Burning Bush Blogs
Equipping Men with Biblical Knowledge and Leadership Skills
Category: Personal Study
Thread: New to the Bible – Bible Structure
Post Topic: OT Books of History
Post in Thread: #3
Previous: Books of the Law
Next: OT Books of Poetry
Scripture: Joshua through Esther;
2 Chronicles 7:14
Judges 2:10-22
Key Verse:
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Note on this post
This post fits within a continuing series meant for readers who are less familiar with Scripture. Unlike most Burning Bush blogs, this series is designed to explore the organizational structure of the Bible more than a particular topic. The same introductory overview is included in each post in case someone jumps into the middle of the series.
Books of the Bible – Overview
Imagine two bookshelves – one with 39 books, and one with 27 books. The shelves have dividers between groups of books. Each group belongs to its own genre. There’s a group of historical fiction, a group of thrillers, a group of how-to books, biographies, etc.
Now imagine that the top shelf is the Old Testament and the bottom shelf is the New Testament. The genres, or categories, of each testament, is what we’re going to discuss. This post will deal with the Old Testament.
OT Books of History
The books of history can be subdivided into the books of the law and the remaining books of history. This post covers the remaining Old Testament books of history following the first five books of the law.
Note: the period of kings can be confusing because the nation split into two after Solomon. A chart at the bottom of this post is provided for reference.
Observations
- Joshua describes the conquest of the Holy Land by the Israelites, led by Moses’ successor, Joshua.
- Judges describes the cycle of sin and repentance by the Israelites, followed by God raising up judges to rule and to overthrow their oppressors.
- Ruth is a standalone love story.
- The books of Samuel, the Kings, and the Chronicles tell the story of the rise and fall of kings following the period of judges in the land.
- King Saul was the first king. Because of his disobedience, his bloodline did not continue in this role.
- King David was anointed as the next king. His successes and failures are well-documented, but he never turned his back on God.
- David’s son Solomon built the first temple. His reign was the height of peace and prospserity in the land.
- Later the kingdom split in half: the kingdom of Israel in the north, and the kingdom of Judah in the south (including Jerusalem).
- The Assyrian empire overthrew the northern kingdom and took many of them into exile.
- Later, the Babylonian empire, led by Nebuchadnezzar, overthrew Judah, and took them into exile.
- Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of the return of the exiled to reclaim and rebuild Jerusalem.
- Esther tells the story of how a queen in exile saved her nation from destruction.
Interpretation
Setting – Most of the narratives are set in the ancient nation of Israel, much centered around Jerusalem. After the two kingdoms are exiled, some of the narrative occurs in the distant lands of the Babylonian and Persian empires.
Genre – Historical narrative.
Authors – Many.
Takeaways
- The Israelites continually turned their back on God, but he never abandoned them.
- There were consequences for their actions: they were enslaved, their kingdom split in two and weakened, and they were exiled.
- In the days before the kings, they would repent, and God would raise up a judge to save them.
- When their disobedience grew too great, foreign empires overthrew their kingdoms. First the evil north, then later the southern kingdom.
- Within 70 years, God allowed the exiled people from Judah to return to their homeland.
- God kept his promises to Abraham and never disowned his people or their homeland. God is a covenant keeper.
- When Israel repented, God showed them mercy, no matter how many times they turned against him.
Correlation
- Romans 9-11 – For several chapters, Paul discusses the disobedience of the Israelites. He is quick to point out that the savior of the world came into the world through this nation.
- Paul says: “Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all!”
- In Romans 11:11-24 he likens it to pruning a tree, where the unbelieving branches are hewn off, and new branches, representing Gentiles, are grafted in.
- I John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Application
Generic Applications
- We’ve all been caught in a vicious cycle of sin. We feel like failures when we can’t seem to prevail over it. So we give up. This has happened to all of us. But God hasn’t given up on us.
- There are consequences to our failures. But God wants us to return to Him.
- If we call on God with a truly repentant heart, he is faithful to forgive, no matter how many times we’ve failed. He wants us to repent and ask for his help to overcome our mistakes.
Personalize it
- Is God speaking to me about an un-confessed sin?
- Am I caught in a cycle like the Israelites? Do I feel defeated by the enemy? I can bring it to the Lord.
Reference Information – A Visual History of the Split Kingdom
The books of history and prophecy in the Old Testament are not always arranged in chronological order. Further complicating matters, some stories and prophets are associated with the northern kingdom of Israel, while others are associated with the southern kingdom of Judah. The authors usually don’t differentiate, making it confusing when you start a new book or study.
The chart below is intended to provide a visual of the history of the kingdom, so when you see a random king’s name you’ll be better equipped to comprehend the context:
Kings of Israel
The United Kingdom
Saul
David
Solomon
The Divided Kingdom (c930 BC)
Kings of Israel (North)
Jeroboam I
Nadab
Baasha
Elah
Zimri
Omri
Ahab
Ahaziah
Joram/Jehoram
Jehu
Jehoahaz
Joash/Jehoash
Jeroboam II
Zechariah
Shallum
Menahem
Pekahiah
Pekah
Hoshea
Northern Kingdom Falls to Assyria (722BC)
Kings of Judah (South)
Rehoboam
Abijah/Abijam
Asa
Jehoshaphat
Jehoram/Joram
Ahaziah/Jehoahaz
Athaliah (queen)
Joash/Jehoash
Amaziah
Uzziah
Jotham
Ahaz
Northern Kingdom Falls to Assyria (722BC)
Hezekiah
Manasseh
Amon
Josiah
Jehoahaz
Jehoiakim
Jehoiachin/Jeconiah
Zedekiah
Southern Kingdom Falls to Babylon (586 BC)
Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:
Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.