LECTURES 5 & 6

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS

•Joshua through Esther are referred to as the historical
books of the Old Testament. The great purpose of
God’s word and of the Holy Spirit, in whose power we
understand it, is to bring us to maturity in Jesus Christ
and to truly reflect His image and His character.
•Each division of the OT makes a unique contribution
to our maturity as believers.
•The Pentateuch lays the foundations for our faith and
maturity, showing us who we are:
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•The remainder of the books – Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah, and Esther – form part of the section of
the Hebrew canon called ‘the Writings’.
•This OT historical literature needs to be understood
within the frame of reference that it is a strategic part
of God’s self-revelation.
•God’s self-revelation is intended to convey instruction
about the knowledge of God.
JOSHUA
•It is a historical account of how God kept his promise
to bring his people into the Promised Land. Its theme
is to be found in 1:11 ‘Take possession of the land the
Lord your God is giving you. It begins with a story of
victory.
•The Christian life is not only a matter of being called
out of a wilderness, it is also a matter of entering into
an inheritance, the Land of Promise.
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
•It continues the story of the Israelites after the exodus
from Egypt. About 20 years of Joshua’s leadership of
the people after Moses anointed him at the end of
Deuteronomy.
•Chapters 1-12 covers the entering and conquering of
the land.
•Chapters 13-22 covers instructions for distributing the
portions of the land.
•Chapters 23-24 covers Joshua’s farewell address.
MAJOR THEMES
1. The Promise-Keeping God. God had promised, in
the Abrahamic covenant to give the land of Canaan
to his descendants. When they entered the land, it
was the fulfilment of Yahweh’s promise. (21:43).
2. The Achievement of Rest- In reaching Canaan the
people gained rest from the hardships of the
wilderness and the rigors of conquests (1:13;
11:23). There is rest for the people of God.
Hebrews 3:74:10)/
JUDGES
•It is essentially the story of a deteriorating
nation, and it serves as a sober warning against
derioration and decline in our own Christian
lives.
•The key principle that always spelled defeat in
the lives of the people of Israel is given to us in
the very last verse of the book: ‘In those days
Israel had no king; everybody did as he saw fit’.
(21:25).
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
•It is a tragic account of how Yahweh (God) was taken
for granted by His children year after year.
•They were disobedient and idolatrous, leading to their
many defeats.
•Yet God has never failed to open His arms in love to
His people whenever they repent from their wicked
ways and call upon His name. (Judge 2: 18).
•God would then give them a judge who would deliver
them from the hands of their enemies – Moab,
Ammon, Philistines and Midianites.
MAJOR THEMES
1. GOD IS SAVIOUR – He hears the cry of his people,
and on each occasion raised up a Judge whom he
endows with His Spirit.
2. THE DANGER OF SYNCRETISM. It is mixing things up;
the good and the bad, God’s things and man’s things.
Israel mixed the worship of Yahweh with Canaanite
religion.
3. Repentance. That was the one condition of
deliverance for Israel.
RUTH
•It is one of the two books in the OT bearing the name
of woman (Esther is the other one).
•It is about how a Gentile woman of faith became part
of the godly seed line of Christ (Mt. 1:5), the great
grandmother of King David.
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
It begins with an introduction of four key characters.
Elimelech whose name means ‘my God is king’, who
leaves the town of Bethlehem (House of Bread) with
With his wife, Naomi, whose name means ‘pleasant’.
Because of famine in the region, they take their two sons
Mahlon and Kilion.
In Moab, Elimelech died, and his two sons married Moabite
women, Orpah and Ruth. After 10 years the two sons also
died.
After the famine was over Naomi expressed her plans to
return to Bethlehem, but she encouraged her two
daughters-in-law to remain in Moab. Orpah remained but
Naomi refused and declared her determination to identify
with Naomi’s land, people and faith.
MAJOR THEMES
1. KINSMAN-REDEEMER. Boaz, a relative of Naomi on the
husband’s side, acted upon his duty as outlined in the
mosaic law to redeem an impoverished relative .
(Lev.25:47-49). Christ redeems us, the spiritually
impoverished.
2. ‘HESED’ – Ruth is a book of ‘hesed’, translated as ‘mercy’
or ‘loving-kindness’ which is Yahweh’s nature, and He has
placed bit of that instinct in created humans. A moral
quality that can be seen at both the divine and human
levels. It brings God’s blessing upon humanity.
1 & 2 SAMUEL

