Session Five
Conquest and Judges: Joshua, Judges:
1240 - 1050 BC
Green (Green hills of Canaan): Israel Enters the Promised Land
Royal Kingdom: 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-2:
1050 – 930 BC:
Purple (color of royalty): God Establishes a Kingdom in Israel
· Joshua (Historical Book)
· He sent Joshua to lead the Israelites across the Jordan into the Promised Land (Joshua 1:1); He will send Jesus to lead all mankind to heaven through the waters to baptism.
· He delivered his part of the covenant, the land he promised to Abraham (1:4).
· He promised to be with Joshua and not to forsake him (1:5).
· He reminded him to keep the entire law and not to be afraid (1:7).
· He blessed non-Jews who helped with His plan. Rahab later married a Jew and was related to David (2:15).
· He raised up holy men, like Joshua, when His people are in need. (4:14).
· He blessed those who followed His law (circumcision) (5:9).
· He helped the Israelites conquer Jericho when they obeyed His orders with faith (6:20).
· He punished those who did not follow His order in regard to the ban (Herem warfare) (7:25).
· He used His power over creation (stones in the sky; movements of sun and earth) to help His faithful followers (10:7).
· He spoke through Joshua to warn the Israelites about serving and worshipping other gods (24:1).
· He split up the Promised Land among the twelve tribes giving a double portion to Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) for Joseph’s faithfulness.
· He blessed His faithful leader, Joshua, even in death (24:29).
· Summary: The Book of Joshua presents a narrative of the way Israel took possession of the land of Canaan, making it the land of Israel. This process is swift and inexorable, and is followed by an orderly division and disposition of the land among the twelve tribes, with a concluding ceremony of covenant renewal. The theological message of the book is unmistakable. God has been faithful to the promise of the land. If Israel relies totally on the Lord for victory; if Israel is united as a people; if the law of herem is kept and no one grows rich from victory in war—then and only then will Israel possess the land.
· Herem (the ban): Click this link in red to help understand how Herem (the ban) is interpreted.
God’s Love Story:
· Judges (Historical Book)
· He punished those who failed to drive out the Canaanites and those who served other gods (SIN) with SUFFERING and servitude (Judges 2:11).
· He heard their cry (SUPPLICATION) for deliverance.
· He raised up leaders, Judges, to deliver them (SALVATION).
· He gave them a time of peace (SILENCE)
· He endured this cycle of sin, suffering, supplication, salvation, and silence.
· He tested the loyalty of Israel (2:22)
· He taught Israel how to deal with the ungodly (Holy War) (3:1).
· He continued to discipline the Israelites when they broke the covenant (3:7)
· He punished service to foreign gods with service to foreign oppressors (3:9).
· He granted special powers to the Judges like the power of the Spirit of the Messiah.
· He raised up Othniel to deliver them (3:9).
· He raised up Ehud to deliver them from the Moabites (3:15).
· He raised up Shamgar to deliver them from the Philistines (3:16).
· He raised up Deborah against the Canaanites (4:1).
· He raised up Gideon, sending him an angel, and giving him power over the Medianites (6:11).
· He chose a weak person and made him strong (6:15).
· He accepted Gideon’s sacrifice (6:21).
· He gave Gideon power and authority (6:34).
· He rewarded Gideon for trusting in Him instead of a large army (downsizing it) (7:2).
· He made use of evil-doing to administer divine justice (Abimelech’s death) (9:23).
· He raised up Tola and Jair to rule the Israelites (10:1).
· He raised up Jephthah to free the Israelites from the oppression of the Ammonites (11:1).
· He sent His Spirit upon Jephthah to give him strength and inspiration (11:29). See p. 34 footnote explaining Jephthah’s vow.
· He raised up Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon to rule the Israelites (12:8).
· He raised up Samson, the Nazirite, to save His people from the Philistines (13:1).
· He sent an angel to Manoah and his wife to prepare them for the birth of their son (13:19).
· He gave Samson strength against a lion and power against the Philistines (foxes and fire, jawbone of a donkey, deception of Delilah (16:1).
· He renewed Samson’s strength after he was bound and blinded (16:28).
· He allowed civil war among the twelve tribes and the punishment of the tribe of Benjamin for perverse sins.
· He showed mercy to the twelve tribes allowing them to continue in existence even though they would demand an earthly king and had failed to eliminate polygamy, slavery, sorcery, human sacrifice, and worshipping false gods. He had an eternal plan of mercy for the kingdom they demanded.
· Summary: The main part of this book about the leaders of Israel (Judges) consists of a series of stories about thirteen leaders whose careers are described in greater or lesser detail. The exploits of six of these—Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson—are related at length, and all are shown to have delivered Israel from oppression or danger. They are customarily called “major judges,” whereas the other six—Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon—who appear only in brief notices, are designated “minor judges.” The thirteenth, Abimelech, is included in neither group, since his story is essentially a continuation of that of Gideon and his career is presented as deplorable, a cautionary tale of royal ambition. Throughout the book, we see a cyclical pattern of infidelity, oppression, “crying out,” and deliverance.
