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Books connect end-to-end via themes. The local context for any book is always the previous book (Isaiah provides remote context). The result, beyond confirming the book order, is a Bible that reads as a singleminded work.
The discovery that the books of the Bible connect together thematically began several years ago while attending a college lecture. One of my favorite Bible professors took a rabbit trail from the lecture, or so it seemed. What I learned that day stuck and grew into this study on the Book Chain.
The end of Jeremiah records three waves of deportations of Jews from Jerusalem to Babylon. Lamentations laments how the city that was full of people is now empty.
Lamentations ends with a prayer for restoration. Ezra begins with a decree, asking those who would, to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
Before closing, Micah makes an odd statement. It says Yahvah will cast sins into the sea. Then Jonah is cast into the sea.
Jonah shows God's mercy toward Nineveh while Amos lists places God will not absolve.
Amos talks about a wife turned prostitute while Hosea takes a prostitute as his wife.
Hosea mentions walking in Yahvah's ways and Yahvah says consider your ways in Haggai.
Zephaniah refers to God's song, a perfect seque to Psalms.
Psalms says "everything with breath praise Yahvah." Job does this, even after calamity strikes.
Job's contentment contrasts Solomon's depression in Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes mentions Solomon's proverbs, a nice bridge to the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs asks who can find a "virtuous woman" and Ruth answers.
Ruth's wedding leads to the Song of Solomon.
Habakkuk describes beheading the wicked, which is Saul in First Chronicles.
Daniel ends the beginning and John begins the end.
Second John ends planning a visit and Second Timothy begins remembering a visit.
Second Timothy requests grace for "all of us" while First Corinthians extends grace to "every place."
First Corinthians curses not loving Jesus, Galatians preaching a false gospel.
Jacob ends with some erring, but Timothy stays the path and can bring them back.
Titus is urged to provision travelers and in Third John Gaius is praised for provisioning travelers.
Third John is written to request a visit while Revelation is a visit that requests to be written.
Revelation anticipates the coming of Jesus, then he appears in Genesis.