The Historical Books and the Need for a Savior
The Historical Books
From the conquest of Joshua to the reign of Jehoiachin, the contents of the Pentateuch are formative to the lives of Israel and surrounding foreigners. At times, covenantal obedience to Yahweh brings blessing upon the people and the land. At other times, disobedience brings about death, famine, and pestilence (Josh. 7:5; 2 Sam. 21:1; 24:15). For the people within the Historical Books of the Bible, the Pentateuch is the standard for morality, civility, and religion. This article will evaluate Israel’s commitment to upholding these standards from the period between Joshua – 2 Kings, with particular focus on the areas of God, the World, Humanity, Sin, and Salvation.
Pre-monarchy
The pre-monarchy era includes the books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and 1 Samuel 1 – 7.[1] The book of Joshua immediately connects the pre-monarchy with the Pentateuch by announcing the death of Moses. Joshua 1:2-9, "an exhortation from Yahweh to Joshua, draws together relevant texts from Deuteronomy. Yahweh starts recapitulating the promise of the land and related assurances of victory (Josh. 1:3-5; cf. Deut. 11:24-25)."[2] For example, in Deuteronomy 31:6, the Lord speaks to Moses, saying, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”[3] In the next two verses, Moses repeats the Lord’s message to Joshua, in the presence of the people. The near verbatim repetition of Deuteronomy 31:6 in Joshua 1:9 is an indication to Joshua and Israel that the covenantal program within the Pentateuch is still in full effect despite Moses’ death.
The Book of Joshua
With the covenantal promises intact, Joshua leads Israel into the conquest of Canaan in Joshua 6 – 12. Immediately, two characters within the narrative provide a noteworthy juxtaposition: Rahab and Achan. Rahab, the Gentile prostitute, gave, "friendly welcome to the spies" (Heb. 11:31) in the fortified city of Jericho (Josh. 2). Her faith results in the preservation of “all who belong to her” (Josh. 6:22-25). Achan, an Israelite from the tribe of Judah, takes a cloak, silver, and gold from the small city of Ai. His disobedience results in the execution of himself and his entire family (Josh. 7:25). The comparison of Rahab and Achan reveals that Yahweh is still true to his Sinaitic promise, for the “thematic link between faith and success”[4] within the book of Joshua stems from God’s promises in Exodus 19:5-6. Achan’s theft and covetousness, violations of the eighth and tenth commandments respectively, lead to his death, his family’s death, and the death of “about thirty-six” men of Israel (Josh. 7:5). This story reveals that even from the days of Adam and Eve to the conquest of Joshua, God’s character remains immutable, and man’s heart remains pervasively sinful.
The book of Joshua ends with Israel’s covenant renewal at Shechem. Joshua’s stirring recollection of God’s faithfulness to Abraham and Moses contributes to the people’s firm commitment to Yahweh, saying, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods . . . Therefore, we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God” (Josh. 24:16, 18). Unfortunately, their commitment seems to die along with Joshua. In Judges 2, the author places the death of Joshua immediately before the ensuing unfaithfulness of Israel (vv. 6-15). As a result of Israel’s idolatry, a violation of the first commandment, the Lord “sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies” (Judg. 2:14). Now, Israel needs a savior to rescue them from their terrible distress (Judg. 2:15).
Judges
Within this context, the book of Judges depicts God raising judges who save the people from their enemies (Judg. 2:16). As L.G. Stone notes, as the story of Judges unfolds, “Israel’s ‘saviors’ become increasingly monstrous (Jephthah) or tragic (Samson).”[5] The judges’ progressive degradation climaxes in Judges 13-16 with the story of Samson, a Danite. Samson, apparently born under a Nazirite vow, violates the conditions of this vow originally given in Numbers 6:1-21 (Judg. 13:7; 14:9; 16:19). Beginning his pattern of disobedience to the Torah in Judges 14:1-3, Samson defies his parents’ wish for him to marry an Israelite woman. His obstinance toward his mother and father is a violation of the fifth commandment. Samson's attraction to foreign women is not just an offense to his parents, but also Yahweh and will ultimately lead to his demise. After lying to Delilah several times about the source of his strength, a violation of the ninth commandment, Samson finally tells her, “If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man” (Judg. 16:17). In short order, Delilah has another man “shave off the seven locks of his head” (Judg. 16:19). Along with his hair, Delilah and the Philistines remove Samson’s eyes from his head and place him in prison. Samson went from being a “savior” to needing a savior.
