Joshua and Judges

Corresponding to Chapter 9 of Textbook

Book of Joshua

• A continuation of the Pentateuch• Joshua, “savior,” is the successor of Moses• Preparing to enter the Promise Land…• Send spies to Jericho in Canaan…

The Home of Rahab

Pass through the water (of baptism) into the “Promised

Land”

Tribal Confederacy

• The Tribal Confederacy was established in the book of Joshua. – This was basically a pact made by the twelve

tribes to have their own territory, but they worshipped Yahweh and had political union (much like the EU).

• What is a judge?– “soldier-prophets”or “deliverer”. – Unlike kingship, the office of judge was nonhereditary

• based on divine charisma (spiritual power).

– In charge of:• defending Israel against its enemies• settling tribal disputes• Calling the Israelites back to God

Israel falls into sin and

idolatry

Israel is oppressed

Israel cries out to the

Lord

God raises up a Judge

Israel is delivered, serves the Lord,

and there is peace until the judge

dies

Cycle of Apostasy

(in Judges)

“Cycles”

• Each story in Judges is called a “cycle.”– Ex. – Deborah cycle, Gideon cycle, Samson cycle,

etc.• Each story fits the cyclical chart shown in the

previous slide.

Falling into Sin

• Why were the Israelites continually tempted by the Canaanites gods, particularly Baal?– Hint: Baal was a Canaanite god associated with

agriculture. • Answer: The god Yahweh was the god of Israel when they were

nomads wandering in the wilderness. Now that they were settled in the Promised Land, they probably started to think that Yahweh was of no use to them.

• The Tribal Confederacy was falling apart toward the end of the period of the Judges– There was anarchy and in-fighting. Ex.: all of the tribes of

Israel went to war against the tribe of Benjamin

The Last Judge

• The prophet Samuel was the last judge of Israel– His story is found in the opening chapters of 1

Samuel.• He was a judge for a long time before retiring

and setting up his sons to succeed him.– However, his sons “took bribes and perverted

justice (1 Sam 8:3)” so the people asked for a king

Finding a King• Samuel warned the people what they could expect

from a king.– 1 Sam 8: 10-20

• Taxes• Military Service• Oppression

• However, the people still insisted on having a king in order that they may “be like all the nations”, so Samuel agreed (by God’s suggestion) to find a king for Israel.– God viewed this as a rejection of Himself as Israel’s king. – Israel did not want to be a nation set apart.

King Saul• God led Samuel to a tall and handsome man

from the tribe of Benjamin named Saul.– Samuel anointed Saul and made him the first king of

Israel.• Anointing is to pour oil on something as a sign of

consecration. • Anointing a king was equivalent to crowning him.• “The Anointed” is the literal meaning of the Hebrew word

“messiah (מ�ש��יח�)” and the Greek word “Christ (Χριστός)”

– After his anointing, the “Spirit of God” came over Saul, showing that God Himself chose Saul and God still ruled the people through the king

Saul’s Mistakes• Saul made two major mistakes that

caused him to lose the throne–1. In preparation for battle, Saul was to

wait a week for Samuel to come and offers sacrifice. However, Samuel was late and Saul took it upon himself to offer the sacrifices, thus disobeying the Lord.• His punishment was that his children could not

be heir to the throne

Saul’s Mistakes

–2. After the battle with the Amalekites, Saul was supposed to completely destroy them (killing every human and animal), however he spared their king (Agag) and their best livestock.• Samuel kills Agag himself (pictured)• His punishment for this was that he ceased to

be king of Israel.– Read 1 Sam 15

In Search of a New King: David

• God told Samuel to go to the house of Jesse, from the tribe of Judah and anoint one of Jesse’s sons

• God chooses Jesse’s youngest son David to be king, which was highly unexpected. – Jesse didn’t even present David to Samuel, rather

he left him out in the field to tend sheep (David was a shepherd)

• Samuel anoints David and the “Spirit of the Lord” leaves Saul