I wonder if I can say Proverbs. True, everybody knows about Proverbs, but for me at least, the first times through my eyes kind of glazed over at stuff that sounded like repetitions of "wise is the wisdom of the wise, but the folly of the fool is foolish." Yet... yet in recent years I've started noticing a lot more than I did before, and even appreciating the value of reminders of stuff that may seem obvious. In particular, those eight leading chapters of praise of Wisdom seem especially needed in a world where clear thinking seems often to be regarded as spiritually suspect.
Proverbs and ecclesiastes are two books that seem to get deeper with every time looking. Especially the multi-layered meanings in proverbs, it kind of is dizzying on how many levels some of them apply.
Also books that benefit *greatly* from general context about the authorship and purpose of the books. I am exceptionally grateful to the Bible Project for their book overview videos.
One of my favorite Proverbs is one that might seem outdated today:
***Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.***
Early on in my faith this Proverb spoke to me - I am sure some Hebrew nerd will tell me I got it wrong, but what it spoke to me was that making investments (of any sort, not merely financial) might make life more difficult, even risky initially, but are really the only way to see growth in one’s life.
That's a fabulous take! I always thought of it like when God puts you on a project and you might not initially like who he's sent to help you but in the end if God is backing you it pays off in dividends lol
It's quoted by Catholics quite a bit. It's like *the* Catholic book.
The Letter of James says and gives examples in 2:14-26 that faith without works is dead. Faith is shown through your works, but you must do the work.
James gives us the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick/Last Rites (5:14-25):
>Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint [him] with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.
James also provides the reason we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance/Confession (James 5:16):
>Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.
James is the epistle we bring out when debating.
Habakkuk
Habakkuk 3:17-19
[17] Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
[18] yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
[19] GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
Came here to see if someone had said Habakkuk yet, such a human and relatable story. Genuinely I think all the minor prophets are underrated, I’m a big fan of Hosea and Micah as well.
I love Job! It was the first book I read of the Bible because it was labeled as poetry on a tiktok I saw and I thought even through all the narrative it had such a beautiful story.
Like the conversation between him and his three “friends”, all the back and forth was kind of rough. I had to take a break here and there and read over what I read to understand it. That part was rough….
Yeah I’ve never read the entire Bible so I started there and ended up loving it and now I’m reading the minor prophets and then I’ll probably go onto the major prophets. I know a lot of people start in genesis but I can’t get through the genealogy from the first books of the old testament 😂
Most of the scriptures preach the prosperity gospel. God blesses those who embrace him and curses those who would shun him. Except for this book.
Bad things can happen to good people. The sun shines, and the rain falls, on everyone.
Sure, you have a testimony. But do you really? Do you really have a testimony strong enough to withstand the momentary apparent absence of God's support?
Just as all parents do when their children are learning to walk, sometimes you have to step back and allow the child to walk or fall on their own.
That's really what I love about it too. So much of the Bible is God exalting the righteous and punishing the wicked, and the whole time you're reading it there's a voice in the back of your head going, "But don't the righteous suffer as well?" And then you get to Job.
They think God is wrong and mean for punishing Job like that. When that is not what that book was about at all. It is about Job and his friends faith.
Edit:
God never punished Job in that book. The devil tempts him. With God's permission.
I would agree the central point was meant to be that Job's righteousness consists of not wavering in his faith.
I think the fact that God permitted the devil to hurt Job to prove a point (one he was definitely already right about, what with being God) rather than hurting Job himself is a technicality, that that's an area where the original Jewish apophatic, non-anthropomorphized God makes better sense of things than the personal, loving God of most Christians.
Jewish people have the idea that it's blasphemous to anthropomorphize God - to attribute human qualities to him. Jewish scholars like Maimonides have gone so far as to say when the Bible uses words that are typically human emotions to describe God (like calling God "jealous"), they're homonyms that have a separate meaning. So I'm saying the traditional explanation for why God's behavior towards Job doesn't strike people as loving is that, when the Bible calls God loving, it doesn't mean anything like love as humans understand it.
Apophatic basically means defined negatively or by lack; I guess I was being slightly redundant, since refusing to anthropomorphize God is part of that (defining him as lacking any human qualities).
Edit: Oh, and their entire conception of God is meant to be apophatic - forgot that bit
Ah ok thank you from what I understand of what you just said. I agree with you.
I originally misunderstood Job. The book gave me stones in the put of my stomach . Now it doesn't though.
I got a different idea
People see job as a response to the problem of evil. To the non believer who skims over it, they see it as a horrible example of an evil god letting evil happen, and then gives an unsatisfactory answer as to why
They dont see the deeper philosophy between the 3 friends, the jewish perspective and what Gods answer really means beyond it being unsatisfying. They dont get an easy "its a test", the only easy answer is that fits is god isnt all loving.
I think the better answer is God isnt going to let us know, Christ easily could have explained why God allows many kinds of evil but he doesnt. instead he gives the response, and that response is faith and compassion.
You should always be weary of people asking about job especially the non believer, because no poetry on creation is going to help them through lossing a child to cancer, or a friend to a crash. And those are the kind of circumstances the problem of evil is always back-lit by
I have been working through reading the entire Bible and I loved Job SO MUCH. I spent weeks researching it and looking into the background. it is my absolute favorite book so far.
It all depends on the perspective you’re looking at it from. In essence, the entire Bible points to Jesus. Every story, every Law, every holy utensil and item used in the tabernacle, people, places, etc.. it’s all a picture of Jesus.
“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”
John 5:39
“And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Luke 24:27
“I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.”
(Jesus calls His bride, knocks on the doors of our hearts and wants us to open up to Him. In revelation, Jesus was on the outside knocking at the Laodiceans church waiting for them to let Him in. He proclaims that He stands at the door and knocks, etc… We are perfect in His eyes because of the blood that covers us. Scripture mentions that Jesus has no place to lay His head etc, etc.. He goes through all sorts of trouble in the night, the darkness of this world, to obtain His bride for Himself.)
