Joshua, Judges, Ruth !
1st & 2nd Samuel, 1st & 2nd Kings, 1st & 2nd Chronicles !
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther !
These books tell of the Nation Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land, and their struggles to establish order among themselves while fending off the enemies all around them.
Joshua tells the story of the conquest of Canaan and its
division among the twelve tribes of Israel, under Joshua’s strong and faithful
leadership. Joshua was an obedient man who had survived the disciplinary
wanderings in the desert after Israel failed to believe God for victory in
Canaan. He was one of the spies who was optimistic about their ability to take
the land, because God was leading them to do so. Moses had groomed Joshua to be
Moses’ own successor when it became clear that Moses, himself, would not be allowed to
enter the land. The book of Joshua is the sixth book of the Old
Testament and the first of the books of history. A favorite quote is from
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be
strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord
your God is with you wherever you go.” Lesson: victory comes through faith
in God and obedience to His word, rather than through military might or numerical
superiority. Joshua’s name means salvation and is symbolic of the fact that,
although he is the leader of the Israelite nation during the conquest, the Lord
is the Conqueror.
Judges , the book of failure, stands in stark contrast
to Joshua. In Joshua an obedient people conquered the land through trust in the
power of God. In Judges, however, a disobedient and idolatrous people are
defeated time and time again because of their rebellion against God. In seven
distinct cycles of sin to salvation, Judges shows how Israel had set aside
God’s law and in its place substituted “what was right in his own eyes”
(21:25). The recurring result of abandonment from God’s law is corruption from
within and oppression from without. During the nearly four centuries spanned by
this book, God raises up military champions to throw off the yoke of bondage
and to restore the nation to pure worship. But all too soon the “sin cycle”
begins again as the nation’s spiritual temperature grows steadily colder.The Hebrew title is Shophetim, meaning “judges, ” “rulers, ”
“deliverers, ” or “saviors.” Shophet not only carries the idea of maintaining
justice and settling disputes, but it is also used to mean “liberating” and
“delivering.” First the judges deliver the people; then they rule and
administer justice. The Septuagint used the Greek equivalent of this word,
Kritai (“Judges”). The Latin Vulgate called it Liber Judicum, the “Book of
Judges.”
Ruth, the book of
redemption is a cameo story of love, devotion, and redemption set in the
grim context of the days of the judges. It is the story of a Moabite woman who
forsakes her pagan heritage in order to cling to the people of Israel and to
the God of Israel. Because of her faithfulness in a time of national
faithlessness, God rewards her by giving her a new husband (Boaz), a son
(Obed), and a privileged position in the lineage of David and Christ (she is
the great-grandmother of David).
Nelson, Thomas (2006-04-11). Open Bible, NKJV (Kindle
Location 61608). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
1 and 2 Samuel were originally
one book of transition. Samuel was the last judge and the first prophet
of Israel. It was he of whom the Israelites demanded a king to be “like the
other nations” (!). Therefore, God allowed Samuel to anoint the first king of
Israel, Saul. Saul was an outwardly decent man, but in reality he was disobedient to the direct
will of God. Samuel also anointed David the shepherd boy to be Saul’s eventual successor
to the throne of Israel. David was sensitive to God’s will and mostly obedient,
though very contrite when he sometimes lapsed into sin and had to deal with sin’s
consequences on himself, his family and the nation. David was a great leader
and beloved king, “a man after God’s heart.” His reign set the standard for
kings of Israel.
1 and 2 Kings also started as one book of disruption and
captivity, which was later divided. 1 Kings tells of the life and reign of
Solomon, David’s son who started really well but descended into political
correctness through the idolatry of his pagan wives. During this period, the
kingdom became split into northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) divisions. For
the next century, the Book of 1 Kings traces the twin histories of two sets of
kings and two nations of disobedient people who were growing indifferent to
God’s prophets and precepts. Nineteen consecutive evil kings ruled in Israel,
leading to the captivity by Assyria. The picture was somewhat brighter in
Judah, where godly kings occasionally emerged to reform the evils of their
predecessors. In the end, however, sin outweighed righteousness and Judah was
marched off to Babylon.
1 and 2 Chronicles, the book of hope. Originally one
book. Covers the same period of Jewish history described in 2 Samuel through 2
Kings, but the perspective is different. 2 Samuel and Kings tell of the
political history of Israel. Chronicles presents a spiritual history of David’s
dynasty. Chronicles focuses on those kings who pattern their lives and reigns
after the life and reign of godly King David. The temple and temple worship,
central throughout the book, befit a nation whose worship of God is central to
its very survival. The book begins with Solomon’s glorious temple and concludes
with Cyrus’s edict to rebuild the temple more than four hundred years later.
Nelson, Thomas (2006-04-11). Open Bible, NKJV (Kindle
Locations 70606-70608). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
Ezra, the book of return. After 70 years of captivity in
Babylon, a remnant of God’s people were allowed to leave. Ezra relates the
story of two returns from Babylon—the first led by Zerubbabel to rebuild the
temple (1–6) and the second under the leadership of Ezra to rebuild the
spiritual condition of the people (7–10). Sandwiched between these two accounts
is a gap of nearly six decades, during which Esther lived and ruled as queen in
Persia. Ezra and Nehemiah were originally bound together as one book because
Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah were viewed as one continuous history.
Nehemiah, the book of rebuilding. Nehemiah, contemporary
of Ezra and cupbearer to the king in the Persian palace, led the third and last
return to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. Nehemiah challenged his
countrymen to arise and rebuild the shattered wall of Jerusalem. In spite of
opposition from without and abuse from within, the task was completed in only
fifty-two days, a feat even the enemies of Israel must attribute to God’s
enabling. By contrast, the task of reviving and reforming the people of God
within the rebuilt wall demanded years of Nehemiah’s godly life and leadership.
Esther, the book of preservation. Esther’s story gives
evidence that God’s provision is perfect, and that any believer in God can and
will be His instrument to achieve His will for His people. The Jews who chose
to remain in Persia rather than return to their own land, did so at great risk.
They came under the oppression of extreme anti-Semitism and were about to be destroyed. Chapter
3:13 “…letters were sent by couriers into
all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews,
both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth
day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their
possessions.” Esther had become queen. She was in the right place at the right time to have maximum influence on the King of Persia, the man with authority to overrule the wicked plot of his political machine. At the urging of her uncle Mordecai, Esther intervened for her people and risked her own life to arouse the king’s
attention to the evil plot against them. “…when
Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which
Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he
and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.” Esther 9:25.
These historical books of Israel are full of exciting and
colorful accounts of God’s people as they learned to relate to God and to each other
while defending their nation against the hostile world. Being human, the majority repeatedly failed to uphold God’s standards. Being God, He maintained steadfast
faithfulness to them through all circumstances. God always has a right man for the job. The stories are presented
chronologically, with some overlap, so there is a definite flow to the
narrative as we study them. Learning bits and pieces, promises and principles
as we study Bible doctrine is a very good thing. We need the foundational truths and the frame of reference
to build upon as we grow. At some point, however, we need to develop an
overview of the entire story, and we must train ourselves to locate in short order
the scriptures that tell us this story.
That is called Bible Skills.
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