Title: Joshua and Judges
1Joshua and Judges
- There was no king in Israel at that time.
Everyone did whatever they pleased (Judges 2125
GN)
2Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible(Alden
Thompson Good News Tour 2006)
- The punishment of Achan
- Joshua and the sun
- Samson
- All the killing
- Samuel to Saul Go and attack the Amalekites and
completely destroy everything they have. Dont
leave a thing kill all the men, women, children,
and babies the cattle, sheep, camels, and
donkeys (1 Samuel 153 GN) - Why would Jesus appear to support his children by
violent methods?
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7Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- Was it Gods plan that they fight their way in?
- Dont be afraid of them, for the LORD your God
will fight for you (Deuteronomy 322 GN) - I will send an angel ahead of you to protect you
as you travel and to bring you to the place which
I have prepared (Exodus 2320 GN) - For my angel will go before you, and bring you in
to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites,
the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites,
and I will cut them off. (Exodus 2323 NET
Bible) - If you say in your heart, These nations are
greater than I how can I dispossess them? You
shall not be afraid of them, but you shall
remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh
and to all Egypt, the great trials which your
eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty
hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD
your God brought you out so will the LORD your
God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
Moreover the LORD your God will send hornets
among them, until those who are left and hide
themselves from you are destroyed. You shall not
be in dread of them for the LORD your God is in
the midst of you, a great and terrible God. The
LORD your God will clear away these nations
before you little by little you may not make an
end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow
too numerous for you. But the LORD your God will
give them over to you, and throw them into great
confusion, until they are destroyed (Deuteronomy
717-23, RSV).
8Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- As you advanced, I threw them into panic in
order to drive out the two Amorite kings. Your
swords and bows had nothing to do with it
(Joshua 2412). - If they would trust him, God could take care of
them, no matter how desperate the circumstances - Be determined and confident, and dont be afraid
of the Assyrian emperor or of the army he is
leading. We have more power on our side than he
has on his. He has human power, but we have the
LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles
(2 Chronicles 327,8 GN) - That night an angel of the LORD went to the
Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 soldiers. At
dawn the next day there they lay, all dead! (2
Kings 1935 GN) - Is this any better?
- God didnt want his people to do the killing
9Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- Why must they enter a land full of an evil
people? - In the fourth generation they will come back
here, for until then the iniquity of the Amorites
will not have reached its full extent (Genesis
1516 New Jerusalem Bible) - Do not say to yourselves that he brought you in
to possess this land because you deserved it. No,
the LORD is going to drive these people out for
you because they are wicked. It is not because
you are good and do what is right that the LORD
is letting you take their land. He will drive
them out because they are wicked and because he
intends to keep the promise that he made to your
ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You can be
sure that the LORD is not giving you this fertile
land because you deserve it. No, you are a
stubborn people. (Deuteronomy 94-6 GN)
10Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- What do we know about the Canaanites?
- Fertility cult worship
- Temple prostitutes
- Human sacrifice
- Baal
11Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- Would it have been helpful for God to remove
every obstacle and only bless them with health
and wealth? - This nation has broken the covenant that I
commanded their ancestors to keep. Because they
have not obeyed me, I will no longer drive out
any of the nations that were still in the land
when Joshua died. I will use them to find out
whether or not theses Israelites will follow my
ways, as their ancestors did. So the LORD allowed
these nations to remain in the land he did not
give Joshua victory over them, nor did he drive
them out soon after Joshuas death (Judges
220-23 GN)
12Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- They chose to intermingle with the other nations
and to worship their gods, resulting in
disastrous consequences. Their history was a
cycle of worshiping the foreign gods, being
dominated by these foreign nations, and then
having to fight for independence. - I took you out of Egypt and brought you to the
land that I promised to your ancestors. I said,
I will never break my covenant with you. You
must not make any covenant with the people who
live in this land. You must tear down their
altars. But you have not done what I told you.
You have done just the opposite! So I tell you
now that I will not drive these people out as you
advance. They will be your enemies, and you will
be trapped by the worship of their gods (Judges
21-3)
13Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- How did God feel about the fighting?
