OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY

OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY The Book of Joshua

The Book of Joshua -Title – named after the major character of the book. Joshua means “The Lord is Salvation.” -Content can be divided into 3 sections: 1.The conquest of the Land (ch. 1-12) 2.The Settlement of the Land (ch ) 3.Joshua’s Farewell Address (ch. 24 – 24)

1.) The Conquest of the Land (1-12) 1.) The Conquest of the Land (1-12) - God calls Joshua to lead the Israelites into Canaan. - Joshua sends spies into Jericho. Rahab hides the spies. - The Israelites cross the Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant. - The walls at Jericho fall. - The Sun stands still.

2.) The Settlement of the Land (13-22) 2.) The Settlement of the Land (13-22) - These chapters are spent dividing up the land among the 12 tribes of Israel. - They had very clear and precise parameters for where the tribes would be located within the land.

3.) Joshua’s Farewell Address (ch. 23 – 24) 3.) Joshua’s Farewell Address (ch. 23 – 24) - This is Joshua’s farewell sermon. - He reminds the Israelites that they are not to have any false idols and that they are to obey the Lord’s commands. - Contains the famous verse “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

The Conquest The Conquest - Central campaign – Joshua and the Israelites attacked Jericho, Ai, and 5 Canaanite Kings (Jerusalem, Hebron, Elgon, Jarmuth and Lachish) – Southern Campaign – This consisted of a series of battles along the western highlands and coastal plains. – Northern Campaign was focused on the city of Hazor.

OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY The Book of Judges

The Book of Judges The Book of Judges Background of the Times 1. Political – Enemies and Judges 2. Religious – Pattern and Problem

1.) Political -Enemies – The Israelites during this time had a few prominent enemies. One of them were the Canaanites. They were occupying the land when Joshua went in on conquest. They were in Jericho and Ai. -Judges – They were charismatic leaders which God chose to deliver the people. They weren’t chosen because they were the “moral angels” of the bunch.

2.) Religious - The pattern of sin.

Structure of the Book Structure of the Book 1. Background (1:1-25) 2. Introduction (2:6 – 3:6) 3. Cycle of the Judges (3:7-16) 4. Depravitiy of the People (17-21)

Theological Themes -Human Depravity: Throughout this book you find the continual movement back to sin. God delivers and yet the people keep going back. -God’s Grace: Regardless of how bad things were and how sinful they were, God continued to be patient and show grace and kept raising up judges for their deliverance.

Theological Themes continued… -The Issue of No King: In chapters a statement that is repeated is, “In those days, there was no king and everyone did as he saw fit.” In Judges 21:25 this is the last statement.

OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY The Books of 1 st and 2 nd Samuel

The Books of 1 st and 2 nd Samuel - Title – The title of Samuel is based on the Hebrew text that means “Samuel” It is 1 book there, not 2. Structure of the Books: 1.) Samuel’s Life (1 Sam. 1-12) 2.) Saul’s Rise and Fall (1 Sam. 13 – 31) 3.) The Reign of David (2 Sam ) 4.) The Epilogue (2 Sam )

Purpose of the Work - To trace the transition to monarchy and the development of the Davidic Covenant. That covenant is central to the rest of the Bible – there will not be a time where a descendant of you is not on the throne. Ultimately, that king was born in Bethlehem – it’s Jesus.

Samuel -Samuel is characterized as a Nazarite, prophet, priest and judge (the last of the judges). This means that Samuels is a figure in the Old Testament where you have several major roles converge. This is why he is such a pivotal figure. He served as the bridge between the era of the judges and law to the establishment of the monarchy.

Saul - -He is the 1 st King. He had early success in his reign but most of the Samuel material depicts Saul as a miserable failure. His failure was based on 2 realities: 1.) His Religious Disobedience - The Battle of Michmash (Ch. 13) - The Battles of the Amalekites (Ch. 15) 2.) His Personal Issues - 1 Sam. 16:14. This led to his jealousy of David

David -His reign can be divided into 2 eras. * His first 7 years he reigned at Hebron *After that he reigned over all of Jerusalem. -He consolidated the kingdom under his reign and built unity. -His kingdom deteriorated at the end of his reign. His reign hit a dividing point in 2 Samuel whenever he sent troops out to battle and saw Bathsheba.

Theological Themes 1.) The Presence of God – The Ark of the Covenant symbolizes God’s presence 2. The Davidic Covenant – You find a record of this established in 2 nd Samuel 7. In these verses (1-17), David expressed his desire to build a temple for Yahweh but he couldn’t because he was a man of war. So, his son Solomon would. The promise was made that there would always be a descendant of him on the throne.

OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY The Books of 1 st and 2 nd Kings

Content of the Work 1.) The reign of Solomon (1 Kings 1-11) 2.) The Divided Monarchy (1 Kings Kings 17) 3.) The Last Years of Judah (2 Kings 18-25)

Purpose of the Work -The primary purpose of these books is not historical but theological. 1.) The Basis for the Kingdom’s Destruction 2.) The Viability of the Davidic Covenant

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OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY