Joshua-Kings Notes by Jason Gastrich

Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997

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History is His story. It's not a history of Israel. It's a history of God dealing with Israel.

21 chapters of Judges = 6 stories in 310 years = we don't know too much about the Judges, but we know what God wants us to know.

God was working in other nations for Israel.

1405 -1406 BC is where we begin this course.

Israel is a very strategic nation. Assyria is to the Northeast. Egypt is to the Southwest.

Languages aren't everything, but they are tools.

Eugene Merrill teaches at DTS.

KOP and OTHB.

Course requirements will be posted in class and based on how far we get in class discussions.

*** OTHB read preface 15-17, ch. 1 p.23-58 What is Biblical history? Different views. Discussion.

Next week. Into to Joshua.

Know maps.

In Joshua, God keeps His promises in His timing.

Psalm 105 and 106. God wanted Israel to spread God's goodness to the neighboring nations/peoples. These 2 chapters show a history of Israel and what God has done.

~~~~~~~8-29

OTHB chapter 2, pgs. 59-65 and 75-80

Ancient Near Eastern texts: Biblical history, available in the library. Doesn't talk much about Biblical people, but to Hezekiah and Ahab's father

The Bible falls into 2 main categories: prose (narrative) and poetry

Poetry: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon and the prophet's books

keyword or leitwort (German) for lead word; it's a them that uses a keyword several times in a passage

prose just tells the story, common language like you and I talk

Prose and poetry are used in nearly every book

Only 7 historical books don't have poetry. Genesis does.

History in the Jewish Bible is the former prophets-they saw it as a prophetic message from God, not merely history to be shrugged off.

Knowing history helps give a chronological presentation.

pg. 30 A good definition of history will include events and records that pertain to people, societies, and experiences. A history is somewhat selective, not inclusive. No writer will tell you that he's deliberately deceiving you. It is written like it is true. Don't expect that from scripture because it's written from God's viewpoint. They're abbreviated or abridged. There's a lot of things that happened in the OT. The writers select to tell us certain things for a certain reason to convey a certain message.

If something or some battle or other wasn't mentioned in the Bible, it wasn't important to the message the writer was trying to convey.

--Just because there's a gap in my knowledge of history or the lack of a fact, it doesn't mean that there wasn't a fact or event.

Just because we're ignorant doesn't mean the Bible is incorrect. It doesn't have to meet our standard of ignorance.

Just because someone writes something down later, it doesn't mean they were inaccurate.

pg. 36-37

D~~~etiology: an explanation for something that happened, 12 stones that Joshua had erected after the crossing of the Jordan River

You can't separate historical and theological parts of the Bible

When praise went to the proper person, God, Israel went on to the next event smoothly.

Student D~~~Wisdom is doing things the way God would do them.

Pay attention to geography. Not every story has important geographical sights, but if they're there, use them.

God usually uses humble people. If you have too big of a head, you may not let God use you.

Remember that you are not on the battle field or in the story. It's a farmer or a soldier or an Israelite.

Kingdom of Priests, read chapter 3

1 Kings 6:1 "And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD."

4^th year of Solomon's reign, he built the temple. Dr. Thiele has calculated that Solomon has begun to reign in 971 BC. In the 4^th year of his reign puts us in the year 966. 480 plus 966 equals 1446 BC. 1446 is the date of the Exodus.

Exodus 12:40, 41 we learn that Israel came out 430 years earlier. 430 plus 1446 equals 1876.

Abraham was 75 when he went into Canaan. (Genesis 12) He was 25 when he had a son, Isaac. Isaac was 40 when he was married. He was 60 when Jacob and Esau were born. Jacob was 130 when he went in front of Pharoah. 215 years in total.

1876 plus 215 equals 2091 BC. That is the year that Abraham came into the land of Canaan in chapter 12 of Genesis.

Genesis 12, God makes his covenant with Abraham. Lot is Abraham's cousin.

1406 the book of Joshua begins. Archeological ruins have been found around 1250 BC. 40 years is usually a generation. Archeology doesn't support this, actually. Read chapter 3 of KOP and see why. So much happens in Joshua, 480 years is necessary.

Joshua's name was spelled like Jesus in the OT. First he was an aid to Moses, then a servant to God.

~~~~~~~9/5

Those who will be conscientious in keeping promises, are cautious in making them.

First 5 books of the Bible are the Torah. Torah comes from a Hebrew word meaning instruct or instruction. Pentateuch is another word for the Torah. In Deuteronomy, Moses closes his writing.

Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings are the Former Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The first 5 books may not have been written until 400 BC. Joshua is closely connected to the book of Deuteronomy. He is to obey the laws of Moses.

1943 a German writer named Martin Noth thought it was a strange place to have a division between Deuteronomy and Joshua. Deuteronomy could have been written after Kings that explains Joshua-Kings. That's a liberal thought, however.

Authorship. OT authorship isn't as important as NT authorship. We aren't told who wrote Joshua. The Jewish talmud says that Joshua was the writer and he's usually one of the candidates that conservative readers propose.

The writer:

He was an eyewitness to events. Joshua 5:6 The word "us" indicates that the writer was with the people. "We" also indicates this in Joshua 5:1. We hear a lot of details that we wouldn't have heard if it was written much later. It sounds like the writer was a contemporary of the events.

Certain parts are said to have been written by Joshua. In Exodus, God tells Moses to write. Joshua receives no command to write. Joshua does write parts of the law in 8:32 on the altar. In 24:26 we're told that he writes something down-a sermon or a message.

Rahab was still living when this book was written (Joshua 6:25). Gastilgan, Bible Student's Commentary "Joshua, Judges, Ruth."

The Philistines are not a threat. In Judges they are. 1200 BC they became a military threat. The couldn't beat Israel, so they settled in the coast. Joshua was most likely written before 1188 BC.

The book must be written before David. Joshua 15:63 the Jebusites were in Jerusalem and David drove them out.

Moses, Joshua, Eleazar, Phinehas. Joshua dies before Phinehas. Phinehas could have written after Joshua's recorded death. Eleazar could have written some of it. We don't know who wrote the book, but it was a contemporary.

If we think that a later writer can't get the story right, we don't have a very good idea of Godly inspiration.

The Purpose Of The Book:

1. To show that God is faithful to His Abrahamic promise. Giving them land. It may take 600 years for God's plan to work out, but He still fulfills it.

2. God is righteous. God says that He'll only bless them when they are obedient.

3. Victory through obedience and faithfulness. Joshua is a narrative about God, which bring up theological issues and values.

8 Theological Issues and Values:

1. God is the God of Israel.

2. Doctrine of Election. God chose them and chose to be their God. They were objects of His grace.

4. God is Holy. He gives people plenty of time to repent. He gave them 600 years to repent (the Caananites). He destroyed His own people at time. Rahab the Caananite repented. Others could have because they heard what God had done (plagues in Egypt).

5. God is Gracious. He is patient. God has the right to strike down anybody, any time for sinning.

8. God is a Warrior. Exodus 15:3 says God fought for Israel.

Outline for Joshua

1. Entering the Land (1-5)

3. Dividing the Territories Among the Tribes of Israel (13-22) (All but the Levites in chapter 20, who get 48 cities, get some land)

Joshua was one of the 12 spies, one of the 2 with a good report

1. Responsibility as Minister

* Exodus 17:9-19 Moses and Aaron overlook battle scene. As Moses held up the Rod, Israel won. Aaron and Joshua held his arms up.

** Exodus 24:13 Permitted to accompany Moses, Joshua and 70 elders up Mt. Sinai. Joshua stays with Moses and goes higher. Joshua is left in between and Moses goes higher up with the Lord. He's there for 40 days. God gives him the 2 tablets (10 commandments). Moses goes down, gets Joshua and finds Israel at the bottom, worshiping a golden calf. Moses was with God for 40 days, alone with God. Joshua was alone, by himself, for 40 days.

26:65 All Israelites that were old or doubting died in the wilderness. Joshua and Caleb were the exception.

*** 27:15-23 Joshua is chosen to be Moses' replacement. Leadership training was over.

*** 3:21, 3:28 Moses is commanded by God to give a charge of encouragement to Joshua.

34:9 After Moses dies, Joshua is a man that's full of the Spirit of God.

3. Summary of the Moses-Joshua relationship

Jesus-disciples

Joshua was trustworthy and the people knew it. It was a smooth transition. The people trusted him. When Moses died, everybody knew that Joshua was ready to go.

The first thing Joshua receives from the Lord is encouragement--the first few verses of Joshua. God promises faithfulness.

