The Bible has sixty-six books. The Old Testament begins with God’s creation, or the creation of Adam, and spans four thousand years until the birth of the Lord Jesus. The first two volumes of Level One of Truth Lessons give us a description and an outline of the Old Testament. The purpose of such a description is to show us the various visions God gave to men throughout the ages. We have to see that in every age, God gives only one vision to man. In Adam is seen God’s redemption. In Abel is seen God’s way of redemption. In Enosh is seen man’s need for God and man’s calling upon Him to enjoy His riches. In Enoch is seen a redeemed one walking with God on the pathway of redemption. In Noah is seen one who walked with God and worked with God to build the ark to meet the need of that generation.
Then in Abraham is seen God’s calling, God’s promise, justification by faith, the living by faith, and the living in fellowship with God. In Isaac is seen the inheriting of grace and the rest and enjoyment. In Jacob is seen God’s selection, the transformation in life, and the maturity in life. In Joseph is seen the reigning aspect of the maturity in life. Following this, we see different things in Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and the judges. In Samuel we see the voluntarily consecrated Nazarite replacing the ordained priests, ending the age of the judges, and bringing in the kingdom age. In Acts 13 Paul mentioned this period of history and spoke of God’s leading of the Israelites out of Egypt. Through Joshua He led them into the land of Canaan and divided the good land among them for their inheritance. After this, He appointed judges from among them until the time of Samuel, at which time He ushered in David. This period lasted about four hundred fifty years.
We need to learn to interpret the Bible with the Bible. The Life-study trainings emphasize life; they do not pay that much attention to history, genealogies, and dates. This is the reason that they give detailed explanations of the things of life but spend little time to explain history and dates. In Acts 13:20 Paul says, “After these things, for about four hundred and fifty years, He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.” There are at least two or three authoritative interpretations of this verse. It is difficult to ascertain the exact number of years in this case. However, since this period of time has much to do with the vision given at that time, we must study the matter in depth. How do these four hundred fifty years come about?
First Kings 6:1 says, “Then in the four hundred eightieth year after the children of Israel had come forth out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of his [Solomon’s] reign over Israel...” The Israelites were in the wilderness for forty years. After this, Joshua led for twenty-five years. Then there was the time of the judges, which lasted until the time of Samuel. The four hundred fifty years that Paul speaks of in Acts 13:20 surely include all these events. David’s reign lasted forty years, and afterward there was the reign of Solomon. If we add up these numbers, we can see one thing: Paul’s word in Acts 13 does not take Saul’s years into account because at the time he was king, there was a rival, which was David. We can say that during that period of time there was no properly appointed king from God to unite the whole nation of Israel. Strictly speaking, before the Israelites were united as one nation, they were still in the age of the judges.
Although Saul was appointed by God to be king, in God’s eyes his words did not count; only Samuel’s words counted. Samuel held the positions of both a prophet and a judge. At that time, outwardly Saul was king, but in reality, in God’s eyes, Samuel was still functioning as a judge. As for David, he was anointed early on, but at the beginning it was neither his words nor Saul’s words that counted, but Samuel’s words. Even after David became king, his first seven and a half years are not reckoned in Paul’s word concerning four hundred fifty years because at that time the house of Saul was not yet removed; Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was still king in Mahanaim (2 Sam. 2:8-11). In the eyes of God, that was still the age of the judges.
Based on the above, we can make a clear conclusion: The age of the judges was terminated only after David became king over all of Israel. David unified the entire nation of Israel and was officially recognized as king in Jerusalem. After this, there was no more confusion or disturbance in the land. This lasted for thirty-three years. According to 1 Kings 6:1, from the time of the exodus to the fourth year of Solomon were four hundred eighty years. Subtracting from that the last thirty-three years of David’s reign and the first three years of Solomon’s reign, we have four hundred forty-four years left. This somewhat matches Paul’s word in Acts 13:20: “For about four hundred and fifty years.” The difference between the two is only six years. This is the reason that Paul uses the word about.
Within the period of the time of the judges, which lasted approximately four hundred fifty years, was the reign of Saul, which lasted forty years. But God did not recognize him as king. The reason for this is that he did not serve as king according to a vision. Samuel, on the other hand, was recognized as a judge because he served with a vision. This can be proven by the fact that the age of the judges did not end until the termination of the ministry of Samuel. Of course, the final termination of the age of the judges began with the reign of David in Jerusalem. The period of proper kingship does not include the first seven and a half years of David’s reign. In God’s eyes, the throne was empty at that time because there were still contenders for the throne, and the nation was under the turmoil of war. During those seven and a half years, the Israelites did not serve according to a vision. Although both Saul and David (during his first seven and a half years of reign) were kings, the only one who served according to a vision was Samuel, who served as a judge.