Thanks to Andy Naselli for this post pointing to a 1 sentence summary of every book in the Bible.
I’m teaching a course at Bethlehem College and Seminary this fall to second-year seminary students called “New Testament Background and Message.” We are systematically working through the NT, and prior to each time we meet for class the students must summarize the theological message of a NT book in one clear, concise sentence. Then they must briefly unpack that sentence by showing how the book’s themes support that message. (And it takes a lot of work to do that well!)
It frustrates me when books and articles discuss the “theology” of a Bible book by presenting a bucket list of parallel motifs but without showing how they integrate as one coherent theological message. So I was delighted to see that the new NIV Proclamation Bible (ed. Lee Gatiss; cf. publisher page and 40-second video) includes a one-sentence summary of the message of every book of the Bible.
I disagree with many of these one-sentence summaries (which are rather uneven), but it’s still helpful to consider how others articulate the messages. These are from the introduction to each book of the Bible:
Genesis. The Creator God is faithful to his covenant promises and redeems humanity through the promised line, despite their sin and rebellion. (Seulgi Byun)
Exodus. Trust, obey and worship the redeeming, covenant-making God who is with us. (Douglas Stuart)
Leviticus. The holy God makes his people holy, calls them to be holy, and provides atonement through blood when they are not. (Robin Weekes)
Numbers. God has saved us and, as we travel through the wilderness of this world, we need to go on exercising faith to enter the inheritance Christ has secured for us. (Adrian Reynolds)
Deuteronomy. God’s people are called to respond to God’s salvation with love and loyalty, worshipping the one true God in the midst of surrounding cultural idolatries and living in the midst of the nations as a community shaped at every level of life by God’s character of grace, justice, purity, compassion and generosity. (Chris Wright)
Joshua. God gave the Land he promised and Israel took it (11:23; 21:43-45). (Liam Goligher) . . .
Read the rest here.