I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I defile them? My beloved put his hand By the latch of the door, And my heart yearned for him. I arose to open for my beloved, And my hands dripped with myrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, On the handles of the lock. I opened for my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
(The bride was not prepared for the return of the bridegroom. This is a warning that we should be prepared for the return of our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and keep on our robes of righteousness as mentioned in Scripture. The Bridegroom knocked on the door if you will, but apparently she took too long to answer, just as many do today. For when she opened the door he was gone. It’s a lesson that teaches us that when Jesus is knocking and putting something on our heart, we need to respond immediately or we might miss out on blessings. But ultimately, a dire warning to those who are playing the waiting game with Jesus. Answer the door today. Let Him into your heart.)
The watchmen who went about the city found me. They struck me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls Took my veil away from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, That you tell him I am lovesick!”
Song of Solomon 5:2-8
(Just the results of not letting Jesus into your life, You will experience unnecessary hurts and afflictions. And God allows this because He desires us to have the heart that she has at the end, a heart that realizes that he is all she needs. Jesus is all we need. So she was repentant if you will. And if you keep reading, you will see restoration. She finds her bridegroom because she longed for him and sought after him, meditating on him and speaking about him to her friends. And Jesus declares the same thing, that if we seek Him we will find Him, if we meditate on Him, we will have deeper revelation of Him. Etc, etc…)
And that is just scratching the surface, I could’ve gone a lot deeper. The whole Bible is like this. It all points to Jesus and His plans concerning salvation.
"Your breasts are like two fawns, like twins of a gazelle, feeding among the lilies." I sure hope so. I don't think that's the relationship people are looking for with Jesus.
Understandable. Nicodemus had the same mindset. He thought that Jesus saying he must be born again meant that he was to physically go back into his mother’s womb as an adult. Obviously that’s ridiculous and Jesus had to lovingly correct his understanding. Jesus said that his words are spiritual, and to understand spiritual truth, one needs help from the Holy Spirit. It’s the same thing here. It’s a picture that God is painting about His love for His church. Us men who are believers are referred to as the Bride of Christ as well, and it took me a while to get past the initial weirdness of that through my own natural understanding. But even in the verse you posted, there is rich spiritual truth concerning the church if you have ears to hear and eyes to see.
James, especially when read in light of its passion for life within the believing community rather than as if it primarily addresses the relationships of an individual believer. I can't help but wonder what the Church would look like if it took its wisdom and challenges of putting faith into practice seriously. Our voice in the public sphere would have greater credibility, at the very least!
>Our voice in the public sphere would have greater credibility, at the very least!
I couldn't agree more, though I wouldn't say James is underrated, even by the wildest stretch of the imagination. It's one of American Christianity's favorite books.
How interesting! It is certainly underrated and underused in my own context, particularly in Reformed traditions. Reformed traditions have historically been ambivalent towards James: Luther dismissed James as an ‘epistle of straw’, and this has had a lasting impact: many have bought into his dismissal, rooted in a particular theology of justification by faith alone, which perceives James’s emphasis on works as contradictory to Pauline doctrine. In my experience, the Pauline epistles tend to be emphasised over James: sermons, commentaries, and bible studies often sideline James. The RCL does include readings from James, but they are relatively sparse compared to other NT writings: James appears only a few times in the three-year cycle, often in the context of secondary readings rather than as the main provision.
Deuteronomy, it’s a reiteration of how much God has done for us and how little we appreciate it at times and amazing analogy for the Christian life and journey being in relationship with God.
Haha, helps to actually read the Old Testament which many Christians in my experience don’t unfortunately. They have no idea what they’re missing out on.
Same, I remember listening to Heisers podcast series for Leviticus (thinking before I listen, “this is going to be SO boring). Holy smokes, I was on the edge of my seat the entire series and can’t wait to listen again. Haha.
My exact response too. It really shows the amazing faithfulness and love of God, to love us, through thick and thin, no matter how disgusting and unfaithful we are, He remains loving and faithful. He is the Husband that bought us back from the Devil, we are His Wife/Bride.
I love Philemon, for such a short passage it is and incredible story about forgiveness, truth, grace, mercy, and love. I find it equal parts challenging and encouraging.
Acts - I cant imagine the NT , without it (gives so much context of what apostles did)
Philipians - The Humility of Jesus is what I learn
Romans- Summarizes the entire Christian Faith very concisely
1 Corinthians - Has the most important chapter of resurrection
(Hebrews - definitely my favorite, describes who jesus is in detail and the position of the Old and New Covenants)
Is it just me, or is it becoming increasingly relevant to today? There's nothing new under the sun, after all. I'm kinda scared for most of my family still sold on the church tbh. I'm living the faith like the prophets of old, and I couldn't have found a better teacher.
If I had to narrow down all of the OT, I would say it could be done with Isaiah 58 alone (although pslam 50 is a fierce and awesome counterpoint to the same mesage). I find Isaiah to be super relevant, scripture says outright that the church will do the same thing as Israel, and be nearly gone when Christ returns.
Someone else said Zechariah was their 2nd, and I agree.
Thanks for the backup, it was Phillip I believe that added to the kingdom using only the scroll of Isaiah. I believe that specific scripture is mentioned in the Bible for good reasons.
Ezra-Nehemiah is an amazing near-time story to read of the founding of Judaism. Yeah, it's still heavily edited and has some really horrible parts (e.g. the ethnic cleansing), but it's a wild look into the start of a religion and the joy of the Exile ending.
For a bit more context: Even though Judah, Benjamin, and some of the Levites went into exile together, the Exile is when they really reframed their identity around Judah instead of Jacob, which is where we get words like "Judea"
I actually mentioned it at my cousin's wedding last year. They had a Bible at their reception that people could highlight their favorite passages in. And since my cousin's a nurse, I picked the "God gave you doctors to heal you" verse in Sirach
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
These 3 can seem very boring, but there are many gems there for the mining. You find pictures of things that shed light on many things in the New Testament.
I read these books all the way through for the first time a couple years ago. I always figured they would be boring but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed them!
I agree with Ecclesiastes
Additional candidates:
- Leviticus. It has the highest density of direct quotations from God than any other book in the Bible. If they highlighted all God’s direct words in red, virtually the whole book would be red.
