In addition to the chronology, the book is broken down into 365 readings for those who wish to go through it in one year. Each day's reading has a short introduction (including estimated year of writing), and each historical era has its own section introduction. The eras:
- Primeval History
- Patriarchal History
- From Deliverance to Inheritance
- The Last Judge and the United Monarchy
- The Divided Monarchy
- Exile and Restoration
- The Kingdom Comes
- The Early Church
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As I hold the Bible to be the inspired and inerrant word of God, this is an obvious A+. But I want to focus on the presentation/approach here. I have never before read the Bible chronologically like this. Some observations:
- It was helpful to have the approximate year for each reading, though there are a lot of unknowns
- It was insightful to group things like the Old Testament prophets chronologically and presenting them during the events in the historical books.
- I loved having the Psalms inserted immediately after events that inspired David (or others) to write them
- Arranging the material this way helped me make some connections I never did before, including (for example) Esther and her reign during the Exile
- Having the parallel Gospel accounts presented together was a good way to study them
- Being familiar with the Bible is helpful; I think a person new to the faith might get confused with some parts, especially where books are broken up
Overall, I'm glad I read this arrangement and will use it again (perhaps every ten years). I will stick with the 'traditional' treatment most of the time, but this approach is a useful learning aid.
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