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From Conquest to Captivity | Series: Bible 101 | 02-07-10

From Conquest to Captivity
Series: Bible 101
II Timothy 2:15

Main Character #1:  Adam. Theme: Curse.

Main Character #2:  Noah. Theme: Catastrophe.

Main Character#3:  Abraham. Theme: Covenant.

Main Character #4:  Moses. Theme: Deliverance.

Main Character #5: Joshua. Theme: Conquest.
Deuteronomy 34:8-9, Joshua 1:1-2, 5-6, 16, Joshua 6:20

Main Character #6:  King David.  Theme: Kingdom.
II Samuel 5:9-10, Luke 1:32-33

Main Character #7:  Elijah the Prophet.  Theme: Conflict.
I Kings 18:21-24

Main Character #8:  Nehemiah. Theme: Captivity and Return.
Nehemiah 2:17-18, Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2

Full Text 

Someone said, "The Bible may be the # 1 bestseller, but it is the greatest story never read.  When I was young it seemed that everyone knew the basic stories of the Bible.  They could tell you about Adam and Eve, Noah and the flood, Moses and the 10 Commandments, David and Goliath, and Jesus born in Bethlehem.  Everyone I knew owned a Bible.  They may have never read it, but they had a Bible.  Now most homes do not have a Bible and I try to never take for granted that people know where Jesus was born.  II Timothy 2:15 says, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."

Last week we started a 4 week series called "Bible 101". Remember, the Bible is a library of 66 individual books, written by 40 different authors, over a period of 1500 years.  The Bible has 2 natural divisions.  The Old Testament has 39 books and the New Testament has 27.The Old Testament books can be grouped into 5 divisions.  Law, History, Poetry, Major and Minor Prophets.

But, as you recall, the Bible is not always in chronological order.  Sometimes it is hard to follow the flow of the story.  So we're going to look at some of the main characters.  Then you can attach events and other people to them  and hopefully it will make a little more sense to you.

Let's do a quick review.  Last week, we saw 4 main characters in the first five books of the Bible, the Books of Law.

Main Character #1 was Adam, who was the 1st person God created.
The Theme was Curse.

Adam sinned and the curse of sin has plagued us ever since.  Greatly increased pain in child birth.  The ground now needs to be worked to grow crops.  Thorns and thistles.  But worst of all came death.  People grew progressively more sinful until God's heart was grieved that he made man and He decided to wipe man from the face of the earth. 

But in the midst of this moral cesspool, we find
Main Character #2:  Noah and
The Theme was Catastrophe.

Noah was a righteous man and the Bible says Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  God told Noah to build a huge boat, an ark that saved Noah, his family, and pairs of animals to repopulate the earth.  Then the earth was covered with water and for a year and 10 days Noah and crew were on the ark.  It was God's judgment on a very wicked world.  And for us a reminder that God will one day judge the world again.  But this time with fire.

But the cleansing of the earth was only temporary.  All of us humans still sin.  Then came
Main Character#3:  Abraham.
The Theme was Covenant.

God made a covenant, an agreement with Abraham that He would one day bless the world through one of his descendants.  Abraham became the Father of the Jewish race, through whom the Savior of the world, Jesus, would one day come.  Abraham's son, Isaac, had 2 sons, Jacob and Esau.  Jacob had 12 sons who became the 12 Tribes of Israel. 

One of those sons, Joseph, through a series of events that only God could engineer, became the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt.  When a world-wide famine threatened to wipe out Jacob and his family, the entire 75-member clan joined Joseph in Egypt where they prospered and multiplied.  However, eventually the Egyptians felt threatened by this growing population of foreigners and decided to make them slaves. 

So God called
Main Character #4:  Moses.
The Theme was Deliverance.

God sent Moses to Egypt to set the Israelites free.  It took 10 plagues, but finally Pharaoh relented and set them free.  But after they left, Pharaoh changed his mind.  He sent his army after the Israelites.  God separated the waters of the Red Sea so the Israelites could cross to safety and when the Egyptians tried to follow, God sent the waters back together again and drowned Pharaoh's army.

On the way to the land of Israel, God called Moses up Mount Sinai where He established an agreement with the Israelites.  We call it the Old Testament.  Included are the 10 Commandments.  Hebrews tells us that all the rituals and the temple were shadows of the New Testament.

Today we are going to look at four more main characters.  These men were also leading the way to Jesus. 

Main Character # 5: Joshua.

Moses led the Israelites to the borders of Israel and sent in twelve spies.  They all came back and said it was a wonderful fertile land.  But ten of them said the cities were well fortified and the people were huge and they couldn't take the land.  Only two said God would give them the land. 

The people were afraid and refused to go in and take the land.  So God turned them around and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years.  During those 40 years all of that generation died off, except Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who said God will give us the land.  Even Moses died and never entered the promised land.  A new generation rose up that would follow God.

