
including the stone tablets of the covenant. It was the most sacred object of Israel, as it represented the footstool of the invisible throne of the invisible God. The cherubim adorning the cover were guardians of the throne of God.
Holy of Holies--The central area of the sanctuary where the ark was kept and where God's presence dwelt. The only access was by the high priest once a year.
Dr. James C. Martin
_Replica of the ark of the covenant.
Exodus
Purpose
When Exodus opens, the Israelites are near the end of their time in Egypt.They had spent more than four centuries in Egypt and had become slaves in a foreign land. God is nowhere in evidence.Their covenant with
God appears to be in disarray. They no longer enjoy the benefits of having connections in high places as when they first arrived, and with no land of their own,their survival is in jeopardy.When Pharaoh orders their baby boys to be cast into the Nile
River, one mother creatively does so using a basket of reeds to protect her son.
Pharaoh's daughter finds him afloat, names him Moses, and raises him as her own.
We are not told the extent to which
Moses was aware of the plight of his people as he was growing up. But when he saw an
Egyptian beating one of the Israelite slaves,
he killed the Egyptian. Fleeing for his life,
he took refuge in the wilderness among the people of Midian, where he met a tribal chieftain (Jethro), met the woman who would become his wife (Jethro's daughter
Zipporah), and met his God. Seeing a bush ablaze but not consumed, Moses went to investigate and received the commission
God had been preparing him to take up all his life---as the deliverer of Israel.
The purpose of Exodus is to explain how God revealed his presence and his power to his chosen people through the plagues and in their deliverance from
Egypt. Just as in Genesis God overcame obstacles in establishing Abraham's family as his chosen people, in Exodus he overcomes obstacles that prevented him from dwelling in the midst of his people.
God guided and protected the
Israelites through the wilderness and provided for them.At Sinai he told them how they needed to live so that his presence could dwell among them.Through the law,
they learned how they were to honor and imitate his holiness. He told them how to build the tabernacle and how the priesthood was to prepare so that God could take up residence with them. God had chosen the Israelites to be his people and he intended to reveal himself to them and to the world by living in their midst.
People to Know
Moses
Aaron
Miriam
Jethro
Zipporah
_The Israelites passed through the Sinai Mountains on their way to the Promised Land.
Dr. James C. Martin
KEY VERSES:
Ex. 3:14: 'I AM WHO I AM.'
Ex. 14:31: 'The Israelites saw the great power the
LORD displayed.'
Ex. 19:5--6: 'If you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession.'
Ex. 40:34--35: 'The glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.'
Pithom
Rameses
Succoth
Lake Timpsah
Bitter Lakes
G u l f o f S u e z
G u l f o f A q a b a
M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a
G O S H E N
Mt. Sinai
NIle R.
Jordan R.
Dead
Sea
Jerusalem
Key Teachings about God
¦ God demonstrates his power for his people and the world to see.
¦ God desires to live among his people.
¦ God delivers his people, and his ability to do so is without limit.
¦ God expects obedience from his people.
¦ God does not leave his people to guess what he expects of them.
¦ God chooses certain individuals and groups for special work.
_FROM EGYPT TO MOUNT SINAI
--500
0 - sea level
(in meters)
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
2005 Zondervan

Table of Contents

Contents Preface .....7 Overview:What Is the Bible All About?.....9 OLD TESTAMENT Genesis .....14 Exodus .....16 Leviticus .....18 Numbers .....20 Deuteronomy .....22 Joshua.....24 Judges.....26 Ruth .....28 1–2 Samuel.....30 1–2 Kings.....32 1–2 Chronicles .....34 Ezra and Nehemiah.....36 Esther .....38 Job .....40 Psalms.....42 Proverbs .....44 Ecclesiastes .....46 Song of Songs .....48 Isaiah .....50 Jeremiah .....52 Lamentations.....54 Ezekiel .....56 Daniel .....58 Hosea and Amos .....60 Joel and Obadiah.....62 Jonah .....64 Micah.....66 Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah .....68 Haggai and Zechariah .....70 Malachi .....72 How the Old Testament Relates to the New .....74 NEW TESTAMENT Matthew.....78 Mark .....80 Luke.....82 John .....84 Acts .....86 Romans .....88 1 Corinthians .....90 2 Corinthians .....92 Galatians .....94 Ephesians .....96 Philippians .....98 Colossians .....100 1 Thessalonians .....102 2 Thessalonians .....104 1 Timothy.....106 2 Timothy.....108 Titus.....110 Philemon .....112 Hebrews .....114 James .....116 1 Peter .....118 2 Peter .....120 1 John.....122 2–3 John .....124 Jude .....126 Revelation .....128 Names Glossary .....132 Terms Glossary .....138 Index .....144 Photo Credits .....149