SERMON: Old Testament Overview Part 6 - Life in the Promised Land

 

Old Testament Overview
Part 6 - Life in the Promised Land

• This Session:
• Review/Introductions
• Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth
• I. Review/Introduction
• The Jewish Bible referred to these early historical books as “the former prophets” (includes Joshua–Kings, excluding Ruth)
• Luke 24:44 — “in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms”
• The Former Prophets give a continuous history of Israel in the Land through the eyes of the prophets. 
• The Latter Prophets indict the Law breaking of Israel / Judah, but also predict Yahweh’s future restoration of Israel. 
• The Former Prophets will lead us to the monarchy
• Israel received Yahweh’s blessing only so long as she remained faithful to the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant (cf. Deut. 28).
• II. Joshua
• Hebrew: Yehoshua [“The Lord is Salvation”] (related to Yeshua)
• THEME: Conquer and Divide (Re-Entry).
• Date of Events: From the Death of Moses (1406 BC) to the Death of the Elders associated with Joshua (1375 BC)
• The people: The ones who came out of the wilderness, who were under 20 coming out of Egypt, lived for about thirty years in the land, helping to conquer. 
• HISTORY: 
• The Pharaoh of Egypt in the Merneptah Stele in 1225 BC identifies Israel as a nation.  
• As a result, liberals can’t say that Israel didn’t exist at this time, so they debate the nature of the conquests of the land.
• Outline
• Conquering the Land (Seizing) (1 - 12) 
• Invasion of the land (1-5) 
• Subjection of the land (6-12) 
• Dividing the Land (Settling)   (13 - 24) 
• Distribution of the land (13-22) 
• Addresses by Joshua and his death (23-24) 
• Land is a major theme in Joshua.
• It’s the “Promised Land”; God made a covenant!
• God also said in Deut 20:16, “Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes.”
• They spent 40 years wandering because they were afraid of the Canaanites.
• Why is it that the Canaanites were destroyed?  
• Deut. 7:16 – They would become a snare to Israel.  
• However, Rahab was a Canaanite, a harlot to boot!  Yet, she repented, asking for mercy.  No one else did!  In fact, the Lord hardened their hearts (Jos. 11:20). 
• When they come against Jericho, the manna stops!  
• However, the Canaanites who had been farming the land went within their walls, leaving plenty of food for Israel.
• God provided supernaturally for His people, and then He also provided providentially.
• God also protected the people w/ land gradually.  
• First, He restrained the kings of the land from coming against Israel at once; they only had to fight the people nearby.  
• Second, it kept them from conquering the land too quickly and becoming spread thin and disorganized. 
• Still, they failed to conquer all the land in Joshua’s time.
• God promises to continue driving out the Canaanites and commands the individual tribes to continue the work (13:1–6).  It’s up to the tribes to obey the Word of the Lord.  
• Ex: Ephraim complains that they are too numerous for their allotment, so what does Joshua instruct in Jo 17:17–18?  
• God will give it, but they must exercise their faith.  
• Still, 23:4, there still remains work to be done — they need to remember the promises of the Lord and act accordingly.  
• Spiritual lesson? God promises to sanctify the land of your heart, cleansing you of sin, but don’t think that means He’s not calling you to put in some sweat, blood, and tears in the process!
• Key passages 
• 1:7–9   — Be strong and courageous," Know and keep the Law.
• 10:12–15 — Sun stands still. 
• 24:14–15 — “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve . . .  As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 
• (The division of the land(Holman Bible Atlas, Map 40, Page 86))
• Unfortunately, they never took “full” possession of the land.
• Numbers 34, the Mediterranean was supposed to be the outward boundary.  Joshua 1 gives clear parameters.  