God appointed Joshua as Moses' successor.  Look at Deuteronomy 34:8-9.  "8 The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.  9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses."

Charles Swindoll pointed out that when a man of God dies nothing of God dies.  Moses died; but God had already selected Joshua to carry on His plan.  Look at Joshua 1:1-2, 5-6, "1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 'Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them-to the Israelites. ... 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.'"

The Theme of Joshua is Conquest.

So God established the Jews in the land of Israel.  It began with the famous battle of Jericho and it extended to conquer seven other nations in what had been called the land of Canaan.  This took place about 1400 BC.

When Joshua gathered the people together and told them to get ready to cross the Jordan River and take the land, in Joshua 1:16 one group responded, "'Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.'"  Radically different response than their fathers!

Then God tested them in this.  He had them do a strange thing.  First, the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant to the Jordan River which was at flood stage.  When their feet touched the edge of the water, the water way upstream piled up instead of running on downstream, so the army and the people could cross over.

After camping on the east side of the river, God had them do another strange thing.  Part of the army went first.  Next came 7 priests carrying trumpets.  Then came the Ark of the Covenant.  Last came the rest of the army.  Early in the morning, with the trumpets playing, they marched around Jericho without saying a word - and then they went back to camp.

Day two, early in the morning, with the trumpets playing, they marched around Jericho without saying a word - and then they went back to camp.  Day three, four, five, and six -- Same thing.  Joshua had said they would see an amazing thing.  I don't know about you, but this doesn't exactly seem amazing to me.  This would definitely test my faith and obedience.

But on the seventh day they marched around Jericho seven times.  Then we read in Joshua 6:20, "When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city."  And the Israelites didn't lose a single man.  Now, that's amazing! 

The Israelites went on to displace almost every nation in Canaan.  But not quite everybody as they were told to do.

For about 400 years Israel was governed by a Theocracy.  God led the nation.  From time to time God would appoint a judge like Deborah, Gideon, or Samson.  They would get their direction from God and protect Israel and turn Israel back to God.

Main Character # 6:  David.

The Israelites decided that they wanted a king like the surrounding nations.  God warned them what it would be like.  They would have taxes and the draft and other things.  But the people wouldn't give up so God gave them King Saul.  Saul started out as a good king, but the power went to his head.  He became disobedient and oppressive.  Saul reigned for forty years and was killed in battle.

David became the next king in Israel in 1010 B.C.  There are more chapters in the Old Testament about David than any other character.  This begins the glory days of Israel.  David reigned for forty years.  The Jewish kingdom became one of the most powerful nations in the world.

The Theme of this era is Kingdom.

The kingdom of David was famous for its influence and wealth around 1000 BC.  II Samuel 5:9-10 reads, "9 David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. [This is actually the city of Jerusalem.]  He built up the area around it, from the supporting terraces inward. 10 And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him."

The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.  He defeated the powerful Philistines and extended the borders of the Kingdom.  He brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and gathered materials for the building of the Temple.  The glory of David's kingdom was so great that when the angel was telling Mary that she was going to give birth to Jesus he said in Luke 1:32-33, "32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."  Though he was a long ways from perfect, the Bible calls David a man after God's own heart.

When David died his son Solomon became king.  Like David and Saul, Solomon also reigned for forty years.

When Solomon became king, God offered to grant him a request.  Solomon didn't feel worthy to lead this great nation, so he asked for wisdom.  God made Solomon the wisest man to ever live.  He also blessed Solomon with wealth and power.

But like King Saul, he couldn't handle the position.  Solomon became proud and self-indulgent.  He had 300 wives and 700 concubines.  He overtaxed the people.  But worst of all, Solomon became tolerant.  He let the foreign women he married bring their gods with them and worship them.  If you study the kingdom of Israel, David was the peak.  Solomon's tolerance began an ever-decreasing kingdom.  America needs to take note.

Main Character # 7:  Elijah the Prophet

We've seen the period of the judges with Joshua.  Then the period of the kings with Saul, David, and Solomon.  Now we move into the era of the prophets.  It's about 850 B.C.

Theme:  Conflict.

When Solomon died his son Rehoboam became king.  The nation was on the verge of civil war.  There were a lot of reasons but one of the primary reasons was over taxation.  So Rehoboam was advised by his father's older counselors to lower the taxes.  But Rehoboam gathered together his own younger advisors who said they wanted to be wealthier than Solomon, so raise the taxes.  Rehoboam listened to the younger men and raised the taxes.  The ten northern tribes broke away and appointed Jeroboam as their king.  It was called the Kingdom of Israel.  The tribes of Judah and Simeon made up the Southern Kingdom, which was simply called, "Judah".

Both kingdoms had several kings.  Some were good, like Hezekiah and Josiah who would try to bring the nation back to God.  But most were bad.  They would introduce idol worship and immorality.

