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. 13 - 22)3. Joshua’s Farewell Address (ch. 24 – 24)

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)

- 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)

- 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

- 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.

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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

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 17-21 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.

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The Books of 1st and 2nd Samuel

The Books of 1st and 2nd 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. 1- 20)4.) The Epilogue (2 Sam. 21-24)

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 1st 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 2nd 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 1st and 2nd Kings

Content of the Work

1.) The reign of Solomon (1 Kings 1-11)

2.) The Divided Monarchy (1 Kings 12- 2 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

QUESTIONS?

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