Although evil, like the wickedness of Samson, ran rampant throughout Israel during the period of the Judges (chs. 17-21), the author displays God’s sovereignty over the events in the lives of his chosen people. Even in Samson’s lustful pursuits of foreign women, Yahweh never relents from working out the counsel of his will (Judg. 14:4; cf. Eph. 1:11). When Samson fell into the hands of deceptive Delilah, the author of Judges shows that his weakness may have been less about his lack of hair and more about his lack of faith, crediting Samson’s aloofness to his frailty to the fact that Samson “did not know that the Lord had left him” (Judg. 16:20). Like the preservation of the line of David in the book of Ruth (Ruth 4:18-21), the period of the Judges displays that despite the inability of the judges to lead Israel in obedience to the Torah, Yahweh remains faithful to his covenant people.
The final line of Judges states that "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judg. 21:25). Eventually, the elders of Israel demand that the Prophet Samuel appoint a king to rule over them. Samuel, the man of God, opposes their request because he sees it as a failure of the people to realize “that Yahweh was the only savior and provider that they needed.”[6] Nonetheless, "the Lord said to Samuel, 'Obey their voice and make them a king’” (1 Sam. 8:22). Thus, the united monarchy begins under the reign of a Benjaminite, King Saul.
United Monarchy
“The term united monarchy refers to the period of Israelite history that witnessed the paradigm shift in national leadership from that of tribal confederacy to dynastic state.”[7] The united monarchy persists from the anointing of King Saul in 1 Samuel 8 to the beginning of the reign of Solomon's son, Rehoboam, in 1 Kings 12. A comparison of Saul, David, and Solomon through the lens of the Pentateuch provides the reader with an explanation for the causation of Israel's eventual divide.
King Saul
Despite the early military success, King Saul's reign is reminiscent of Samson's tragedy and disobedience. In 1 Samuel 13, Saul offers an unauthorized burnt offering (v. 10) and receives immediate condemnation from Samuel (v. 13). Again in 1 Samuel 15, Saul disobeys the command of the Lord to “kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” from among the Amalekites (vv. 1-3). Saul’s continual disobedience leads to the Lord’s proclamation to Samuel, saying, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned his back from following me and has not performed my commandments” (1 Sam. 15:10). Here, Samuel’s rebuke of Saul adds perspective to the book of Leviticus, saying, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam. 15:22). "Saul, asked for by the people, represents rejection for both prophet and deity. For the sake of theocracy this king must, in turn, be rejected."[8]
King David
Saul’s rejection leads to the reign of a shepherd from Bethlehem: David, the great-grandson of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 4:18-21). “David’s unique spiritual sensitivities, his capacity for worship, and his familiarity with repentance earn him the epitaph of one whose heart was like that of God (Acts 13:22; cf. 1 Sam. 13:14).”[9] Like Saul, David is responsible for committing grievous sins against the Lord. In 2 Samuel 11, David violates the sixth, seventh, and tenth commandments by committing adultery with Bathsheba and devising the murder of her husband, Uriah (vv. 4, 15). Unlike Saul, however, David’s godly sorrow leads to repentance which prevents the Spirit of the Lord from departing him, as he did King David’s predecessor (1 Sam. 16:13; Ps. 51:11). David’s reign is a lynchpin between two kings who would ultimately forsake Yahweh. Despite his sins, and the tumultuous years following these transgressions, David’s reign unites Israel, and its essence is on display within David’s final words: “When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth” (2 Sam. 23:3-4).
King Solomon
In a most profound example of grace and redemption, David and his wife Bathsheba go on to give birth to a future king, Solomon. During David's reign, his desire was to build God a temple; however, concerning this desire, the Lord instructs David, saying, "It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father, I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today” (1 Chr. 28:6-7).