One of the more wicked reigns was King Ahab of Israel.  He married a foreign woman named Jezebel.  Jezebel was one of the most evil people around.  She filled the kingdom with deceit, greed and murder and worst of all, the worship of an idol called Baal.

In the midst of all this corruption, God raised up Elijah, a mighty prophet.  He warned the nation that if they did not repent and turn to God they would be doomed.  Elijah was in constant conflict with the king and queen.  To get their attention, Elijah told Ahab that there would be no dew or rain except at his word.  For 3 ½ years there was no dew or rain.  It was a terrible drought.  But instead of repenting, Ahab and Jezebel blamed Elijah and he had to flee for his life.

After 3 ½ years Elijah returned and invited all the false prophets of Baal to meet him on Mount Carmel where they would determine who was the real god.  In I Kings 18 we read, "21 Elijah went before the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.'But the people said nothing.  22 Then Elijah said to them, 'I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire-he is God.'  Then all the people said, 'What you say is good.'"

So the prophets of Baal built an altar and they danced and called on Baal all morning.  Nothing happened.  At noon Elijah started making fun of them.  He shouted, "Yell louder!  Maybe Baal is asleep or on a trip!"  The prophets of Baal in their frenzy cut themselves with swords and spears until the blood flowed.  Still nothing happened.

At the time of the evening sacrifice, three times Elijah had four large jars of water poured on his sacrifice.  Then he prayed to God and fire from the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the earth, and even the water.  The people executed the 450 prophets of Baal.  Elijah climbed to the top of the mountain and prayed and a heavy rain began to fall.

After that spectacular demonstration of God's power, you would think everyone would serve Him.  But Jezebel put out a contract on Elijah.  She wanted him dead.  People can be so entrenched in sin that even when they are proven wrong, they get angry and more entrenched in sin.

 Elijah had an assistant prophet named Elisha.  One day when they were together a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them and Elijah went up to Heaven in a whirlwind.  There are only two men that did not die.  The other one was before the flood.  Enoch.

Elijah left his cloak behind and Elisha picked it up.  He took Elijah's place as the head prophet of that time. 

But no matter how often and how many prophets called the nation of Israel to repentance, they kept going deeper into idolatry and immorality.  Since they wouldn't listen to the prophets God was sending, in 722 B.C. the Northern Kingdom of Israel was taken captive and carried off by the Assyrians.  They were either killed off or they were assimilated by intermarriage and they disappeared.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah lasted longer, but they, too, refused to repent and in 586 B.C. Jerusalem fell and the people were carried off by the Babylonians.  But remember, God had promised Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through one of his descendents, the Savior.  So God spared a remnant.  Many of the people who were taken to Babylon remained true to God.  People like Daniel and Esther, and Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego had a faith that stood out.  They were the true, chosen people of God in the midst of the immorality of a foreign culture.

But then after 70 years of exile in Babylon, the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians, and the Persians allowed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem.

This brings us to
Main Character #8:  Nehemiah.
Theme:  Captivity and Return

Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the king.  He had heard people talk of how Jerusalem was still in ruins.  He asked the king permission to go back to his homeland and rebuild the city.  He arrived in Jerusalem in 430 B.C. 

Nehemiah gathered the people together.  He writes in Nehemiah 2:17-18.  "Then I said to them, 'You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.' I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, 'Let us start rebuilding.' So they began this good work."  In spite of all kinds of opposition they rebuilt the walls in less than 2 months because the hand of God was with them.

Now, Nehemiah had a contemporary, a priest by the name of Ezra.  Ezra had also returned from captivity and he helped rebuild the temple and reestablish the worship of God.

Throughout the Old Testament the message rings loud and clear:  "Someone is Coming!"  Over and over we are told things like Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."  Or Micah 5:2. "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."  No matter how low Israel became there was always this heartbeat of a hope for the coming of the Savior, the coming of the King.

Our four Main Characters all point to the coming of the Messiah.  The name, "Joshua", is the Old Testament Hebrew word for New Testament Greek word, "Jesus".  It means "Savior" because Jesus is the one who saves us from the consequences of our sins.

And just as Joshua's priests blew the trumpets and the walls of Jericho fell and the city was conquered, one day Jesus is going to come as a conqueror and the trumpet of the Lord is going to sound and every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord.

David was the greatest king of Israel, but Jesus now sits on his throne and rules forever. 

Elijah was taken up into heaven.  He did not die.  When Jesus Christ returns, His people who are alive and remain will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air!  If that is us, we won't experience death, either!

Nehemiah led just a remnant of people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  Though we live in a spiritual Babylon we are to be like Nehemiah and remain true to Jesus and work to make His Kingdom glorious. 

If you have yet to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, working to make His Kingdom glorious, come forward when we sing and we'll help you confess Him before others and be baptized into Him.

Or if you've already done that and would like to place your membership with us, come forward as we stand and sing.

Based on a 09/08/1999 sermon by Bob Russell of South East Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky