Welcome back to Bible Gateway’s weekly Look at the Book series of short blog posts and infographics introducing you to the books of the Bible. The first of Solomon’s trilogy of wisdom books, Proverbs compiles many pithy sayings providing guidance for a righteous life.
Scroll to the bottom if you’d prefer to see (and save) this article as an infographic. You’ll also find a handy 30-day reading guide. Or, for a challenge, you can do it in one week using the 7-day reading guide below.
Summary
Proverbs pulls together the most important 513 of the over 3,000 proverbs pondered by Solomon, along with some proverbs of others whom Solomon likely influenced.
Category: Wisdom
Theme: Wisdom
Timeline: Life of Solomon (10th century BC)
Written: Compiled or authored by Solomon; likely assembled in writing by Hezekiah (ca. 700 BC)
Key Verse
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” — Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)
Wisdom and Folly
The recurring promise of Proverbs is that generally the wise live longer, prosper, experience joy and the goodness of God, while fools suffer shame and death.
Proverbs is also a pattern for the impartation of truth to the next generation. It contains the principles and applications of Scripture which the godly characters of the Bible illustrate in their lives.
Access the rest of the series. Browse Bible studies for each book of the Bible. Or right-click on the infographic below to download and save the image for your reference.
Women in the Bible. I have seen this title used for everything from academic resources to Instagram posts, and I’m usually disappointed.
Why?
Because too often the folks writing these resources are so distracted by their own cultural context and agendas that they fail to recognize the cultural context and agendas of the Biblical writers. And failing to recognize means that they also fail to champion the objectives of the Biblical writers.
As Christians, of course, we want our perceptions shaped by those of the Spirit-directed authors of the Bible. And as the community of faith, we want our lives shaped by those same perceptions. Hence the question of the hour: what does the Bible have to say about the women preserved in its pages?
Let’s begin at the beginning.
Women in Genesis: The Image of God
Unlike the creation narratives of Israel’s neighbors in Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Bible is markedly “countercultural” regarding the identity and status of women.
Genesis 1 and 2 communicate that woman (ʾiššâ) is fully human and, like her male counterpart (ʾîš) is made in the image of the Creator (Gen 1:26-27, Gen 2:23). Only the Bible places this sort of value on women in the ancient world. And note how far the biblical writer goes to communicate his message — even violating normal grammar and syntax:
Then God said, “Let us make humanity (ʾādām) in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So, God created humanity in his own image, in the image of God he createdhim; male and female he created them. — Gen 1:26-27
“Humanity” is singular in this passage — one race, one species. But this one will be created “male and female” and “they” will rule. The author has made his point: “woman” is human; “woman” will rule; “woman” is made in the image of the Almighty. As with all things in Eden, this is God’s blueprint, his original intent for his perfect world.
The Fall profoundly disrupts God’s good plan for humanity and for this planet. But God’s value of and intentions for his Image-bearers does not change. Woman remains fully human; made in the Image; and co-commissioned to exercise dominion and stewardship over this planet. And that is why women, although bumped off the stage of history in the majority of human cultures, continue to drive the plot in the great story of Redemption.
Women in Ancient Israel: Elevated Above the Margins
Let’s consider Israel for a moment. Ancient Israel was a patriarchal, patrilineal, and patrilocal culture — all authority and privilege, all inheritance, even the family residence rotated around the oldest living male.
This culture that Israel inherited marginalized women at every turn — in both their lived lives and in their reported lives. As a result, women rarely appear in the history-writing of Israel’s neighbors.
But in the Old Testament we read about Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel. Miriam and Zipporah are named and honored. Abigail is a hero, Jael a celebrated assassin, and Huldah a prophetess who garners more attention in king Josiah’s rediscovery of the Book of the Law than Jeremiah does (2 Kgs 22)!
Deborah: An Unlikely Hero
And then there is Deborah, the hero of my most recent Bible study in the Epic of Eden series. Deborah is not only namedamong the twelve judges of Israel. She is celebrated as a judge of exemplary integrity and courage — courage that leads to a highly strategic and miraculous victory.
Like Moses, Deborah serves as the commander-in-chief of Israel’s military. When she speaks, her clan commander, Barak, obeys without question.
Like Joshua, Deborah obeys God’s command to engage the Canaanites and leads the tribes of Israel in the epic battle for the Jezreel Valley.
Like Samuel, she is named not only “judge” but “prophet” (nābîʾ) — the most powerful office in Israel’s theocracy (Deut. 13:1-5; 18:9-22).
Like Othniel and Gideon she leads Israel for over 40 years.
Every inch an unlikely hero, Deborah is wife and mother, liturgist and prophet, commander-in-chief, and supreme court justice. Because of her God-given authority within the community and her confidence in the God of Israel, Barak and the men of Naphtali find the courage to stand against Sisera’s outrageously well-equipped, professional army… and win! And she does all of this in one of the most morally corrupt and politically divided eras of Israel’s history.
And can we take a minute to talk about Jael? Although she is by all definitions a “nobody” in Israel’s world, this woman comes out of nowhere and assassinates a warlord with a tent peg! (Judges 4:17–21) Craziness.
