The Conquest to the Monarchy

 

This module covers over 400 years of Israel’s history, starting with the conquest of the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, through the dark ages of the Judges, into the establishment of the Monarchy and ending with King David finishing what Joshua began, by conquering all the Promised Land and overcoming Israel’s enemies, bringing a time of peace to Israel.

 

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module you should:


                      • Have a good understanding of how God and Israel took possession of the Promised Land through holy warfare.
                      • Be familiar with the geography of the Promised Land.
                      • Understand how this period and the characters in the events impacted the nation of Israel and played a part in God's redemptive plan for humanity.
                      • Have studied and completed the books Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, using this Inductive method of Bible study.
                      • Have explored some of the implications of these books for modern day life.

 

 

Joshua, Judges, Ruth and the Samuels are historical books following the Pentateuch in the arrangement of the Old Testament. They are shown in red on the table below.

 

Module 3, Unit 1: Joshua

God’s Covenant people are ready to enter the long awaited Promised Land. The book of Joshua describes how this happens and how Israel settles in the land fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham.

Module 3, Unit 2: Judges

Although the people of Israel are living in the Promised Land, their failure to fully drive out its previous occupants, as the Lord had commanded, leads Israel into spiritual and moral decline.

This is a very sad period of Israel’s history and is sometimes described as the ‘dark ages’. But throughout this dark time we see God’s love and faithfulness prevail to His Covenant people.

Module 3, Unit 3: Ruth

The book of Judges left Israel crying out for redemption. Through the book of Ruth God reveals the next step in His plan of redemption for humanity. We see God’s heart for all nations as He works through a loyal and faithful Moabite widow to bring about His divine purposes.

Module 3, Unit 4: Samuel

1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book but were later divided into two books in the Greek Septuagint (Greek Old Testament Translation), just as we have it today in our English Bible versions. Since they were firstly one book, we will study them together.

In these books you will meet important people in Israel’s history. In 1 Samuel you meet Samuel as the last judge who reluctantly leads the nation into the monarchy, Saul, who had so much potential but chose to disobey God: and David, the man after God’s own heart.

In 2 Samuel, David becomes king, and leads Israel into their golden age and finishes what Joshua began. God makes an eternal Covenant with David through which the Messiah would come. Sadly, in 2 Samuel we see David’s sins of adultery and murder which lead to devastating consequences for his family.