· Ruth (Historical Book): This Moabite widow is faithful and kind to her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi, and will not leave her to return to the Moabite community. Her kindness is in sharp contrast to the wicked ways of many at the end of the period of the Judges. God shows his merciful love by favoring her marriage with Naomi’s kinsman, Boaz. It becomes clear that God blesses those who bless the descendants of Abraham. Ruth marries Boaz and becomes the mother of Obed who was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Jesus will later rejoice in the genuine faith of the Gentiles. His roots go back to Ruth, the Moabite. They also go back to Boaz who was kind and merciful to Ruth.
God’s Love Story:
· Samuel (Historical Book)
· He had mercy on Hannah who was barren (1 Samuel 1:17)
· He raised up the “13th Judge” Samuel to lead His people (1:20)
· He inspired Hannah’s hymn of thanksgiving (2:1) similar to Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46)
· He punished the evil priests, Hophni and Phinehas (2:34)
· He spoke to Samuel about his plan (3:11)
· He allowed the Philistines to defeat Israel, to take the Ark of the Covenant, and to slay Hophni and Phinehas because of their sins.
· He protected the Ark of the Covenant (5:12)
· He restored power to Samuel and blessed Israel in battle against the Philistines when they repented to their sin (7:4)
· He warned Israel about the worldly king they demanded (8:17)
· He was merciful even when the Israelites demanded an earthly king (1 Samuel 8:5).
· He inspired Samuel to anoint Saul and to establish his rights and duties as king (10:25)
· He gave them what they needed, the Son of David, wrapped in what they wanted, a king.
· He gave them the first king, Saul, who united the kingdom.
· He inspired Samuel to warn Saul for offering a sacrifice that only a priest should offer (13:13)
· He blessed Saul with victories over the Philistines (14:31)
· He took the kingdom from Saul when he sinned by not repenting for offering sacrifice when he was not supposed to and for sparing the life of Agag, the king of the Amalekites (15:10).
· He was merciful in raising up a second king, David.
· He inspired Samuel to anoint Jesse’s son, David, as king (16:13)
· He gave David strength against the giant, Goliath, and against His enemies (17:1).
· He protected David from Saul’s desire to kill him (18:10)
· He inspired Jonathan, the son of Saul, to protect David from Saul (19:1)
· He inspired Abigail to protevt David from her husband, Nabal (25:36)
· He gave David victories over his enemies (30:16)
· He united Israel and Judah under David as king (2 Samuel 5:1)
· He was with David in Jerusalem, the City of David (5:10)
· He gave David victory over the Philistines (5:19)
· He inspired David to dance before the Ark coming to Jerusalem.
· He entered a covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:1-16) promising to make his name great (royal dynasty) that will include Jesus.
· He renewed His promises to establish a dynasty (7:11), a temple (7:12), a father-son relationship (7:14), and a law for mankind (7:19)
· He blessed David in war (8:1)
· He mercifully forgave David (12:13) when he repented of his adultery (Psalm 51) with Bathsheba and planning the death of her husband, Uriah, in war (8:23).
· He protected David from Absalom, his son, who wanted to be king (17:14)
· He inspired David’s hymn of thanksgiving (22:1)
· He was merciful to David after he confessed his sin (24:10)
· Summary: 1 and 2 Samuel present both positive and negative traditions about the monarchy, portraying it both as evidence of Israel’s rejection of the Lord as their sovereign and as part of God’s plan to deliver the people. Samuel’s misgivings about abuse of royal power foreshadow the failures and misdeeds of Saul and David and the failures of subsequent Israelite kings.
God’s Love Story:
· I Kings (Historical Book)
· He protected David’s promise to proclaim Solomon king (1 Kings 1:30) of Judah and Israel.
· He blessed Solomon with wisdom (1:12, 5:9), riches and glory (1:13), and long life 1:14)
· He renewed His covenant with Solomon (6:12)
· He inspired Solomon in building the first Temple (6:37)
· He filled the Temple with His glory (8:11)
· He consecrated the Temple (9:4)
· He warned Solomon about the consequences for withdrawing from Him (9:6)
· He punished Solomon for his sins: becoming a tyrant, taking his people’s land and taxing them.
· He deprived punished Solomon by depriving his son of the kingdom (11:12)
· He punished Solomon for placing his trust in gold (666 talents), sex (700 wives), 300 concubines), and power (1400 chariots) instead of in Him, building altars to his wives’ foreign gods (1 Kings 11:4-6).
· He warned His people of impending punishment for past sins in Ahijah’s prophecy to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:29-32) that the kingdom will be torn in two (2 tribes in south, Judah; 10 tribes in north, Israel)
· He is merciful in protecting a portion of David’s line, one tribe, according to His covenant to provide a redeemer in His son, Jesus (11:13)
· He raised up enemies against Solomon
· Summary: 1 Kings shows how God can change the world through the most unlikely people. In the end, He wants everyone to enthrone Him in their hearts as their King. He gives many warnings about the consequences of turning away from Him. He punishes those who do so.
