The Promised Land Series covers the books in the Bible from Exodus to Judges. These books describe events from the birth of Moses to the end of the era of the judges of Israel.
In Genesis, God promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan, so Canaan became known as The Promised Land. Modern Israel and Palestine encompass the majority of Canaan.
Abraham’s grandson was Jacob, whose name was changed to “Israel” by God. His descendants became known as the Hebrews or Israelites. During the later life of Jacob, the Hebrews moved to Egypt during a famine. The book of Exodus opens about four centuries later with the Hebrews still in Egypt, having become slaves of the Pharaoh.
The book of Exodus is primarily about Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt and into the wilderness, their covenant with God, and the construction of the Tabernacle.
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy tell of the Hebrews wandering in the wilderness, the laws given to the Hebrews by God, and their adventures on the way to the Promised Land. These books end with the Israelites poised to enter the Promised Land, and the death of Moses.
The book of Joshua ends with the Israelites having mostly conquered the land of Canaan. There are pockets of resistance that just don’t seem worth overcoming, though. It just doesn’t seem worth the price to completely take over the land. The book of Judges picks up the story after the death of Joshua.
Chapter One begins with great promise. The tribes of Judah and Simeon work together to defeat the Canaanites living in the lands they have been allotted. Judges 1:8 says that they even took the city of Jerusalem and set it on fire. Judges 1:18 says they conquered the cities and associated territories of Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron.
Starting with Judges 1:19, it becomes obvious that things are not perfect. We learn the Israelites they were unable to drive out the people of the plains because they had chariots. Hmm. Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron were probably cities of the plains and are the cities that will later be inhabited by the Philistines.
Shiphrah – Eleanor Threatt Hardy Zipporah – Giovannie Cruz First Israelite Elder – Bill Jenkins Second Israelite Elder – Sean McGraw Aaron – Phil Mendoza Moses – Eric Starkey Bezalel – Kenny Gardner Nadab – Philip Ngorima Caleb – Lynn Miller Phinehas – Parker Gray Rahab – Ashton DeGroot Joshua – Marcus M. Mauldin Paul – Brian Shoop King Solomon – Todd Terry Deborah – Sally Vahle Gideon – Cody Bagshaw Delilah – Vanessa DeSilvio Eli – Donald Hampton
