Admit it. You like reading the Psalms, the Gospels, Paul's epistles and maybe Esther and Ruth.
But what about the least read Bible books -- I call them Orphan Books -- because they almost are never read. Here's a list I found.
Hope you take the challenge to read an "orphan" or two this week.
------------------------------------
# Book Why read it? Difficulty
1 Obadiah A miniature study of pride, injustice, and God's judgment Easy
2 Haggai A surprisingly relevant book about misplaced priorities Easy
3 Philemon Paul, slavery, forgiveness, and Christian brotherhood in 25 verses Easy
4 3 John A fascinating glimpse into early church politics and leadership Easy
5 2 John Truth, love, hospitality—and boundaries Easy
6 Nahum The dark counterpart to Jonah: what happens to Nineveh? Medium
7 Zephaniah Judgment followed by one of the OT's beautiful pictures of God's joy Medium
8 Jude Strange, intense, apocalyptic, and packed with unusual references Medium
9 Habakkuk One of the Bible's best books for wrestling honestly with God Easy
10 Lamentations Biblical poetry about grief, catastrophe, and hope Medium
11 Joel Locusts, the Day of the LORD, and the famous promise about God's Spirit Medium
12 Malachi A surprisingly sharp ending to the Old Testament Easy
The ones I'd especially recommend
If you only want to read five, I'd pick:
Habakkuk — perhaps the most rewarding “orphan.” The entire book is essentially a conversation between a confused believer and God. Habakkuk starts by asking, “Why aren't you doing something about this?” and ends somewhere radically different.
Haggai — extremely short but surprisingly practical. Its central question is basically: What happens when God's people become preoccupied with their own houses while neglecting God's house?
Philemon — don't let its size fool you. It's an extraordinarily compressed little letter about power, status, forgiveness, reconciliation, and what the gospel does to human relationships.
Nahum — read it immediately after Jonah if you can. Jonah tells you that Nineveh repented; Nahum, written later, tells you what eventually happened to Nineveh. Reading them together makes both books considerably more interesting.
Lamentations — probably the most emotionally neglected book on the list. It gives you something the Bible is unusually good at: language for grief when everything has gone terribly wrong.
And here's the really fun challenge
Don't read these as if they're merely the Bible's “B-list.”
Try reading one orphan book a week, with no commentary at first. Just read the entire thing in one sitting.
You'll discover something interesting: some of the books that feel least important at first are actually the ones that illuminate the famous books around them.
Jonah → Nahum
Isaiah/Jeremiah → Lamentations
Romans/Galatians → Habakkuk
1 John → 2 John → 3 John
Ezra/Nehemiah → Haggai
But what about the least read Bible books -- I call them Orphan Books -- because they almost are never read. Here's a list I found.
Hope you take the challenge to read an "orphan" or two this week.
------------------------------------
# Book Why read it? Difficulty
1 Obadiah A miniature study of pride, injustice, and God's judgment Easy
2 Haggai A surprisingly relevant book about misplaced priorities Easy
3 Philemon Paul, slavery, forgiveness, and Christian brotherhood in 25 verses Easy
4 3 John A fascinating glimpse into early church politics and leadership Easy
5 2 John Truth, love, hospitality—and boundaries Easy
6 Nahum The dark counterpart to Jonah: what happens to Nineveh? Medium
7 Zephaniah Judgment followed by one of the OT's beautiful pictures of God's joy Medium
8 Jude Strange, intense, apocalyptic, and packed with unusual references Medium
9 Habakkuk One of the Bible's best books for wrestling honestly with God Easy
10 Lamentations Biblical poetry about grief, catastrophe, and hope Medium
11 Joel Locusts, the Day of the LORD, and the famous promise about God's Spirit Medium
12 Malachi A surprisingly sharp ending to the Old Testament Easy
The ones I'd especially recommend
If you only want to read five, I'd pick:
Habakkuk — perhaps the most rewarding “orphan.” The entire book is essentially a conversation between a confused believer and God. Habakkuk starts by asking, “Why aren't you doing something about this?” and ends somewhere radically different.
