![]() The exile is central to the story as Israel was unfaithful to the covenant despite God’s patience and calls for repentance. Many of the prophets are closely connected with the exile: some in anticipation (ex: Isaiah, Habakkuk), some in the moment (ex: Jeremiah, Ezekiel) and some in the restoration (ex: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi). “Minor” refers to their length, not their content. The storyline next turns to the Latter Prophets - the ones we usually think of when we think of the prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the 12 “minor” prophets. This hints that the story of God and his people is not yet over, that the promises to Abraham and David have not been abandoned. It should be noted that the story of the Former Prophets concludes with a touch of hope in the midst of tragedy – Jehoiachin, king of Judah, is released from prison while still in exile (2 Kings 25:27-30 Cf. ![]() Within that story is also the story of Israel’s kingship and God’s promise of a dynasty to David. The story then continues with what are called the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings) which give the history from entering the land of Canaan according to God’s promise and power to being expelled from that same land also by God’s promise and power. Israel’s pre-history, including creation, the flood, and the Patriarchs is included within the Pentateuch. The flow of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) begins with the Law (Pentateuch 5 books of Moses) which establishes God’s covenant relationship with Israel. The exact ordering I have chosen is slightly different than the standard Jewish canonical order and I found it in Dominion and Dynasty: A theology of the Hebrew Bible by Stephen Dempster. This was the ordering that Jesus himself would have known. I have chosen to follow the Jewish canonical ordering of: Law – Prophets – Writings. The Old Testament readings need the most explanation. The third column is the Old Testament, minus Psalms and Proverbs which are read separately in the first column. Then to focus on Christmas I added selections from Isaiah and Luke to end the year. The New Testament is completed as of September 17th so I added Matthew, Acts, Romans and Hebrews a second time to maintain the New Testament reading up to December 11th. It is one chapter a day for the year and it is presented in canonical order, that is, in the order you find in your Bible. The second column is the New Testament reading. Proverbs is wisdom, much of it in bite size nuggets, and who couldn’t use a regular dose of wisdom? The Psalms are the historic prayer and praise book of Scripture and reading a Psalm 300 days of the year will deepen your prayer life and worship. Now for a full length explanation! The first column simply takes you through all the Psalms and Proverbs twice in the course of the year. Most notably I tried not to break up the discourses in the book of Job so the schedule is a little uneven there. There are a few instances when you will read 3 chapters and a few when you will read 5. This will take you through the entire Bible once and Psalms, Proverbs, Matthew, Acts, Romans, and Hebrews twice. You will be reading 4 chapters a day, 7 days a week. These digital devotionals are available on ESV.org and the ESV Bible app for iOS and Android.I wanted to explain this plan and some of its nuances. Get a strong start to 2021 with one of these free Bible reading plans. ![]() Whether you’re already in the habit of reading the Bible daily or you struggle to find consistent time in the Word, reading plans can be helpful in cultivating daily Scripture reading. This article is part of the ESV.org Reading Plans series.
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