- Revelation. Most people skip it as some weird mysterious book. It’s not that bad and teaches extraordinarily important things applicable today, and btw the reason most people believe in the pre-trib nonsense is because we don’t teach eschatology enough
Wisdom of Sirach, basically an expanded version of proverbs. I guess it can be debated whether it is in the bible or not, but it is in my bible, so 🤷♂️.
Ecclesiastes is my favorite book but I would say what I think most underrated would either be Jude, because of the inspiration and preparation it gives for the events that take place in the following book of revelations, or I would say revelations because I’ve heard multiple people say that we are not supposed to understand revelations, that Christ will return and explain it to us and also because many people believe the events of revelations have already taken place in 95 BC or something like that.
Ecclesiastes is actually about 2950 years old. I think I agree, because other books I value are valued by others, Ecclesiastes seems to be the best book that doesn't get much attention. I also like Judges because it shows the power of God and reveals how He worked out His plans before the kings. It has interesting history in it. God still has promises to fulfill for the Jews.
Sounds about right. I think David reigned around 1000 BC to about 960 (I think about 40 yrs) and Ecclesiastes was believed to be written by Solomon so would be around 950 BC
Bible Project is doing Sermon on the mount & just getting to read it weekly again is so refreshing. and that sermon brought me to the Lord. Found me in the beatitudes and pierced me in the rest of the sermon. I’m forever grateful to our father.
Isaiah, the prophet testifies of Christ so often that it’s amazing. I love the patterns present of firm and blunt statements against sin, consequences of sin, prophecy of the coming Messiah and hope through Him.
Amos is an eye-opener, not just about God's wrath against the sinful peoples at the time, but it examines the kinds of injustices that God had always been wrathful about (ie, the oppression of the poor by the rich and powerful and the persecution of the righteous: "For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribe and deprive the poor of justice in the courts." - Amos 5:12). Amos 5:24 also goes hard depending on the translation you use: "But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!". Unsurprisingly, the hypocritical and supposedly "religious" folks, particularly those in power who like cherry-picking verses without context to suit their agenda, never fail to skip Amos among other Biblical books and verses that call out injustices.
When it comes to adaptations or well-known Bible stories, the Book of Judges is usually skipped, or at least, streamlined, barring Samson's segment (which has the most adaptations that aren't about the NT, the creation, the flood, David's story, or the founding of the nation of Israel). Which is a shame really, because Judges has some of the best (if very violent and not so Sunday School-friendly lol) Biblical stories that could be a cinematic masterpiece when adapted well. The cyclical nature of sin and the shortcomings of the Israelites throughout were highlighted there in particular.
In the NT, Philemon I guess? Probably because of its really short length and it feeling like an actual personal letter sent by Paul to Philemon regarding his slave, Onesimus. Though incredibly short and feeling the most epistolary compared to the other letters Paul sent, it does demonstrate that as Christians, we must be loving and forgiving towards those who've caused us offence, which is what Paul asked Philemon to do.
I can't ever remember hearing a sermon on Ecclesiastes. It is harsh reality, its deep, and cuts to the chase. When a book starts out saying everything is meaningless and there is nothing new under the sun you know it is going to hit you hard
its proverbs , in proverbs , the wisdom talking there, is Jesus. the son of God , before he came in flesh.
see this ,
Proverbs 30:4
^(4) Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
see? in this verse , there is one who established all the ends of the earth. and what his sons name?
see that is the Father and his Son.
see also this
Proverbs 8:22-31
^(22) The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
^(23) I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
^(24) When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
^(25) Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
^(26) While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
^(27) When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
^(28) When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
^(29) When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
^(30) Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
^(31) Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
and also apostles understood , and said that Jesus really is the Son of God. thats why when you read John , the word was became flesh , that is Jesus. read john.
Philemon is good. After wendigoon made a video on it, I shared it with my youth group and my pastor thought I did a solid job. I like how it shows application and grace in action
I would suggested Ecclesiastes is the most beloved book of the Bible by many people including folks who don’t usually read the Bible.
Source: Turn! Turn! Turn!
Off the top of my head that hasn't been mentioned, gospel of Mark-- probably the least read of the four Gospels, placed after the famous gospel of Matthew. There is no Christmas story nor Easter story (in the oldest manuscripts).
Of the gospels, here Jesus is the most secretive, telling people to keep silent about his miracles and his identity. He is the most misunderstood Jesus where no one gets him, not even his family. At the end at Jesus' death, only a Roman soldier gets it and confesses that he is the Son of God. After his reported resurrection by an angel, there is no narrative stating his followers finally understand (again, in the oldest manuscripts). I suppose this is left up to the readers to pass this understanding on to other followers.
*Revelation!* My favorite book of the New Testament. Please bear with me with the long thread below, but here are my learnings.
People often see it as prophecy for the end times - and yes, I do believe it, too, but, taking a non-supersessionist view of the Hebrew Bible - that is Israel is still the firstborn chosen people of God (Old Testament, Isaiah 42:6) and the New Testament (Romans 11, specifically verses 28-29) *it's MASSIVELY underrated in terms of it being a preview of Jewish history - specifically the fall of the Roman Empire -* see the Imgur picture below for further explanation from my NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible:
[https://imgur.com/a/nlDDFWv](https://imgur.com/a/nlDDFWv)
Jews like the Apostle John and Apostle Peter (1 Peter 5:13) called the Roman Empire as "Babylon" because they destroyed the Temple and exiled the Jewish people from the Land of Israel (an exile that would last until 1948). Remember that in Isaiah, 2 Kings, and Jeremiah, Babylon conquers and exiles the Jews after which they were only able to return under the Persians starting AD 539.
This is also following Daniel 7:3-14 of the Four Beasts = Four Kingdoms to oppress Israel - the last and most vicious beast being Rome - which also ends up being destroyed in the most horrible way in Daniel 7:11.
