Editor's note: Enjoy today's devotion written for Devotionals Daily by Matt Whitman, author of The Lighting-Fast Field Guide to the Bible.
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The Bible is the best book ever written.
It’s the most popular, most translated, most influential book in history and that makes sense when you consider the God who made and sustains everything is behind it. It’s a God-ordained collection of amazing individual books written by lots of different people from all around the ancient world over the course of 1500 years. That approach to making a book doesn’t sound like a recipe for something that would tell one clear, cohesive story, but, because of God’s character and his sovereignty over history, it does.
Only God could orchestrate something like that, and the unique way He built the Bible testifies to its trustworthiness.
The Bible reveals the character of God, the details of His redemptive plan, and where we fit into all that in a way that’s surprisingly short considering how much it covers and speaks to, but still HUGE compared to most books. Even though we know it’s important and try our best to retain it all, it’s perfectly normal that readers are likely to forget some parts they’ve already read as they work through it from beginning to end. Intentional reading rhythms and reliable resources can help with this.
One trick I came up with that helps me hold more of the big picture of scripture in my mind is to read brief but important passages from every book of the Bible in succession. This kind of reading is great for getting a quick feel for the tone and theme of each book of the Bible in the time it takes to eat lunch. When I find myself overwhelmed by the size and complexity of scripture, this technique helps me reorient myself to the holistic story of the Bible in a hurry.
I made a lightning-fast dip-into-every-book-of-the-Bible reading plan for you and me, and I’ve attached it below. I put this together by carefully reading each book of the Bible and then picking a key verse (or two or three) for each one. I kept an eye out for those verses or passages that would give you and I the succinct sense of the book in the original author’s own words. Sometimes that meant picking a passage that sums up the story of a given book, and sometimes that meant selecting a section that encapsulates the theme.
There are a few different ways to approach this list. You can power through the whole list in less than an hour, or you can set aside an afternoon to read it all reflectively, and jot down your reflections. If you’re feeling more ambitious, you could even back up from each verse on this list to the spot that feels like the beginning of the context of that passage and then read until that passage feels complete. If you want to take a huge step toward internalizing the whole Bible for yourself, you might consider memorizing every single verse on this list. If you want to take it even further and get a sense of all the ins and outs of every part of the Bible, you might want to grab a copy of my book called The Lightning-Fast Field Guide to the Bible. It’s the book that inspired this reading plan, and it’s built to get and keep you up to speed on how every part of the Bible fits together in normal, human language.
However you choose to approach it, this reading list is a fast way to get a sense of each and every book of the Bible in a hurry, and to get more out of regularly, reflectively reading through big chunks of scripture.
II Timothy 3:16-17 says,
All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
I hope this list helps you get a memorable taste of that truth from every single book of the Bible.
3. Leviticus - 19:1-2
4. Numbers - 14:33-34
5. Deuteronomy - 6:4-5
7. Judges - 21:25
8. Ruth - 1:16
9. I Samuel - 8:5, 15:22 and 16:7
10. II Samuel - 7:16
11. I Kings - 9:1-9 and 18:21
12. II Kings - 17:13-14
13. I Chronicles - 29:10-11
14. II Chronicles - 7:14
15. Ezra - 1:3 and 7:10
16. Nehemiah - 1:4-11 and 2:18
17. Esther - 4:14-16
18. Job - 1:21
19. Psalms - 23:1 and 46:1
20. Proverbs - 1:7, 9:10 and any five random proverbs from chapters 10-29
21. Ecclesiastes - 1:2 and 12:13
22. Song of Songs - 8:6-7
23. Isaiah - 1:18 and 52:13-53:12
24. Jeremiah - 3:12-13 and 31:33
25. Lamentations - 3:22-23
26. Ezekiel - 36:26
27. Daniel - 2:44 and 7:13-14
28. Hosea - 6:6
29. Joel - 2:13-14
30. Amos - 5:24 and 7:7-8
31. Obadiah - 1:13-15 and 1:21
32. Jonah - 4:2
33. Micah - 6:8
34. Nahum - 1:7-8
35. Habakkuk - 2:4
36. Zephaniah - 3:17
37. Haggai - 1:8
38. Zechariah - 9:9-10
39. Malachi - 3:1 and 4:2
40. Matthew - 5:17, 16:6 and 28:18-20 (If you have extra time, also read 5:1-29)
41. Mark - 1:1 and 10:45
42. Luke - 19:10 and 24:1-12
43. John - 1:1-3, 3:16, 14:6 and 20:31
44. Acts - 1:8 and 2:38
45. Romans - 1:16-17, 3:23, 6:23 and 10:9
46. I Corinthians - 1:10 and 15:3-4
47. II Corinthians - 5:17 and 5:20
48. Galatians - 2:16, 5:1 and 5:22-26
49. Ephesians - 2:8-10 and 6:10-17
50. Philippians - 2:5-11
51. Colossians - 1:15-18
52. I Thessalonians - 4:16-18
53. II Thessalonians - 2:15 and 3:13
54. I Timothy - 1:15, 2:5-6 and 3:15
55. II Timothy - 4:7-8
56. Titus - 2:11-15
57. Philemon - 1:15-16
58. Hebrews - 4:4 and 12:1
59. James - 1:22
60. I Peter - 1:3-5 and 2:9-12
61. II Peter - 1:3-7 and 3:9
62. I John - 1:5-7
63. II John - 1:6
64. III John - 1:8
65. Jude - 1:3 and 1:23-24
66. Revelation - 1:7-8, 21:5 and 22:20-21
Written for Devotionals Daily by Matt Whitman, author of TThe Lighting-Fast Field Guide to the Bible.
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Your Turn
The Bible is a big library of individual books which can sometimes feel daunting understand. Just knowing the themes of each book is a step in the right direction. Getting to know the overarching story of the Bible is important so take a step! ~ Devotionals Daily