• However, Israel never took possession of the land under Joshua, Judges, Saul, David, or Solomon!  So, what do we do with Josh. 21:43-45?  
• Obviously, not completely fulfilled — God gave it to them, but they failed to take it.  So, they will take it over time.
• III. Judges
• May the LORD, the Judge, judge today…” Jgs 11:27.
• Date of Events: 
• From the Death of Joshua (c. 1390 BC) to the Death of Samson (c. 1055 BC), about 300 years (the reigns of Judges overlapped)
• Jewish tradition: we can thank Samuel for Judges, though not many “experts” on the OT believe that today.
• THEME: Disobedience and Defeat; Disobedience cost Israel her covenant blessings (Jgs 2:16-19)
• Key Chapters
• 5 — Song of Deborah 
• 6-8 — Gideon's judgeship 
• 13-16 — Samson's judgeship
• Key Passages: 
• 11:34-40 — Jephthah's vow is fulfilled regarding his daughter (See interpretive issues)
• 17:6 (21:25) — "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes“ (What is the purpose of judges?) 
• Who were the judges?
• Main job: to judge!  
• Ex: Moses is a judge (Exod. 18:13) — teaching and applying God’s Word to the people’s situations.
• In Dt 16:18, we see the command for them to appoint them in every town.
• God raised judges to also deliver the people from oppression (though the people would return to their sinful state after their deliverance!)
• Heb 11:32–34 remember some of their examples of faith (etc. Deborah, Gideon, Samson).
• Their leadership and responsibilities foreshadowed the coming king who would rule all Israel. 
• Cycle of sin:
• Israel's…
• …Sin (2:11-13, 17; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 8:33;    10:6; 13:1) 
• …Servitude (2:14-15, 20-23; 3:8, 12-14; 4:2; 6:1-6;        10:7-9; 13:1) 
• …Supplication (2:18; 3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:7; 10:10) 
• …Salvation (2:16; 3:9-10, 15; 4:6-7; 6:14,          10:18; 13:5) 
• …Security (2:18; 3:11, 30; 5:31; 8:28; 12:7; 16:31) 
• This pattern basically repeats six times in the book. 
• Sadly, the returning point is lower than previous ones.  
• In fact, the judges themselves, being men of their times, were progressively less righteous.
• The question: why does God patiently deal with them?  The covenant! 
• IV. Ruth
• Ruth was considered part of “the writings” 
• Right after Proverbs
• Compare Prov. 31:10; Ruth 3:11
• This takes place during the time of Judges (Ruth 1:1), during the Midianite Oppression of Judea — sometime between Othniel and Sampson.
• Date of Events: c. 1126-1105 BC
• THEME: Kinsman Redeemer
• Yahweh sovereignly, but in a hidden way, effected the birth of His King through the actions of His people.)
• Read every Shavuot or Feast of Pentecost.
• Ruth isn’t the main character!
• It starts w/ Naomi’s hardship — 1:3 (Naomi’s husband dies) and v. 5 (her sons die).  
• She’s completely cut off from an inheritance.  
• She is in a desperate place, and in chapter four, it’s her land in dispute.  
• Naomi is named first and last in the book and throughout.  
• Look at Ruth 4:17 — a child is born to Naomi!  She’s the mother, generations removed, of King David.  
• She speaks the most in this book, followed by Boaz, and then followed by Ruth.  
• So, this is a story about how God works in the life of Naomi. 
• Ruth is key, getting Naomi and Boaz together.  Yet, it’s a story about how a kinsman-redeemer saves Naomi.  And that, ultimately, is an illustration of Christ (the Kinsman-Redeemer of Israel) saves His people.
• Key Passage: 4:18–22, The genealogy from Perez to David.
• 4:17 says a child is born to Naomi; “Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.”  
• The story of Perez is a sordid one, one where Jacob’s son Judah denied levirate marriage to Tamar, his daughter-in-law.  It’s interesting to see a just resolution.  
• Moreover, even in the degradation of Israel during the time of the Judges, the Messianic plan of God is not derailed.
• Next Time:
• Books:
• 1 & 2 Samuel
• 1 & 2 Kings
• 1 & 2 Chronicles
• The Monarchy
• The Reign of King Saul
• The Davidic Dynasty
• Divided Kingdom?