Any Christian who gets an idea of the chronology of the Bible is better equipped to understand anything he reads in it.  If he can imagine a “time line” anchored by key events or individuals, he will be better able to understand less significant events and minor characters.  Although some volumes of Bible history are too detailed for the average Christian, others are fascinating and read almost like exciting novels.  When combined with biographical studies, historical studies can give even the youngest Bible scholar a grasp of an entire book.

 For example, the book of Genesis is about four great events and four great individuals: The Creation, The Fall, The Flood, and the Tower of Babel, then Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.  This is the longest period of history recorded in a single book of the Bible and the lessons woven into these events and individuals are foundational to all Bible truth.  Some people are bored by any kind of history because they think it is just memorizing dates and reading about wars.  Such a view fails to appreciate the significance of events and individuals as their record impacts our lives today. 

Someone has said that failing to learn the lessons of history dooms us to repeat it.  If these lessons are important, how much more important are the lessons of Bible history.  The most accurate method of Bible interpretation involves the “grammatical-historical” approach to the use of language; even an average Bible student is better equipped to interpret his Bible if he has a working knowledge of Bible history.   He will come to understand that the Jewish people are unique in history, having survived all other races and nations, many of whom ceased to exist thousands of years ago.  As God’s chosen people, their history is the record of God’s plan for man’s salvation.  That is the reason for studying Bible history.