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Jet Tour of the Bible, Part 2
1. Joshua: How did the book of Joshua relate to the Abrahamic Covenant and the land? In Genesis 12:1-3, God gave Abraham certain promises that form the basis for the Abrahamic Covenant. God promised Abraham seed, blessing, and land. In Genesis 15 these promises became a formal unilateral covenant in which God's promises do not depend upon the actions of Abraham nor are they given a time limitation for their fulfillment. In Joshua, the Israelites are the promised seed of Abraham. They had increased in numbers as God had promised. As the Israelites entered and conquered the promised land, they acquired a place in which to settle and multiply further in the years to come. The promise of blessing that God gave to Abraham was twofold. God promised to bless Israel and that all the nations of the earth would be blessed as a result (Gen 12:3). Joshua provides evidence that Israel was blessed by God. Israel was given the land and possessions of the Canaanites which further bolstered their national identity. Joshua also provides evidence of Israel being a blessing to other nations. All the nations that cooperated with Israel prospered (e.g., the Gibeonites), as did individuals (e.g., Rahab). Israel in the time of Joshua was more richly blessed than at the time of their forefather Abraham. Abraham only possessed Canaan in the form of a promise and had to purchase a grave in the land in order to bury his wife (Gen 23). The people of Joshua's day learned of God's faithfulness to fulfill his promises. Even Israel's sin did not prevent God's faithful fulfillment. The promise of the land receives most of the attention in Joshua. God had repeatedly promised the land of Canaan to Abraham (Gen 12:7; 13:14-15, 17; 15:18-21; 17:8; 22:17), to Isaac (Gen 26:3-4), to Jacob (Gen 28:4, 13; 35:12), and to the succeeding generations (Gen 48:4-22; 50:24). The book of Joshua emphasizes that the conquest of Canaan was a direct fulfillment of that promise. God was fighting for the Israelites and giving them the land in the process. At this point it becomes necessary to distinguish between the Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant since both are at work in the book of Joshua. Both covenants were made with the Israelites, yet they had significant differences. First, the fulfillment of the promises under the Abrahamic Covenant was not conditioned upon Israel's actions, whereas fulfillment of the promises under the Mosaic Covenant was conditioned upon Israel's obedience. The Mosaic Covenant is not a reiteration of the Abrahamic Covenant but rather an additional covenant to provide guidance to Israel in experiencing the fullness of the Abrahamic Covenant as soon as possible. Since God was demonstrating his faithfulness to Israel, he expected Israel to be faithful to the Mosaic Covenant. Possessing the land was based on their obedience to his law (23:9-13, 15, 16; Deut 4:1, 25-27, 40; 6:17-18). In fact, the book of Joshua portrays the complete possession of the land as the result of Joshua's obedience to God's commands (10:40; 11:20, 23; 23:9-13). Though Israel had not yet occupied the entire land promised to Abraham (Gen 15:18; cf. Josh 1:3-4), the occupation had a strong beginning in Joshua. It was a significant enough occupation that Joshua could say later in his life that God had fulfilled the land promise to Abraham (Josh 21:43). 2. Judges: Describe the cycle of Israel's sin and Yahweh's response according to the book of Judges. The book of Judges stands in stark contrast to Joshua. In Joshua an obedient people conquered the land through trust in the power of God. In Judges, however, a disobedient and idolatrous people are defeated time and time again because of their rebellion against God. In seven distinct cycles of sin to salvation, Judges shows how Israel had set aside God's law and in its place substituted "what was right in his own eyes" (21:25). The recurring result of abandonment from God's law is corruption from within and oppression from without. During nearly four centuries spanned by this book, God raised up military leaders, or judges, to throw off the yoke of bondage and to restore the nation to pure worship. But all too soon the sin cycle began again as the nation spiraled further away from faithfulness to God. This dreary picture of apostasy and oppression is brightened only by the stories of the judges God sent to Israel as deliverers. A pattern is followed in each story; a cycle of events that is repeated over and over during these dark centuries. Each cycle consists of five sequences of events: (1) Sin - The Israelites turn to worship idols and do evil in the eyes of the Lord (2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1). (2) Servitude - Neighboring nations oppress the Israelites who are unable to resist (2:14; 3:8; 4:2; 10:9). (3) Supplication - Under intense oppression, the Israelites confess their sin and cry out to God (3:9, 15; 6:6-7; 10:10). (4) Salvation - God hears their prayer and empowers a deliverer to drive away the oppressors (2:16; 3:9-10, 15; 6:34; 10:1, 12; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6; 19). (5) Silence - A period of rest follows, during which the judge keeps the people faithful to God (3:10-11; 8:28-32; 10:2-5; 12:9-15). The restoration at the end of each cycle did not bring the nation fully back to the level of obedience that existed at the beginning. At the end of each cycle, the nation was increasingly further away from God. In fact, there is also a deterioration of the quality of the judges themselves and their effectiveness as leaders. Othniel (3:7-11) appeared as the first judge during the first cycle and as the model of what a judge should be. He was raised up by God and empowered by God's Spirit; he was a warrior when Joshua lived (Josh 15:13-19), and he led Israel in successful warfare as Joshua had done. The brief report shows the cycle that characterized the time of the judges. Sin (3:7) leads to servitude (3:8), to supplication (3:9), followed by salvation (3:9-10) and silence (3:11). He provided the model from which all subsequent judges depart to varying degrees. The second cycle involved Ehud (3:12-30). The text does not offer the same information about God raising him up or empowering him with his Spirit as he had done with Othniel. Ehud delivered Israel by deceit and treachery and the text does not mention God's will and relationship to him. The third cycle was led by Deborah (4:1-5:31) was a prophetess (4:4) as well as a judge (4:5) which suggests a failure of male leadership in Israel during her time. Deborah provided the spiritual leadership while Barak provided the military leadership under her guidance. Gideon was the deliverer during the fourth cycle (6:1-8:32). During the fifth cycle, Tola and Jair functioned as judges (8:33-10:5). Jephthah, followed by Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, judged Israel during the sixth cycle (10:6-12:15). During the seventh cycle, Samson, who was the least qualified morally, delivered Israel (13:1-16:31). God is the real deliverer who works behind all the events in the book of Judges. He demonstrated his compassion and pity on a wayward people who grieved him continually (2:16, 18) by providing the leaders to rescue them. God alone remained faithful despite the failings of the people--and even the judges. 3. Samuel: Trace the development of the Davidic Covenant in the book of Samuel. The first glimpse of the Davidic Covenant in the book of Samuel is during Hannah's prayer at the dedication of her firstborn son, Samuel (1 Sam 2:1-10). Hannah anticipated a future victorious king whom she referred to as God's "anointed" (1 Sam 2:10). The concept of being anointed carried the idea of having a consecrated and holy status before God. Amazingly, Hannah mentioned this idea long before a monarchy had even been established in Israel. It is likely that she had picked up on this idea from Moses' prediction of a coming king who would exercise God's rule over al the nations of the earth (Gen 49:8-12; Num 24:7-9, 17-19). The next development in the Davidic Covenant came when the people of Israel demanded a king (1 Sam 8). Though Samuel warned them of the consequences of trusting in a human king rather than God, they insisted on having a human king to lead them in battle (1 Sam 8:19-20). So Samuel, the last judge and first great prophet in Israel, anointed the first king whose name was Saul (1 Sam 9). Though Saul's outward credentials were impressive, his indifferent heart attitude toward God resulted in the kingdom being taken away from his family (1 Sam 13:13-14; 15:28-29). Samuel told Saul that God wanted a man who had a heart to obey him. In his place Samuel anointed young David as the king-elect (1 Sam 16:1-13). David became a growing threat to the insanely jealous Saul and eventually fled to the wilderness for his very life. But God's hand of protection was clearly upon David, even as God's hand of judgment was felt by Saul and his family. Saul foolishly consulted a medium at En Dor and heard his own doom pronounced. Saul and his sons were killed the next day in combat. The next and most significant development in the Davidic Covenant is when God established the actual covenant with David (2 Sam 7:8-16). Verses 8-11a record the promises that were realized during David's lifetime. Verses 11b-16 give the promises that were to be fulfilled after David's death. During David's lifetime, God gave David "a great name"; appointed a place for Israel; and gave David rest from all his enemies. After David's death, God gave him a son (any of David's line from Solomon on) to reign over Israel whom the Lord would oversee as a father with the necessary chastening, discipline, and mercy; and a Son (Messiah) who would rule a kingdom that will be established forever. This prophecy had immediate reference to Solomon and to the temporal kingdom of David's family in the land. But in a greater and more magnificent sense, it refers to David's greater Son of another nature, Jesus Christ (cf. Heb 1:8). This aspect of the covenant is unconditional in its promise of an everlasting throne, king, and kingdom. The Davidic Covenant is mentioned again in David's song of praise in chapter 22 where he praised God that he would show mercy to "his king" and "his anointed, to David and his descendants forevermore" (22:51). The book of Samuel ends with another reference to the Davidic Covenant in "the last words of David" (2 Sam 23:1). There, David gave praise to God saying, "He has made with me an everlasting covenant" (2 Sam 23:5a). 