Haggai — extremely short but surprisingly practical. Its central question is basically: What happens when God's people become preoccupied with their own houses while neglecting God's house?
Philemon — don't let its size fool you. It's an extraordinarily compressed little letter about power, status, forgiveness, reconciliation, and what the gospel does to human relationships.
Nahum — read it immediately after Jonah if you can. Jonah tells you that Nineveh repented; Nahum, written later, tells you what eventually happened to Nineveh. Reading them together makes both books considerably more interesting.
Lamentations — probably the most emotionally neglected book on the list. It gives you something the Bible is unusually good at: language for grief when everything has gone terribly wrong.
And here's the really fun challenge
Don't read these as if they're merely the Bible's “B-list.”
Try reading one orphan book a week, with no commentary at first. Just read the entire thing in one sitting.
You'll discover something interesting: some of the books that feel least important at first are actually the ones that illuminate the famous books around them.
Jonah → Nahum
Isaiah/Jeremiah → Lamentations
Romans/Galatians → Habakkuk
1 John → 2 John → 3 John
Ezra/Nehemiah → Haggai
Admit it. You like reading the Psalms, the Gospels, Paul's epistles and maybe Esther and Ruth.
But what about the least read Bible books -- I call them Orphan Books -- because they almost are never read. Here's a list I found.
Hope you take the challenge to read an "orphan" or two this week.
------------------------------------
# Book Why read it? Difficulty
1 Obadiah A miniature study of pride, injustice, and God's judgment 🟢 Easy
2 Haggai A surprisingly relevant book about misplaced priorities 🟢 Easy
3 Philemon Paul, slavery, forgiveness, and Christian brotherhood in 25 verses 🟢 Easy
4 3 John A fascinating glimpse into early church politics and leadership 🟢 Easy
5 2 John Truth, love, hospitality—and boundaries 🟢 Easy
6 Nahum The dark counterpart to Jonah: what happens to Nineveh? 🟡 Medium
7 Zephaniah Judgment followed by one of the OT's beautiful pictures of God's joy 🟡 Medium
8 Jude Strange, intense, apocalyptic, and packed with unusual references 🟡 Medium
9 Habakkuk One of the Bible's best books for wrestling honestly with God 🟢 Easy
10 Lamentations Biblical poetry about grief, catastrophe, and hope 🟡 Medium
11 Joel Locusts, the Day of the LORD, and the famous promise about God's Spirit 🟡 Medium
12 Malachi A surprisingly sharp ending to the Old Testament 🟢 Easy
🏆 The ones I'd especially recommend
If you only want to read five, I'd pick:
Habakkuk — perhaps the most rewarding “orphan.” The entire book is essentially a conversation between a confused believer and God. Habakkuk starts by asking, “Why aren't you doing something about this?” and ends somewhere radically different.
Haggai — extremely short but surprisingly practical. Its central question is basically: What happens when God's people become preoccupied with their own houses while neglecting God's house?
Philemon — don't let its size fool you. It's an extraordinarily compressed little letter about power, status, forgiveness, reconciliation, and what the gospel does to human relationships.
Nahum — read it immediately after Jonah if you can. Jonah tells you that Nineveh repented; Nahum, written later, tells you what eventually happened to Nineveh. Reading them together makes both books considerably more interesting.
Lamentations — probably the most emotionally neglected book on the list. It gives you something the Bible is unusually good at: language for grief when everything has gone terribly wrong.
🕯️ And here's the really fun challenge
Don't read these as if they're merely the Bible's “B-list.”
Try reading one orphan book a week, with no commentary at first. Just read the entire thing in one sitting.
You'll discover something interesting: some of the books that feel least important at first are actually the ones that illuminate the famous books around them.
Jonah → Nahum
Isaiah/Jeremiah → Lamentations
Romans/Galatians → Habakkuk
1 John → 2 John → 3 John
Ezra/Nehemiah → Haggai
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