When many of us think of history, we think of dates and facts but not much else. And this influences how we read Biblical history. But Biblical history doesn't just record facts, it's a TRUE STORY that records PURPOSE and DIRECTION. What does this mean? Well, the Bible records specific events that take history in a specific direction to fulfill a specific purpose...God's purpose. This is why it is called HIS-story. So what is this purpose? And how do the historical books of Judges, Ruth, Samuel, and Kings direct us toward this purpose? Let's take a look.
JUDGES: THE SIN CYCLE & THE BAD TRIBE OF BENJAMIN
The author of the book of Judges clearly sets out to demonstrate a cyclical pattern that taints the entire history of Israel. The pattern is simple...Israel defiantly sins, God allows foreign nations to oppress Israel, Israel repents, God delivers Israel from the oppressors, peace is restored...(and the pattern repeats itself). The skeleton of this cyclical pattern is introduced in Judges 2 and then reinforced throughout the rest of the book with the refrain "Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord" (2:11; 3:7; 3:12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1; 17:6; 21:25).
But that's not all...This cyclical pattern of sin also intensifies throughout the book with each new judge. The first three judges (Othniel, Ehud, and Deborah) are depicted positively by the author AND yet given very little narrative space. And then after the song of Deborah in Judges 5, three judges emerge (Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson) who are depicted very negatively BUT yet given much more narrative space. The large amount of ink given to these BAD judges helps to reinforce the author's point of the book: Israel was on a downward spiral AWAY from God.
The book of Judges ends with a sequence of stories that paints the tribe of Benjamin in a VERY negative light (Judges 19-21). It is from these negative stories that the refrain emerges "in those days Israel had no king" (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). And so the book of Judges ends with the author's PLEA for a king who will one day end this CYCLE OF SIN.
RUTH: THE GOOD LINEAGE OF RUTH
The book of Ruth brings HOPE to this PLEA. The story portrays a woman, Ruth, who is committed and faithful even though she is a Moabite. In fact, many believe the book of Ruth is placed after the book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible because Ruth embodies the wisdom of Proverbs 31. This wise woman, Ruth, then marries someone who is equally faithful to the Torah (God's Law) as demonstrated by the fact that he fulfills his obligations as a kinsman-redeemer by recovering Ruth's lost property and marrying her so that she is provided for. It is from this GOOD lineage that David, the future King of Israel, will emerge (Ruth 4:18-22).
SAMUEL: BAD KING, GOOD KING
But the first king of Israel does not come from the GOOD lineage of Ruth. NO. The first king, Saul, comes from the BAD tribe of Benjamin...the very tribe that was depicted so negatively at the end of the book of Judges. And true to his heritage, King Saul perpetuates the cycle of sin that began in the book of Judges. How? Saul fails to embrace the qualifications required to lead God's kingdom (Deut. 17:14-20). In fact, Saul goes rogue by not consulting God (through the prophet Samuel). By doing this, Saul in essence dethrones God and misrepresents God's kingdom to others. But God will have none of this.
And so God rejects Saul and selects David to be king. David is true to his GOOD heritage...he consults God, he refuses to act without God's stamp of approval, he doesn't seek revenge on his personal enemies. In short, David proves himself to be the antithesis of Saul. In fact, he demonstrates the same type of deep faith in God as that of Abraham. And just like with Abraham (Gen. 17-18), God reinforces His covenant promises to David by promising him an everlasting dynasty and a great name (2 Sam. 7). In this way, the Abrahamic covenant has been brought back onto the scene and with it an elevated sense of anticipation: Has God answered the PLEA of the author of Judges? Will David bring the cycle of sin to an end? Will the Abrahamic covenant finally be fulfilled? Will God's broken world be fully restored?
2 Samuel 11 quickly answers these questions with an emphatic NO. David sins and this unleashes a sequence of CURSES...pain, death, family tension. Does this sound familiar? If not, the author makes his allusion to Genesis obvious in 2 Samuel 13-14. A crafty friend tempts Amnon to take advantage of his sister Tamar (13:3). When Tamar brings food into the chamber, Amnon ate from her hand (13:10). Amnon's sin creates shame (13:13) and brings separation to the relationship (13:15). And just like Cain killed Abel in a field as a result of Adam and Eve's sin, so too does Absalom kill Amnon in a field (14:6). Likewise, Absalom fears being killed from retaliation and revenge (14:11) just like Cain (Gen. 4:13-14). But both men are given reassurances that they will receive divine protection (14:11b; Gen. 4:15). In all of this, the author wants us to know that the curses of Genesis have tainted David's dynasty and so the CYCLE OF SIN will live on.
THE TELIOS OF BIBLICAL HISTORY
I hope it has become obvious by now that Biblical history is essentially telling the same story over and over again. God creates ORDER and REST while human rebellion creates DISORDER and UNREST. Humans simply refuse to embrace GOD'S WAY because they want to live life THEIR OWN WAY. This was true of Adam and Eve, Seth's descendants, Noah and his descendants, Jacob and his descendants, Israel in the wilderness, the period of the Judges, and now the period of the Kings. In short, the PLEA for an ideal king who will end the CYCLE OF SIN is left unfulfilled. But will that ideal king be Solomon (a name which means, "he has made peace")? The saga continues...
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