The book of Exodus opens with the Israelites in Egypt. Over the years, their numbers grew substantially and the influence of Joseph, now long dead, subsided. Concerned that the growth of the Israelites was becoming a risk to the security of his kingdom, the current Pharaoh of Egypt forced the Israelites into slavery (Exodus 1). In Exodus 2 Moses was born as a Hebrew, but through the providence of God, was raised in the house of Pharaoh. When he was forty years old, Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew. In order to escape punishment, he fled to the wilderness where he spent the next forty years of his life.
In Exodus 3, Moses received instructions from God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. In Exodus 4, he returned to Egypt and engaged the Pharaoh in a series of confrontations designed to win freedom for his people. The eventual exodus of the Jews from Egypt (chapter 12) is complete when they miraculously crossed over the Red Sea. In the process, Pharaoh and his army were engulfed by the waters.
For the next forty years the children of Israel wandered in the Sinai Peninsula as judgment for the first generation's disobedience to God (Exodus 32-33). It was during the beginning of the 40 years that Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19-20).
After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, the Jews were led by God into the promised land of Canaan. Unfortunately, Moses was not permitted to enter the land because of his own disobedience to God. God raised up Joshua to lead the people of Israel through the Jordan River and into Canaan (Joshua 1-3).
Joshua led the Israelites into a series of successful battles whereby they conquered the land promised to them by God. Two of the key cities which they conquered were Jericho and Ai. The land of Canaan was then divided up among the twelve tribes of Israel.
After the time of Joshua, judges rose up to lead the people in God's ways. Eventually, God raised up the last judge, the prophet Samuel to lead his people but they asked instead to be ruled by a king or monarch like the surrounding nations (1 Samuel 3-8). God granted this request and the era of the monarchy began with Israel's first king, Saul. During this era, one of the most prominent enemies of the Israelites were the Philistines. They lived in the land of Philistia to the west of Canaan just off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
