Going Deeper March 2, 2026 - Feb 26, 2027

Ruth

Summary, Message, and Purpose

The book of Ruth gets its name from one of its principal characters, a Moabite woman named Ruth who was the ancestor of David and Jesus. After reading the book of Judges, which paints a dark and depressing picture of Israel, the reader is relieved to encounter Ruth. Although the book is relatively short, it is rich in examples of kindness, faith, and patience. It is one of the five scrolls that was to be read during the Jewish

festivals, in particular the Festival of Weeks.

The family records of David at the end of the book show that the Lord worked through this story to provide for his people's need of a king. The book of Ruth demonstrates how the Lord shows his covenant faithfulness to his undeserving people, often in surprising ways. In the course of the narrative, each of the main characters proved to be a person of extraordinary courage and covenant love. The key word in the book is “kindness" (1:8; 2:20; 3:10).

Author

No Definitive Author

Genre, Structure

Historical Narrative. The book of Ruth is a delightful short story with a

classical plot that moves from crisis to complication to resolution. The narrator draws the reader into the minds of the characters (successively Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz), inviting us to identify with their personal anxieties and joys and in the end to celebrate the movement from emptiness and frustration to fulfillment and joy.

Judges

Summary, Message, and Purpose

The book chronicles Israel's moral and spiritual descent from the relative high point at the beginning of the book through a series of downward spirals to the depths of degradation in chapters 17-21.

Though God raised up a sequence of deliverers/judges—they were unable to reverse this trend and some even became part of the problem. By the end of the book, Israel had become as pagan and defiled as the Canaanites they had displaced. If this trend continued, it would be only a matter of time before the land would vomit them out, as it had the Canaanites before them (Lev 18:28). The book of Judges is the second of the Historical Books in the Old Testament (Joshua-Esther). In the Hebrew Bible, these books are called the Former Prophets; the theological and spiritual concerns found in the Pentateuch and the Prophets take precedence over the mere records of historical facts.The Lord is both the central character and the hero of Judges.

Author

No Definitive Author

Genre, Structure

Historical Narrative | The book falls into three parts. The prologue (1:1-3:6) deals with the failure of the second generation to press on with the conquest of Canaan. This is followed by a sixfold cycle of sin and salvation (3:7-16:31), which forms the core of the book, structured around the six major judges with six minor judges interspersed. Finally, there is an appendix (chaps. 17-21) that shows the full effects of total depravity. This structure demonstrates not only the repetition of patterns of sin and judgment but also regression.

Joshua

Summary, Message, and Purpose

The Book of Joshua describes the Israelites’ military conquest of the promised land of Canaan and its division into tribal allotments. The accounts in the book occur immediately after Moses’ death. This was a new generation, not the one that had left Egypt. The story of Joshua is thus set when the nation of Israel first appeared in the land west of the

Jordan River—the land that would bear their name.

Chapter One establishes Joshua as the successor to Moses. God addressed Joshua directly, promising the land He promised to Moses (Deut 34:4) and His Divine presence (Joshua 1:3-5). Joshua’s military leadership recurs throughout the first twelve chapters. Its theological dimensions raise questions about the extermination of all people from the land. Joshua’s allocation of land in chapters 13-21 continued the process already begun by Moses in Transjordan. God gives them the land, but the tribal allotments take on a covenantal character.

Author

The author of the book of Joshua is not identified, but it may be presumed that someone who knew him and his exploits recorded the work.

Genre, Structure

Historical Narrative. The book of Joshua should be seen as a land grant, similar to the ancient Near East's land grants and suzerain treaties. The suzerain, Israel’s God, gave His people the land they were meant to receive. The land grant has three structures: a) Review of the history leading up to the gift of land, b) Allotment of territories of the tribes and families of Israel, and c) A renewal of the covenant.

Deuteronomy

Summary, Message, and Purpose

The Book of Deuteronomy is a collection of exhortations from Moses recounting Israel’s history with God and the laws and statutes they were to follow to live under His rule in the promised land.

The title of this book of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy, comes from the Septuagint and means “second law” or “repetition of the law.” The phrase is a translation of 17:18, which reads “a copy of this instruction.” It is still a fitting title since much of the Book contains repetitions of the laws found in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.

Although the initial covenant between the Lord and Israel was made at Sinai, the generation that received it had largely died out in the 38 years since that event. The younger generation needed to affirm their commitment to the covenant (4:1-8). The purpose of Deuteronomy is to provide guidelines for the younger covenant community to enable them to live obediently before God and to carry out His intentions for them.

 Author

Moses

Genre, Structure

Historical Narrative. The style of the book of Deuteronomy appears as a series of repetitious, reminiscent, and even irregular exhortations, which is fitting for a collection of Moses’s sermons preparing the people for their move into the promised land. The Book of Deuteronomy could be considered the constitution for the nation of Israel once it was established in the promised land.