4. Kings: What was the prophetic evaluation of Israel/Judah's monarchy in the book of Kings? The theme of the book of Kings is that the welfare of Israel and Judah depended upon the covenant faithfulness of the people and their king. The book of Kings traces the monarchy from the point of its greatest prosperity under Solomon to its demise and destruction in the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. The book of Kings provides a prophetic evaluation of the spiritual and moral causes that let to the political and economic effects in the two kingdoms. The record is too selective to be considered a general history of the nations or a biography of the kings. For example, Omri was one of Israel's most important rulers from a political point of view, but because of his moral corruption, his achievements are dismissed in only eight verses. The lives of these kings are used to teach several basic principles: (1) Man cannot properly rule himself without conscious dependence on the help of God; (2) the kings had great responsibility as God's administrators, because the circumstances of the nation depended in large part upon their faithfulness to God; (3) the kings were illustrations of the people as a whole--just as they disregarded God's prophets, so did the people; and (4) observance of God's law produces blessing, but apostasy is rewarded by judgment. The kings of both Judah and Israel are passed in review and, as far as possible, treated contemporaneously. The worth of each king is determined by comparison with two former kings of former years, King David who held closely to the covenant, and King Jeroboam of Israel who forsook the covenant. Comparison in this way shows whether a given king "walked in the ways of David his father" or "in the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat." It is evident that the writer of Kings found that on this basis very few of the kings of Israel or Judah kept the covenant with God. Notable exceptions were Asa (1 Kin 15), Jehoshaphat (1 Kin 22), Hezekiah (2 Kin 18-20) and Josiah (2 Kin 22-23), and even these had some defects. David realized the ideal more closely than any other. His parting advice to his son Solomon was that he should keep God's commandments (1 Kin 2:3). This was the only way to assure any hope of prosperity and peace. To depart from that way was to risk divine judgment. Loyalty to God's covenant was the foundational requirement for Israel. It stemmed from Abraham, but found national expression at the time of the Exodus when Israel, recently delivered from Egypt, stood at Mount Sinai and entered into a solemn covenant with God (Ex 19:5; 24:3-8). Thereafter Israel was to be God's own people, set apart from the nations, obedient to his commandments and loyal to him. The Israelites were forbidden to enter into covenants with other nations or other gods. Adherence to the covenant with God would result in blessing; departure from it would result in cursing and judgment. These principles are clearly worked out in 2 Kin 17-23. The writer traced the story of Israel's kings from Solomon to the last king of Judah. He openly and honestly recorded the sad story of the rejection of the covenant by most of the rulers. The final collapse of Israel before Assyria (2 Kin 17) and of Judah before Babylon (2 Kin 25) was a demonstration of the truth of the principle underlying the book and came as no surprise to men of spiritual discernment. The book of Kings served as a warning to the remnant of God's people that rejection of God's covenant, as an act of rebellion, can only result in divine judgment. 5. Ezra/Nehemiah: What was the nature of the theocracy after the exile according to the book of Ezra/Nehemiah? Though the Jewish monarchy was no longer in place in Judah during the postexilic era, God continued to rule over their affairs. As the sovereign God, he directed the affairs of the Jews by moving the hearts of people to act according to his will. In this way, he ruled over his people. The core of Israel's faith is the confession that Yahweh, their God, is one and that he and he alone exists and is to be worshiped (Deut. 6:4-5). Even though the Jews were held captive in a land of rampant polytheism during the Babylonian captivity, they held firmly to their belief in only one God. Ezra/Nehemiah portrays the God of Israel as unique, exclusive, and sovereign. He is the "God of heaven and earth" (Ezra 5:11). The phrase "God of heaven" is a common postexilic designation for the God of the Jews. It occurs with reference to Yahweh in the decree of Darius I (Ezra 6:9-10), as well as the decree of Artaxerxes I (7:12, 21, 23). In Nehemiah's prayer in the presence of this same Artaxerxes, he addressed Yahweh in the same way. The reason is that Yahweh is no longer being spoken of in the land of Israel, but is now being named among people of other nations. The fact that Yahweh was God not only in Israel but also in other nations was evidence that he was the one and only true God. He had the power to restore the exiled Jewish nation back to their land according to his word. This God of the Jews was truly the God of heaven, i.e., the supreme God. Yahweh was sovereign over the political structures of the time. The Persian king Cyrus even acknowledged that his power came from Israel's God when he said that it was Yahweh who had given him "all the kingdoms of the earth" (Ezra 1:2). Ezra himself realized that Artaxerxes had allowed his return from Babylon and had approved the refurnishing of the temple because God had put it in the king's heart to do so (Ezra 7:27). Similarly, the Jewish congregation, during the great Passover celebration following the completion of the second temple, acknowledged that it was God who had "changed the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel" (Ezra 6:22). God reestablished his people in the land by leading his people through the kings of Persia who in turn authorized Jewish leaders to oversee their affairs. In Ezra 1 it is God who "stirred up the spirit of Cyrus the King" ( Ezra 1:1) to release the Jews and allow them to reoccupy their land in Judah and rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. Then God moves the spirits of the heads of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin along with the priests and Levites to "go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem" (Ezra 1:5). God ruled over his people through various Jewish leaders who functioned as governors of Judah on behalf of the Persian kings. These included Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Both Ezra and Nehemiah refer to being directed by God by the phrase, "the hand of the Lord his God was upon him/me" (Ezra 7:6, 9; 8:18, 22, 31; Neh 2:8). Thus, Yahweh is seen to be the ruler over the affairs of his people. Yahweh's rulership is also demonstrated in his ability to bring his foes into compliance with his will. When Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, tried to prohibit the building of the temple he failed because "the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews" (Ezra 5:5). More directly, Ezra stated that he hesitated to seek the protection of King Artaxerxes in his journey to Jerusalem because he had already affirmed to the king that his God was well able to defend him from his foes (Ezra 8:22). When under great pressure from Sanballat and his co-conspirators, Nehemiah urged his people to keep building the wall because Yahweh their God would deliver them (Neh 4:14). So though Judah was without a monarchy, they were not without a king for it was Yahweh himself who ruled over them during the postexilic era. 6. Chronicles: How did the book of Chronicles trace the history of the theocracy and temple? The chronicler wrote after the Israelites had returned from captivity to emphasize their continuity with their past. The remnant was returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple because of the promises God had given to David many year before (Ezra 7:10-23). God's promises were still in effect even though the people had been in exile. It seems clear that when the chronicler set himself to cover the same ground as Samuel and Kings, he desired to present from his own point of view the history of God's people from the days of Samuel to the captivity. His nation needed rebuilding on a solid spiritual foundation, for their long captivity had caused a serious break in their relationship to the God through the covenant laws and temple worship. Now they needed to understand their past in order to move in the right direction for the future. The long genealogical section in First Chronicles emphasizes this continuity with the past (chs. 1-9). The genealogies point out that the promises to David were founded on God's ancient promises to the patriarchs. God had pledged to Abraham that he would make him the father of a great nation, one through which he would bless the whole earth (Gen 12:1-3). God had also promised that a king would rule over this special nation (Gen 17:6). It was revealed to Jacob that the king would descend specifically from Jacob's son Judah (Gen 49:10). Finally, the genealogy in the book of Ruth explains the link between the promise and the fulfillment by tracing the line of Judah through his son Perez to Kind David (Ruth 4:18-22). God had faithfully fulfilled his promise. First Chronicles recounts the lineage of the people of God's promise and emphasizes the connection between Perez and King David (2:5-15). God would establish his reign upon the earth through David's royal line (17:7-15; Gen 17:7; 2 Sam 7). The kings God had promised to Abraham would begin with David and culminate in the one who would reign forever (17:14). God had given the promise to David, and the faithful remnant inherited the same promise. Since the chronicler wanted to encourage the returning Israelites, he focused on the glories of David's reign--his conquest of Jerusalem (11:4-9), his heroic soldiers (11:10-47), his victories over the Philistines (18:1-12), and his celebration when bringing the ark to Jerusalem (15:25-29). On the other hand, the author of Samuel told the story of David as an objective, realistic biography