The Lord’s conditional promise to Solomon is reminiscent of the Sinaitic Covenant in Exodus 19:5-6, which says, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Despite King Solomon’s completion of the temple, his moral failures determine the fate of Israel, for he broke the conditions of the Lord’s covenant. First Kings 11:4 reveals that “when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.” A few verses later, the Lord casts his judgment upon Solomon’s idolatry, proclaiming, “I will surely tear the kingdom from you” (v. 11). Solomon's heart, like those whom the Lord tests in the wilderness (Deut. 8:2-3), causes much strife for God's chosen people, leading to the division of the kingdom. Like Samson and Saul, Solomon’s story is tragic.
Evaluating Saul, David, and Solomon
For ancient Israel, the Kings of the united monarchy must walk following the law of the king, set forth in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Here, the king must not acquire many horses for himself, cause the people to return to Egypt, acquire many wives for himself, or acquire for himself excessive silver or gold (vv. 14-17). The law of the king continues in verses 18-20, stating that Israel’s king must, “fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes . . . that his heart may not be lifted up . . . and that he may not turn aside from the commandment.” All three kings, Saul, David, and Solomon, violate this law during their respective reigns. The key difference, however, between David and the men serving Israel before and after him, is his heart’s alignment with the law of the king; for, “The law of the king (Deut. 17:14-20) recognizes the ultimate control of the Lord God . . . David’s [reign] was theocratic, and to him was given the promise of the great Son of David (2 Sam. 7:13-16).”[10] Within one generation following Solomon's reign, the kingdom divides, and at times, this promise seems but a faint hope.
Divided Monarchy
The divided monarchy begins with the reign of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. In 1 Kings 12, this new king decides to characterize his reign by the harsh treatment and severe discipline of his people. This decision by Rehoboam leads to Israel’s response to the king, "What portion do we have with David? We have no inheritance with the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David” (1 Kings 12:16). The remainder of Kings and portions of the book of Chronicles “emphasize the division as the beginning of the northern kingdom’s apostasy.”[11]
With Rehoboam reigning over Judah, Jeroboam begins his reign over Israel by instituting pagan practices comparable to Israel’s worship of the golden calf at Sinai, a violation of the second commandment. In Exodus 32:4, Aaron tells Israel, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." In 1 Kings 12:29, Jeroboam, regarding the two golden calves he forges, tells Israel, "Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt." For this reason, whenever the author of Kings wants to characterize a new king as evil, the author simply compares that king to Jeroboam. For ancient Israel, Jeroboam's practices became the standard of evil. On multiple occasions, the author of Kings identifies a new, wicked king by stating that “he walked in all the way of Jeroboam” (1 Kings 15:34; 16:2, 26; 22:52). The echoes of Jeroboam’s idolatry defy the Mosaic Covenant and display the perpetual sin within Israel.
About 36 years after Jeroboam’s death, the most wicked king in Israel’s history ascends to the throne: King Ahab. “Ahab’s evil consisted of perpetuating all the sins of Jeroboam and promoting the worship of Baal in Israel. Of all Israel’s kings, Ahab outraged the Lord the most” (1 Kings 16:33).[12] The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not a silent spectator of Ahab’s wickedness. Yahweh anoints many prophets on his behalf throughout the book of Kings, Elijah being the most prominent among them. According to Donald J. Wiseman, “Elijah is present as Moses redivivus fighting for the purity and continuance of the worship of the Lord amid idolatry and the intrusive syntheistic acknowledgment of foreign gods.”[13] Wiseman’s comparison of Moses with Elijah displays that, at least in principle, the spiritual issues facing Elijah in Israel are the same as Moses’ issues in the wilderness (Ex. 32:4-8; cf. 1 Cor. 10:7). Additionally, Elijah’s contention against Baal worship constitutes as God’s judgment for the violation of the first commandment.
Although God's prophets, like Elijah, regularly counter the ignorance of King Ahab, it is a clan of false prophets who ultimately contribute to his demise. On one occasion, Ahab—with an ever-present fixation on the metaphysical world—desires to conquer Ramoth-gilead. He delights himself in the words of the false prophets, who say to the king, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king” (1 Kings 22:12). The false prophets’ misuse of the name of the Lord constitutes a violation of the third commandment,[14] and their words contribute to the eventual death of the wicked King Ahab (1 Kings 22:37).
