Your Biblical Roadmap

Let's be honest: the Bible is huge. It contains book after book of stories, poetry, and instructions for living. So it can be overwhelming when you sit down to read. Where in the world do you start?

To help with this, here is an overview of the major book categories in the Bible to help you get the big picture of what this amazing book holds.

The Old Testament

1. The Pentateuch: This section contains the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). They tell the story of the creation and God's establishment of his covenant people beginning with Abraham. After Genesis, they are mostly made up of God's law for the Jews, so they can be hard to get through if you are just starting out reading the Bible.
2. History: This contains the next twelve Old Testament books, from Joshua to Esther. These books continue the history of Israel begun in the Pentateuch, telling of the judges and then the kings. This would be a good section for you if you like reading history or nonfiction.
3. Poetry and Wisdom: This includes Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. These books contain poetry in praise and petition to God or wisdom for living. If you like reading poems, this is a good section for you.
4. Prophets: This makes up the rest of the Old Testament. Prophetic books can be hard to understand if you are just starting out, but are something you should definitely read at some point.

The New Testament

1. The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This is a very good place to start if you are new to Christianity or just like a good story. They tell the story of Jesus' birth, life, and death, recorded by four different authors.
2. History: The book of Acts is the only other history book in the New Testament. It was written by Luke to continue his gospel, telling of the work of the apostles after Christ ascended into heaven. Definitely a good thing to read if you're looking for a story.
3. Letters: These make up the bulk of the New Testament. Many of them were written by Paul, some by other apostles. These provide the basic guidelines for Christian living.
4. Prophecy: The book of Revelation, prophesying the age to come, is definitely a confusing book and not where you want to start if you are new to the Bible, but don't be afraid of reading it at some point!

So, here is the order I would suggest reading the books in if you are new to the Bible:

1. Read the Gospels first. They aren't as hard to interpret and also explain the fundamental beliefs about Christ behind Christianity.
2. Read Genesis next.
3. Now read the Old Testament history and Acts.
4. Read the New Testament letters.
5. Read Old Testament poetry now.
6. Then Old Testament prophets.
7. Now, go back to the Pentateuch and read Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
8. Finish with Revelation once you are better equipped to understand it through reading the rest of the Bible.

Of course, there are many ways you could go about it, based on what you like reading personally. And if you've already been reading your Bible, hopefully this helped with the big picture and helped you see the parts you need to go back and focus on more in-depth.

Happy reading!

What do you think? Have you read all of your Bible? What parts do you need to go back and reread? If you haven't read the Bible before, where will you start?