Old Testament Final Exam

Brian Murawski - Cairn University

The analogy for the book of Judges

The analogy for the book of Judges

Toilet bowl - It spirals downward through a spiral of Sin, Discipline, Repentance, Deliverance.

The Judges themselves (be able to summarize the story of at least one of them)

Ehud, a left handed judge, snuck his sword past the guards and “delivered a message from God” to the fat king Eglon. The fat closed over the sword and Eglon’s servants thought he was relieving himself.

The last two stories of Judges

Jepthah asked for God’s help in defeating the Ammonites and offered the first thing to come out of his house as a sacrifice (it was his daughter.)

Samson was a Nazarite who was promiscuous and violent. He had slain Philistines, was charmed by a prostitute (Delilah), thrown in prison, had his eyes poked out, and destroyed the building in which he stood.

The major themes of Samuel

God is raising up an anointed king for His people. God opposes the proud, whether it be His people, the Philistines, Goliath, or Saul. The overall theme is that God has a plan for a Messianic king through the Davidic line. Our attention is drawn to Saul at first, but God has a plan to bring blessing through the unsuspecting David.

Tall people

All the kings chosen to lead Israel were typically beautiful, tall, and very strong.

Tall people are evil.

The hinge chapters of Samuel

Samuel 15-17. Saul is rejected as king, Samuel anoints David, and David faces Goliath. This is the transition from Saul as the main character to David as the main character.

Solomon’s palace and temple

Solomon’s palace is told in the middle of the story of him building the temple and he spent longer on it, his palace was much larger than the temple.

Relationship between Ruth/Proverbs

Proverbs 31 talks about “who can find a good wife” and in the Hebrew bible the book of Ruth immediately follows Proverbs. The order of the books seems to answer the question; Boaz can find a good wife.

Two languages of the OT.

Hebrew and Aramaic

Isaiah’s prophecies of the Messiah’s birth and death (7:14; 53)

The virgin will conceive and bare a son (7:14). He was despised and rejected (53).

 Isaiah’s prophecies of Cyrus

44:24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

44:28 who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose'; saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall be built,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.'"

45:1 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:

45:13 I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward," says the LORD of hosts.

 Ezekiel’s “watchman on the wall” calling

Ezekiel will witness the destruction of Israel

Hosea

Adulterous wife as a representation of Israel/God

Joel

Locusts and drought as a warning of coming judgment.

Amos

Cookies! Prophesies against other nations such as Moab and Ammon

Obadiah

1 chapter book. Prophesies against Edom and restoration of the house of Jacob

Jonah

Whiney prophet, ran from God when told to preach to Nineveh.

Micah

Worried about the social wellbeing of Judah, gives oracles of hope and doom

Nahum

This is the sequel to Jonah, Nineveh will now be destroyed due to sin.

 Habakkuk

Talks to God, doesn’t comprehend his ways, God answers prayers

 Zephaniah

Prophesies about the coming day of the Lord

Haggai

Encourages exiles to rebuild the temple, disobedience/obedience comparisons

Zechariah

God has a plan to rebuild the temple and have a messianic kingdom

Malachi

Condemns Israel, but speaks of a future hope coming

Lament

Psalm 22

Praise/Thanksgiving

Psalm 8

Wisdom

Psalm 14 & 53

Enthronement/Royal

Psalm 47

Hallel

Psalm 113-118

Pilgrim/Songs of Ascent

Psalm 120-134

Hallelujah

Psalm 146 - 150

Acrostic

Psalm 119

Imprecatory

Psalm 58

Messianic/Prophetic

Psalm 110

Historical

Psalm 78, 105, 106, 135, 136

2 Samuel 7

The Davidic Covenant

Jeremiah 31

The New Covenant

Isaiah 53

The Suffering Servant

Psalm 119, Psalm 117

The Longest and Shortest Chapters

2 Kings 17

Theological Reason for Israel’s Fall (in Kings)

1446 BC

Exodus from Egypt

722 BC

Assyria conquers Northern Israel

586 BC

Babylon conquers Judah

Reproduce the cycle for the book of Judges and briefly describe one judge’s story.

It has a toilet bowl analogy. Ehud, a left handed judge, snuck his sword past the guards and “delivered a message from God” to the fat king Eglon. The fat closed over the sword and Eglon’s servants thought he was relieving himself. Judges follows a toilet bowl cycle, Sin, Discipline, Repentance, Deliverance. There is never an instance of Israel repenting before being disciplined.

Choose a Minor Prophet (not Jonah) and discuss its main message.

Hosea marries a whore, she goes off, he buys her back, its like God and Israel

Proverb definition

a brief statement of universally accepted truth formulated in such a way as to be memorable

Prov.​​ 22:6

Proverbs are probabilities, not promises

Prov. 28:19

Proverbs are general truths, not specific formulas

Prov. 26:4-5

Proverbs are slices of truth, not the whole picture

Prov. 22:6

Proverbs are oftentimes purposefully ambiguous

Allegorical Approach

Song of Songs is an allegory for other Scripture, and points to Genesis, Christ and the Apostles

Extended Typology

Solomon typifies Christ and the beloved typifies the Church in Song of Songs

Problems with the Allegorical Approach

  1) Too subjective – reads into Scripture too much (eisegesis)

  2) Nothing in the text tells us to read it in this way

Literal Approach

Song of Songs is about love, marriage, and sex

Describe the moral ambiguity in the book of Esther.

Esther displays questionable and even sinful behavior at times (sex competition, hiding Jewishness, etc..), and both Esther and Mordecai do not show signs of being true Jewish followers of Yahweh since they try to hide their religion and heritage from the king.

What are some of the purposes of the Chronicler’s genealogies?

●1) Seeking God

●2) Divine Retribution

●3) Proper Worship

●4) The Kingdom of Israel