Old Testament Survey #6

 

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Chapter 6
Overview of Eras

The rest of the Bible revolves around the Divided Kingdom, Exile and Return

 SURVEY6

Below are the balance of the 12 Historical books:

2 KINGS (9)

  1. Division of The Kingdom
  2. Reigns of Various Kings
  3. Reign of Ahab With Elijah

EZRA (10)

  1. First return to Jerusalem
  2. Construction of the temple
  3. Second return to Jerusalem
  4. Restoration of the people

NEHEMIAH (11)

  1. Preparation to reconstruct the wall
  2. Reconstruction oft wall
  3. Renewal of the covenant
  4. Obedience to the covenant

ESTHER  (12) – Took place between Ezra and Nehemiah

  1. Selection of Esther as Queen
  2. The plot of evil Haman
  3. Triumph of Mordecai over Haman
  4. Triumph of Israel over her enemies

The 5 POETIC OR WISDOM BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

Poetic Books of the Bible – A Five-Book Transition

The five Poetic Books of the Bible are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.

  • These books do not continue with the history of the Hebrew people, however, they are considered to be a transition from the History Books (1 Samuel through Esther), to the Prophetic books of the Major Prophets (Isaiah through Daniel).

This section explores questions of suffering, love, wisdom, and the nature of the God of Israel. It examines inquiries of life, daily practical living, and relationships with others. Thus, they are also sometimes labeled the writings of “wisdom” especially found in Job, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs. The remaining books are a collection of songs (psalms), love stories, and worship prayers.

  1. JOB – Job’s trials of extreme suffering emphasize God’s great omnipotence. This book is named for a righteous and faithful man who was challenged to remain faithful through the loss of everything in his life—his children, home, and friends. However, in the end and by remaining steadfast, God rewards Job by not only replacing all he lost but multiplying it as well. Job was blessed when his flocks increased to the thousands; he was granted seven more sons and three of the most beautiful daughters in the land. Job lived to see his grandchildren to the fourth generation. “He died old and full of years.”
  2. THE BOOK OF PSALMS is a collection of petitions, prayers, songs, and beautiful poetry. King David is recognized to be the psalmist for much of this book, but is placed with the writings of some of his contemporaries. In addition, some of the earliest psalms were written by Moses many centuries before David. Here we see prayerful songs and poetry describing almost every facet of man’s relation to God in times of trials and the returning words of a loving God.
  3. PROVERBS was written mostly by Solomon, but is again a collection which passes on words of knowledge and experiences God has for us today. Though short and concise, most proverbs offer sound advice that covers a wide range of topics. They include messages on chastity, controlling our tongues, drinking too much wine, the love of money, having true wisdom, and many more. Proverbs 15:33 states “The fear [respect] of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”
  4. ECCLESIASTES, meaning assembly [of the church] deals with vanity and shows that fullness of life is found only in God. It is a book that is often misunderstood and even more often ignored. That is regrettable since this book addresses the often asked questions on the “meaning of life.” Ecclesiastes is sometimes thought of as being negative or cynical, but in fact it illustrates that faith and patience are keys to enjoying the victorious life God has for us.
  5. SONG OF SOLOMON’s unique theme is one of beautiful love. The compilation of songs is of marriage, purity, and morality. This book is a symbolic parallel to our relationship (as pure and righteous people—the Bride of Christ) with our groom, Messiah the Christ. Written as a love poem, it describes the intensity between two people in love and affirms the sexual pleasures found uniquely within marriage. Songs of Solomon’s imagery demonstrates flawlessly God’s love for Israel and Christ’s love for His believers. This book takes us from falling in love, to uniting in love, to struggling in love, and to finally, maturing in love.

Poetic Books of the Bible – At the Core

Whether it is through God’s grace with Job, or the allegory found in the Song of Solomon, love is God’s core message in these Poetic Books. To discover God’s nature is to understand love and realize His purpose for us. It is His love that restored Job’s life, answers the call of praise and prayer in Psalms, and instructs with words of wisdom in Proverbs. God uses Solomon’s disillusion of life to show us that everything apart from God is vanity and empty except the loving relationship we have with God. And of course the Song of Solomon is the moving illustration of God’s love for us and that husband and wife honor Him when they love each other.

TIMELINE OF THE PROPHETS (Major and Minor)

This timeline puts the Old Testament prophets in chronological order during the Historical Books of the Bible.  In addition to the 12 minor prophets, the 5 major prophets (red) are included in this list to give a better overall sense of when God spoke to the people.

  • The Major Prophets were considered to be major because of the length of the book. The Minor Prophets were much shorter books.

Prior to 722, Warnings

  1. Jonah – 820-804 BC – spoke to the Assyrians
  2. Amos – 810-785 BC – spoke to the northern kingdom
  3. Joel – 800 BC – spoke to the southern kingdom
  4. Hosea – 785-725 BC – spoke to the northern kingdom
  5. Micah – 749-722 BC – spoke to the northern kingdom
  6. ISAIAH – 740-681 BC – SPOKE TO THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM

722 BC – Northern Kingdom of Israel destroyed by the Assyrians

  1. Nahum – 661-612 BC – spoke to the Assyrians
  2. Zephaniah – 630 BC – spoke to the southern kingdom
  3. Habakkuk – 610-599 BC – spoke to the southern kingdom
  4. JEREMIAH – 625-582 BC – SPOKE TO THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM
  5. LAMENTATIONS – A lament over the destruction and loss of Jerusalem by Jeremiah

605, 597, 586 BC – Jerusalem is attacked in three waves and ultimately destroyed by the Babylonians

  1. DANIEL – 605-534 BC – SPOKE TO CAPTIVES IN BABYLON
  2. EZEKIEL – 592-570 BC – SPOKE TO CAPTIVES IN ISRAEL
  3. Obadiah – 585 BC – spoke to the Edomites, descendants of Esau, Judah’s brother who refused to help Judah during the invasion

539 BC – Babylon is conquered by Cyrus, Jews allowed to return to Jerusalem

  1. Haggai – 520 BC – spoke to the returned exiles of Babylon
  2. Zechariah 518 BC – spoke to the returned exiles of Babylon
  3. Malachi – 430-400 BC – spoke to the returned exiles of Babylon