Both Judah and Israel experience their fair share of wickedness protruding from the throne; however, God does not fail to raise up men who love him and lead the people into religious reform. R.K. Duke points out the Chronicler’s comparisons of Jehoshaphat, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Josiah to David, and notes that "If the king (usually with the people) engages in some form of seeking Yahweh, then Yahweh blesses him with military success, wealth, the ability to execute building projects, and so forth. If the king forsakes Yahweh, then he and the people meet with a reversal of fate.”[15]Duke’s observation displays the consistency of Yahweh. From Abraham to Moses to David to Solomon, the Lord promises blessing for covenantal obedience and judgment for covenantal disobedience (Gen. 17:1; Ex. 19:5-6; Ps. 132:10-12). The Lord’s judgment for the disobedience of the Jewish kings and commoners ultimately ends in the exile of Israel (722 BC) and Judah (586 BC) at the hands of Assyria and Babylon, respectively.
Conclusion
In Genesis chapters 12, 15, and 17, the Lord covenants with Abraham, promising him blessing, nationhood, and land. By the end of monarchical rule in Israel and Judah, none of these promises seem intact, for the people vacate the Promised Land and many foreigners dwell within what was once Israel’s territory.[16] One cannot blame Yahweh for the Israelites’ misfortune; he faithfully kept the conditions of the covenant by judging the disobedience of Israel. Although Joshua – 2 Kings presents several individuals who love the Lord and keep his commandments, as a whole, Israel rejects Yahweh. Their continual violations of the Ten Commandments result in both their failure to be holy (Lev. 19:2) and their exile. The exile leaves Israel and Judah in the same predicament as Adam and Eve when their backs were to the Garden of Eden: dwelling in estrangement from God, dealing with sin’s consequences, disregarding their call to steward God’s creation properly, and desperately in need of a Savior. Overall, the Historical Books of the Bible display an unfaithful nation and its faithful God.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anders, Max and Glen S. Martin, eds. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. Holman Old Testament Commentary.Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2002.
Arnold, B.T. “Book of Samuel.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, edited by Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson, 866-877. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Bedford, P.R. “History of Israel 8: Postexilic Community.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, edited by Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson, 493-497. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Duke, R.K. “Book of Chronicles.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, edited by Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson, 161-181. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Evans, M.J. “Samuel.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, edited by Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson, 862-866. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Gunn, David M. “Saul.” In The Oxford Companion to the Bible, edited by Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, 679-681. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Hawk, L.D. “Book of Joshua.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, edited by Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson, 563-575. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Hill, A.E. “History of Israel 3: United Monarchy.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, edited by Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson, 442-452. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005.
McKenzie, S.L. “History of Israel 4: Division of the Monarchy.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, edited by Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson, 452-457. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Stone, L.G. “Book of Judges.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, edited by Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson, 592-606. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Wiseman, Donald J. 1 and 2 Kings. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Wyngaarden, R.K. “Theocracy.” In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, edited by Walter A. Elwell, 1184. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2001.
Notes:
[1] B.T. Arnold, “Book of Samuel,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, eds. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 866.
[2] L.D. Hawk, “Book of Joshua,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, eds. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 563.
[3] Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this article are to the English Standard Version (ESV) (Crossway, IL: Crossway, 2001).
[4] L.D. Hawk, “Book of Joshua,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, eds. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 564.
[5] L.G. Stone, “Book of Judges,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, eds. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 603.
[6] M.J. Evans, “Samuel,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, eds. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 864.
[7] A.E. Hill, “History of Israel 3: United Monarchy,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, eds. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 442.
[8] David M. Gunn, “Saul,” in The Oxford Companion to the Bible, eds. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993), 680.
[9] A.E. Hill, “History of Israel 3: United Monarchy,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, eds. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 449.
[10] M.J. Wyngaarden, “Theocracy,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2001), 1184.
[11] S.L. McKenzie, “History of Israel 4: Division of the Monarchy,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, eds. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 453.
[12] John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 418.
[13] Donald J. Wiseman, 1 and 2 Kings, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 48.
[14] Max Anders and Glen S. Martin, eds., Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Holman Old Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2002), 88.
[15] R.K. Duke, “Book of Chronicles,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, eds. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 176.
[16] P.R. Bedford, “History of Israel 8: Postexilic Community,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, eds. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 493.
