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.
Judges 17-21 tell stories that are, let’s say, peculiar. They are about events in Israel toward the end of the period of the judges, but are not about judges themselves.
In the first story, an Ephraimite, Micah, steals 1100 shekels of silver from her mother. He later tells her that he did so and they celebrate by making 200 of the shekels into an idol. They make worship implements similar to that at the tabernacle, made a son a priest, and began to worship. Micah becomes friend with a Levite, who also becomes a priest for the idol. Five hundred men from the tribe of Dan steal the idol, conquer some land, and set up the idol for worship.
The next story involves a man and his unfaithful concubine. They travel through Gibeah, in Benjamin, where they spend the night. The men of the city ravage the concubine until she dies. The man cuts her up into twelve pieces, and sends each piece to the tribes of Israel. They punish the men of Gibeah and their fellow tribesmen by killing most of them. The survivors eventually have to find wives or the tribe will vanish. The wives are found in Jabesh Gilead, a city who had not followed the Lord in a matter. So, the tribe of Benjamin survives.
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
