Summary of the Book of Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is about the law of God. The law teaches us that God is holy. The Book of Leviticus contains many rules for people of Israel. We do not obey all the rules in Leviticus today, because we trust Jesus (see Galatians 3:23-25), yet it is a book Jesus quoted (Leviticus 19:18) and it tells us a lot about God’s character, His likes and dislikes and His love for justice. The Book of Leviticus also describes the duties of priests during the time of the Tabernacle and subsequent Temple. In Leviticus 23, there is a list of special holidays, when the Israel praised God together. They foreshadow the plan of God for His world from the Cross (Passover) to consummation (Tabernacles).
God tells the people that they must sacrifices of animals, grain and wine at the tabernacle, and the people gave these to God. Many of these sacrifices became the food that the priests ate, but one of these sacrifices was not eaten: the sin offering. The people were instructed to offer the sin offering so that God would forgive their evil deeds (Leviticus chapters 1-7). This foreshadowed the sacrifice that Jesus made. Leviticus 26 also highlights the grace of a God who is ready to forgive if His people acknowledged their sin.
Jesus died for us so that today, God forgives our evil deeds. We must therefore confess our evil deeds to God, and must invite God into our lives.
The Book of Leviticus is in the Old Testament part of the Bible.
Summary of the Letter to the Ephesians
The Book of Ephesians is in the Bible’s New Testament. Paul wrote this letter to the church at Ephesus, which he had led for over two years (Acts 19:10).
When Paul wrote the Book of Ephesians, Paul was in prison. Yet the letter is not a sad letter. Paul was excited about God’s good gifts (Ephesians 1:3). Paul was pleased that the Christians in Ephesus continued to serve God. Paul wanted to encourage them, and he told them about his prayers for them (Ephesians 1:15-22, Ephesians 3:14-21).
Paul reminded the Christians in Ephesus that previously they were enemies of God, but God sent Jesus to die for them. Because of Jesus’ death, they became friends of God (Ephesians 2:11-22). Now, they should live lives that please God (Ephesians 4:17-32, Ephesians 5), and they should trust God more. God had appointed teachers to help the Christians, and the Christians would learn to be more like Jesus. Troubles would come, so they needed God’s protection (Ephesians 6:10-18).
Summary of the Book of Psalms
The Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 ancient songs. King David wrote many Psalms (that is, songs). The instructions at the start form part of the Psalm, often giving direction to the musician on how to treat the Psalm.
There are many different subjects. Many Psalms are glad songs which praise God (for example, Psalms 103 and 150). Other Psalms are sad prayers (Psalm 74). Some Psalms explain that God will rescue us from our troubles (Psalms 40 and 41). And some Psalms are about the history of Israel (Psalms 74 and 78). Psalm 119 is about the Bible. The Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) teach how to approach God. In Psalm 51, David confesses an evil deed. Psalm 22 describes how Jesus would suffer. Psalm 2 tells us that God will rule the world. Psalm 1 teaches that we must love God.
The Psalms are a very special part of the Bible. We can learn many things about God from their beautiful words. They are in the Bible’s Old Testament.
Summary of the Book of Philippians
The Book of Philippians is in the Bible’s New Testament. Paul wrote this letter to the church at Philippi, which he had established (Acts 16:11-40).
Paul was a prisoner when he wrote the book of Philippians, but he used his time in prison well. He even told his guards about Jesus (Philippians 1:13), and he was glad that people were speaking about Jesus (Philippians 1:12-30).
Paul encouraged the Christians in Philippi to work together (Philippians 1:27). They should love each other (Philippians 2:1-4). Accordingly, they should be humble. Paul reminded them that Jesus was very humble. (Philippians 2:5-11), but now, God gives great honour to Jesus.
Paul warned the Christians about some people who did not know Jesus (Philippians 3:1-4, Philippians 3:17-19). He wanted the Christians to trust God more. Even Paul himself wanted to know God better (Philippians 3:10-11). Paul did not pretend that he was already perfect (Philippians 3:12), but he knew that God will change us totally (Philippians 3:21). Therefore, we should be glad (Philippians 4:4). We should do the right things (Philippians 4:8-9), and we should trust God to provide whatever we need (Philippians 4:10-19).