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.
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Judges 6 opens with the Israelites being oppressed by the Midianites. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham and his second wife, Keturah. It’s hard to tell whether they were a single tribe or a confederation of tribes. Midian and the Midianites are mentioned as slave traders in the time of Joseph, as a place of refuge for Moses, and as participants in the downfall of the Israelites on the Plain of Moab prior to entering the Promised Land. They are often associated with Moabites and Amalekites, and possibly lived in the desert lands south and east of Moab.
In the time of Gideon, the nomadic Midianites oppress the entirely of Israel by occupying it from time to time and stripping it of all crops and animals. The Midianites are so large in number that the Israelites are helpless to stop their devastating invasions. It seems that the Israelites have become twelve independent tribes who do not act cohesively, and that the people have mostly become poor farmers.
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