- David could not build the temple he has
forbidden me to do it, because I am a soldier and
have shed too much blood (1 Chronicles 283
GN) - Come and see what the LORD has done. See what
amazing things he has done on earth. He stops
wars all over the world he breaks bows, destroys
spears, and sets shields on fire. Stop
fighting, he says, and know that I am God,
supreme among the nations, supreme over the
world. (Psalms 468-10 GN)
14Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- Why so severe in wiping them out totally?
- When the LORD your God places these people in
your power and you defeat them, you must put them
all to death. Do not make an alliance with them
or show them any mercy. Do not marry any of them,
and do not let your children marry any of them,
because then they would lead your children away
from the LORD to worship other godsDestroy every
nation that the LORD your God places in your
power, and do not show them any mercy. Do not
worship their gods, for that would be fatal
(Deuteronomy 72-4,16).
15Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- King Solomon
- He married them even though the LORD had
commanded the Israelites not to intermarry with
these people, because they would cause the
Israelites to give their loyalty to other godsby
the time he was old they had led him into the
worship of foreign godsOn the mountain east of
Jerusalem he built a place to worship Chemosh,
the disgusting god of Moab, and a place to
worship Molech, the disgusting god of Ammon (1
Kings 112,4,7 GN). - Rehoboam
- Whos mother was Naamah from Ammon (1 Kings
1421 GN) - Things deteriorated
- So he sent some messengers to consult Baalzebub,
the god of the Philistine city of Ekron, in order
to find out whether or not he would recover (2
Kings 12 GN)
16Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- King Manasseh
- He built pagan altars in the Templehe built
altars for the worship of the stars. He
sacrificed his son as a burnt offering. He
practiced divination and magic and consulted
fortunetellers and mediums. He sinned greatly
against the LORD and stirred up his anger. He
placed the symbol of the goddess Asherah in the
TempleManasseh led them to commit even greater
sins than those committed by the nations whom the
LORD had driven out of the land as his people
advancedManasseh killed so many innocent people
that the streets of Jerusalem were flowing with
blood he did this in addition to leading the
people of Judah into idolatry, causing them to
sin against the LORD (2 Kings 214-7,9,16 GN) - How does God deal with a violent man like this?
- He allowed the natural consequences to occur, and
Manasseh was captured by the Assyrians - In his suffering he became humble, turned to the
LORD his God, and begged him for help. God
accepted Manassehs prayer and answered it by
letting him go back to Jerusalem and rule again.
This convinced Manasseh that the LORD was God (2
Chronicles 3312,13).
17Gentle Jesus and his violent Bible
- Are the people at this time in the dark or in the
light? - What was their sense of justice at that time?
- Whoever questions your authority or disobeys any
of your orders will be put to death (Joshua 118
GN) - Corporate aspect
- What would it do to you if you killed in war on a
frequent basis? - Sensitive, gentle, kind and humble?
- Would these people respond to love your enemy,
blessed are the meek, forgive 70 times 7
language? - Would they respond to a merciful/forgiving
treatment of Achan? - God stoops God risked his reputation to meet his
people where they were - He helped them fight, he helped them do a great
many things that were less than the ideal - Can God at least lead them to trust him?
- Can he lead them from the darkness to the light?
- Eye for an eye.cities of refuge..Jesus
18We are in the light.right?
- And if one of the occupation troops forces you
to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles.
(Matthew 541 GN) - But I tell you who hear me Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who
curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. - If anyone hits you on one cheek, let him hit the
other one too - if someone takes your coat, let him have your
shirt as well. - Give to everyone who asks you for something, and
when someone takes what is yours, do not ask for
it back. - Do for others just what you want them to do for
you. - Love your enemies and do good to them
19We are in the lightright?
- Lend and expect nothing back.
- Do not judge others.
- do not condemn others.
- forgive others (Luke 627-37 GN)
20Joshuas final sermon
- Now then, Joshua continued, honor the LORD and
serve him sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of
the gods which your ancestors used to worship in
Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve only the
LORD. If you are not willing to serve him, decide
today whom you will serve, the gods your
ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of
the Amorites, in whose land you are now living.
As for my family and me, we will serve the LORD.
The people replied, We would never leave the
LORD to serve other gods! (Joshua 2414-16
GN) - Does God ever demand forced submission?
- I, the LORD, invite you to come and talk it
over (Isaiah 118, CEV)
21Judges
- The darkest time recorded
- The LORDs servant Joshua son of Nun died at the
age of a hundred and ten...That whole generation
also died, and the next generation forgot the
LORD and what he had done for Israel. (Judges
28-10 GN)
22Judges
- Whenever the LORD gave Israel a leader, the LORD
would help that leader and would save the people
from their enemies as long as that leader lived.
The LORD would have mercy on them because they
groaned under their suffering and oppression. But
when the leader died, the people would return to
the old ways and behave worse than the previous
generation. They would serve and worship other
gods, and stubbornly continue their own evil
ways. Then the LORD would become furious with
Israel and say, This nation has broken the
covenant that I commanded their ancestors to
keep. Because they have not obeyed me, I will no
longer drive out any of the nations that were
still in the land when Joshua died. I will use
them to find out whether or not these Israelites
will follow my ways, as their ancestors did. So
the LORD allowed these nations to remain in the
land he did not give Joshua victory over them,
nor did he drive them out soon after Joshua's
death. (Judges 218-23 GN)
23Judges
- So then, the LORD left some nations in the land
to test the Israelites who had not been through
the wars in Canaan. He did this only in order to
teach each generation of Israelites about war,
especially those who had never been in battle
before...They were to be a test for Israel, to
find out whether or not the Israelites would obey
the commands that the LORD had given their
ancestors through Moses. And so the people of
Israel settled down among the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the
Hivites, and the Jebusites. They intermarried
with them and worshiped their gods. (Judges
31-6 GN)
24The judges
- Ehud killed fat king Eglon of Moab
- After Ehud died, the people of Israel sinned
against the LORD again. So the LORD let them be
conquered by Jabin, a Canaanite king who ruled in
the city of Hazor. The commander of his army was
Sisera (Judges 41,2 GN) - Deborah Sisera killed by Jael with a tent peg
and hammer - Song of Deborah So may all your enemies die
like that, O LORD, but may your friends shine
like the rising sun! And there was peace in the
land for forty years (Judges 531 GN) - Does God want all his enemies to die like Sisera?
25The judges
- Gideon
- Once again the people of Israel sinned against
the LORD, so he let the people of Midian rule
them for seven years. The Midianites were
stronger than Israel, and the people of Israel
his from them in caves and other safe places in
the hills (Judges 61,2 GN) - Then the LORDs angel came to the village of
Ophrah and sat under the oak tree that belonged
to JoashHis son Gideon was threshing some wheat
secretly in a wine press, so that the Midianites
would not see him. The LORDs angel appeared to
him there and said, The LORD is with you, brave
and mighty man! Gideon said to him, If I may
ask, sir, why has all this happened to us if the
LORD is with us? What happened to all the
wonderful things that our fathers told us the
LORD used to do---how he brought them out of
Egypt? The LORD has abandoned us and left us to
the mercy of the Midianites. - Can you say that to God?
- Abraham, Moses, Job, David, Jeremiah
26Gideon
- Then the LORD ordered him, Go with all your
great strength and rescue Israel from the
Midianites. I myself am sending you. Gideon
replied, But Lord, how can I rescue Israel? My
clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and
I am the least important member of my family. - Can you doubt God in his own presence?
- The LORD answered, You can do it because I will
help you. You will crush the Midianites as easily
as if they were only one man. Gideon replied,
If you are pleased with me, give me some proof
that you are really the LORD. Please do not leave
until I bring you an offering of food. - Is God offended if we are weak in faith?
- He said, I will stay until you come back.
(Judges 611-18 GN)
27Gideon
- So Gideon went into his house and cooked a young
goat and used a bushel of flour to make bread
without any yeast. He put the meat in a basket
and the broth in a pot, brought them to the
LORDs angel under the oak tree, and gave them to
him. The angel told him, Put the meat and the
bread on this rock, and pour the broth over
them. Gideon did so. Then the LORDs angel
reached out and touched the meat and the bread
with the end of the stick he was holding. Fire
came out of the rock and burned up the meat and
the bread. Then the angel disappeared. Gideon
then realized that it was the LORDs angel he had
seen, and he said in terror, Sovereign LORD! I
have seen your angel face-to-face! (Judges
619-22 GN) - What if we are so weak in faith that even this
does not convince?
