Joshua and Judges

Joshua and Judges Corresponding to Chapter 9 of Textbook

What is Crossing the River Jordan a type of? • Baptism • Why?

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? • A military-champion or “deliverer”. The textbook describes them as “soldier-prophets” • Unlike kingship, the office of judge was nonhereditary and based on divine charisma (spiritual power). • They generally dealt with internal disagreements within their tribe, but their authority could sometimes be recognized by the entire Tribal Confederacy.

Cycle of Sin 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. • For HW, do the worksheet provided and fill in the chart with verse numbers from the stories provided.

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 to find a king for Israel. • God viewed this as a rejection of Himself as Israel’s king

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 (also called Unction) 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 (מָשִׁיחַ)” 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 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

Joshua and Judges