The Promise Land

- And Its Kings -

Introduction to Joshua / Judges

God remained firm in his friendship with the Chosen People

God: led them into the Promised Land & provided them leaders

God: Defended them against enemies Corrected them against sin Gave them a strong king(s)

Laying the groundwork for Joshua & Judges:

Ruth & her mother-in-law Naomi David Jonathon

The widow Ruth left her own country to accompany Naomi back to Israel to comfort and support her God blessed Ruth’s self-sacrifice She would become the great-

grandmother of King David

Jonathon: Renounced his claim to to his father, Saul’s, throne

in favor of his friend David… He has nothing but a deep form of friendship-love

for David The Bible has great stories of

compassion/love/friendship -- but most importantly they show how these people were real, caring individuals

The Books of Joshua & Judges:

These 2 books span the time from the death of Moses to the beginning of the monarchy C. 1250 - 1030 BCE

Describe the move into the Promised Land & their relationship to the various Canaanites tribes living there

Joshua & Judges: Give 2 different accounts of how they enter and conquer the H.L.

Specifics: Joshua

Picks up where Deuteronomy left off

Describes how the Lord helped the Israelites conquer the land of Canaan and fulfilled the promise made to Abraham

The book, named after Joshua Joshua = ‘savior’

Jesus: is a derivative of Joshua

Joshua: Gives the impression that the conquest was swift

Characteristics of Joshua: Yahweh fought for Israel Israel not alone in its journey Without God’s help: the settlement would not have

happened

The authors/editors: portray him to be without flaw; a perfect Moses

Like Moses: Uses spies to see

what’s ahead Practices the

Passover meal before crossing a body of water

Had divine visions Had ability to extend

hands for victory in military conquest

Is Joshua real?? There are many parallels to Moses -

Raises the question of whether or not Joshua is ‘real’

Archeology: no support for massive destruction of Jericho The book is ‘religious history’ Intent: not to record events as they happened in that

time -- But to make “theological statements about God’s

continuing fidelity to the covenant.”

Expectation of Joshua: to continue the covenant To fulfill the will of God Keep the Law by worshipping the one true God

He prepares for the battle(s), as well as prays to God for guidance/protection…

Joshua - Guided by God: As long as you live, no one will be able to resist you; I

shall be with you as I was with Moses; I shall not fail you or desert you” Josh. 1:5

Joshua Chapter 2: The sending of 2 spies When there, hide with Rah’ab - protects from the

king’s men

She helps them escape - she is told to hang a scarlet scarf in the window they escape from

She would be spared in the coming attack She ‘earns’ a place in history…

The Canaanites: fear what is going to happen to them

The priests lead the way - and with the Ark of the Covenant being held up -- the water stops flowing

Was there a miracle?

Did an earthquake cause this? Many legends/myths taint the ‘real’ story What ever happened: God (the Ark) - led them into

the Promised Land

The City of Jericho:

Many scholars believe that it’s the oldest city

Story: mentions crumbling walls…and God’s description of how to bring the walls down… Earthquake? Maybe the inhabitants who lived there were not the

original inhabitants? Maybe they were just living there, occupying the city?

Moving On…

They go to “Ai” next - they thought it would be an easy victory…

They were defeated, because they had not destroyed all the ‘goods’ they captured in Jericho Aachan - military leader Killed as a result Disobedience of God leads to death and defeat.

Destruction / Looting:

The destruction -- they are all a result of God’s will or God’s plan

The practice of a complete destruction of a people and their goods was known as a ban or herem in Hebrew.

Proves: God’s people put their trust in the Lord

This seems immoral for us today, but then it acted as a recognition of their devotion to God…

End of Joshua:

Chap. 23-24: 2 Speeches:

One: appeal to be faithful to the covenant Two: Return to Shechem to renew the covenant agreement

Shechem is the place where God came to Abraham to initiate the covenant agreement At Shechem: complete a memorial to God and renew the

covenant Joshua dies shortly after

The Holy Land & Its

Tribes

The Book of Judges

Reports of struggle with the native Canaanites - arguments that last about 200 yrs.

Archeology: Points to several battles that gave the

Israelites strategic strongholds in the land for later expansion

Judges: Points to this as an ongoing struggle

The Book of Judges

1200 - 1030 BC - From the death of Joshua to the rise of the monarchy

Judges: come from the tribes; they are local, tribal leaders…

Function: Defend Israel against enemies Settle disputes within and among tribes Call Israelites back to God (covenant)

Continued

The ‘cycle of apostasy’: Israelites sin by worshiping false gods. God punishes them by handing them over to their

enemies Israelites cry out to / pray to God for freedom Yahweh has pity on them - and appoints Judges to

save them from distress Once a given judge dies, the cycle repeats itself.

More debauchery…

Major abandonment: Israelites abandoned God for the gods of Canaan.

Fertility depended on the peoples relationship with the Baals and Astares (the gods of the Canaanites) They believed that by imitating the gods,

through “prostitution, drunken orgies, etc.” They thought they could entice the gods to

do so, and as a result the offspring would grow as would the flocks

Abandonment of God?

Moving into the H.L. - there was not necessarily an abandonment of God, but a change in the relationship

They turned to their neighbors and the gods of Baal in the hopes of gaining more crops & livestock for themselves Thus, they kept Yahweh as their personal God - but

brought in the other gods to ‘help’ them in their farming

No similarities in the Jewish religion to that of the Canaanites Canaanites: relied on magic

Israel: one God The thought: Yahweh suppressed the other gods.

Yahweh: not affected by human manipulation He imposed a strict moral code on his people, which

outlawed much of the Canaanites practices…

Deborah

Best remembered judge of this time

She instructs Barak to lead the army Prophetic capabilities

She calls for a holy war - Israelites = victorious

Judges 5: repeats in a poetic form

After abandoning Yahweh again, they were attacked by the Midianites Form of punishment

Gideon = new judge, despite him being too weak / unworthy.

Angel of the Lord: assured Gideon he would lead Israelites to victory

God: gave him the sign of the fleece to show Yahweh would protect

Following a number of victories: they want to make Gideon king --> as they chose him, Gideon creates an idol (statue) Even Judges can do wrong… God punishes his family for him being idalotrous

Samson

Most famous

Not sure if creation of folklore or real

His mother = barren; then conceives him -- she vows that he would live as one dedicated to God: A Nazirite

Source of strength: w/in long hair (legend?) He tells to Delilah She cuts his hair, he loses his battles

Con’t

Real source, theologically, was God’s spirit w/in him that allowed him to fight Philistines

Judges 14 - 16: talks about his strength and victories Tore apart a lion w/his bare hands Destroyed their fields by placing torches on the

tails of foxes Killed 1,000 Phils. w/jawbone of a donkey Destroyed a Philistine temple (to Dagan)

Historical-Fiction

Samson: good character to read about, but it also discusses his flaws as an individual Much like the flaws of Israel as a whole

When he abandoned God: he loses strength

End: Israel is in shambles -- In those days there was no king in Israel,

and everyone did as he saw fit.” (Jgs. 21:25)