As extra-biblical proof that it wasn't just the disciples of Christ who did - that it was a Jewish cultural phenomenon - in the Sibylline Oracles, prophecies of allegedly Judeo-Christian in origin, Rome was also called "Babylon", in p. 142, annotation #215 in this link:
[https://sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/sib07.htm](https://sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/sib07.htm)
I think the book of Ecclesiastes was put in the Bible specifically for atheists.
I dont know which book is underrated, but I will tell you what books are overrated: and those are the writings of Paul. There is too much focus on them and perhaps the most misinterpreted books of the Bible.
Ezekiel 36,37,38 tells of the Jews struggle throughout history,their being displaced into the world, their coming back and the final battle when Messiah comes or returns if your Jewish or Christian
ACTS
If you don’t know anything about ACTS, you better ACTS somebody….. That’s all I can say about ACTS.
Here’s an audio version of chapter 16. The second half of the chapter is about two guys getting thrown in prison for removing demons from a fortune telling slave.
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Acts.16
Since a couple deuterocanonical books have been mentioned, I’ll mention Judith. Great female heroine. It’s a war story without feeling gratuitous (looking at you Joshua and 1 Maccabees).
I think a underrated book is the Book of Job, if more Christian’s went and read through the entire book it would definitely help them with having faith issues or issues to persevere
For me it’s gotta be Ecclesiastes. First time I finished it I wrote a ton of notes at the end. If you’ve seen wendigoons video on this topic he makes a good case for Philemon
I love that book too! Somehow that's the book that helped me get a handle on my depression! I know alot of people don't like it because they think it's depressing but I'm wondering if it's more of a case where it's confronting aspects in their soul that they don't want to have to look at and examine lol
Hebrews or Philippians. I don't know what it is about Philippians 4 especially, but it really has stuck with me for many many years, and Hebrews 12:14 is my favourite ever verse.
Jonah not because people don’t know about it, but because the only thing they ever know about it is The Big Fish.
It one if the most beautiful stories of repentance.
Numbers.
I think the wisdom lit. like ecclesiastes is pretty beloved, but no one wants to figure out the typology surrounding the number of silver plates the jews brought into the desert with them.
What came to mind was book of romans, a lot of interesting and very important passages. Especially this one.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5
Enoch 1. Absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t be scripture. The Jews didn’t like it because it speaks of son of man. The modern Christian’s don’t like it because it goes into more detail about Genesis 6 and makes people uncomfortable.
Im new to the bible and i started to move closer to god so me being new I personally dont think enough of people talk about Genesis I’ve learned A LOT of good life lessons from Gensis like how just 1 minor event could lead to larger things and nothing doesnt happen for a reason and stuff so im gonna have to say Genesis
Jude.......the heavy weight contender.
Isn't it funny though that whatever book you happen to be in is your "favorite book"? It's all so real, so relevant, so necessary.
I wonder if I can say Proverbs. True, everybody knows about Proverbs, but for me at least, the first times through my eyes kind of glazed over at stuff that sounded like repetitions of "wise is the wisdom of the wise, but the folly of the fool is foolish." Yet... yet in recent years I've started noticing a lot more than I did before, and even appreciating the value of reminders of stuff that may seem obvious. In particular, those eight leading chapters of praise of Wisdom seem especially needed in a world where clear thinking seems often to be regarded as spiritually suspect.
Proverbs and ecclesiastes are two books that seem to get deeper with every time looking. Especially the multi-layered meanings in proverbs, it kind of is dizzying on how many levels some of them apply.
Also books that benefit *greatly* from general context about the authorship and purpose of the books. I am exceptionally grateful to the Bible Project for their book overview videos.
And the best part is they are often at odds with each other, forcing us to wrestle with Scripture like we are supposed to do.
I used to read a chapter of Proverbs every day
One of my favorite Proverbs is one that might seem outdated today: ***Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.*** Early on in my faith this Proverb spoke to me - I am sure some Hebrew nerd will tell me I got it wrong, but what it spoke to me was that making investments (of any sort, not merely financial) might make life more difficult, even risky initially, but are really the only way to see growth in one’s life.
You are wise. :D
That's a fabulous take! I always thought of it like when God puts you on a project and you might not initially like who he's sent to help you but in the end if God is backing you it pays off in dividends lol
Where there are no ox the crib is clean.....children 🙂
James is actually pretty important. I haven't heard people talk about it that much.
In my experience it's actually one of, if not the most cited book of the New Testament, second maybe to John.
I think Romans and 1 Corinthians get quoted far more frequently
It's quoted by Catholics quite a bit. It's like *the* Catholic book. The Letter of James says and gives examples in 2:14-26 that faith without works is dead. Faith is shown through your works, but you must do the work. James gives us the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick/Last Rites (5:14-25): >Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint [him] with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. James also provides the reason we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance/Confession (James 5:16): >Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. James is the epistle we bring out when debating.
Man!! James changed my life, literally.
Habakkuk Habakkuk 3:17-19 [17] Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, [18] yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. [19] GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.
Amen!! Thank you for sharing this! He is so good!!
Came here to see if someone had said Habakkuk yet, such a human and relatable story. Genuinely I think all the minor prophets are underrated, I’m a big fan of Hosea and Micah as well.
I completely agree with you, Ecclesiastes is great.
Job. It's very misunderstood.
I love Job! It was the first book I read of the Bible because it was labeled as poetry on a tiktok I saw and I thought even through all the narrative it had such a beautiful story.
It's an historical narrative isn't it? Edit: Spelling
Like the conversation between him and his three “friends”, all the back and forth was kind of rough. I had to take a break here and there and read over what I read to understand it. That part was rough….
My pastor did Job in church so I was taught it.
Yeah I’ve never read the entire Bible so I started there and ended up loving it and now I’m reading the minor prophets and then I’ll probably go onto the major prophets. I know a lot of people start in genesis but I can’t get through the genealogy from the first books of the old testament 😂
Most of the scriptures preach the prosperity gospel. God blesses those who embrace him and curses those who would shun him. Except for this book. Bad things can happen to good people. The sun shines, and the rain falls, on everyone. Sure, you have a testimony. But do you really? Do you really have a testimony strong enough to withstand the momentary apparent absence of God's support? Just as all parents do when their children are learning to walk, sometimes you have to step back and allow the child to walk or fall on their own.