Session Five Summary: God has been faithful to the promise of the land under the leadership of Joshua. He led Israel triumphantly into the Promised Land. They failed to teach their children and instead did what was right in their own eyes. If Israel relies totally on the Lord, and not themselves, they will be victorious. If we trust in God rather than in our own powers to defeat the enemy, avoid worshiping false gods, and refuse to become immersed in pagan cultures, we can also be God’s holy people. Then we will inherit the Kingdom He has promised. In the Book of Judges, we see a cyclical pattern of infidelity (sin), oppression (servitude), “crying out” (supplication), deliverance (salvation), and peace (silence). This cycle becomes the norm for His People, but God never gives up on those who repent. God even works through very imperfect leaders (1 and 2 Samuel). 1 Kings 1 - 11 shows how God can change the world through the most unlikely people, even those who commit serious sins (David) but who repent. God established a kingdom on His servant David and promised him an eternal throne. In the end, He wants everyone to enthrone Him in their hearts as their King. He gives many warnings about the consequences of turning away from Him. He punishes those who do so. Joshua, Herem, Judges (Deborah, Samson), Ruth, Samuel, Saul, David, Goliath, Solomon, Jeroboam.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ANSWERED
1. As the people of Israel enters the Promised Land they follow the leadership of Joshua (Moses’ instructions) in conquering the land. Once they settle the land, they fail to teach their children about God and what He has done for them. They abandon worship of God, do evil in His sight, and serve other gods. As a result, God delivers them over to their enemies.
2. The people of Israel follow God’s command to possess the land of Canaan while Joshua is alive. After his death, they fail: (1) to force out the remaining natives, (2) to cleanse the land of pagan altars, and (3) to occupy their inheritance. The new generation do not obey God’s command. They allow the Canaanites to remain and begin worshiping pagan gods and doing evil in the sight of the Lord.
3. During the time of Conquest and Judges, the people of Israel repeat the same cycle (sin, servitude, supplication, salvation, and silence) seven times (sevenfold cycle). They fail to eliminate violence, polygamy, slavery, sorcery and human sacrifice. The fall into these sins themselves.
4. Israel, looking for stability and peace, pleas for a king “like all the other nations” (1 Samuel 8:5).
5. The first king of Israel is Saul. At first, he is subject to God and unites the kingdom. Later, he fails to trust in God. He disobeys God (1) making sacrifices when he is not supposed to, and (2) spares the life of an evil king who God wanted him to destroy. Unlike David, he fails to repent for his sins.
6. The Davidic covenant fulfills the second promise of God to Abraham (a kingdom) by establishing a kingdom. This covenant expands on this promise when God promises to build a royal dynasty, the House of David, that will last forever.
7. Power (1400 chariots), money (666 talents of gold), and foreign influence (700 wives and 300 concubines) cause Solomon to turn away from God. He built altars to the false gods, Chemosh and Molech, so his wives could worship them.
8. Answers will vary. Some of David’s qualities: repentance for his sins, trust in God in battles, fearlessness when he believes God is on his side (fight with Goliath), inspiration by the Spirit to celebrate the mercy and the victories of God.
· 1 Chronicles: Historical book giving details from the reign of Saul to David, defends the legitimate claim of the Davidic monarch in Israel’s history, underscores the place of Jerusalem and its divinely established temple worship. It presents David’s reign as the ideal to which all subsequent rule in Judah must aspire.
· 2 Chronicles: Historical book focusing on the reign of Solomon to the end of the kingdom after the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah. Presents an ideal portrait of Solomon’s rule with an emphasis on the Temple, liturgy, prayer, sacrifice, and praise. Emphasizes worship of the one, true God at the Temple of Jerusalem. Praises Kings Hezekiah and Josiah for striving, after the fall of Samaria, to unite the remnants of the norther tribes of Israel into the kingdom of Judah.
· Psalms: A Wisdom Book including 150 songs. The majority were composed for liturgical worship. They include songs of praise, exaltation (Zion), enthronement (kingship of the Lord), thanksgiving, lament, royalty, wisdom, torah (instruction or law), and history. David wrote some of the Psalms but it is difficult to be sure which ones or how many he wrote.
· Proverbs: A Wisdom Book gathering proverbs from many sources. 1-9: Discourses and advice to seek and accept the teaching of wisdom; 10-22:15: Proverbs of Solomon contrasting characteristics of the wise and the unwise; 22:17-24:22: The Words of the Wise similar to Egyptian wisdom writing; 24: 23-34: Solomon’s proverbs gathered by the men of Hezekiah; 30: 1-14: Agur’s words (Israelite wise man); 31: Lemuel’s (non-Israelite) words; 30: 15-35: numerical proverbs similar to those in Sirach; 31:10-31: alphabetic poem in praise of the perfect wife.
· Ecclesiastes: A Wisdom Book attributed to Qoheleth, son of David (literary device); Reflects on the vanity of life focusing on what life really has to offer. Examines the value of fame, wisdom, and justice. Advises the reader to fear God and to keep His commandments.
· Song of Solomon (Song of Songs): A Wisdom Book in poetic form presenting the mutual love of God and His people. Described in terms of human love, courtship, and marriage. It offers a description of ideal human love, and the sacredness and depth of married union.
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