2. During this period the government of the Is'ra-el-ites was peculiar.

The Lord was their only King (Judg. 8. 23), but there was a priestly order for religious service (Exod. 28. 1), and from time to time men were raised up by a divine appointment to rule, who were called judges (Judg. 2. 16). This const.i.tuted the =Theocratic Administration=, or a government by G.o.d.

3. We subdivide this period as follows:

1.) =The Wandering in the Wilderness.= This was a part of G.o.d's plan, and trained the Is'ra-el-ites for the conquest of their land (Exod. 13. 17, 18). It lasted for forty years (Deut. 8. 2).

2.) =The Conquest of Ca'naan=, which immediately followed the crossing of the Jordan (Josh. 3. 14-17).

The war was vigorously carried on for a few years, but the land was only seemingly conquered, for the native races remained upon the soil, and in some places were dominant until the time of Da'vid.

3.) =The Rule of the Judges.= From the death of Josh'u-a, B. C. 1200?, the people were directed by fifteen judges, not always in direct succession.

4. This period has been justly called "the Age of the Heroes"; and from many great men we choose the following:

1.) =Mo'ses=, the founder of the nation (Deut. 34.

10-12).

2.) =Josh'u-a=, the conqueror of Ca'naan (Josh. 11.

23).

3.) =Gid'e-on=, the greatest of the judges (Judg. 8.

28).

4.) =Sam'u-el=, the last of the judges (1 Sam. 12. 1, 2).

Blackboard Outline

+---------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+ |I. Per. Hu. Ra.|II. Per. |III. Per. |IV. Per. |V. Per. | | | Ch. Fam.| Is. Peo.| Is. Kin.| Je. Prov.| +---------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+ | C. M. | C. A. | E. E. | | | | C. A. | E. E. | C. S. | | | +---------------+------------+------------+ | | | Dir. Adm. | Patr. Adm. | The. Adm. | | | +---------------+------------+------------+ | | | Fa. | Jou. Pat. | Wan. Wil. | | | | Del. | Soj. Eg. | Con. Can. | | | | Dis. | Opp. Isr. | Ru. Jud. | | | +---------------+------------+------------+ | | | A. E. N. | A. J. J. | M. J. G. S.| | | +---------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+

Review Questions

What is the third period of Bible history called? With what events did it begin and end? How was Is'ra-el governed during this period? What are its subdivisions? How many judges governed the Is'ra-el-ites after Josh'u-a? Name four important persons of the third period. State for what each of these persons was distinguished.

PART FOUR

IV. With the reign of the first king a new period opens. We now study the history of the =Is'ra-el-ite Kingdom=. The kingdom was divided after the reign of three kings, but even after the division it was regarded as one kingdom, though in two parts.

1. This period extends from the =Coronation of Saul=, B. C. 1050? (1 Sam. 11. 15), to the =Captivity of Bab'y-lon=, B. C. 587.

2. During this period the chosen people were ruled by kings; hence this is named the =Regal Administration=. The king of Is'ra-el was not a despot, however, for his power was limited, and he was regarded as the executive of a theocratic government (1 Sam. 10. 25).

3. This period is divided into three epochs, as follows:

1.) =The Age of Unity=, under three kings, Saul, Da'vid, and Sol'o-mon, each reigning about forty years. In Da'vid's reign, about B. C. 1,000, the kingdom became an empire, ruling all the lands from E'gypt to the Eu-phra'tes.

2.) =The Age of Division.= The division of the kingdom took place B. C. 934, when two rival princ.i.p.alities, Is'ra-el and Ju'dah, succeeded the united empire, and all the conquests of Da'vid were lost (1 Kings 12. 16, 17). The kingdom of Is'ra-el was governed by nineteen kings, and ended with the fall of Sa-ma'ria, B. C.

721, when the Ten Tribes were carried into captivity in As-syr'i-a (2 Kings 17. 6) and became extinct.

3.) =The Age of Decay.= After the fall of Is'ra-el, Ju'dah remained as a kingdom for one hundred and thirty-four years, though in a declining condition. It was ruled by twenty kings, and was finally conquered by the Chal-de'ans. The Jews were carried captive to Bab'y-lon in B. C. 587 (2 Chron. 36. 16-20).