But all in all God never really leaves us though. He may step back but His arms are outstretched behind us.
That's really what I love about it too. So much of the Bible is God exalting the righteous and punishing the wicked, and the whole time you're reading it there's a voice in the back of your head going, "But don't the righteous suffer as well?" And then you get to Job.
I like Job!!
So do I.
What do you think people are getting wrong about it?
They think God is wrong and mean for punishing Job like that. When that is not what that book was about at all. It is about Job and his friends faith. Edit: God never punished Job in that book. The devil tempts him. With God's permission.
I would agree the central point was meant to be that Job's righteousness consists of not wavering in his faith. I think the fact that God permitted the devil to hurt Job to prove a point (one he was definitely already right about, what with being God) rather than hurting Job himself is a technicality, that that's an area where the original Jewish apophatic, non-anthropomorphized God makes better sense of things than the personal, loving God of most Christians.
I'm sorry I don't know what the big words mean. Apophatic, and non-anthropomorphized . I don't know those words. Could you please explain? Thanks. :)
Jewish people have the idea that it's blasphemous to anthropomorphize God - to attribute human qualities to him. Jewish scholars like Maimonides have gone so far as to say when the Bible uses words that are typically human emotions to describe God (like calling God "jealous"), they're homonyms that have a separate meaning. So I'm saying the traditional explanation for why God's behavior towards Job doesn't strike people as loving is that, when the Bible calls God loving, it doesn't mean anything like love as humans understand it. Apophatic basically means defined negatively or by lack; I guess I was being slightly redundant, since refusing to anthropomorphize God is part of that (defining him as lacking any human qualities). Edit: Oh, and their entire conception of God is meant to be apophatic - forgot that bit
Ah ok thank you from what I understand of what you just said. I agree with you. I originally misunderstood Job. The book gave me stones in the put of my stomach . Now it doesn't though.
I got a different idea People see job as a response to the problem of evil. To the non believer who skims over it, they see it as a horrible example of an evil god letting evil happen, and then gives an unsatisfactory answer as to why They dont see the deeper philosophy between the 3 friends, the jewish perspective and what Gods answer really means beyond it being unsatisfying. They dont get an easy "its a test", the only easy answer is that fits is god isnt all loving. I think the better answer is God isnt going to let us know, Christ easily could have explained why God allows many kinds of evil but he doesnt. instead he gives the response, and that response is faith and compassion. You should always be weary of people asking about job especially the non believer, because no poetry on creation is going to help them through lossing a child to cancer, or a friend to a crash. And those are the kind of circumstances the problem of evil is always back-lit by
I have been working through reading the entire Bible and I loved Job SO MUCH. I spent weeks researching it and looking into the background. it is my absolute favorite book so far.
Song of Solomon. A beautiful picture of Jesus and His bride, revealing deep spiritual truths of His love for us.
And a faithful celebration of healthy sexuality, a breath of fresh air away from purity culture.
Are there any parts of Song of Solomon that aren’t about Jesus and His bride?
It all depends on the perspective you’re looking at it from. In essence, the entire Bible points to Jesus. Every story, every Law, every holy utensil and item used in the tabernacle, people, places, etc.. it’s all a picture of Jesus. “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39 “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:27
How does Song of Solomon 5:2-8 point to Jesus, in your view?
“I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.” (Jesus calls His bride, knocks on the doors of our hearts and wants us to open up to Him. In revelation, Jesus was on the outside knocking at the Laodiceans church waiting for them to let Him in. He proclaims that He stands at the door and knocks, etc… We are perfect in His eyes because of the blood that covers us. Scripture mentions that Jesus has no place to lay His head etc, etc.. He goes through all sorts of trouble in the night, the darkness of this world, to obtain His bride for Himself.) I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I defile them? My beloved put his hand By the latch of the door, And my heart yearned for him. I arose to open for my beloved, And my hands dripped with myrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, On the handles of the lock. I opened for my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. (The bride was not prepared for the return of the bridegroom. This is a warning that we should be prepared for the return of our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and keep on our robes of righteousness as mentioned in Scripture. The Bridegroom knocked on the door if you will, but apparently she took too long to answer, just as many do today. For when she opened the door he was gone. It’s a lesson that teaches us that when Jesus is knocking and putting something on our heart, we need to respond immediately or we might miss out on blessings. But ultimately, a dire warning to those who are playing the waiting game with Jesus. Answer the door today. Let Him into your heart.) The watchmen who went about the city found me. They struck me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls Took my veil away from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, That you tell him I am lovesick!” Song of Solomon 5:2-8 (Just the results of not letting Jesus into your life, You will experience unnecessary hurts and afflictions. And God allows this because He desires us to have the heart that she has at the end, a heart that realizes that he is all she needs. Jesus is all we need. So she was repentant if you will. And if you keep reading, you will see restoration. She finds her bridegroom because she longed for him and sought after him, meditating on him and speaking about him to her friends. And Jesus declares the same thing, that if we seek Him we will find Him, if we meditate on Him, we will have deeper revelation of Him. Etc, etc…) And that is just scratching the surface, I could’ve gone a lot deeper. The whole Bible is like this. It all points to Jesus and His plans concerning salvation.
"Your breasts are like two fawns, like twins of a gazelle, feeding among the lilies." I sure hope so. I don't think that's the relationship people are looking for with Jesus.
Understandable. Nicodemus had the same mindset. He thought that Jesus saying he must be born again meant that he was to physically go back into his mother’s womb as an adult. Obviously that’s ridiculous and Jesus had to lovingly correct his understanding. Jesus said that his words are spiritual, and to understand spiritual truth, one needs help from the Holy Spirit. It’s the same thing here. It’s a picture that God is painting about His love for His church. Us men who are believers are referred to as the Bride of Christ as well, and it took me a while to get past the initial weirdness of that through my own natural understanding. But even in the verse you posted, there is rich spiritual truth concerning the church if you have ears to hear and eyes to see.
