The first king, Saul, did not remain true to God, and sinned. Therefore God replaced him with King David. God was and still is looking for godly leaders who love Him and respond accordingly. David was God’s man. Scripture says that David was a man after God’s own heart, yet he sinned by committing adultery and giving birth to a son named Solomon. After David died, his son Solomon became king. Solomon was blessed by God with wisdom and riches. He built the first temple and enjoyed great fame. In the late years of Solomon’s life, he followed after other gods, due to the influence of his many unbelieving wives. Consequently, God divided the people into a northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) kingdom. After that, most of the kings were wicked and did not follow God. As a result, both Israel and Judah were eventually deported and held captive in Babylon as punishment for their waywardness. After 70 years, a portion of the Jews returned to the promised land.

	Book	Key Thought	Content
	Joshua	Promised land entered	Israel enters, conquers and divides the promised land - Palestine.
	Judges	Israel lives and wars with the Canaanites	Israel lives through cycles of bondage and deliverance from the Canaanites; God appoints judges such as Gideon and Samson.
	Ruth	Kinsman redeemer (Picture of Christ)	Ruth and Naomi leave Moab for Israel: Ruth works as a gleaner and is redeemed by Boaz.
	I Samuel 2 Samuel	God rejected in favor of a human king	The life of Samuel is in view (the last judge). Saul is appointed Israel’s first king and David is appointed king - Saul’s successor. Life of David as king.
	I Kings 2 Kings	United kingdom divided - political view	Life of Solomon, Israel is divided and brief histories of the numerous kings are presented. Israel’s history is given from a political perspective.
	I Chronicles 2 Chronicles	United kingdom divided - priestly view	Israel’s history is repeated from the priestly perspective. Emphasis is given to Judah and the nation’s deportation to Babylon.
	Ezra	Israel released from captivity returns to promised land.	Israel returns to Palestine after 70 years of exile, with emphasis on the spiritual and moral restoration of Jerusalem.
	Nehemiah	Israel returns to build the temple and Jerusalem	Nehemiah obtains permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This is a fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9:25-27.
	Esther	God’s providence and protection	God focuses on a very special woman whom He uses to save her people. Esther is used by God to stop Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews.