Of the remaining historical books of the Old Testament much need not
be said. The book of Joshua describes the settlement of the Israelites
in the Holy Land. In the Judges we read of repeated apostasy, its
punishment and God's mercy in delivering the penitent. The books of
Samuel show the establishment of the ancient prophetic office and also
the rejection of this divine appointment and of God as _the_ ruler, and
how God, yielding to the demands of His blinded people, allows them to
have a king. In the Books of the Kings, to which the Chronicles seem
to be a supplement, we can trace the awful consequences of the revolt
of the people against the prophetic office, until the nation, after a
short time of prosperity under David and Solomon, falls to pieces and
are carried away captives.
{354} THE POETICAL BOOKS.
The poetical books are effusions of devout hearts contemplating the
past mercies of God, His present goodness and faithfulness, and
containing more or less distinct predictions of the future events in
the Kingdom of God. The Psalms, many of which were composed by David,
were intended for the edification of the people when gathered to
their national festivities in Jerusalem. The singing of them formed,
no doubt, an important part of the service. The book of Job and the
Song of Songs are specimens of early dramatic compositions. The hero
of the book of Job was an inhabitant of Uz, in the northeast part of
the Arabian desert, and a contemporary, perhaps, of Terah, the father
of Abraham. There are some grand lessons laid down in the book. The
question is discussed whether great suffering is not an evidence of
great guilt. The friends of Job affirm this, while he himself, under
the greatest afflictions, denies it, appealing to God's righteousness
and faithfulness. The Song of Songs, the best one of the one thousand
and five which Solomon composed (I Kings iv, 32), is a description
of wedded love, one of the noblest affections which man is capable
of enjoying, and was probably composed when Solomon introduced into
his family an Egyptian princess (I Kings iii, 1; vii, 8; ix, 24) as a
plural wife. The Proverbs, and the Ecclesiastes contain many sentiments
showing both the wisdom and the vanity of the world, pointing to Him
who is the Wisdom, the Truth, and the Light of the World.
In all these books we find truths scattered as numerous and as
beautifully as the stars in a clear November evening sky; but the very
scope of each book is such that it cannot be accepted as a closed and
finished code of revelations, sufficient for all contingencies that
can ever arise in the history of the human race, any more than the
beautifully sparkling light of the stars is all that is necessary for
the illumination of the earth.