Before I read a book I always read the table of contents.
A good table of contents acts as a summary of ideas for each chapter and can show the flow of ideas through the book.
This prepares my mind to read the book in detail, alerting me what to expect, and to sections I can skim, or skip altogether.
While reading I can always go back and consult the table of contents to get a bird’s eye view of where I am in the book.
Most table of contents in Bibles are minimal and do not contain much helpful information about the content of books.
Publishers do this so as to remain doctrinally neutral.
Your study of the Bible should not be doctrinally neutral: make your own table of contents.
Understanding the time line of the Bible, the flow of ideas presented, and how God intervenes from beginning to end can help in your daily reading.
This is why half a dozen times each year I teach a time line of the Bible on Sunday mornings. These repetitive summary lessons build a proper table of contents in our minds.
Accompanying these “table of content” lessons is often a drawing or chart of the Bible. Such a time line would be very useful in the beginning of your Bible next to the table of contents.
This is why we produced the Dispensational Chart that can easily fit in the front cover of your Bible.
Such a lesson is being taught tomorrow. If you can’t make it, make your own table of contents of the Bible summarizing what happens from beginning to end in a couple pages.
For His glory,
Justin “bibliophile” Johnson