This book is another one that does not seem to have “an order.” There are two parts to the book, and it is good to pay attention to this. The first part, chapters 1-9, is really an introduction to the whole book, and it explains the value of wisdom. One of the ways it does this is to contrast it with other things that are not valuable and can actually destroy you (like a bad girl). I think this part of the book is very important and you should read it more slowly.

The second half of the book (10-31) is much more difficult to read. It’s easier if you go slowly and take a chapter a day or less. Some of them require thinking (meditation) for a while. As you read it through this time quickly, notice the main categories that are addressed. There are wise ways to talk, and there are foolish ways. There are wise ways to work, and there are foolish ways. Some proverbs talk about being a child and others about being a parent. Some talk about how important it is to have a good wife, and others explain that money is not as good as the world thinks it is. Perhaps when you ‘re reading it through this time, you can keep in mind that you need to come back and re-read this book and study it more in the future.

Job is a tough book. The beginning (chapters 1-2) and the end (chapter 42) are easy to understand, but it’s everything in the middle that can be difficult to follow. On top of that, at the end of the book, God condemns Job’s three friends for their advice. Even Job repents.

So how can you read this book? I would suggest three things. First, all of the conversation should be increasing your anticipation for what God is going to say (chapters 38-41). Second, because we have the beginning and the end of the story, we know that the main thing Job’s friends are saying is wrong. It is not true that suffering is always caused by sin. Third, recognize that though Job’s friends think they know what is going on, they do not. The reason for this is that they weren’t in heaven when God and Satan had their conversation. Thus man’s knowledge is dependent upon God revealing it. Without revelation (Scripture), man cannot understand God, the world, or life. Two key chapters that help to explain this are 26 and 28.

One of the unique things about this book is that it takes place entirely outside of Israel. An even stranger thing is that it never mentions the name of God! This is not an accident, and it helps us to understand what the author wanted to communicate. In short, the story of Esther teaches that God takes care of his people even when he doesn’t do obvious “miracles,” and even if his people are not faithful to him. The book of Esther is really the story of the Jewish people for the last 2,500 years: even though they have not been obedient to his word, God still protects them and he will certainly fulfill all of the promises that he has made to them.

What are those promises? These are the ones he made to Abraham in Genesis 12, 15, 17 and to David in 2 Samuel 7. And they are the ones that were given through the prophets in the books you will be reading soon. God has promised to save his people, bring them back to live in the land of Israel, and to bless them beyond their wildest dreams. God has still not fulfilled those promises, but it is getting close to the time when he will. I wonder how many times God has protected the Jewish people like the way he did in this book.

The third return from exile occurs thirteen years after Ezra the priest comes back. While Ezra was mostly concerned with the purity of the community, Nehemiah is focused on rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. The walls matter not only because they protect the city, but they also define it and allow God’s people to separate from the Gentile peoples who worship idols.

Pay attention to the big celebration in chapter 8. This is really the high point of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah. Notice how the center of activity is the Law of Moses. The people realize that if they are going to succeed as a people, they have to understand what God requires of them.

Unfortunately, the book ends on a sad note (ch. 13), as it shows that the people are still failing to obey. This sets the stage for all the years that follow (which are not recorded in the Bible), in which the Jews struggle to keep God’s law. By the time that Jesus comes, most people are not obedient, as is clear from the call of John the Baptist that they need to repent.

Ezra continues the history of 2 Chronicles, as you can see from the fact that the beginning of the book is the same as the end of 2 Chronicles. Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one book, and they tell the story of what happened to the exiles when they came back to the land of Israel after 70 years or more living in exile in Babylon.

It is important to note that there are three separate returns from Babylon to Israel. The first is described in Ezra 1-6 and it is led by Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest. The second takes place about 60 years later and is led by Ezra himself (chapters 7-10).

Notice the problems that the returning Jews face. First, they have external opposition from those who live around them and don’t want them to build Jerusalem or the temple (especially chapter 4). Second, they have internal difficulties because some of the men are marrying foreign wives. This is the same sin that Solomon was guilty of that caused him to commit idolatry. Ezra tears his clothes because he fears that this intermarriage can eventually cause the Israelites to become like “Canaanites.” This would be a great irony, for though the people were preserved from assimilation outside of Israel, they may become assimilated inside the land of Israel. If they are assimilated, that means there is no more Israel, no more people of God, and no fulfillment to God’s promises, including a Messiah who will save the people from their sins.