One of the best descriptions I have come across for the Bible is that it is “a book of books”. It is very easy to look at it, see one book and feel that it is too much to tackle. But if we look at it as a collection of books that can be explored bit by bit it is easier to approach. The most basic division of the Bible is the two Testaments, Old and New. The Old Testament has 46 books and the New Testament has 27.
Each book can be looked at separately. It has its own purpose or story. However, all the books are also connected because they are the Word of God, inspired and revealing to us the God in whom we believe. The Old Testament prepares for the New Testament and the New fulfils the Old. Some books we encounter more often than others – the four Gospels, Paul’s letters, Psalms. Some books are quite long – Isaiah has 66 chapters, Matthew’s Gospel has 28. Some are short – Obadiah 21 verses and 3 John 13 verses.