Every book in the Bible has a context and a purpose. Part of the problems we can have when reading the Bible and interpreting are when we don't understand why a certain book of the Bible is written. We then take the book's contents and misuse them. As the last chapter speaks about the importance of understanding, we need to understand why each book was written.

Old Testament (The account of the covenant with Abraham)

Genesis - An account of how the world was created; Also introduces us to basic ideas about God and the covenants

Exodus - An account of Israel leaving Egypt to head towards where they will eventually live

Leviticus - Talks about the laws God gave Israel

Numbers - Gives an account of the people

Deuteronomy - Talks about the laws God gave the next generation of Israel

Joshua - Talks about Israel forming as a physical nation

Judges - An account of the judges ruling over Israel

Ruth - A biography of a woman who married David's great-grandfather

1st Samuel - A historical account of the first kings of Israel

2nd Samuel - An account of the first kings of Israel; includes the split of Israel into two separate nations - Israel and Judah

1st Kings - A continuing account of the kings of Israel, told from the perspective of Israel

2nd Kings - A continuing account of the kings of Israel and their downfall, told from the perspective Israel

1st Chronicles - A continuing account of the kings of Israel, told from the perspective of Judah

2nd Chronicles - A continuing account of the kings of Israel and their downfall, told from the perspective Judah

Ezra - An account beginnings of the rebuilding of Israel

Nehemiah - An continuing account of the rebuilding of Israel, especially the wall around Jerusalem

Esther - A biography of Esther and account of Israel being saved from neat extinction

Job - An account of a man who learns about how to respond to suffering we don't understand

Psalms - Songs written in the Old Testament period

Proverbs - Wise sayings from King Solomon

Ecclesiastes - A sermon, believed to be from King Solomon, about the purpose of life

Song of Solomon - A romantic poem written by King Solomon to one of his wives; many believe it is symbolism for the strong affection God and His people (whether Israel or Christians) have, or is merely a celebration of love between a husband and wife

Isaiah - A book of prophecies revealed from God to Isaiah, most of them about Christ and Israel

Jeremiah - A book of woeful prophecies on Israel for their sins

Lamentations - A book of even more tragic prophecies on Israel for their sins

Ezekiel - A book of prophecies, mostly punishments to those who tormented Israel as well as promise that Israel would be forgiven

Daniel - A book of prophecies, mostly about who would conquer Israel, Christ, and the end times

Hosea - A parallel of Israel to a woman in adultery

Joel - An account of the curses currently happening, and prophecies of blessings

Amos - Prophecies of judgment on Israel

Obadiah - A prophecy of punishment to the nation of Edom for tormenting Israel

Jonah - A brief account of a prophet trying to refuse God's will to prophecy

Micah - Prophecies of judgment on Israel

Nahum - Prophecies of judgment on Nineveh for tormenting Israel

Habakkuk - Prophecies of punishments to Israel's tormentors, as well as praise of God

Zephaniah - Brief prophecies of the end times

Haggai - Proclamation of punishment for not building the temple and promise of reward if done in the future

Zechariah - A historical account of the Babylonian captivity of Israel as well as prophecies of Christ, the end times, and Israel

Malachi - Reassurance of God's love for Israel, despite their disobedience, and promise of punishment or blessing on a personal level based on personal actions; ends with a prophecy of the end times

New Testament (The account of the covenant with the whole world)

Matthew - A telling of the Gospel, specifically written for Jews to understand

Mark - A telling of the Gospel, specifically written for the Romans to understand

Luke - A telling of the Gospel, specifically written for the Greeks to understand

John - A telling of the Gospel, specifically written for everyone to understand

Acts - An account of what happened after Jesus Christ rose again

Romans - A letter from Paul, which tells how to be saved and how to live after salvation

1st Corinthians - A letter from Paul, addressing moral issues in Corinthians

2nd Corinthians - A letter from Paul, telling the Corinthians why he can be trusted, addressing doctrinal issues in the church

Galatians - A letter from Paul, to the Galatians, who had gotten caught up in cult beliefs, he explains what true salvation is as well as places a strong justification on salvation by faith and grace

Ephesians - A letter from Paul, to the Ephesians on moral living

Philippians - A letter from Paul, to the Philippians on doctrine, as well as thanking them and updating them on his arrest

Colossians - A letter from Paul, to the Colossians on doctrine and moral living

1st Thessalonians - A letter from Paul to the Thessalonians on moral living and updating them on his arrest

2nd Thessalonians - A letter from Paul to the Thessalonians on doctrine and prophecy

1st Timothy - A letter from Paul to Timothy on how to behave in church

2nd Timothy - A letter believed to be from Paul to Timothy on how to be a faithful pastor

Titus - A letter believed to be from Paul to Titus on moral living and staying faithful

Philemon - A letter from Paul to Philemon telling Philemon to treat his runaway slave as an equal and a brother

Hebrews - A letter from an unknown preacher to the Jewish people, convincing them that Jesus Christ is greater than any other thing mentioned in the Old Testament

James - A letter from James to Jewish Christians on moral living

1st Peter - A letter from Peter to foreign Christians on staying physically and mentally faithful despite outward trials

2nd Peter - A letter from Peter to the foreign Christians on staying spiritually faithful despite heretical teachings

1st John - A letter believed to be written by John to fellow Christians on how to have confidence and assurance of salvation

2nd John - A letter believed to be written by from John to either a holy woman or a church on faithfulness to correct doctrine

3rd John - A letter believed to be written by from John to Gaius on being hospitable and personal church problems

Jude - A letter written by Jude to an unknown group on doctrine, treatment of false prophets and teachers, and prophecies of the last days and coming judgment

Revelations - A letter from John to seven churches including prophecies on the end times and brief instructions to seven churches

Why does this matter? Because as said earlier, not understanding the context can give us some odd ideas. First Timothy is specifically how to behave in church. Woman do not have to be silent everywhere, as First Timothy mentions, nor God expect us to keep the law He made specifically with Israel. Everything was written FOR us but not everything was written TO us. Matthew was written to bring Jewish people to the Gospel, and has a lot of things Jewish people who read it in Aramaic or Hebrew will understand much more than the average non-Jew. John though was written for all people to understand, and many find it the easiest to understand. With this perspective, we can understand the things of God better and apply them easier.