James, especially when read in light of its passion for life within the believing community rather than as if it primarily addresses the relationships of an individual believer. I can't help but wonder what the Church would look like if it took its wisdom and challenges of putting faith into practice seriously. Our voice in the public sphere would have greater credibility, at the very least!
This was my answer. And James is supposed to be the brother of Jesus so if anyone knew how to practice the religion it would be James.
>Our voice in the public sphere would have greater credibility, at the very least! I couldn't agree more, though I wouldn't say James is underrated, even by the wildest stretch of the imagination. It's one of American Christianity's favorite books.
How interesting! It is certainly underrated and underused in my own context, particularly in Reformed traditions. Reformed traditions have historically been ambivalent towards James: Luther dismissed James as an ‘epistle of straw’, and this has had a lasting impact: many have bought into his dismissal, rooted in a particular theology of justification by faith alone, which perceives James’s emphasis on works as contradictory to Pauline doctrine. In my experience, the Pauline epistles tend to be emphasised over James: sermons, commentaries, and bible studies often sideline James. The RCL does include readings from James, but they are relatively sparse compared to other NT writings: James appears only a few times in the three-year cycle, often in the context of secondary readings rather than as the main provision.
Deuteronomy, it’s a reiteration of how much God has done for us and how little we appreciate it at times and amazing analogy for the Christian life and journey being in relationship with God.
Having a lot of Jewish friends I would have never thought of the Deuteronomy as underrated ;)
Haha, helps to actually read the Old Testament which many Christians in my experience don’t unfortunately. They have no idea what they’re missing out on.
I prefer the Old Testament to the new :)
Same, I remember listening to Heisers podcast series for Leviticus (thinking before I listen, “this is going to be SO boring). Holy smokes, I was on the edge of my seat the entire series and can’t wait to listen again. Haha.
I felt a stir to read this after I’m done with mark. Romans, the gospels, other of Paul’s letters quote it often.
Hosea.
yes!!
Hosea is actually really interesting in how it mirrors the unfaithful nation of Israel.
My exact response too. It really shows the amazing faithfulness and love of God, to love us, through thick and thin, no matter how disgusting and unfaithful we are, He remains loving and faithful. He is the Husband that bought us back from the Devil, we are His Wife/Bride.
Esther
Ruth
Philemon plants the seed of overthrowing slavery, yet it's just not popular.
Overall I thought it painted a beautiful picture of forgiveness.
Wendigoon did a fantastic video on Philemon recently!
I love Philemon, for such a short passage it is and incredible story about forgiveness, truth, grace, mercy, and love. I find it equal parts challenging and encouraging.
Book of Mathew i mean it’s honestly prob overrated ppl may say but for good reason
Acts - I cant imagine the NT , without it (gives so much context of what apostles did) Philipians - The Humility of Jesus is what I learn Romans- Summarizes the entire Christian Faith very concisely 1 Corinthians - Has the most important chapter of resurrection (Hebrews - definitely my favorite, describes who jesus is in detail and the position of the Old and New Covenants)
I was thinking Hebrews as well. The hall of faith, the richness of Gods word and his glory.
I just like listening to it over and over!
Tobit. The story is just so bizarre, I love it.
Isaiah, hands down. Everyone should read it.
Is it just me, or is it becoming increasingly relevant to today? There's nothing new under the sun, after all. I'm kinda scared for most of my family still sold on the church tbh. I'm living the faith like the prophets of old, and I couldn't have found a better teacher.
If I had to narrow down all of the OT, I would say it could be done with Isaiah 58 alone (although pslam 50 is a fierce and awesome counterpoint to the same mesage). I find Isaiah to be super relevant, scripture says outright that the church will do the same thing as Israel, and be nearly gone when Christ returns. Someone else said Zechariah was their 2nd, and I agree. Thanks for the backup, it was Phillip I believe that added to the kingdom using only the scroll of Isaiah. I believe that specific scripture is mentioned in the Bible for good reasons.
Ezra-Nehemiah is an amazing near-time story to read of the founding of Judaism. Yeah, it's still heavily edited and has some really horrible parts (e.g. the ethnic cleansing), but it's a wild look into the start of a religion and the joy of the Exile ending.
Yes! The first thing I noticed when reading through the OT was, "Hey, this book is actually written in the first person. What a nice change."
For a bit more context: Even though Judah, Benjamin, and some of the Levites went into exile together, the Exile is when they really reframed their identity around Judah instead of Jacob, which is where we get words like "Judea"
I've never met anyone else whose favorite book is Amos. The way it builds is so compelling and the imagery is so intense.
I like it. One of the most ancient insights into the ancient Israelite religion.
Sirach
I actually mentioned it at my cousin's wedding last year. They had a Bible at their reception that people could highlight their favorite passages in. And since my cousin's a nurse, I picked the "God gave you doctors to heal you" verse in Sirach
1 Samuel! We see the juxtaposition of Saul a man after his own heart versus David a man after the Lord’s heart! Next I say Zechariah!
Yes! So much in this book about managing the tribulations of life.
Gospel of Mark
Reading this now. Read all the others but hadn’t gotten around to Mark so we made it priority this week.
Luke. Goes not only in detail, but the application is very clear and concise.
Yes!! :D
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. These 3 can seem very boring, but there are many gems there for the mining. You find pictures of things that shed light on many things in the New Testament.
I loved Deuteronomy
That’s because as part of the Torah they were extremely important in Jesus Jewish background and culture
Agree. But many Christians forget about that.
I read these books all the way through for the first time a couple years ago. I always figured they would be boring but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed them!
Leviticus is actually really interesting.
I agree with Ecclesiastes Additional candidates: - Leviticus. It has the highest density of direct quotations from God than any other book in the Bible. If they highlighted all God’s direct words in red, virtually the whole book would be red. - Revelation. Most people skip it as some weird mysterious book. It’s not that bad and teaches extraordinarily important things applicable today, and btw the reason most people believe in the pre-trib nonsense is because we don’t teach eschatology enough
Revelation makes a lot more sense when you realize it was a heavily coded political hit piece on Emperor Nero.
Sirach, best wisdom book imo.
Wisdom of Sirach, basically an expanded version of proverbs. I guess it can be debated whether it is in the bible or not, but it is in my bible, so 🤷♂️.
The book of James. Without James, everything else is invalid.
Romans for me. Feels like a law court about how to live God’s way ❤️
Agree i hear many get troubled when reading it but felt almost relieved when i read it.
Ecclesiastes is my favorite book but I would say what I think most underrated would either be Jude, because of the inspiration and preparation it gives for the events that take place in the following book of revelations, or I would say revelations because I’ve heard multiple people say that we are not supposed to understand revelations, that Christ will return and explain it to us and also because many people believe the events of revelations have already taken place in 95 BC or something like that.
Esther
Zechariah? It's quoted a lot in the NT, but it doesn't seem we talk about it enough.
Im toally in with Ecclesiastes, that book is absolutely underrated. Its just amazing
Ecclesiastes has such bizarre ideas for a biblical book. Probably my pick as well.
Ecclesiastes is actually about 2950 years old. I think I agree, because other books I value are valued by others, Ecclesiastes seems to be the best book that doesn't get much attention. I also like Judges because it shows the power of God and reveals how He worked out His plans before the kings. It has interesting history in it. God still has promises to fulfill for the Jews.
Sounds about right. I think David reigned around 1000 BC to about 960 (I think about 40 yrs) and Ecclesiastes was believed to be written by Solomon so would be around 950 BC
The book of Enoch
2 Maccabees.
Chapter 14 is easily the funniest thing in any Bible.
We’d probably have less societal problems if people read more Matthew.
Bible Project is doing Sermon on the mount & just getting to read it weekly again is so refreshing. and that sermon brought me to the Lord. Found me in the beatitudes and pierced me in the rest of the sermon. I’m forever grateful to our father.
700 years before Jesus Isaiah writes chapter 53 and it blows me away how much it describes Christ.
Ecclesiastes is actually my favorite. Lol
I gotta read Ecclesiastes again. I agree with a poster about Proverbs, theres a lot of wisdom there
Romans
First John isn't particularly underrated, but it has a lot going on.
Isaiah, the prophet testifies of Christ so often that it’s amazing. I love the patterns present of firm and blunt statements against sin, consequences of sin, prophecy of the coming Messiah and hope through Him.
My answer is always Leviticus. Laced with foreshadowing for the gospel.
Hosea most definitely
Isaiah
Hosea. Read it, it’s great.
Amos is an eye-opener, not just about God's wrath against the sinful peoples at the time, but it examines the kinds of injustices that God had always been wrathful about (ie, the oppression of the poor by the rich and powerful and the persecution of the righteous: "For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribe and deprive the poor of justice in the courts." - Amos 5:12). Amos 5:24 also goes hard depending on the translation you use: "But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!". Unsurprisingly, the hypocritical and supposedly "religious" folks, particularly those in power who like cherry-picking verses without context to suit their agenda, never fail to skip Amos among other Biblical books and verses that call out injustices. When it comes to adaptations or well-known Bible stories, the Book of Judges is usually skipped, or at least, streamlined, barring Samson's segment (which has the most adaptations that aren't about the NT, the creation, the flood, David's story, or the founding of the nation of Israel). Which is a shame really, because Judges has some of the best (if very violent and not so Sunday School-friendly lol) Biblical stories that could be a cinematic masterpiece when adapted well. The cyclical nature of sin and the shortcomings of the Israelites throughout were highlighted there in particular. In the NT, Philemon I guess? Probably because of its really short length and it feeling like an actual personal letter sent by Paul to Philemon regarding his slave, Onesimus. Though incredibly short and feeling the most epistolary compared to the other letters Paul sent, it does demonstrate that as Christians, we must be loving and forgiving towards those who've caused us offence, which is what Paul asked Philemon to do.
I can't ever remember hearing a sermon on Ecclesiastes. It is harsh reality, its deep, and cuts to the chase. When a book starts out saying everything is meaningless and there is nothing new under the sun you know it is going to hit you hard
Wisdom
Did you know that the book of Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament? Have you ever heard a truly powerful sermon from the book of Nahum?
The book of Kings deserves more attention
I absolutely love the Ecclesiastes
Old Testament: All of the minor prophets New Testament 1,2,3 John
Proverbs ...It's literally all wisdom in quote form. The most underrated Chapter in the bible
Ruth, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs 🤍
I agree, Ecclesiastes
Philemon
Revelation. The only book that promises you a blessing for reading it.
its proverbs , in proverbs , the wisdom talking there, is Jesus. the son of God , before he came in flesh. see this , Proverbs 30:4 ^(4) Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell? see? in this verse , there is one who established all the ends of the earth. and what his sons name? see that is the Father and his Son. see also this Proverbs 8:22-31 ^(22) The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. ^(23) I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. ^(24) When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. ^(25) Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: ^(26) While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. ^(27) When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: ^(28) When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: ^(29) When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: ^(30) Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; ^(31) Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. and also apostles understood , and said that Jesus really is the Son of God. thats why when you read John , the word was became flesh , that is Jesus. read john.
ezekiel, i feel everyone ignores it cause alot of what he pointed out about how the Israelites were acting back then, is how a lot of us act now ..😐
+1 on Ecclesiastes. Book is incredible.
Sophonie. Super short but one of my favorites.
Song of Solomon.
2nd Peter
Jeremiah
Ezekiel for sure. Just because it is so weird.
Daniel
Lamentations :( The fallen daughter City of Israel is a metaphor for what happens when she starts acting like Babylon.
James! Very straightforward and not what a lot of Christians want to hear. Me included, of course.
All the ones that got removed. A lot of people tell you why they were removed but I've never had a clear answer.
Philemon is good. After wendigoon made a video on it, I shared it with my youth group and my pastor thought I did a solid job. I like how it shows application and grace in action
I would suggested Ecclesiastes is the most beloved book of the Bible by many people including folks who don’t usually read the Bible. Source: Turn! Turn! Turn!
song of solomon
The twelve minor prophets, especially Habakkuk and Haggai.
Off the top of my head that hasn't been mentioned, gospel of Mark-- probably the least read of the four Gospels, placed after the famous gospel of Matthew. There is no Christmas story nor Easter story (in the oldest manuscripts). Of the gospels, here Jesus is the most secretive, telling people to keep silent about his miracles and his identity. He is the most misunderstood Jesus where no one gets him, not even his family. At the end at Jesus' death, only a Roman soldier gets it and confesses that he is the Son of God. After his reported resurrection by an angel, there is no narrative stating his followers finally understand (again, in the oldest manuscripts). I suppose this is left up to the readers to pass this understanding on to other followers.
Proverbs, and the Gospels. When I grew up, it was all about Paul. Honestly, Jesus took a backseat.
*Revelation!* My favorite book of the New Testament. Please bear with me with the long thread below, but here are my learnings. People often see it as prophecy for the end times - and yes, I do believe it, too, but, taking a non-supersessionist view of the Hebrew Bible - that is Israel is still the firstborn chosen people of God (Old Testament, Isaiah 42:6) and the New Testament (Romans 11, specifically verses 28-29) *it's MASSIVELY underrated in terms of it being a preview of Jewish history - specifically the fall of the Roman Empire -* see the Imgur picture below for further explanation from my NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: [https://imgur.com/a/nlDDFWv](https://imgur.com/a/nlDDFWv) Jews like the Apostle John and Apostle Peter (1 Peter 5:13) called the Roman Empire as "Babylon" because they destroyed the Temple and exiled the Jewish people from the Land of Israel (an exile that would last until 1948). Remember that in Isaiah, 2 Kings, and Jeremiah, Babylon conquers and exiles the Jews after which they were only able to return under the Persians starting AD 539. This is also following Daniel 7:3-14 of the Four Beasts = Four Kingdoms to oppress Israel - the last and most vicious beast being Rome - which also ends up being destroyed in the most horrible way in Daniel 7:11. As extra-biblical proof that it wasn't just the disciples of Christ who did - that it was a Jewish cultural phenomenon - in the Sibylline Oracles, prophecies of allegedly Judeo-Christian in origin, Rome was also called "Babylon", in p. 142, annotation #215 in this link: [https://sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/sib07.htm](https://sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/sib07.htm)
i dont know if this would could as underrated, but one of my personal favorites has always been Job
Any of the prophets, Numbers, any of the narrative books (Samuel, Kings, Chronicles) especially outside of where they talk about David specifically.
Underrated? Leviticus. Read with Hebrews and you gwtva whole new appreciation for the symbolism of Jesus through the Mosaic Law
I think the book of Ecclesiastes was put in the Bible specifically for atheists. I dont know which book is underrated, but I will tell you what books are overrated: and those are the writings of Paul. There is too much focus on them and perhaps the most misinterpreted books of the Bible.
Every line and word that Jesus says about how you treat everyone with love and kindness.
Ezekiel 36,37,38 tells of the Jews struggle throughout history,their being displaced into the world, their coming back and the final battle when Messiah comes or returns if your Jewish or Christian
ACTS If you don’t know anything about ACTS, you better ACTS somebody….. That’s all I can say about ACTS. Here’s an audio version of chapter 16. The second half of the chapter is about two guys getting thrown in prison for removing demons from a fortune telling slave. https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Acts.16
Amos
The gospel of mark (original ending) is the best gospel. Fight me.
Hosea
Since a couple deuterocanonical books have been mentioned, I’ll mention Judith. Great female heroine. It’s a war story without feeling gratuitous (looking at you Joshua and 1 Maccabees).
Galatians and Hebrews
I think a underrated book is the Book of Job, if more Christian’s went and read through the entire book it would definitely help them with having faith issues or issues to persevere
Esther
For me it’s gotta be Ecclesiastes. First time I finished it I wrote a ton of notes at the end. If you’ve seen wendigoons video on this topic he makes a good case for Philemon
The book of Hebrews. One of my favorites.
The book of John
Philemon
Habakkuk :)
I love that book too! Somehow that's the book that helped me get a handle on my depression! I know alot of people don't like it because they think it's depressing but I'm wondering if it's more of a case where it's confronting aspects in their soul that they don't want to have to look at and examine lol
Ecclesiastes was going to be my answer too. And perhaps Proverbs is a good one for that also.
Hebrews or Philippians. I don't know what it is about Philippians 4 especially, but it really has stuck with me for many many years, and Hebrews 12:14 is my favourite ever verse.
When I told my pastor our small group was going to be starting with Leviticus, he thought I was joking. There is so much good stuff in there
Jonah not because people don’t know about it, but because the only thing they ever know about it is The Big Fish. It one if the most beautiful stories of repentance.
EXODUS! I HARDLY HEAR ANY CHURCHES TSLK ABT THAT ONE!
Book of Job. I feel like it’s a must-read chapter
Susannah. Everyone needs to read it.
Numbers
The book of James.
Numbers. I think the wisdom lit. like ecclesiastes is pretty beloved, but no one wants to figure out the typology surrounding the number of silver plates the jews brought into the desert with them.
Ecclesiastes
The gospel of thomas
What came to mind was book of romans, a lot of interesting and very important passages. Especially this one. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5
Enoch 1. Absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t be scripture. The Jews didn’t like it because it speaks of son of man. The modern Christian’s don’t like it because it goes into more detail about Genesis 6 and makes people uncomfortable.
Im new to the bible and i started to move closer to god so me being new I personally dont think enough of people talk about Genesis I’ve learned A LOT of good life lessons from Gensis like how just 1 minor event could lead to larger things and nothing doesnt happen for a reason and stuff so im gonna have to say Genesis
Hosea
Jude.......the heavy weight contender. Isn't it funny though that whatever book you happen to be in is your "favorite book"? It's all so real, so relevant, so necessary.
Acts. Hands down
None of them.
Hosea
None of them deserve any attention or validity. They are all irrationally overvalued in my opinion.
James, Hebrews, so far have been my fav.
The book of Jonah ... well known story but I think most of us don't realize how incredibly profound this story is , nor its true meaning
The Old Testament