Golden West Colleges October 21, 2024

Bible Class

“From Conquest to Return”

The story of God’s people Israel

Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the
encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

*Book introductions were taken from ESV Bible pp. 1047-1048, copyright 2001 under Crossway.

A. Entrance to Promised Land to the reign of Judges

• Books Covered: Joshua, Judges, Ruth

- Joshua. The five books of Moses anticipated the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham regarding the Promised Land.
Now (either about 1400 Or 1220 B.C.), through a string of military victories under Joshua, Israel conquered the land and
divided it among the twelve tribes. In these battles it became evident that God fights for his people when they are "strong
and courageous" (1:6,7,9, 18; 10:25) and put their full trust in him. At the close of the book, Joshua charged the people to
remain faithful to God and to obey his commands, and the people agreed to do so. "As for me and my house," said Joshua,
“we will serve the Lord" (24:15). Although anonymous, the book appears to contain eyewitness testimony, some of which
may have been written by Joshua himself.

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 - Judges. Judges is named after an interesting collection of individuals who led Israel after Joshua's death until the rise of the
monarchy under Samuel (up to about 1050 BC). In this time of national decline, despite their promise to keep the covenant
Josh. 24:16-18) the people turned from the Lord and began to worship other gods. "Every-one did what was right in his own
eyes" (17:6; 21:25). A pattern repeats throughout the book: (1) the people abandoned the Lord; (2) God punished them by
raising up a foreign power to oppress them; (3) the people cried out to God for deliverance; and (4) God raised up a
deliverer, or judge, for them. The author of the book is unknown, although some Jewish tradition ascribes it to Samuel.
- Ruth. The book of Ruth tells of a young Moabite widow who, out of love for her widowed Israelite mother-in-law,
abandoned her own culture, declaring, "Your people shall be my people, and your God my God" (1:16). Though she was
destitute and needing to rely on the kindness of others, Ruth's disposition and character captured the attention of Boaz, a
close relative of her deceased husband. Boaz fulfilled the role of kinsman-redeemer and took Ruth as his wife. Ruth serves
as a wonderful example of God's providential care of his people, and of his willingness to accept Gentiles who seek him.
Ruth was an ancestor of Christ. The author is unknown, but the genealogy at the end suggests that it was written during or
after the time of David.

B. The United Monarchy of Israel

• Books Covered: 1&2 Samuel

- 1 Samuel. First Samuel records the establishment of Israel's monarchy, about 1050 B.C. Samuel led Israel for many years in
the combined roles of prophet, priest, and judge. After the people demanded a king like those of the other nations (ch. 8),
God directed Samuel to anoint Saul as Israel's first king. When Saul turned from God, David was anointed by Samuel to
succeed him. After David killed the giant Goliath, he was brought to Saul's court eventually becoming the leaders of Saul’s

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 armies. Saul’s subsequent violent jealousy forced David to flee. The book closes with Saul’s death in battle, and looks
forward to David’s reign. First Samuel's author is unknown, but Samuel himself may have written portions of the book (see
1 Chron. 29:29).
- 2 Samuel. Second Samuel recounts David's reign as king of Israel (about 1010-970 B.C.). AS promised to Abraham, during
David’s reign Israel's borders were extended roughly from Egypt to the Euphrates. While David had many successes, after
his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah (chapter 11) both his kingdom and his own family fell into chaos. His son Absalom led
a bloody rebellion against him. Nevertheless David, author of many of the Psalms, was a man after God's own heart (Acts
13:22), a model of deep, heartfelt prayer and repentance. The dividic covenant of chapter 7 establishes the eternal rule of
David’s line, with its fulfillment in the coming of Jesus Christ. The author of 2 Samuel is unknown.

C. The Divided Kingdom to the time of Deportations

• Books Covered: 1&2 Kings

- 1 Kings. First Kings begins with the death of King David (about 970 B.C.) and the reign of his son, Solomon, who "excelled
all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom" (10:23). Solomon's unfaithfulness later in life set the stage for general
apostasy among the people. The harsh policies of his son Rehoboam led to the revolt of the northern tribes and the division
of Israel. The northern tribes would subsequently be called Israel, while the southern tribes would be called Judah. First
Kings describes the construction of the temple in Jerusalem and shows the importance of proper worship. God's faithfulness
to his people is shown as he sent prophets, most notably Elijah, to warn them not to serve other gods. The author of 1 Kings
is unknown.

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 - 2 Kings. Second Kings continues the saga of disobedience begun in 1 Kings, opening about 850 B.C. with the conclusion of
Elijah's prophetic ministry in Israel and the beginning of the work of his successor, Elisha. Israel spiraled downward in
faithlessness, ultimately being defeated and dispersed by the Assyrians in 722. Judah, the southern kingdom, had several
kings who trusted God and attempted reforms. But after many years of God's warnings through Isaiah and other prophets,
Judah's sins were punished by Babylonian conquest starting in 605 and ultimately in the fall of Jerusalem in 586. The people
were exiled to Babylon for seventy years, as prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer. 29:10). God remained faithful to his covenant
despite his people's faithlessness. The author of 2 Kings is unknown.

D. The Return of the Remnant

• Books Covered: 1&2 Chronicles, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah

- 1 Chronicles. First and Second Chronicles, originally one book, was written sometime after Judah began to return from the
Babylonian exile in 538 B.C. (1 Chron. 9:1-2; 2 Chron. 36:23). It focuses primarily on the history of Judah, the southern
kingdom of divided Israel. First Chronicles begins with several genealogies, with special emphasis on David and Solomon.
The "chronicler" moves next to the history of the kingdom under David, stressing David's deep interest in worship and his
detailed plans for the construction of the temple—which would be built by his son Solomon. First Chronicles was probably
written to reassure the returned exiles of God’s faithfulness toward his people. Its author is unknown, although many have
thought that Ezra was the principal writer.
- 2 Chronicles. Second Chronicles, which extends 1 Chronicles’ history of Judah, was written sometime after the people
began to return from the Babylonian exile in 538 BC (36:23). The "chronicler," perhaps trying to encourage the returned
exiles, recalls the greatness of Solomon's reign. Most of the book, however, focuses on Judah's fall into sin which had led to

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 the exile. Judah had several godly kings, especially Hezekiah and Josiah, but it still declined into sin. Still, God remained
faithful to his covenant people and as the book closes it jumps ahead several years, recording the decree of Cyrus that
allowed the Jewish exiles to return to their Promised Land. The author is unknown, although many have thought that Ezra
was the principal writer.
- Esther. The book of Esther never mentions God's name, yet God clearly orchestrated all of its events. Esther, a Jew living
among the exiles in Persia, became queen of the empire in about 480 BC. Haman, a Persian official, sought to eradicate the
Jewish minority, but God had prepared Esther "for such a time as this" (4:14) to save his covenant people. The book was
written some decades later to document the origins of the Jewish observance of Purim, which celebrates Israel's survival and
God's faithfulness. The author is unknown, but some believe it could have been Esther's cousin Mordecai, who is a key
person in the book. Throughout the book we see God's sovereign hand preserving his people, showing that everything is
under his control.
- Ezra. The book of Ezra begins where 2 Chronicles ends. As prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 44:28), the Persian King Cyrus had
sent exiles led by Zerubbabel back to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. (Persia had defeated Babylon in 539.) Despite opposition from
the non-Jewish inhabitants of Judea, and after encouragement by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the temple was rebuilt
(515). Then in 458, Ezra led the second of three waves of returning exiles. By the time Ezra arrived, the people had again
fallen into sin. Ezra preached God's word and the people repented (10:9-17). Ezra succeeded because God's hand was upon
him (7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31). This book, perhaps written by Ezra, shows God's power in covenant faithfulness, moving even
pagan kings to accomplish his redemptive purposes.
- Nehemiah. In 445 B.C. the Persian King Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah, an Israelite who was a trusted official, to help rebuild
the walls of Jerusalem. With Nehemiah went the third wave of returning Jewish exiles. There was intense opposition from
the other peoples in the land and disunity within Jerusalem. Despite this opposition, Nehemiah rebuilt the walls. He

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 overcame these threats by taking wise defensive measures, by personal example, and by his obvious courage. Nehemiah did
what God had put into his heart (2:12; 7:5) and found that the joy of the Lord was his strength (8:10). When the people
began once again to fall into sin, Nehemiah had Ezra read to them from the Law, Nehemiah served twice as governor. The
author is unknown, although parts come from Nehemiah's own writings.

*Charts

Caption
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