28Gideon
- Then Gideon said to God, You say that you have
decided to use me to rescue Israel. Well, I am
putting some wool on the ground where we thresh
the wheat. If in the morning there is dew only on
the wool but not on the ground, then I will know
that you are going to use me to rescue Israel. - How many chances does God give us if we are weak
in faith? - That is exactly what happened. When Gideon got up
early the next morning, he squeezed the wool and
wrung enough dew out of it to fill a bowl with
water. Then Gideon said to God, Don't be angry
with me let me speak just once more. Please let
me make one more test with the wool. This time
let the wool be dry, and the ground be wet. - If you were God would you grant this request?
- That night God did that very thing. The next
morning the wool was dry, but the ground was wet
with dew. (Judges 636-40 GN) - Hebrews 11
- While Gideons men were blowing their trumpets,
the LORD made the enemy troops attack each other
with their swords (Judges 722 GN)
29The judges
- After Gideons death the people of Israel were
unfaithful to God again and worshiped the Baals.
They made Baal-of-the-Covenant their god, and no
longer served the LORD their God, who had saved
them from all their enemies around them (Judges
833 GN) - Gideons son Abimelech The men of Shechem gave
him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of
Baal-of-the-Covenant, and with this money he
hired a bunch of worthless scoundrels to join
him. He went to his father's house at Ophrah, and
there on top of a single stone he killed his
seventy brothers, Gideons sons. (Judges 94,5
GN)
30The judges
- Again the Israelites did evil in the Lords
sight. They worshiped images of Baal and
Ashtoreth, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab,
Ammon, and Philistia. Not only this, but they
abandoned the Lord and no longer served him at
all. So the Lord burned with anger against
Israel, and he handed them over to the
Philistines and the Ammonites, who began to
oppress them that year. For eighteen years they
oppressed all the Israelites east of the Jordan
River in the land of the Amorites (that is, in
Gilead). The Ammonites also crossed to the west
side of the Jordan and attacked Judah, Benjamin,
and Ephraim. The Israelites were in great
distress. Finally, they cried out to the Lord,
saying, We have sinned against you because we
have abandoned you as our God and have served the
images of Baal.
31The judges
- The Lord replied, Did I not rescue you from the
Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the
Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and
the Maonites? When they oppressed you, you cried
out to me, and I rescued you. Yet you have
abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not
rescue you anymore. Go and cry out to the gods
you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour
of distress! - But the Israelites pleaded with the Lord and
said, We have sinned. Punish us as you see fit,
only rescue us today from our enemies. Then the
Israelites put aside their foreign gods and
served the Lord. And he was grieved by their
misery (Judges 106-16 NLT)
32Jephthah
- Jephthah, a brave soldier from Gilead, was the
son of a prostitute (Judges 111 GN) - And Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh, If you
deliver the Ammonites into my grasp, the first
thing to come out of the doors of my house to
meet me when I return in triumph from fighting
the Ammonites shall belong to Yahweh, and I shall
sacrifice it as a burnt offering. Jephthah
crossed into Ammonite territory to attack them,
and Yahweh delivered them into his graspIt was a
very severe defeat, and the Ammonites were
humbled by the Israelites. As Jephthah returned
to his house at Mizpah, his daughter came out to
meet him, dancing to the sound of tambourines.
She was his only child apart from her, he had
neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he
tore his clothes and exclaimed, Oh my daughter,
what misery you have brought upon me! You have
joined those who bring misery into my life! I
have made a promise before Yahweh which I cannot
retract.
33Jephthah
- She replied, Father, you have made a promise to
Yahweh treat me as the promise that you have
made requires, since Yahweh has granted you
vengeance on your enemies the Ammonites. She
then said to her father, Grant me this! Let me
be free for two months. I shall go and wander in
the mountains, and with my companions bewail my
virginity. He replied, Go, and let her go away
for two months. So she went away with her
companions and bewailed her virginity in the
mountains. When the two months were over she went
back to her father, and he treated her as the vow
that he had uttered bound him. She had remained a
virgin. And hence, the custom in Israel for the
daughters of Israel to leave home year by year
and lament over the daughter of Jephthah the
Gileadite for four days every year (Judges
1130-40 New Jerusalem Bible) - Did he do the right thing?
- No comment from heaven
- Hebrews 11
- God recognized a glimmer of integrity, even in
the face of a foolish oath