that did not overlook David's weakness--his affair with Bathsheba, his murder of Uriah (2 Sam 11), and his estrangement from his son Absalom (2 Sam 15). These are not omitted to give a false impression of David's character. Instead, Chronicles was written to inspire the remnant to follow the spiritual footsteps of David. At a time when the Israelites were rebuilding the nation and the temple (Ezra 3:7-13), the chronicler painted a picture of David's kingdom as a kingdom founded on the true worship of God. Not the throne, but the tabernacle and temple were the focus of David's kingdom. Chronicles extensively describes how David moved the ark of the covenant to a suitable place of worship (13:1-16:3), appointed appropriate religious personnel (16:4-6, 37-43; 23:1-26:32), and made plans for building a permanent temple (chs. 22; 28; 29). Even though Second Chronicles relates to Solomon and his successors, it continues to emphasize God's promise of an everlasting dynasty to David. Successors to David came and went. Some were true to the requirement of the covenant-they "walked in the former ways of their father David" (17:3)--and others were not. But God's commitment to the household of David continued throughout, even after the exile to Babylon. Because of this emphasis on covenant, Second Chronicles makes frequent mention of priests, Levites, the temple, and other elements of Israel's religious life. It tells how Solomon's temple was built and furnished (2:1-8:16) and includes a thorough description of the temple and its ministry (20:5-13, 24-30; 23:12-21; 24:4-14; 29:2-31:21; 34:2-35:19). The centrality of the Davidic covenant also explains why Second Chronicles devotes more attention to Judah than to Israel. Ever since the division into southern and northern kingdoms (10:16-19), Judah had become the inheritors of God's promises to David. Though David's successors ruled only the smaller kingdom of Judah, God had remained faithful to his unconditional covenant with David. Judah was the nucleus through which God would accomplish his work of redemption. 7. Ruth and Esther: Describe what each of these books taught concerning the providence of God. The book of Ruth describes the providential guidance of God in the life and adventures of an Israelite family. Through the death of the father and his two sons in a foreign country, the name and inheritance of this family were endangered. Because of the gracious action of a kinsman who respected his obligations, the hereditary line remained unbroken. The union of Boaz the Israelite and Ruth the Moabitess became the avenue of God's fulfillment of his redemptive purpose. The providence of God is subtle and surprising. The providential surprises of Ruth include: (1) Trial and tragedy bring surprising responses--from God's people and from God. Naomi's family sought escape from the promised land. God moved mysteriously with them. Trial and tragedy may lead people to lose faith at the moment. It cannot move God away from his people. (2) God can use surprising people to accomplish his purposes. Moabites epitomized pagan worship. They serve as Old Testament models for wrong, tempting worship. Yet, the Moabitess Ruth became the heroine of the story and the ancestress of the Messiah. Human categories do not limit God as he works out his purpose. (3) Personal loyalty leads to a surprising sacrifice. Ruth left her nation, her land, her blood kin, and her religion to follow her mother-in-law back to a foreign land. God used such loyalty to accomplish his saving will for the family and through them for the world. (4) The greatest surprise comes from God's perspective. God relieved Naomi's bitterness by working through the kindness of Boat, her relative, to the foreign widow Ruth. Through Boat's actions, God suddenly becomes the main hero of the story as he is of all of life. God is truly present in crisis, need, tragedy, and pain to redeem his people in earthly trials and to provide an eternal Redeemer. The book of Esther's story line includes many twists and turns that reveal an underlying story about God's character. The narrative demonstrates God's providence and sovereignty in a situation that seemed hopeless. The Israelites were living among foreigners who did not fear God and who did not care about them. A relentless enemy of the Israelites had gained power at court and was laying a plan to destroy the Jews. But at a time when God seemed distant, He was actually preparing to deliver his people. God was in control of every event--even the sleeplessness of a foreign king (6:1). Thus in the Persian capital, God demonstrated his covenant loyalty to the Israelites. Long ago, God had promised Abraham that he would curse any individual who cursed the Israelites (Gen 12:2-3). The downfall of Haman dramatically illustrated God's faithfulness to his promise. Even to the Israelites who remained in a foreign land, God remained true to his word, for they were still his people. Thus, the author of Esther clearly illustrates what the Israelites were celebrating at the Feast of Purim: God's faithful and providential protection of his people. Jet Tour of the Bible, Part 3.
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