The Holy Scriptures

Joshua 1‑24; Judges 1‑21; Ruth 1‑4; 1 Samuel 1‑31; 2 Samuel 1‑24  •  5 min. read  •  grade level: 9
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Joshua
The book of Joshua begins where Deuteronomy ends. Moses having died on mount Pisgah, it is now Joshua who will, by divine appointment (Num. 27:18-23; Deut. 1:38; 3:28), lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land—“unto the land which I do give to them” (Josh. 1:2). It was not for the lawgiver Moses to bring them into the land of Canaan. They would not claim the land on the ground of their righteousness, but according to the promises made to their fathers (Josh. 1:6).
Born in Egypt, Joshua pictures to us Christ as the leader or captain of His saints. In Hebrew, Joshua means “Jehovah is salvation” and is translated in the Greek as Jesus (Acts 7:45). While the passage through the Red Sea typifies Christ’s death for the believer, the passage through the Jordan typifies the believer’s death with Christ and being raised with Him.
Before conflict begins, they eat of the old corn of the land (Josh. 5:11)—a picture to us of a heavenly Christ, upon whom those who have spiritually passed through Jordan feed. The manna—heavenly grace for wilderness circumstances—ceased on the next day, and from that day forward they ate of the fruit of the land (Josh. 5:12).
Judges
Joshua is a book of victorious power; Judges, a book of failure and weakness. Gilgal—circumcision (death to the flesh)—is exchanged for Bochim, a place of weeping (Judg. 2). But the angel of the Lord is there (Judg. 2:1). The children of Israel had been told, “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you” (Josh. 1:3). Nevertheless the energy of faith quickly gave way to complacency and unbelief.
Having failed to secure for themselves the land that God had given them, they made leagues with its inhabitants in direct disobedience to God (Deut. 7:2). These inhabitants, allowed to remain of God to prove them (Judg. 2:3,21-22), quickly became a snare.
Upon the death of Joshua we find no successor. Rather, God in mercy raises up judges with authority over a limited portion of the country. Thirteen judges are recorded by name. During these times of revival, the children of Israel repent and are delivered, only to return to their evil ways upon the death of that judge—corrupting themselves worse than their fathers (Judg. 2:13-19).
It was a time in which every man did that which was right in his own eyes (Judg. 21:25). It is helpful to note that chapters 17-21 are not chronological, but rather follow a moral order.
Ruth
The opening verse of the book of Ruth gives us the time and setting of this brief narrative, historically and morally. “Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). Ruin and failure characterize the book of Judges, while grace and life are characteristic of Ruth, as well as faith that lays hold of that grace and appropriates it.
The meanings of names have great importance in this book which takes up the family of Elimelech (“my God is King”), his wife Naomi (“my pleasantness”), and their two sons Mahlon (“sickness”) and Chilion (“consumption”).
Living in Bethlehem (“house of bread”), a famine sends them to the country of Moab for refuge. There the sons marry, and Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion all die, leaving three widows. Ruth returns with her mother-in-law to Bethlehem, and by faith and through Boaz (“in him is strength”) is brought into blessing.
Naomi, who had requested that she be called Mara (“bitterness”) when returning, now receives Boaz and Ruth’s child into her own bosom: “There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed” (Ruth 4:17). Obed is the grandfather of David (Ruth 4:17).
Prophetically, Ruth represents the future Jewish remnant. Portrayed as a Gentile destitute of right or title, she identifies herself with the desolate and afflicted people (Mara). Boaz, a figure of Christ, undertakes the cause of Ruth, marries her, redeems the inheritance (the land of Palestine), and raises up the lost memorial of Israel.
1 Samuel
First Samuel is a continuation of the historic account of Judges, with the book of Ruth forming an important link between the two, for it introduces the royal linage descending from Judah. The two books of Samuel (which originally formed a single volume) take us to the establishment of the kingdom in David.
Before David, we have a transitional period. In Eli and his sons the priesthood fails (1 Sam. 2:12-36). The priesthood had been the immediate link between the people and God. With the ark taken by the Philistines (1 Sam. 4), there is a total breach.
God comes in His own sovereign way, introducing the prophet (1 Sam. 3:1921). Samuel becomes the first in a long list of prophets continuing until John the Baptist. The people cry, “Make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5), and are given Saul (1 Sam. 12:13). However, God’s kingdom cannot be established on the ground of the flesh, and Saul is unable to stand before the enemy. This brings in David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14), who is rejected by Saul and the people.
2 Samuel
David’s kingdom is finally established in power, first in Hebron over Judah for seven and a half years (2 Sam. 14) and then over all Israel (2 Sam. 5).
David, who was not man’s choice but the sovereign election of God, reigned forty years. His life and reign present, in type, Christ and the establishment of His kingdom.
But as with all men, David fails. Second Samuel closes with judgment from Dan even to Beer-sheba (2 Sam. 24:15). Jehovah, acting in mercy, stays the hand of the angel from destroying Jerusalem, while David intercedes for the people, owning the sin as his own (2 Sam. 24:17).
Sacrifice is offered on Moriah (where Abraham offered up Isaac) and atonement is made. This presents a vivid, prophetic picture of God’s dealings with Israel and of their restoration in a coming day.
N. Simon