Old Testament Survey Paper

Story Line: Conquest, Judges, United Kingdom.

Scripture: Joshua, Judges, Ruth,1 and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-11; 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles 1-9, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes.

People: Joshua, Deborah, Gideon, Samson, Ruth, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, and Job.

I read all of the reading that needed to be read.

The Approximate time of the book of Joshua is 1405-1375 B.C.(Marty Pg. 53) “The second major unit within the books of History is commonly called either the Conquest Period or the Pre-Kingdom period and includes Joshua, Judges and Ruth.”(Walk through the Old Testament) “ The Period of Conquest begins with the transfer of leadership from Moses to Joshua. It Includes the Crossing of the Jordan River, the campaigns to occupy Canaan, and the division of the land among the twelve tribes.”(Marty pg 53) The book of Joshua breaks down into several different areas: Joshua, Preparing for Conquest, Conquest of Canaan, Dividing the Territory, Concluding Events, Death of Joshua.

The book of Joshua starts with Joshua being commissioned as Moses’ successor. In Chapter one, God encourages Joshua and tells him that he will always be with him. Joshua told the people to prepare for the crossing of the Jordan. He sends spies into Jericho. When the spies return, they tell Joshua all that they saw. Israel was to then cross the Jordan River. God wanted to show Israel that He was with Joshua so he told Joshua to go to the river and He parted the Jordan River just like He did at the Red Sea. All of Israel passed on dry ground. Israel then camped at Gilgal and the whole nation got circumcised. The next even was the Conquest of Canaan. The next thing standing is

Israel’s path was the City of Jericho. The were a very powerful nation with huge walls surrounding the city. There was no way humanly possible that Israel could have defeated Jericho, but that is how God likes to work. God told Joshua to march around the city for seven days. On the seventh day, they marched around the walls seven times, then blew there horns and shouted. At that time, all of the walls of Jericho fell to the ground. God told Israel not to take any of the gold or silver for themselves, but to put it into the treasury of God. Some of the people of Israel did not listen to God and took some. Israel then went into battle at Ai. Because of Achan’s sin, they were defeated at Ai. God told Joshua the problem of someone taking the treasure. Joshua fixed the problem, then attacked Ai and defeated them. Israel was making a name for themselves and the Gibeonites were afraid. So the Gibeonites deceived Israel by wearing old cloths and having old bread and said they were from far away. Israel did not ask God and they made a treaty with the Gibeonites. Joshua found out about this and became angry and made the Gibeonites their wood cutters and water carriers. Israel had a battle in southern Canaan and had victory at Makkedah, then had victory at Libnah, then at Lachish. Gezer came to aid Lachish and Joshua defeated them too. Then Israel went to Eglon, then to Hebron, and then defeated Debir, then he struck Negev, then Joshua struck from Kedesh-Barnea and even to Gaza. Joshua captured the whole Southern Palestine. Joshua then took over and destroyed all of Northern Palestine.

The next event was dividing the territory equally amongst the tribes of Israel. They divided the land in the east and the west. After the land of Canaan was divided, they settled. The next ten or so chapters talk about some specific territories. God told Joshua to make six cities of refuge. These were cities that if anyone were to kill anyone accidentally, they could flee to these cities and be safe. The next events were the Concluding events. This was the return of the eastern tribes and Joshua’s farewell address and death. Joshua reviews some of Israel’s history, gives a farewell speech, and tells Israel to keep the commandment of the Lord. Joshua then died and they buried him in the land that was promised to him that was called Timnath-serah.

The judges lasted 400 years and consisted of 13 judges. The time of the judges were1375-1051 B.C. “The central characters of this narrative are “judges”, a term that gives rise to the name of the book. These “judges” were not simply legal authorities as the English word implies. They were charismatic military leaders whom God raised up and empowered for specific tasks of deliverance(2:16). The office implied governing in a broad sence”(encountering the old testament pg. 182) The Israelites would get into a cycle of sin, servitude, supplication, salvation, silence, and then start all over again. So God raised up people to save them from oppression. The judges were Othneil, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson.

The three judges that are most talked about are Deborah, Gideon, and Samson. Deborah was the fourth judge and judged Israel for twenty years. Because of her, the Israelites had peace for forty years. Gideon judged Israel during the time that the Midianites were the oppressors. Gideon judged Israel for seven years and Israel had peace for forty years. Samson is probably the most well known judge. He was the judge that God gave super human strength. Samson judged Israel in the oppression of the Philistines for forty years and Israel had peace for twenty years. “The Total time of the rest and oppression is 410 years, the actual time is approximately 300 years. The difference is due to overlapping in the rule of the judges.”(Marty Pg. 64.) at the end of the judges, everyone did what was right in his own eyes except Ruth and Samuel.

The book of Ruth. “The title identifies the central person in the book. Ruth, a Moabitess, becomes the great-grandmother of David and though a Gentile, she thus plays an important part in the line of Christ.”(Marty Pg. 70) The time of Ruth was about 1000 B.C. “The book of Ruth is about the sovereign work of God in the lives of unassuming, humble people during the judges period.”(Encountering the Old Testament pg. 187) Ruth went into a random field to get grain for herself and Naomi and it happened to be Boaz’s field. God blessed Ruth and Boaz married her. The line of Jesus came from Ruth. Ruth was the mother of Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David.

“The prophet Samuel carries Israel across the transition from the Judges to the Kings.”(Walk Through the Old Testament Pg. 26) 1st Samuel starts the United Kingdom Period. “The