4. The following may be regarded as the representative =Persons= of his period, one from each epoch:

1.) =Da'vid=, the great king (2 Sam. 23. 1), and the true founder of the kingdom.

2.) =E-li'jah=, the great prophet (1 Kings 18. 36).

3.) =Hez-e-ki'ah=, the good king (2 Kings 18. 1-6).

Blackboard Outline

+------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+------------+ |I. Per. Hu. |II. Per. Ch. |III. Per. Is. |IV. Per. Is. |V. Per. Je. | | Ra. | Fam. | Peo. | Kin. | Prov. | +------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+------------+ | C. M. | C. A. | E. E. | C. S. | | | C. A. | E. E. | C. S. | C. B. | | +------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+ | | Dir. Adm. | Patr. Adm. | The. Adm. | Reg. Adm. | | +------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+ | | Fa. | Jou. Pat. | Wan. Wil. | Ag. Un. | | | Del. | Soj. Eg. | Con. Can. | Ag. Div. | | | Dis. | Opp. Isr. | Ru. Jud. | Ag. Dec. | | +------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+ | | A. E. N. | A. J. J. | M. J. G. S. | D. E. H. | | +------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+------------+

Review Questions

What is the fourth period called? With what events did it begin and end? What were the dates of these two events? How were the people governed during this period? What were the three subdivisions of this period? Under whom did the kingdom become an empire?

What was the extent of its empire? When did the division of the kingdom take place? What was the result of the division? How many were the kings of the Ten Tribes? With what event, and at what date, did the kingdom of Is'ra-el end? How long did Ju'dah last after the fall of Is'ra-el? How many kings reigned in Ju'dah? By what people was Ju'dah conquered? To what city were the Jews carried captive? Name three representative persons of the period of the kingdom.

PART FIVE

V. In the closing period of Old Testament history we find the tribe of Ju'dah alone remaining, and during most of the time under foreign rule; so we name this the =Period of the Jew'ish Province=.

1. It extends from the beginning of the =Captivity at Bab'y-lon=, B. C.

587, to the =Birth of Christ=, B. C. 4.[2]

2. During this period Ju-de'a was a subject land, except for a brief epoch. This may be called, therefore, the =Foreign Administration=, as the rule was through the great empires in succession.

3. This period may be subdivided into five epochs. For the first and a part of the second we have the Old Testament as our source of history; all the rest fall in the four centuries of silence between the Old and the New Testament.

1.) =The Chal-de'an Supremacy.= Fifty years from the captivity, B. C. 587, to the conquest of Bab'y-lon by Cy'rus, B. C. 536, by which the Chal-de'an empire was ended, and the Jews were permitted to return to their land (Ezra 1. 1-3).

2.) =The Per'sian Supremacy.= About two hundred years from the fall of Bab'y-lon, B. C. 536, to the battle of Ar-be'la, B. C. 330, by which Al-ex-an'der the Great won the Per'sian empire. During this epoch the Jews were permitted to govern themselves under the general control of the Per'sian kings.

3.) =The Greek Supremacy.= Al-ex-an'der's empire lasted only ten years, but was succeeded by Greek kingdoms, under whose rule the Jews lived in Pal'es-tine for about one hundred and sixty years.

4.) =The Mac-ca-be'an Independence.= About B. C. 168 the tyranny of the Greek king of Syr'i-a drove the Jews to revolt. Two years later they won their liberty under Ju'das Mac-ca-be'us, and were ruled by a line of princes called As-mo-ne'ans, or Mac-ca-be'ans, for one hundred and twenty-six years.

5.) =The Ro'man Supremacy.= This came gradually, but began officially in the year B. C. 40, when Her'od the Great received the t.i.tle of king from the Ro'man senate. Thenceforth the Jew'ish province was reckoned a part of the Ro'man empire.

4. In each epoch of this period we select one important =Person=.

1.) In the Chal-de'an supremacy, =Dan'iel=, the prophet and prince (Dan. 2. 48; 5. 12).

2.) In the Per'sian supremacy, =Ez'ra= the scribe, the framer of the Scripture canon and the reformer of the Jews (Ezra 7. 6, 10).