•Originally, a single book in the Jewish

canon but was divided in the Septuagint.
The two books cover the period of the
transition from the judges through the
establishment of the monarchy,
including the reigns of Saul and David.
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
•Samuel is the focus of the first eight chapters – his
birth, calling and rise to national leadership. He is
both prophet and judge, governing, directing the
military, and dispensing God’s word.
•Israel asked for a king, to be like the neighboring
nations. God relents and instructs Samuel to anoint a
king.
•The remainder of 1 Samuel is concerned with Saul’s
kingship and the establishment of the monarchy.
•Saul unfortunately does not live up to his potential,
and God rejects him, and anoints David as successor.
•David rises to national prominence. 1 Samuel
concludes with Saul’s suicide.
•After a period of political instability (2 Sam. 1-4),
David consolidates h is rule over Israel, then captures
Jerusalem, as his capital. He’s is denied building a
temple for the Lord, a privilege God reserved for his
son. But God promises him a permanent dynasty.
•2 Samuel goes on to record David’s
exploits (5-24), both good and bad. He
commits – then repents of – great sin,
and God remains faithful to him.
•His kingdom is firmly established.
MAJOR THEMES
1. KINGSHIP – The book records the evolution of Israel
from a tribal league society to a monarchical
system. Kingship in Israel was to be different from
kingship among the Canaanite tribes. Canaanite
kingship was characterized by the verb ‘take’ (1
Sam 8: 10-17), but the King of Israel was to be
chosen by God to be ‘leader over His inheritance’.
(1Sam. 10:1). He was to rule in the fear of God. (2
Sam. 22: 21-25; 23: 3-4).
2. THE DAVIDIC COVENANT. This refers to God’s promises
to David through Nathan, the Prophet (2Sam. 7; 1Chr. 17;
2 Chr. 6).
This is an unconditional covenant made between God and
David through which God promises David and Israel that
the Messiah (Jesus Christ) will come from the lineage of
David and the tribe of Judah, and will establish a kingdom
that will endure forever.
3. Samuel, the servant of the Lord. He was an
answer to prayer and his godly mother’s
dedication gave him the best start of living as a
Nazirite (1:10,11,27,28; 2:26; Num. 6:1-21). He
was the voice of God to his people (3: 1-10;
19:21); a man of God, of great personal integrity;
not in ministry for what he could get, unlike his
sons. He put God first in his life (9:6; 12; 3-5).
3. SAUL , the king who went wrong. He began well and
with great promise: anointed by God; was modest,
large hearted and spiritually gifted, acting with decision
in time of crisis (10: 1,10,22; 11:6,12,13).
However, he deteriorated gradually: as he began to
take matters into his own hands, make rash vows;
disobey God’s commands. He became jealous, bitter
and depressed; wasting his time and energy hunting
down David. Stooped to spiritualism and committed
suicide.
5. DAVID, The Lord’s choice. As God’s replacement for
Saul, David was a man whose heart was right and
whose faith was great that he was able to take on a
giant single-handedly.
He waited for God to avenge him, regularly asking for
guidance and trusting him for deliverance.
Being human, his weaknesses were glaring and had to
depend on the grace of God. (25: 32
1 & 2 KINGS

•Like Samuel, Kings was a single book in the

Jewish canon. The two books of Kings
document the covenant history of Israel
from King David’s death and Solomon’s
succession to the throne through the
demise of the divided kingdoms of Israel
and Judah.
SUMMARY OF THE BOOKS
•The first book begins by tracing Solomon’s rise to kingship
after the death of David. The story begins with a united
kingdom, but ends in a nation divided into 2 kingdoms,
known as Judah and Israel. The second book concludes
with the final overthrow and deportation of the people of
Israel and Judah to Assyria and Babylon, respectively.
•The two books are aptly called Kings because they trace
the various royal dynasties in Israel and Judah.
•The spotlight in the books is on the King, as the king goes
so goes the nation.
MAJOR THEME
•Assessment of King Solomon
•The two measuring rods for all future kings of Israel
and Judah – Jeroboam and David respectively.
•Characteristics of good kings: Hezekiah was a model of
the good kings (2 Kings 18:1-10.
1 & 2 CHRONICLES
•Like Samuel and Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles were
originally one book. 1 Chron. Is a history book chiefly
concerned with King David’s reign (1000-961 BC).
•2 Chronicles takes up the story of God’s people where
1 Chronicles leaves off with the reign of Solomon.
•It traces the varying fortunes of Judah through nearly
400 years until the nation finally collapsed, but also
points to a hopeful future when the nation would be
restored through an edict of Cyrus (36:23).
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
•1 Chron. Begins with extensive genealogies (1-9): the
Patriarchs of Israel, the twelve tribes, and the
post-exilic inhabitants of Jerusalem.
•The reign of David is recounted in Chaps. 10-29
•The record of Solomon’s reign (2Chr. 1-9)
•The subsequent kings of Judah (10-36)
•Under some, the nation flourished, under others the
nation declined, according to whether the king
followed God’s way or not.
•The book ends with Judah in captivity, but with hope
of restoration.
•The Chronicler emphasizes the Davidic covenant and
God’s faithfulness to His promises.
•Obedience and rewards are highlighted rather than
disobedience and punishments (as in Kings) eg.
Nothing is said of David’s sin with Bathsheba, and only
one of Solomon’s wives is mentioned.
•Jerusalem as centre of national life and worship, and
the temple as symbol of God’s presence are stressed.
MAJOR THEMES
•Worship in the Old Testament
•The need for obedience
•The importance of the covenant. The central message
of 2 Chronicles is found in 15:2. Keeping the covenant
led to prosperity and breaking the covenant led to
ruin. The Lord of the covenant is great (2:6), good
(5:13); just (12:6); and powerful (13:12).
EZRA AND NEHEMIAH

•The Hebrew Scriptures (as well as the

Septuagint) treated Ezra and Nehemiah as a
single book that recounts the rebuilding
endeavors of Jewish exiles returning from
Persia to Jerusalem (538-445BC).
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
•The first expedition to rebuild the temple (Ezr. 1-6) is
led by Zerubabel.
•A second expedition led by Ezra finds the local Jews in
danger of losing their distinctive cultural and religious
identity due to intermarriage with pagan cultures
(7-10).
•To preserve their identity, Ezra issues a call tol
repentance and to life of obedience and purity.
•Thirteen years later, Nehemiah, leads another
expedition to Jerusalem (Neh. 1-6) to rebuild the walls
in the face of threats to the city’s security.
•After the walls are completed, Nehemiah and Ezra
lead the people in a succession of social and religious
reforms (7-13).
•A revival occurs, and the people reaffirm God’s
covenant with Israel.
MAJOR THEMES
•Yahweh as Covenant-Keeper.
•Christian ambition
•Christian giving
•Patriotism (1:3-11).
•Perseverance.
ESTHER
•Esther, the courageous queen is the central focus in
this book while surrounded by complicated
personalities such as Queen Vashti and Haman.
•Even though the name of God is not mentioned in the
Book of Esther, this book is all about the providence of
God and His watchful eye over His people.
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
•The book of Esther can be divided into three main
sections:
•1: 1-2:18, Esther replaces Vashti as queen.
•2: 19-7:10, Mordecai overcomes Haman
•8: 1- 10:3 Israel survives Haman’s attempt to destroy
them.
•Esther risked her life for the salvation of the Jews.
MAJOR THEMES
•The providence of God.
•The people of God. The book shows the Jews to be
God’s people.
•Purim. The book of Esther is read annually at the
Jewish celebration of the feast of Purim (lot’s). The
festival commemorates the deliverance reported in
the Book of Esther. It reminds them also of God’s word
in Prov. 16:33.