Old Testament Survey
Introduction to the Historical Writings
Rick Walker
http://Didaskalia.tripod.com
Introduction to the Historical Writings
1. Historical Books. The twelve books of Joshua through Esther are termed the
Historical Writings.
2. Deuteronomistic History.
A. The books are typically analyzed in terms of Deuteronomistic history, a
theological perspective that records history from the
perspecitve of the
blessings and curses delineated in Deuteronomy 28.
1. When the nation is loyal to the Mosaic covenant, God
brings upon it the blessings
of the covenant.
2. When the nation violates the Mosaic covenant, God brings
upon it the curses of
the covenant.
B. Recall Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim (Deut. 27:9-13).
1. After they enter Canaan, the Jews are to divide into two
groups according to
their tribes and stand on Mt. Gerizim and
Mt. Ebal (Josh. 8:30-33).
2. The group on Mt. Gerizim is to pronounce all the
blessings of covenant obedience
upon the nation recorded in Deut.
28:1-14.
a. God would bless the fruit of the womb,
crops, livestock and flocks
(Deut. 28:4).
b. God would protect them from their
enemies (Deut. 28:7).
c. People of the world will fear you
(Deut. 28:10).
d. The Lord will open the heavens, the
storehouse of his bounty, to
send rain on your land
in season and to bless all the work of your hands
(28:12).
3. The group on Mt. Ebal to pronounce all the curses of
covenant disobedience upon
the nation recorded in Deut. 28:15-68.
a. The fruit of the womb, crops,
livestock and flocks all cursed (28:18).
b. Plagued with diseases (28:21).
c. Rain will dry up (28:24).
d. Defeated by your enemies (28:25).
e. Uprooted from the land you possess
(Deut. 28:63).
C. At critical times of transitions, there is a reminder to the Jews to
remember to
keep the covenant which Moses delivered at Mt. Sinai.
1. (Joshua 1:7, 8) Before entering Canaan, Joshua
admonished the people:
Be careful to obey all the law my servant
Moses gave you; do not turn from it
to the right or to the left, that you may
be successful wherever you go. Do not
let this Book of the law depart from your
mouth; meditate on it day and night, so
that you may be careful to do everything
written in it. Then you will be
prosperous and successful.
2. (Joshua 22:5) After the eastern tribes had completed
their mission of helping
the remaining tribes conquer Canaan, they
returned to their land in Transjordan.
Moses warned them to be "very
careful to keep the commandments and the law that
Moses the servant of the Lord gave you.
3. Before he died, Joshua renewed the covenant at Shechem
(Josh. 24:16-20): Now fear
the Lord and serve him with all
faithfulness. Throw away the gods your
forefathers worshiped beyond the river
and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
a. But, the keynote is failure to live up
to the promise. It is sounded twice
in the same terms:
Every man did what was right in his own eyes (Josh. 17:6;
21:25).
b. Judges is a record of Israel's
unfaithfulness to the covenant before the
monarchic period.
4. (1 Kings 2:3) David hands the throne over to Solomon
with the charge to observe
what the Law requires.
5. (1 Kings 11:31, 33) It is because Solomon had forsaken
God and worshiped the
pagan gods Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Molech
that God splits the kingdom in two.
6. (2 Kings 17:13) When the Northern Kingdom is taken into
exile in 722 it is
because the message of all the prophets
had been rejected: The Lord warned Israel
and Judah through all his prophets and
seers: Turn from your evil ways. Observe
my commands and decrees, in accordance
with the entire Law that I commanded
your fathers to obey . . . .