Part 2: The History Books

Course Summary

English Bibles are often divided the Old Testament into four major sections:

Pentateuch (Genesis – Deuteronomy)

History (Joshua – Esther)

Poetry/Wisdom (Job – Song of Solomon)

Prophets – Major (Isaiah – Daniel)

Prophets – Minor Prophets (Hosea – Malachi)

History Books (‘Former Prophets’) Overview

Covers the history of the Israelites from Moses’ death to the fall of the nation in 587 BC

Divided into two groups:

The Monarchy – Trace the history of Israel’s monarchy from its establishment to its destruction (Joshua – Chronicles)

Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land

Period of the Judges

The united kingdom – under Saul, David and Solomon

Preparation of the temple

The divided kingdom – Israel in the north and Judah in the south

The exile of Israel and Judah to Assyria and Babylon respectively

Destruction of the temple

The Restoration – Describe the return of the remnant to the land after 70 years of captivity (605 – 536 BC – Ezra to Esther)

Ezra – The restoration of the temple

Nehemiah – The reconstruction of the city

Esther – The protection of the nation’s people

The Monarchy

Joshua + Judges

Summary

Joshua – The Israelites successfully conquer the land given to them by God

Judges – Israel disobeys God by worshipping the deities of the surrounding peoples. This idol worship results in the neighboring nations invading and oppressing them. God saves the people of Israel by designating judges, or rulers, to lead the people in warding off their enemies.

The Cycle of Sin of Judges

Israel Disobeys

Israel is Oppressed

Israel Cries Out

God Raises-up a Delivered

Israel is Delivered

Israel is at Peace The Cycle

Sad Ending

Joshua 1:16–18 TNIV

Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, is to be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

Judges 21:25 TNIV

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

Ruth

Summary

Tells the story of the Moabite woman named Ruth

Sorrows brought on the family of Elimelech b/c of the famine

Return of Naomi to the land of Israel

Naomi’s daughter-in-law

Marriage of Ruth and Boaz

The beginning of the lineage of Christ seen in this faithful woman (David back to Ruth)

Lessons to Learn

There can be calm in the midst of the storms of life (location after Judges)

Shows us how God rewards faithfulness and devotion

1 + 2 Samuel

Summary

Much written by the prophet Samuel but not all, as it records his death and some subsequent events.

Covers the period of the rise of the united kingdom of Israel (1100 BC to 970 BC).

1st Samuel

Ministry of Samuel, the last of the judges

Saul, the first king

David, the Anointed Successor in response to Saul’s disobedience

2nd Samuel

David’s Triumphs (ch. 1 – 12)

Conquers Israel’s surrounding enemies and establishes Jerusalem as the religious and political center.

David’s Troubles (ch. 13 – 24)

Kings + Chronicles

Both share a great deal of similarities w/roughly 50% of Chronicles covered elsewhere in the Old Testament

Question – Why do we have both in our Bibles?

Answer – Found in understanding the differences between the two histories of Israel:

Summary

Dates written:

Kings (w/books of Samuel) written around 550-660 BC during Babylonian exile

Chronicles written after the exile was over, around 450-440 BC

Content

Samuel/Kings addressed the hardhearted Jews experiencing exile and captivity

Chronicles seeks to inspire hope and faith in God among those who are hurting after this spiritually devastating ordeal

Fact that these two accounts of Israel’s history are given to different audience’s accounts for the contrasts between the two.

Samuel/Kings needed to show the people that the nations troubles were the result of their sinful disobedience rather than God’s abandonment of His people.

Chronicles wanted to encourage the Israelites and help them turn back to worshiping Yahweh as the one true God.

Three Ways Chronicles Is Different Than Samuel/Kings

It focus on David and Solomon (29 chapters)

Spotlight is on their triumphs rather than their respective failures of adultery and idolatry.

Does not whitewash history but does deal favorably with many of the kinds of Israel.

Example - Wicked King Manasseh is described as an evil king in both 1 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 33, but only Chronicles mentions his repentance and return to God.

It focus on Judah

Primarily focuses on the kings of Judah, the house of David, rather than the kings of Israel – sees Judah as the center of God’s work among His people.

When kings of Israel (the northern kingdom) are mentioned, it is because it has a direct connection to the narrative related to the expoits of Judah in the south.

Focus on Restoration

The purpose was to wake-up Israel and point them back to God

Main Idea

God is in control

The reason why it is the final book in the Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh)

The Restoration

Ezra + Nehemiah

These two books were, most likely, originally one book (or scroll). Therefore, we are treating them as one book.

Main Idea

After living in captivity in a foreign land, the Israelites return to Jerusalem in three waves to rebuild their temple (Ezra 1:1-11), city (Neh. 1-2), and lives (Ezra 7:1-26).

Israel experiences only moderate success (Ezra 3:12-13; 4:1-3; Neh 13.) and must place their hope in the future.

Purpose

To instruct us as to the events at the end of the exile which brought God’s people back into their land.

To reveal that they are incapable of obeying the Lord perfectly (Nehemiah 5)

They had 70 years of experiencing the consequences of their sin. They had new leaders, opportunities and beginnings, yet they still failed. It was going to take an internal change (Deut. 30:6), not an external change to follow God.

Leading Themes

God moves the hearts of rulers to accomplish His purposes (Ezra 1:1; 7:27; Neh. 2:4-8).

Scripture is clear that it was God who directly stirred the heart of the respective king

When you do something for God, expect opposition.

There is much opposition in these books! Enemies tried to stop the work on multiple occasions (cf. Ezra 4:4-5, 5:6-6:12; Neh. 4:2-3, 4:8)

Repent frequently and sincerely (Ezra 9:5-15, 10:1-2; Neh. 1:6-7 + Ezra 9 + Nehemiah 9)

God moves in response to prayer (Ezra 8:23; Neh. 2:1-10, 1:4-11, 4:4-6, 6:14)

Give priority to God’s Word (Ezra 3:1-6; Neh. 8:1-5, 8)

Esther

Overview

Author unknown

Named for the “star” of the story, a young Jewish girl named Hadassah, renamed Esther, meaning “star”

Events occur from 483 BC to 473 BC, during the first half of the reign of King Xerxes, who chose Esther as his queen.

Book written no earlier than 470 BC and probably no later than 424 BC, during the reign of Xerxes’ son Artaxerxes

Importance of the Book

Only book to not mention the name of God, though God was not absent from the story (works through “coincidences”)

Book stands as one of the most skillfully written biblical books.

Constructed chiastically - using the Hebrew literary device in which events mirror each other inversely

Early listeners would have recognized significant events and followed the rising tension with understanding

Main Idea

Relates the dramatic origins of the feast of Purim, a greater theme shines through the story.

The sovereignty and faithfulness of God permeates each scene.

God’s sovereignty is best summarized in Mordecai’s exhortation to Esther: “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:14 TNIV

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Mordecai’s words reflected his faith that God would honor His eternal covenant with Abraham and David.

This message is clear: God is sovereign even when life doesn’t make sense.

Application

Life can be hard. Difficult times happen, and pain cannot be avoided.

When life doesn’t make sense, turn to God. Let the book of Esther encourage you that God is always present.

Trust and obey, as Esther did. And watch God silently weave all events for His glory . . . and for our good.