Lesson No. 10
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY
ABOUT GOD'S PEOPLE FROM MOSES TO CHRIST?
 
A Look At God's Word
by Oswald Riess

1. WHAT TOOK PLACE IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES AFTER THE GIVING OF THE
 LAW ?
THE BIBLE SAYS -
   Numbers, chapter 10, to Malachi.

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF BIBLICAL HISTORY FROM MOSES TO CHRIST.

ISRAEL'S WANDERINGS, THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN, AND THE RULE OF THE JUDGES. (About 1490 to 1100 B.C.)

Leaving Sinai, Israel resumes its journey towards the Promised Land. Upon hearing of the mighty enemy nations which inhabit Canaan. The people threaten to choose a new leader in the place of Moses and to return to Egypt. For this God condemns them to forty years of wandering in the wilderness, during which time the older rebellious generation is to die off. Of all that are twenty years of age or older, only Joshua and Caleb, who did not join in the murmuring, are to enter the Promised Land. Among other plagues, God sends poisonous snakes into the camp of His ever grumbling people. A serpent made of brass and raised upon a pole is Israel's only salvation from death. Anyone who has been bitten and looks upon the brazen serpent is saved,-a clear type pointing forward to the Savior on the cross graciously healing all who look upon Him in faith. Of Him the Israelites are also reminded by the daily sacrifices offered in the Tabernacle, a portable temple which housed the Ark of the Covenant with the two tables of the Law. Two beautiful prophecies concerning the coming Messiah are given at this time, one of them through Moses.

Moses, because of a former act of disobedience, is only permitted to see the Promised Land from a distance, and dies on Mount Nebo where the Lord himself buries him in an unknown grave. Joshua, now captain of Israel, leads the people over the river Jordan into Canaan. The walls of Jericho crumble when the priests, upon God's command, march about the doomed city and blow their trumpets. One after another the enemy cities are taken until almost all of Canaan is in possession of Israel.

The conquered country is now divided among the twelve tribes, which were named after the sons of Jacob and Joseph from whom they had descended. The descendants of Levi, charged with the care of the sanctuary, receive no land, but are supported by the tithe, or tenth, paid by the other tribes.

After the death of Joshua the Israelites, contrary to God's will, begin to deal leniently with the survivors of the conquered Canaanites and even join in worshiping their false gods. In order to correct His people, God causes their heathen neighbors to oppress them. Then, to again deliver the chastised Israelites, He raises a series of Judges. Under the last and greatest of these deliverers, Samuel, a thorough reformation of religion and morals is accomplished.

THE UNITED KINGDOM. (About 1100 to 980 B.C.)

When Samuel is old, the Israelites insist on having a king. The lot falls on Saul who makes a good beginning, but soon proves disobedient to God and is rejected by Him. Samuel is sent to secretly anoint David, a shepherd boy of Bethlehem and a descendant of Judah, as Saul's eventual successor. Being an accomplished harp player, David is brought to the court of the wayward Saul who is plagued by an evil spirit. When the Philistine army invades Israel, David fells their mighty champion Goliath with a stone from his shepherd sling. For this the women of Israel sing his praises. Filled with envy, Saul hurls his spear at David when the latter plays before him, and the young hero is forced to live in exile until Saul, being engaged in another war, commits suicide when the battle goes against him.

David is now proclaimed king. Under his rule all enemies are fully conquered and Israel becomes a great and wealthy nation. When God forbids him to build a temple because he is a man of war, David makes the necessary preparations for the erection of a house of God. He beautifies Israel's worship with his many inspired Psalms and in them repeatedly sings of the coming Savior who, according to God's promise, is to be a descendant of David.

A dark chapter in David's life follows: his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her wronged husband. Through the prophet Nathan, David is brought to repentance and receives the assurance of pardon. However, the child born of the adulterous union has to die, and later David must flee before another son, Absolom, who rebels against his father but comes to grief when, riding on a mule, his long hair catches on a tree and he is stabbed to death by one of David's men.

Before David dies he has his son Solomon anointed as his successor. Solomon, famed for his God-given wisdom, writes the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, the latter an allegory picturing the love between the promised Savior and His Church. He builds and dedicates a beautiful house of worship, the Temple. However, his many heathen wives later turn his heart to other gods, and by the time of Solomon's death the signs of religious and moral decay are unmistakable throughout Israel.

THE TWO KINGDOMS, ISRAEL AND JUDAH. (About 980 to 720 B.C.)

Because of the unreasonable severity of Solomon's son and successor, Rehoboam, the northern tribes withdraw to form a kingdom of their own under Jeroboam. Thus, in the place of the great united monarchy of David, there are now two smaller kingdoms: Israel, consisting of the ten northern tribes, with its capital at Samaria; and Judah, composed of the two southern tribes, with its capital at Jerusalem.

The kingdom of Israel has one idolatrous ruler after another. God's prophets Elijah and Elisha succeed in stemming the tide only for a short season. Finally Israel is conquered by the Assyrians, Samaria is destroyed, the people are killed, dispersed, or taken captive, and soon all trace of the Ten Tribes is lost.

In the meantime the kingdom of Judah, while much smaller than Israel, has as its chief assets the Temple and the true worship of Jehovah. Its kings are good and bad. Religious, moral, and social corruption prevail. God's prophets thunder and plead, but with little success. However, because the promised Savior is to come from Judah, God mercifully preserves it from complete disintegration. Some of the most beautiful prophecies concerning the coming Messiah are written at this time, especially by Isaiah.

THE CAPTIVITY AND RESTORATION OF JUDAH. (About 720 to 400 B.C.)

The prophecies of impending doom uttered by Jeremiah and other prophets go unheeded. At last Judah's measure is full, Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed, and the people are led captive to Babylon. During the seventy years of the Babylonian Captivity, the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel comfort Judah and prophesy concerning its future deliverance and the promised Savior. Upon their return to their homeland, the Jews rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. Four hundred years before Christ's birth, Malachi brings the Old Testament record to a close, pointing to the Sun of Righteousness who shall arise with healing in His wings. (In the year 63 B.C. Judaea is conquered and becomes a part of the great Roman empire. The scepter has departed from Judah. The time when the long promised Savior is to make his appearance has come.)

A FEW OF THE MANY PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE COMING SAVIOR GIVEN IN THIS PERIOD

 Num. 24:17. There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.
 Deut. 18:15. the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me (Moses); unto Him ye shall hearken.
 Ps. 40:7. Lo, I come: in the volume of the Book it is written of Me.
*Is. 7:14. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son,and shall call His name Immanuel.
 *Is. 9:6. Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
 *Is 53:4,5. Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.
 Jer. 23:5,6. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
 Micah 5:2. Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
 Mal. 3:1. Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
 Mal. 4:2. Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings.

FROM THIS WE LEARN -
  (A) The promised Savior is the sum and substance of the Old Testament.
  (B) The prophecies concerning Him become ever more numerous, clearer, and more beautiful as the day of His coming approaches.

Before the Next Lesson
FILL OUT Work Sheet No. 10.
MEMORIZE the Bible passages marked with an asterisk (*).
READ Exodus, chapters 14 to 20.


Work Sheet No. 10

 
ONE
 
Read and compare Num. 21:5-9 and John 3:14-16.

(A) Israel's sin is a type, or picture, of ..............................................................

(B) Israel's punishment is a type of ...................................................................

(C) The raised serpent is a type of ....................................................................

(D) The saving look is a type of ........................................................................

(Complete these sentences.)
 
TWO

                            led the children of Israel into Canaan;                                 leads us into the heavenly Canaan.
(Supply the missing names.)
 
 
THREE

Which great king was chosen by God to be an ancestor of the promised Savior?

..........................................................................................................................................

 
FOUR

Why was the kingdom of Judah permitted to survive after the kingdom of Israel was
 

 broken up ?  ....................................................................................................................

 
FIVE

 (A) From Is. 9:6 we learn that the Messiah is to come into the world as

                                   but that He is not to be only a man, but also                                    .

(B) From Is 7:14 we learn that the Messiah is to born of a                                       and that

His name is                        , which means                                              (See Matt. 1:23.)

 (C) From Mic 5:2. We learn that the Messiah is to be born at                                     but

that He exists from                                                             .

(D) From Is 53:2, 5 we learn that the Messiah shall save us by                              as our

                                          .

(Fill in the missing words.)