Numbers

Summary, Message, and Purpose

The Book of Numbers is primarily a narrative of the Israelites’ stay in the wilderness with some laws and regulations interspersed. The English title “Numbers” derives from the Septuagint name “Arithmoi” based on the two military censuses in chapters 1 and 26. The Hebrew title, Bemidbar, “In the Wilderness,” describes the geographical setting of much of the book - from the Wilderness of Sinai to the arid plains of Moab across the Jordan River to Jericho.

The principal character in the Book of Numbers is Yahweh, the God of Israel. God accomplished His will even when His people rebelled. He is holy and pure and requires such behaviour from those who claim Him as their God. This is the central theme of the Pentateuch and the book of Numbers. God promised Abram that he would produce a great nation through him (Genesis 12:2) and give his descendants the land of the Canaanites and Amorites (Genesis 15:1, 8-21; 17:8). The two censuses show God’s fulfillment of the first promise. The granting of territory to two and a half tribes in Transjordan is the beginning of the land fulfillment.

Author

Moses

Genre, Structure

The book consists of seven cycles of material, with the repetition of the following types of material: 1) A statement of the historical setting, 2) Reference to the twelve tribes of Israel and their respective leaders, 3) Matters related to the priests and Levites, and 4) Laws for defining the nature of the faithful community.

Historical Narrative. The book of the Pentateuch is primarily a narrative with portions of case law interwoven into a vibrant literary fabric.

Leviticus

Summary, Message, and Purpose

After the Israelites are constituted as a holy people by God, the book of Leviticus provides instructions for how they are to maintain their holiness morally and ceremonially.

The book’s name comes from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), “relating to the Levites.” This third section of the Pentateuch deals primarily with the priests' duties and the Tabernacle's service, but it also contains other laws. Leviticus gives regulations for worship, laws on ceremonial cleanness, moral laws, and holy days.

The message and purpose of Leviticus must be studied in the context of the redemption of Israel from Egypt, the covenant made with Israel, and the building of the tent of meeting, or the Tabernacle. The book's heart is to instruct Israel in holiness so that the Lord might abide among them and bless them.

Author

Moses

Genre, Structure

Leviticus is a historical narrative which contains a collection of laws. These laws contained in Leviticus can be divided into two groups. First are the commands, or apodictic law. These are both positive commands (“You must...”) and negative commands (“You must not...”). The second type of law is casuistic law. These are case laws using an example of what to do if such and such happened (“If someone...”). Some scholars seek to divide the laws further, but there is no evidence the Israelites made such a distinction.

 Exodus

Summary, Message, and Purpose

The book of Exodus picks up where the Genesis narrative ended with the death of Joseph around 1805 BC. It jumps forward 300 years to show God at work to have such close fellowship with people that He is described as dwelling among them.

He rescued the Israelites in order to make Himself known, not only by the exercise of His power but also through an ongoing covenant relationship based on His capacity for patience, grace, and forgiveness.

Author

Moses

Genre, Structure

Exodus is chiefly a historical narrative, which includes the law. Recording the foundational event for the Israelite nation, the book of Exodus presents God’s dramatic and miraculous intervention to save His people from bondage in Egypt for the sake of establishing them as His covenant people.

The title Exodus is an anglicized version of a Greek word that means “departure,” in recognition of one of the book’s major events - the departure of God’s people from Egypt. It is considered part of the law, but it is more historical narrative than law as the book is structured around the life of Moses, establishment of the covenant, and the laws related to the tabernacle and the priesthood.

Genesis

Summary, Message, and Purpose

As a book of beginnings, Genesis presents God’s creation of the universe, humanity’s fall into sin, and God’s promise to bring blessing and restoration to His good but corrupted world through the family of Abraham. The book of Genesis is the great book of beginnings in the Bible. True to the meaning of its Hebrew and Greek names, Genesis permits us to view the beginning of a multitude of realities that shape our daily existence: The creation of the universe and the planet earth, the origins of plant and animal life, and the origins of human beings, marriage, families, nations, industry, artistic expression, religious ritual, prophecy, sin, law, crime, conflict, punishment, and death.

God is the sovereign Lord and Creator of all things. Evil and sin did not originate with God. Sin entered the world at a specific place and time, and it resulted in death, both natural and spiritual.

Genesis is also a narrative of relationships.

Author

Moses

Genre, Structure

Genesis is chiefly a historical narrative. From a narrative standpoint, God is the only true hero of the Bible, and the book of Genesis has the distinct privilege of introducing Him.

God is the first subject of a verb in the book and is mentioned more frequently than any other character in the Bible. The content of the first eleven chapters is distinct from the patriarchal stories in chapters 12-50. The primary literary device is the catchphrase: “These are the family records.”