Women in the New Covenant: Breaking Free of Greco-Roman Culture
When we turn to the New Covenant, we find that women continue center stage in the Great Story. Keep in mind that the events of the New Testament occur in the midst of the Greco-Roman world where women were viewed as not only inferior to men, but in most contexts, as “sub-human” as well.
Yet Jesus counts women among his disciples.
He talks theology with Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42).
It is a very young Mary, an aging Elizabeth, and the prophetess Anna who are the first to recognize Jesus’ identity as Messiah (Luke 1:39-55, 2:36-38).
It is a woman who is commissioned by Jesus as the first evangelist to the Samaritans… and her testimony turns an entire town upside down (John 4).
It was women who had the faith and courage to stand at the cross (John 19:25).
Jesus entrusts the first declaration of the resurrection to women (John 20:11-18).
And as the Church moves forward, Priscilla is the master-teacher of the book of Acts, Lydia is a church-planter in Philippi (Acts 16:11-25), and Junia is named “apostle” in Romans 16:7.
Women Are Protagonists in God’s Redemptive History
What we learn from the Bible is that women regularly served as the protagonists of Redemptive History. Even though their stories occurred in cultures that marginalized and dismissed women as insignificant to the great events of the day.
Just as important, the biblical authors record the contributions of these women.
The Bible was written by men. Men who due to the cultural codes of their day would have considered anything a woman did as peripheral to realhistory. As is common to so many ancient (and modern!) histories, the domestic realm was considered unnecessary to the “real”circles of power in the public realm.
Yet under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the men who wrote our Bibles refused to be distracted by their cultural standards and assumptions. Rather, they were inspired to faithfully recognize and record the mighty acts of God through the prophetic and miraculous work of women.
In this fashion, the biblical writers set the example, helping us to see past our own cultural agendas to understand who “Women in the Bible” actually were… and who the women of faith and calling in our generation can actually be.
Join beloved scholar and professor Dr. Sandra Richter for a deep dive into the narrative of Deborah in the book of Judges. In this info-packed, eight-session Bible study, explore how one woman’s “yes” rescued the people of God and showed how God can use even the unlikeliest heroes to drive his redemptive history.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. — Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Most of us really, really don’t want to sin. And we even know what sin is, and we believe that we’re not supposed to do it. But… we still sin. Why?
Many of us believe that we’re still sinning because we’re “not trying hard enough.” That’s not entirely it. We’re sinning because part of our hearts are hidden from us. We don’t know why we do what we do.
One way we try to hide and cover is to try to cover up any part of our lives that doesn’t feel right with good behavior. It doesn’t really work. We need to get to the roots of the issue. Quick fixes aren’t going to fix our hidden hearts. We need to appeal to someone who understands what’s going on in there. We have to go to God.
God Wants to Transform Your Heart
The term heart is used biblically to refer to the core person. Proverbs 27:19 (NIV) says, “As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”
In Proverbs 23:7–8, we’re warned against the begrudging host, “for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. ‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you.”
In Luke 16:15, Jesus says, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts.” The heart is what a person really thinks and does—not who she says she is or who he pretends to be.
This is why Proverbs 3:5 instructs us to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts. We don’t trust Him by saying, “God I trust You.” We trust Him by opening our hearts to Him: “God, teach me what’s in there.”
The Risk of Spiritual Moralism
When we skip over the importance of our hearts — and the reality that they can be hidden from us — we find ourselves mired in spiritual moralism, or the attempt to direct our own spiritual growth. Spiritual moralism is us making an immense effort toward becoming more like Christ without Christ.
Spelled out like that, it sounds ridiculous, but I see this all the time. I see it in our culture. I see it in the people I work with and speak with. I see it in our sermons. And I see it in me. This has been my struggle for decades.
I hear a good sermon on prayer. I decide right then and there that I’m going to get better at my prayer life. So what went wrong in this moment? I skipped a step. I skipped over the truth of what’s in my heart and went straight for “trying harder.”
There’s another way to get better at prayer. And, not so surprisingly, it involves prayer.
Let’s try again.
I hear a good sermon on prayer. I decide I want to pray more but wonder why I haven’t in the past. I wonder whether I’ll get better at it after this moment. And, here’s the key, I take those thoughts about prayer to God in prayer. I confess, “God, I want to pray more. Help!” Or maybe I say, “Prayer takes a lot of time. Why don’t I dedicate more of my time to it? What don’t I believe about prayer? Help!”
The difference between the two ways of trying to grow is significant — and it’s a difference that exists in the heart. The next time you feel that impulse to change, pause before you start “trying harder.” Go straight to God in prayer, offering your desire to change to Him.
We often try to do a lot for God — without him. Relaxed is a call to let go of spiritual performance, reject our cultural tendency to live under pressure, and find freedom to walk with God and toward God, one gentle step at a time.
The first thing God commanded Adam to do was to name all the land animals. I define play as “work with no toil,” so I believe this was, among other things, God giving Adam a fun game to play!
Notice the language used in scripture — God brought these animals to Adam:
“Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” — Genesis 2:19 (NKJV)
My name is Andrew Lowen. I am a former professional gamer and founder of Lowen Games, LLC. My Christian board game Deliverance has become the highest-rated religious board game of all time on BoardGameGeek(that’s the biggest website for board games on the internet) and is now returning with a new expansion on Kickstarter.
I also run a board game marketing agency called Crowdfunding Nerds, which has helped hundreds of game designers and companies turn their projects into reality by raising millions of dollars for our clients through crowdfunding. We have worked with large intellectual properties such as Fallout, Dune, Redwall, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Trek, Conan, The Elder Scrolls, and many more.
But board games aren’t just my job, and they aren’t just my hobby. Here’s why I believe everyone — especially every Christian — should play Christian board games.
The Theology of Play
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien saw the “myth” or “fairy tale” not as an escape from reality, but a parable that gives us greater insight and another perspective into something transcendent, something theological.
Rest and leisure are communicated to us through the Sabbath, which Jesus makes clear was intended for man’s benefit (Mark 2:27). We were given the gifts of rest and leisure for a reason: they remind us of a coming future restoration of all things and a renewed Garden of Eden on earth.
“‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’” — Revelation 21:4-5 (NKJV)
Every time we play a game (without neglecting our responsibilities), we express God’s gift of leisure. When we engage in leisurely play, we are reminded of Christ’s promise to one day make all things new.
I’m a proud father of seven children. I’ve never had to teach any of them how to play. God has given them this desire, because He made them in His image. I enjoy watching them explore the world God created and learn how He designed things, and I look forward to the day when I can be like a child, playing without worry!
4 Reasons to Play Christian Board Games
We were literally made to play. But with so many kinds of play — especially in today’s world — why should we play board games?
There are four reasons why board games are among the best kind of play for Christians both young and old:
Put Down Screens
Bible Study Supplement
Evangelism
Skill Development
1. Put Down Screens
Board games have the fantastic quality of being physical, which means in order to enjoy them, you have to be seated at a table and face-to-face with others. Because the combination of fellowship and gameplay requires constant attention, players are incentivized to put down all digital devices for the duration of the gaming session.
A respite from the allure of screens is something our social media-addicted society could use. Board games are a great excuse to get in some quality face-to-face family time, which we all need more of in this digital age.
2. Bible Study Supplement
Doing a study on Daniel 9, Jude, Ephesians 6, or Revelation 12? Why not end the night playfully reinforcing ideas of spiritual battles in the heavenlies with a game of Deliverance?
Board games are often used to deepen relationships between members in small Bible study groups, or to break the ice and introduce Biblical themes which you will be exploring later in greater detail.
Christian board games — even ones you have a slight theological difference with — let you cut to the chase, open your Bibles with your study group, and test everything directly against the scriptures.
3. Evangelism
I once played a game of Deliverance with an atheist who later told me he read more of the Bible playing my game in an hour than he had in the last 20 years combined.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of incredible experiences I have had with non-Christians. Crafting Deliverance has given me an opportunity to connect with people who otherwise would not give me the time of day.
Tabletop gaming has a powerful ability to break down barriers and have folks from all backgrounds and beliefs connect as humans, which can lead to deeper theological discussions.
Board games are a great way to reach an unreached demographic of geek and convention subcultures. This year there were over 150,000 attendees at San Diego Comic-Con and 71,000 at GenCon 2024.
Paul reasoned with Jews in the synagogue and gentiles in the marketplace (Acts 17:17) because those demographics of people naturally congregate in those places. How can Christians be salt and light to these people if we don’t meet them in places they gather?
4. Skill Development
Since there is no hand-holding with digital prompts, board games force us to sit down, read, and comprehend a rulebook of how to play. This skill of comprehension is worth exercising and teaching children, especially with our instant-gratification, dopamine-driven society!
Board games are one of the best mediums for sharpening your mind in a fun way. I have personally taught my children how to count, add, subtract and read using interactive play through various tabletop games.
The Problem With “Christian” Games
With so many great reasons to play Christian games, why aren’t we all playing them already?
If I’m honest… most Christian games are not very good.
As a person with a lot of experience marketing Christian games, I often get pushback that generally boils down to a combination of, “Christian games aren’t as good as secular games” and “there’s no way this game could actually be good.”
Why?
In my experience, there are two major reasons:
A Lack of Innovation
Targeting the Wrong People
Lack of Innovation
Christians were once at the forefront of innovation. The beautiful art of the Renaissance was pioneered by Christians like Michaelangelo and Raphael. Advances in science were once dominated by Christians like Galileo, Isaac Newton, and Georges Lemaitre. Even today, there is some incredible Christian media, such as The Chosen by Dallas Jenkins or VeggieTales by Larry Vischer (my childhood favorite).
Christian games, however, are not known for their originality. Oftentimes, they piggyback upon other popular products. For example, Settlers of Canaan essentially parrots the mechanics of the popular game Settlers of Catan. Many Christian clones of “Apples to Apples” exist out there as well.
There is nothing wrong with making something deliberately to avoid compromising one’s faith, but how is Settlers of Catan compromising to the Christian?
Here’s why I suspect many companies make these games: They think Christians are gullible, and they want your money. But they don’t care to earn it by making a compelling product.
As a Christian, the lack of innovation in games was frustrating to me. I wanted an epic experience that also upheld the Word of God and Biblical accuracy. I felt God calling me to pick up the mantle and develop a game myself.
The journey has not been easy. Companies wouldn’t touch it due to its Christian theme. Investors rejected it, because they believed that it wouldn’t sell. The only option was for me to do it myself, which meant I had to crowdfund this idea to make it a reality.
We had to raise money using a crowdfunding website called Kickstarter, and by the grace of God, 2,717 people pledged $314,375 to bring Deliverance to life. We developed an excited fan base through word of mouth, and now we’re coming back to Kickstarter with a brand new Deliverance campaign because our fans want more!
Targeting the Wrong People
Many consultations that I have about Christian games in our marketing company include a discussion about the product’s “target market,” which refers to the sort of customer that would love the product and champion it.
Well-meaning Christian creators often fail here, because they make a product that is intended to save souls, and they market it to Christians.
I want to see people repent and believe in Jesus! But in a game, when the focus is exclusively on repentance and salvation, you’re accidentally telling both Christians and non-Christians that the game isn’t made for them.
How?
Let me explain:
Christians, by definition, are already “saved.” By targeting people for salvation, you’re telling Christians that this game is not made for them.
At the same time, non-Christians don’t choose to play games about salvation and repentance. In fact, they run from them. By targeting people for salvation, you’re telling non-Christians this game is not made for them, either.
The only group that buys games like this are parents that want their kids to play them. But if you force the parents to play a game like this more than twice, I suspect they would express the same frustration that I did before the Lord called me to make Deliverance.
A Game That Christians and Non-Christians Want to Play
If a Christian game is to be attractive to other Christians and non-Christians, it must be thematically and mechanically innovative.
In other words, it has to be fun.
The mistake many Christian creators make is to assume other Christians will love their product or service simply because it promotes Christianity. But this is only true if the product or service is innovative enough to also stand on its own in the open market.
In fact, this sentiment was expressed 500 years ago by the Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther:
“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”
A Golden Age of Christian Gaming?
Quality Christian board games used to be a dream. But now, many publishers have begun to release innovative Christian products that satisfy the itch of the true gamer. Deliverance is being joined by other excellent games like Ezra & Nehemiah and Animo: Bible Verse Trading Card Game.
My desire is to see games like this continue to pour forth from worthy publishers. But the only way that can happen is if Christians stand behind us.
Deliverance will be undergoing a reprint with a brand new expansion on Kickstarter called The Council of The Fallen, and we will once again see how the market values our game. I am thankful that many Christians will stand with us, and I hope you are counted among them!
Deliverance can be played right now for free digitally on Board Game Arena (join our Discord for access) or Tabletop Simulator. There are also plenty of resources and people in our Facebook Group willing to help you learn to play!
Finally, I’d like to personally thank you for reading this article. This is a topic I’m very passionate about and believe can greatly glorify God and further His Kingdom in these dark days!
Welcome back to Bible Gateway’s weekly Look at the Book series of short blog posts and infographics introducing you to the books of the Bible. The book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible and its content traverses probably the longest time frame.
Scroll to the bottom if you’d prefer to see (and save) this article as an infographic. You’ll also find a handy 30-day reading guide. Or, for a challenge, you can do it in one week using the 7-day reading guide below.
Summary
A collection of songs that were written across several centuries, with the earliest written about the time of Moses and the latest following the Babylonian exile. Organized into five separate books: (1) Psalms 1-41, (2) Psalms 42-72, (3) Psalms 73-89, (4) Psalms 90-106, and (5) Psalms 107-150.
Category: Wisdom
Theme: Worship
Timeline: The time range of the Psalms extends from Moses (Ps 90) to the Post-Exilic period (Ps 126), spanning 900 years of Jewish history.
Written: Many authors, including David, Asaph, Solomon, the sons of Korah, and more.
Key Verse
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” — Psalm 103:1 (NIV)
Two Places at Once
The basic theme of the Psalms is living real life in the real world, where two dimensions operate simultaneously: 1) our day-to-day temporal reality, and 2) our spiritual, transcendent reality.
The Psalms are Israel’s ancient, God-breathed “hymnbook,” defining the proper spirit and content of worship.
7 Day Reading Guide
Note: more than any other book of the Bible, the Psalms benefit from slower reading. Most Bible reading plans suggest 1-2 Psalms per day. Still, if you’re on a speed-reading mission, here’s the best cadence to power through them in a week.
The entire collection of Psalms is entitled “Praises” in the Hebrew text. Later, rabbis often designated it “The Book of Praises.”
Access the rest of the series. Browse Bible studies for each book of the Bible. Or right-click on the infographic below to download and save the image for your reference.
Our world is in a mess. Our nation is imploding. But what difference can you and I make? What difference can one person make?
You know what we can do? We can pray. Pray in such a way that heaven is moved, and our nation is changed.
But if you are like me, you feel like you can’t even do that because your prayers seem hollow and anemic.
How to Pray Like Daniel
The Daniel prayer is a no-holds-barred, go-for-broke, nothing-held-back way of praying until heaven is moved and whatever it is you are praying about is changed or until God answers. It is not a prayer that you necessarily pray every day. It is a prayer that is born out of desperation, just a heart’s longing, a heart’s cry.
The Daniel prayer overcomes obstacles. It is one that pushes through until the prayer is answered. And that kind of prayer requires preparation. It would be like an athlete who wants to win a race or a game — and to do so he doesn’t just show up for the race or game thinking he can win. He has spent days, weeks, months, even years in preparation for that moment. The Daniel prayer is one that is unique and requires commitment. And that requires preparation.
A good example, of course, is Daniel himself. He prayed that prayer when he was an older man. But he was set up for it by the way he had established a habit of prayer and his commitment to pray that began when he was a young man.
When Daniel’s Life Changed — His Devotion Didn’t
Let me tell you about Daniel, because Daniel I am assuming was maybe fourteen or fifteen years of age, living in the city of Jerusalem, when his nation, Judah, came under God’s judgment. God sent in the Babylonians to attack Jerusalem and in that first attack, Daniel was captured, taken into captivity with about 200 other young men.
They were marched 800 miles east and placed in slavery. They were enslaved to King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel’s whole life was radically changed. Everything about his life changed: his culture, his customs, his language, his clothes. Everything changed except one thing — and it was Daniel’s devotion to God. And that devotion we can clearly see in the priorities that he set that affected his decisions and, you know, all the things that he did.
Prayer: The Core of Daniel’s Life
But also we can see it in his prayer life. Prayer was the core of Daniel’s life. It was the center of his life. And Daniel established a strong prayer life. We get a glimpse of it in Daniel 6:10. Daniel is serving under his third emperor. (First it was then Babylonian emperor, then the Medo-Persian, then the Persian.) He’s serving under him as prime minister. His enemies hate him. They are very jealous. They want to depose him. And so they come up with a plan that they would have anyone who would pray to any God other than the emperor executed, thrown into the lion’s den.
Daniel knew all this was going on. In Daniel 6:10, it says, “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published,” so he knew if he prayed to his God his life was threatened, “he went home to his upstairs room with the windows open towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God just as he had done before.”
Notice the phrase “just as he had done before.” This was a habit in Daniel’s life. And there are four characteristics of this habit, four characteristics of his preparation to pray through until God answered that I want you and I to pick up on.
Four Characteristics of Daniel’s Prayer Preparation
These are the four characteristics of Daniel’s prayer preparation: Place, Time, Atmosphere, and Attitude.
1. Place
The first is that Daniel had a prepared place to pray. He went to his upstairs room.
Do you have a place that you meet God in prayer? In my place where I meet the Lord I have my materials. I have a Bible that I don’t travel with. I don’t use it for other purposes like going to church. I just have it right there in my prepared place. I have a pen or pencil. I have a notebook where I can write down the results of my Bible reading. And all my materials are right there so when I go to meet the Lord for prayer they are right there.
2. Time
Daniel also prepared the time. It said he went to that upstairs room three times a day.
And you can imagine, if he is prime minister, he has a very important position in a world empire — and yet he still made the time to draw aside three times a day. I’ll confess, I don’t do that. I can’t do that, not in that kind of serious, set-aside prayer. But I do try to meet the Lord at least once a day in set-aside time for prayer.
Can you do that once a day? What would be the best time of day for you to set aside?
I decided I wanted to give the Lord an early morning time. But my problem was that I am not an early morning person. So I bought an alarm clock that was so loud, when it went off it would just scare me to death and my heart would beat out of my chest, so there wasn’t a chance that I would go back to sleep.
An early morning time is not the only time. I don’t want to put a guilt trip on you. You can meet with the Lord whatever the best time of day is for you. It could be at noon over your lunch hour, or in the afternoon when your children go down for a nap, or maybe the evening is your best time.
The important thing is that you set aside not only a place, but you set aside time where you meet with the Lord every day. It is a habit, meeting him in that place, meeting him at that time, every single day.
3. Atmosphere
Daniel not only prepared a place and time, but he prepared the atmosphere. He threw open the windows towards Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was 800 miles away. What that tells me about Daniel is that he had a longing in his heart for home. He never stopped missing home, wanting to go home, wishing he could go home. But I think it also meant that he was focusing on the Lord God of his fathers, the living God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the midst of a pagan culture with everybody saying they had their own gods. Daniel was focused in prayer on the one, true, living God.
But Daniel created that atmosphere when he threw open his windows towards Jerusalem, reminding himself of the person to whom he was praying and his longing for home, that one day he would go to his heavenly home.
We throw open the windows of our heart towards home, to try to have a heavenly perspective. This life is not all there is. I want to try to see things from God’s perspective and from an eternal viewpoint because it changes very often, the way we look at our day when we throw open the windows of our heart towards home and look towards heaven knowing that we are going home one day. We are just pilgrims passing through.
For you and me — for myself — I want to throw open the windows of my heart towards home too, and when I pray, to know that this life is not all there is. I am going home.
I want my life to be in step with what eternal values would dictate. I want to remember that I am just a pilgrim passing through. At the same time, I want to focus on who God is, that he is the Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. Attitude
Daniel prepared a place, a time, an atmosphere, and lastly he prepared his attitude. Daniel got down on his knees.
When was the last time you prayed on your knees? Have you ever prayed on your knees? Try it. You will see the difference it makes in your attitude. There is something about praying on your knees. It is not just bowing your knee. It is bowing your heart before God. And it may be hard to do.
As I have gotten older it has gotten harder for me because I have a torn meniscus in one knee, I have arthritis in the other, so I can’t stay on my knees for long. But I want to bow the knee before God — because God is God and we are we. We need to remember the difference. We bow our knee out of worship, and respect, and reverence, and submission to his authority.
So if you say not just that you can’t bow the knee for some physical difficulty but you won’t bow the knee, then you need an attitude check. When we come before God, if we are going to pray the Daniel prayer, we need to prepare our attitude and it needs to be one of worship and submission to the authority of his lordship.
So next time you meet the Lord in prayer, just get down on your knees and see the difference it makes in your attitude.
Commit to the Daniel Prayer
So would you prepare an attitude, an attitude of thanksgiving, an attitude of worship? Would you make the time to prepare for the Daniel prayer, a commitment to pray until heaven is moved, and nations are changed?
To make that commitment, you must be prepared. So right now, this day, would you prepare a place, and prepare a time, and prepare the atmosphere, and prepare your attitude? Would you choose to pray as Daniel prayed?
What if every Jesus follower on Earth gathered at one time?
I want to personally invite you to something unprecedented — Gather25, happening on March 1, 2025. Imagine 2.5 billion believers coming together in prayer, worship, and repentance, all being commissioned to reach the world with the Gospel. For 25 continuous hours!
We’ll be meeting in churches, homes, campuses, and arenas — wherever God’s people gather. This event is truly for everyone, everywhere, across every denomination and time zone. And the best part? It’s completely free.
Why Gather25?
We believe discipleship is the way Jesus intended to change the world — life-on-life, in living rooms, local churches, and communities. Over the past decade, we’ve seen God move through our global discipleship organization IF:Gathering, reaching over one million people annually across 179 countries.
But in 2022, something shifted. I found myself asking, “What if Jesus came back in 10 years?” The urgency of that question gripped me. There are 5.5 billion people on Earth who don’t yet know Him. If we believe Jesus is coming soon, how should we respond? What can we do to mobilize the 2.5 billion Christians to reach the world?
That’s when the idea for Gather25 was born.
A Vision for the Global Church
I started dreaming with a team. We began to wonder, what if we had a really large church meeting — like, the whole Church — every follower of Jesustogether at the same time? It wasn’t just my vision; I quickly realized this was a God-given dream shared by so many other leaders across the globe.
With today’s technology, this dream can become reality. For the first time in history, the entire global Church — every man, woman, and child who follows Jesus —can gather together across every language, denomination, generation, and continent. We’re not just talking about an event; we’re talking about a global movement.
How the World Will Gather on March 1, 2025
Gather25 will take place over 25 hours, on March 1, 2025. Thanks to live-streaming technology, we’ll bring believers from every corner of the globe together for prayer, worship, repentance, and commissioning.
Each of the seven core sessions will be hosted by different countries and feature teaching, stories, and worship. We’ll hear from the underground church, celebrate stories of revival in the local church we’ve never heard before, and at the end, we’ll send out workers for the Great Commission.
How to Participate in Gather25
Here are three primary ways you can be part of this moment:
Gather Groups: Host a local gathering in your home, church, or community space.
Gather Live Broadcast Sites: Attend a major gathering at one of the host locations on each continent.
Gather Livestream: Watch the event via TV, radio, or online, free of charge, wherever you are in the world.
We’ll gather in dorm rooms, stadiums, living rooms, and churches.
Mobilizing the Global Church: Partners and Vision
From the beginning, we knew we couldn’t do this alone. That’s why God brought together countless partners like YouVersion, The Bible Project, illumiNations, RightNow Media, and the World Evangelical Alliance. We’ve also connected with ministries worldwide, including Africa New Life, 24-7 Prayer, Jesus Film, Convoy of Hope, Revive Europe, Barna, Luis Palau Association and Arise Asia. We’ve only just begun.
We chose the date — March 1, 2025 — with prayer and intentionality. Our team is also working hard to make resources available in 14 major languages, including Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, and many more, ensuring that everyone can gather.
So far, over 40,000 people from over 150 countries have expressed interest in hosting a Gather Group. These local gatherings are going to be the heartbeat of Gather25, allowing people to experience this moment in person within their own communities.
You’re Invited to Be Part of History
In Matthew 28, Jesus gave us the command to “go and make disciples of all nations.” For the first time ever, technology has made it possible to gather the entire Global Church for the sake of the Gospel and the Great Commission.
During Gather25, we’ll be hearing from international leaders and witnessing what God is doing on each continent. My prayer is that every person who participates will leave with a renewed sense of urgency to take the Gospel to their families, schools, workplaces, and communities.
What’s Next?
The world needs to hear the Good News of Jesus. Our goal is to mobilize the 2.5 billion Christians to reach the 5.5 billion who do not yet know Jesus as their Savior. You’re invited to be part of this moment for the Global Church.
Pray: Commit to praying for Gather25 and the global Church daily.
Share: Spread the word to your friends, family, pastors, and ministry leaders.
I believe God is going to do amazing things through YOU and His Church. We can’t wait to see how God moves.
About Gather25
Gather25 is a worldwide event, inviting every Christian to join 25 hours of prayer, worship, repentance, and commissioning on March 1, 2025. The mission is to mobilize 2.5 billion Christians to share the Gospel with the 5.5 billion people who don’t know Jesus.
Welcome back to Bible Gateway’s weekly Look at the Book series of short blog posts and infographics introducing you to the books of the Bible. Job is arguably among the oldest books in the Bible and presents a distinct literary vision of God’s sovereignty.
Scroll to the bottom if you’d prefer to see (and save) this article as an infographic. You’ll also find a handy 30-day reading guide. Or, for a challenge, you can do it in one week using the 7-day reading guide below.
Summary
Job is the first book in what is known as the “books of poetry.” The books vary in literary form and cover a wide range of functions, from wisdom literature to personal prayers and hymns of worship.
Category: Wisdom
Theme: Suffering
Timeline: Unknown — sometime in Genesis, around the time of Abraham
Written: Date and author unknown
Key Verse
“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. — Job 42:2 (NIV)
Job’s Theodicy
Job tackles massive questions that have loomed in the minds of sufferers throughout all time. How can a good God allow righteous people to suffer?
We can take heart that while we will surely suffer, God is at work and can be trusted.
Reflect on the insights into the nature of suffering and faith, who God is and how deeply he values righteousness, and the unseen spiritual conflicts between God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom.
As you read Job, pay close attention to the scenario set up in this book, which probably took place during the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Access the rest of the series. Browse Bible studies for each book of the Bible. Or right-click on the infographic below to download and save the image for your reference.
The books of the Bible were written over a period of over a millennium and a half, with the oldest parts composed around 1500-1400 BC and the most recent books from the late first century AD. These books cover the entire span of time from the creation of the universe to its final consummation — but most focus on roughly the period of their composition.
This article will provide the best approximation for when each book of the Bible was written, based on both traditional accounts and the latest scholarship.
But first, it’s important to understand that the process of dating books of the Bible always involves a bit (or a lot) of guesswork.
Challenges With Establishing Dates in the Bible
There are several reasons why it’s difficult to establish precise dates for when the Bible was written — including the lack of a consistent calendar, different understandings of history, and the common practice of oral transmission in the ancient world.
These problems diminish the closer you get to the modern age, but even in the New Testament era it can be difficult to lock down precise dating.
No Consistent Calendar
Before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, there was no uniform dating system worldwide. Various cultures had different systems — some solar, some lunar, some based on rulers’ reigns. Aligning these systems becomes increasingly challenging the further back you look.
To get past this challenge, historians meticulously reconstruct dates by cross-referencing rulers’ reigns, celestial positions, other information given by ancient writers, and, more recently, carbon dating.
Still, dating precision varies, and can sometimes only be given in ranges of decades or even centuries.
Different Understanding of History
Another problem with dating ancient events is that the Bible’s authors had a different purpose for recording history than modern historians. While today we focus on establishing timelines and causality, ancient writers were more concerned with the events’ meanings rather than their chronological order.
You can see this especially in the books of the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy). Few of those stories provide any attempt at dating whatsoever. What matters is the way God appears in and uses history to accomplish his plan for his people.
Oral Transmission
For many of us today, it’s hard to imagine memorizing our email passwords, never mind the entire Bible. But in the ancient world, it was relatively common.
Paper in the ancient world — typically made painstakingly from cured animal skins — was very hard to come by, and literacy was rare. As a result, many works were transmitted orally for years, decades, or even centuries before they were written down.
This was especially true for popular stories, prophecies, Psalms and Proverbs, eyewitness accounts like the Gospels, and other genres that people might have shared widely before a scribe was able to commit them to paper.
New Discoveries
Sometimes new academic or archaeological discoveries — ancient manuscripts, buried buildings, language evolution over time — reveal clues about when a Biblical work was composed. This can help determine more precise dating.
Today, scholars can date the reigns and activities of the kings of the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles with confidence thanks to the wealth of documents and material culture from that period. Even if that doesn’t tell us exactly when the books about those kings were written, it can help give us an idea of the time frame.
Many of the prophets can be dated during that time as well, though others remain mysterious (Joel is the most notoriously difficult).
Dates of the Old Testament Books
With those caveats out of the way, here are our best guesses for when each book of the Bible was written, starting with the Old Testament.
Pentateuch (Torah)
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy: 1446-1406 BC; may have been mostly oral tradition until much later
Historical Books
Joshua: 1400-1370 BC; possibly oral tradition recorded during the reign of Josiah (late 600s BC)
Judges: 1045-1000 BC; possibly oral tradition recorded during the reign of Josiah (late 600s BC)
Ruth: 1011-931 BC (likely during reign of David)
1 & 2 Samuel: 930-722 BC; may have been mostly oral tradition compiled during the reign of Josiah (late 600s BC)
1 & 2 Kings: 560-540 BC
1 & 2 Chronicles: 450-425 BC
Ezra: 440-430 BC
Nehemiah: 430-400 BC
Esther: Probably around 400 BC
Wisdom Literature
Job: Disputed; dates range from second millennium to fifth century BC
Psalms: Various times from 1400-500 BC
Proverbs: 950-700 BC
Ecclesiastes: Around 935 BC
Song of Solomon: 960-931 BC
Prophets
Isaiah: 700-681 BC; oral traditions may have been compiled much later, with additional content as late as early 500s BC
Jeremiah: 626-585 BC
Lamentations: ca. 586 BC
Ezekiel: 593-571 BC
Daniel: Beginning 530 BC; some parts may be much later
Hosea: 750-715 BC
Joel: Disputed; likely either 835-796 BC or 500-450 BC
Amos: 760-750 BC
Obadiah: Disputed; 850-450 BC, though most likely the early exilic period (580-560 BC)
Jonah: Probably 500s BC, though it takes place much earlier (790-760 BC)
Micah: 735-700 BC
Nahum: 663-612 BC
Habakkuk: 612-589 BC
Zephaniah: 640-609 BC
Haggai: Around 520 BC
Zechariah: 520-480 BC
Malachi: 440-430 BC
Dates of the Apocrypha
In general, the Deuterocanonical or Apocryphal books were written in Greek rather than Hebrew and date from the Intertestamental Period — roughly 300-100 BC or a little later.
Dates of the New Testament Books
The books of the New Testament are much easier to date than the Old Testament. They were obviously all written after the death and resurrection of Jesus in 33 AD, and were mostly in their completed forms by 100 AD, when Christian writers began referencing and quoting from them.
Still, some of the same problems persist from the Old Testament period, and there is dispute about the exact dating of the Gospels (most of which were oral testimony written down after the fact) and most of the epistles. Unlike the Old Testament, though, they are disputes of a few years or, at the most, decades — rather than centuries.
Gospels & Acts
Matthew: After 70 AD, preserving oral accounts from the previous generation
Mark: 64-70 AD, preserving oral accounts from the previous generation
Luke: Debated; could be any time between 62-90 AD, preserving earlier oral accounts
John: 90-110 AD, preserving earlier oral accounts
Acts: 62-90 AD (by Luke)
Pauline Epistles
Romans: 56-57 AD
1 Corinthians: 53-54 AD
2 Corinthians: 55-56 AD
Galatians: 50-56 AD
Ephesians: 60-62 AD
Philippians: 54-62 AD, depending on whether it was sent from Ephesus, Caesarea, or Rome
Colossians: 57-62 AD, depending on whether it was sent from Caesarea or Rome
1 Thessalonians: 50-51 AD
2 Thessalonians: 51-52 AD
1 Timothy: 62-64 AD (or 90-110 AD if pseudonymous)
2 Timothy: 64-67 AD (or 90-110 AD if pseudonymous)
Titus: 62-64 AD (or 90-110 AD if pseudonymous)
Philemon: 54-62 AD, depending on whether it was sent from Ephesus, Caesarea, or Rome
General Epistles & Revelation
Hebrews: 60-95 AD, but probably late 60s
James: 45-62 AD
1 Peter: 60-65 AD (or 85-90 AD if pseudonymous)
2 Peter: 65-68 AD (or 80-90 AD if pseudonymous)
1 John: 85-100 AD
2 John: 85-100 AD
3 John: 85-100 AD
Jude: 65-80 AD
Revelation: Either 64-65 AD (during persecutions by Nero) or 95-96 AD (during persecutions by Domitian)
Conclusion: When Did Each Book Take Place?
Understanding even roughly when the books of the Bible were written helps to contextualize not only their relationships to each other, but also to the wider cultures of Israel, the Levant, and the Middle East at the time of their composition.
You also might notice that they weren’t always written (or at least not written down) exactly when they took place — especially with books like Jonah and Esther that take place decades or even centuries before they were finalized.
If you’d like to read the books in the order they take place, look no further than our chronological ordering of the Bible — and learn more about the circumstances of their composition by digging into who wrote each book.
Want to get better context behind each of the dates in this article? Try Bible Gateway Plus free and get access to some of the same resources I used to research this very article!
![Look at the Book: Proverbs [Infographic]](https://i0.wp.com/staticblog.bgcdn.com/learn/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/06144821/proverbs-look.jpg?fit=696%2C411&ssl=1 "Look at the Book: Proverbs [Infographic]")
![Look at the Book: Psalms [Infographic]](https://i0.wp.com/staticblog.bgcdn.com/learn/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/06144134/psalms-look.jpg?fit=696%2C402&ssl=1 "Look at the Book: Psalms [Infographic]")
![Look at the Book: Job [Infographic]](https://i0.wp.com/staticblog.bgcdn.com/learn/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/02145607/job-look.png?fit=696%2C385&ssl=1 "Look at the Book: Job [Infographic]")
