Sermon Tone Analysis

The Story Line

Joshua

Joshua

Chapters 1-12: Israelites are taking over the Promised land, see God perform miracles.

Israelites are taking over the Promised land, see God perform miracles.

1-12-

Chapters 13-21: Tells how the land should be divided up and what else needs to be conquered

Chapters 22-24: Speeches, including charges to stay faithful and for leaders to be holy.

They recount what God has done, people commit to keeping the covenant.

Joshua dies.

Judges

No monarchy

Cycle: idolatry, punishment by foreign Gods, Repent and ask God for help, Appoint a judge to save, return to idolatry

Ruth

This is actually during the book of Judges

Her husband dies and she follows her widow mother-in-law.

She goes out to collect food and finds favor with Boaz.

He gains the right to marry her through negotiation.

The book ends with a genealogy leading from Ruth to King David.

Samuel

The Prophet Samuel

Chapters 1-7: Birth through a prayer, dedication as a boy, leadership as a judge

The First King Saul

Chapters 8-15: Saul appointed because of the people’s desires, God will take it away from him.

Chapter 16-18: David rises to prominence (esp killing David), Saul is jealous and tries to kill him, David repeatedly spares Saul’s life.

Saul is wounded in battle and kills himself.

The Second King David (2 Samuel)

Mostly the kingship of David.

Chapters 1-5: David battles against his son Ish-Bosheth and eventually wins to rule the whole country.

He brings the ark but doesn’t build a temple.

God makes the Davidic Covenant: peace for David and eternal Kingship for his offspring

Chapters 6-7: Success in battle, Bathsheba and murder,

11-19: Family drama where a girl is raped and he is killed.

then the killer son goes into hiding, comes back and rebels against David who goes into hiding.

Killer son is killed and David comes back

Chapters 20-24: various battles and events

Kings

Chapter 1-11 End of David and Start of Solomon

Giving wisdom, building of the temple, transporting the Ark, eventually Solomon falling into idolatry.

Chapter 12: The Kingdoms split- Northern is of David still.

Southern other Dynasty.

The Rest of the book:

Recounts many individual kings and gives them an assessment: good or bad

Eventually both kingdoms are conquered since they have abandoned God.

Chronicles

Mostly recounts Kings from a different perspective

Chapters 1-9: mostly genealogies

Chapters 10-25: The account of David, but detailed list of temple artifacts

(2nd) Chapters: Parallel of 1-2 Kings, but more detailed list of temple artifacts

Rest: a few kings, exile, and then starting to allow some Jews to return from exile

Ezra/Nehemiah

Dealing with Jews returning to Jerusalem to build the second temple.

Ezra takes some back to build, Nehemiah gets permission to return after he hears they are struggling

Nehemiah first focuses on the wall and then keeping people in order (genealogies, applying people to offices) while Ezra is focusing on getting all the teachings and temple in order.

The books end with people being recommitted to a covenant life with God- set apart and holy.

Esther

“Meanwhile, back in Persia”

The Jews there are all about to be killed because one crooked official passes a racist law, planning on killing the Jews

Esther courageously speaks up, risking her life, and saves the Jews

Doesn’t mention God

Thoughts

The story progresses as people are unfaithful to God again and again.

He responds again and again with just punishment, covenantal faithfulness, and moving toward something.

From a bird’s eye view you get this picture of God taking the hand of his children and walking them forward.

They stumble, they sin, they get distracted, they grow, they keep getting led forward

He helps, he gets mad, he forgives, he gives them more responsibilities, he gives them more opportunities, he teaches, he shows himself more, but he keeps moving them forward.

These people are the one’s God chose to work through to bring Jesus into the world, to display the holiness of himself through the temple and sacrifices, to show mankind’s unworthiness in a relationship to him.

This history isn’t just factual or story.

It’s most of the picture as we watch God’s perfect relationship with man, form, shatter and then God (through mystery and miracle) starts piecing it back together, making something eternally strong forged by the flames of hell baptised in the blood of Jesus.