Joshua 1:11 "In 3 days, cross over." The spies were already sent.

"after days, they left"

Numbers 32:20 Moses talks about land. Gets upset over people who want it immediately.

Joshua 2:1 Joshua sent the spies, secretly. They report only to Joshua. The spied area was "honeycombed with caves."

Judges 17 has different terminology for sleeping with a prostitute. She has heard a lot of talk. She knew things about people and got an unbiased report from her.

Rahab probably didn't know what she was doing was wrong. She is a pagan. It was part of her life. God condemns lying. Even Godly people can lie. This is a bad example. Jesus is truth. It is the duty to tell the truth and let God be responsible for the outcome.

~~~Protecting yourself with ungodly means robs you from seeing how God would have worked out a hardship. Telling a lie can hide you from seeing God's great deliverance.

Egyptians don't write about the bad things that happen to them. Rahab says that she has heard about the destruction God poured out on Egypt through the plagues.

Rahab was commended for her faith, not her honesty.

~~~~~~~9/12

Uzza touched the ark and God killed him (smote him). No matter what his intention, God is still Holy.

1. Power of God - Phenomenal Power. We shouldn't take credit for it.

3. Promise of God's Protection 3:10

Joshua 3:16 - There is a fault line along the Jordan that stretches from Turkey into Mozambique, Africa.

1160, 1267, 1534, 1546, 1834, 1906, 1927 AD there were earthquakes. In 1927 the waters were dammed for 21 hours. We don't think this ever happened during flood season. There's 60 miles of distance, but 200 miles of river between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. 18-30 feet across. It's a small river, but a flood stage it should have been very wide.

The description of the waters spreading with the Jordan, has it spreading quickly after their foot touched it. Psalm 114.

It would be comical to say an earthquake took down the walls of Jericho. It would have had to affect the walls, all but the one by Rahab. It would have to left the troops all unscathed. That would be one special earthquake.

In Numbers 26, Moses took a census of the people to see who could fight. 43,730 plus 40,000 plus 26,000 equals 110,580. Why are only 40,000 people going to battle? Provision was made for some to stay behind and watch and care for children, wives and cattle.

Joshua 4:19 has a date: 10^th day of the 1^st month

Numbers 7:1, 9:1 - Preparations for Passover at Sinai on 2^nd year, 1^st month, 10^th day

--The next 38 years, Israel is angry and in rebellion to God. They don't observe the Passover.

Israel came out of Egypt (1446) in 1/14 and into Canaan 1/10 of (1406). The made it just in time to select a lamb for the new passover. In 4 days, they observed it.

Gilgal was very close to Jericho. God was a covenant God. Abraham was the covenant man. Israel was the covenant people. They had to be circumcised to keep the covenant.

The place where they were camped was named Gilgal. The Hebrew word was "roll" so it was called the rolling away place. The Israelites couldn't participate in the Passover if they weren't circumcised. Then they were prepared for Passover. The manna stops because they were in the land and could eat the produce in the land. It must have been a relief to have grain or something different from the land. Even somebody's favorite food will get old after 40 years.

The Angel of the Lord refers to the 2^nd person in the trinity. The angel of the Lord is worshiped, indicating a deity, not just an angel. Rev. 19:16 and 22:8, 9 John had been in the presence of an angel. John was overwhelmed and falls down before the angel. This angel says "don't do that" and is horrified. Good men and angels refuse worship.

Kingdom of Priests talks about Heren and haram. KJV says the city is accursed. It is a sacred place.

~~~~~~~9/17

The papers will be between 3-6 pages long.

Joshua 6:17 An important instruction. Moses had told them this in Deuteronomy 7. Haram - to be banned. 7:2 "utterly destroy" Herem - ban, is what happened 6:17. Only 3 cities were totally destroyed. To destroy all of the cities would be counterproductive.

--They were not to take anything from the cities. If the ban is forgotten, there could be trouble. Little rams horns was all they had, not lots of trumpets. Vs. 20, the city fell flat.

One cold walk around the perimeter in 30-45 minutes.

If an earthquake took down the walls, it would be a miracle that the one part of the wall by Rahab stayed intact. It would have been a miracle that so many people lived.

Sound waves would have knocked down Rahab's wall.

In perfect cadence, walls or bridges can be shaken. They had come to a stop, weren't trained to walk in cadence, etc. This was the 2^nd miracle.

The liberal viewpoint of the destruction of the Caananites:

a. The action was performed on the basis of God's command. -Not a massacre at random. Saying it is wrong is blaming God, not just Israel. If that is wrong by God, we would expect an apology.

b. It was really God who was doing the destroying. Israel was simply blowing their horns. Joshua 6:2 God said, "I am giving these people to you."

c. The destruction of the Caananites was based on religious considerations. It wasn't military and it wasn't political. Genesis 15:16 was a warning about the future judgement of the Amorites and Caananites. The Amorites were living among the Caananites. Deuteronomy 9:5 God says they are wicked people and Joshua is driving them out.

d. God wanted to preserve the religious purity among his people. God didn't want these wicked people influencing His people. Abraham was very careful not to associate with the Caananites. He wouldn't even let his son leave the land when he needed a wife. He didn't want to risk him leaving the promise land. Abraham knew that if his son married a Caananite, he would ultimately become like a Caananite. Abraham's servant found a woman who was probably a pagan from the north, but she would adopt the true God. Isaac and Rebecca.

God took His people out of the land near Caanan and into Egypt. In Egypt they wouldn't become like their neighbors. In Judges, Israel become like their neighbors. They had a habit of doing this.

God is Holy. A Holy God has the right to punish sin. God gave Caanan about 600 years to repent.

Ai pronounced like eye. It's a dipthong.

Joshua 7: 1 man, Achan, stole something. In 2 million men. One among about 36 men/families.

Achan looks like Achar. Achar is trouble. In Chronicles, that is what is written. Achar or trouble. The Hebrew letters look very similar.

Joshua puts 5,000 men in between Bethel and Ai. This was to block them from helping Ai. There were soldiers at the southern part of Ai. Joshua faked a retreat at the northern part of Ai. Ai followed, the souther soldiers torched the city and pinched the people in between the 2 forces.

Joe Callaway wasn't digging at Ai. Ai is supposedly a little bit south and east of Bethel. Bethel was always really close in the Bible, with a mountain in between them. It was about 12 miles from Jerusalem to Ai. Callaway thought it was 14 miles. 12 miles north of Jerusalem there has been pottery found. Bireh is the Bethel of the OT. Nisya is the Ai of the OT. The new names are wrong. There is a mountain in between Bireh and Nisya. It fits the bill, dude.

Jericho used to be east of Jerusalem.

Hiel rebuilt Jericho in the last part of 1 Kings 16:34, when Ahab was king. He lost 2 sons, somehow. People have sacrificed a son and built them into the wall of OT buildings. There is a present day Jericho, OT and NT Jericho. It is in the middle of the desert, an oasis.

~~~~~~~9/19

Deuteronomy 24:16

In chapter 7, Achan's sin has become a family event. They knew about it and took part in it because they were stoned and judged by God.

When you have a spiritual victory, remember who gave you the power to win. Don't rush into another battle. Thank God and ask Him for direction and guidance.

Since Joshua is successful when he is obedient, compliment Joshua for his faithfulness to God. God deserves the credit for winning the battles.

Gilgal is the base of operation. Vs. 31 - they went to Ebal (northwest of Gilgal about 20-25 miles)

Deut. 11:26 - A blessing and a curse. Vs. 29 "And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal."

Deuteronomy chapter 27. They rehearse the blessing and curse.

Deuteronomy is Moses' farewell address to the people.

The acoustics on Mt. Sinai and the Sea of Galilee were incredible. The factory near Shechem caused too much noise to test that area. The acoustics from Mt. Ebel couldn't be tested. It would have been a wonderful amphitheater to address large crowds.

Deuteronomy 7 - No deals with cities that are conquered, sporto.

People that are very far away, the Israelites could make a deal with them. Close neighbors had to be conquered and their gods destroyed.

Joshua 9 - He is deceived by neighbors who claim to be from a far away country.

Joshua 9:14 "And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD."

Joshua probably took an oath before God, not asking for His approval. It would have been a sin for Israel to break their word. It would have been taking God's name in vain.

2 Sam 21:1-6, 22:18-19 - tells how the covenant was violated. The Gibeonites had they treaty broken with Saul. God sent a 3 year famine for that violation.

Did chapter 9 and the deal Joshua made with the neighbors (against God's will) set a bad precedent for the Israelites? This was a big mistake by Joshua. He didn't consult God.

***Don't make an excuse for disobedience because it worked out after all. By sinning, you never got to see what God could do. You just took everything into your own hands.

We don't know what the results would have been if Israel would have been obedient.

Joshua 10:11 "And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword."

When hail comes down and kills many people, only on one side of the battle, that's a big miracle from God.

Psalm 110:1 "110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."

A Messianic Psalm. A prophetic Psalm, too--Jesus future reign.

Joshua 10:24 "And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them."

~~~~~~~9/24

Gibeon fooled Joshua into making a treaty with them. They were actually a nearby city and Joshua shouldn't have made the deal.

Joshua 10:14-15 God stopped the sun.

a. Poetic - no literal meaning, "it was so hot, the sun stood still" History can be written in poetic form (Bad viewpoint)

1. Jet propulsion/volcanoes - they needed light, so many volcanoes fired at once (Bad viewpoint)

2. Tilting the earth, like Norway in the summer, it's light all of the time (Bad)

3. Comet came close to the earth and it's tail threw stones on the earth, gave more light and slowed the earth's rotation (Bad)

4. Earth's rotation slowed at this one point in time - God's miracles are usually only as big as needed. This affected the needed people. If it is a natural occurrence (Jeremiah 31:35), it would have affected more people.

5. Refraction of Light - God extended the rays of light on the scene to enable Joshua to finish the battle. And he sent a hailstorm.

c. Absence of Light - Joshua wanted his army to fight in the darkness. He didn't want the sun to come up. Joshua 10:12 "dom" in Hebrew has been used in solar eclipses, when the sun ceased. Some think he wanted to fight the enemy in the cool of the night.

It could have been 5 or c. But it was a miracle, regardless.

After the Southern campaign, Joshua goes back to Gilgal.

Deut. 17:17 - the king is told not to accumulate a lot of horses. Saul and Solomon collected horses. God discourages all of that. He didn't want anybody giving credit to the horses.

3 cities destroyed and burned: they all face herem:

haram "devote to destruction"

Deut. 7:1-3 to people of Canaan, certain cities (Jericho, Ai, and Hazor) religious paganism

Deut 6:10-11 God gave them (natan) cities. The people were to be destroyed and the cities were to be lived in (lakad). It would have been counterproductive to destroy the entire city, brick by brick. It does not say the Israel destroyed the city. They took the sword to the people "to the city", not the bricks.

Central Campaign - Jericho, Ai: Covenant Renewal. Ebal and Gerizim. Shechem Mtns. Israel separated the North from the South cities by conquering the middle. That is making the cities feel uncomfortable, making Gibeon ask for a treaty.

Southern Campaign - Gibeonite deception, subject to herem. Deut. 20:10-15

Yahweh gave (natan) them. . .

They went to the strong cities, trying to break the backbone of resistance. If Joshua conquered the main cities, he could send the tribes in to do the clean-up.

Northern Campaign - Joshua took (lakad) Hazor - 1 major battle

killed it's king and inhabitants, set fire to the city. God told them to destroy the cities, so the three were destroyed without God's condemnation.

Date of the Conquest:

1250 has been cited as the date cities were destroyed. They don't blame Israel that the cities were destroyed. Only 3 cities were destroyed by Israel and they often found the wrong place when they were digging.

No extant literature from Canaan (except Bible)

The archeological shift of culture does explain the Bible and the destruction of the people. Why would you expect a drastic change in culture when Israel used their pots, pans and things that were left behind??? Israel used the things that were left behind.

Example of Hazor - 3 destruction levels: c. 1400, 1300, 1230 BC

3 distinct times or levels have been found where the city was destroyed and/or burned with fire. Earliest: around 1400, next around 1300, once again around 1230

Seti the First raided in 1300 and probably burned the place in the times of the judges.

Joshua destroyed the place in 1400, but archeologists said that this isn't so. They think Joshua destroyed the place in 1250. Once the city was destroyed in 1250, the city hasn't been rebuilt. In Judges 4, it is mentioned that Hazor is built. They are living in a city that supposedly doesn't exist--according to archeologists.

1250 it was destroyed by Barak in the days of Judges 4. He defeated the Canaanites in a big way, but the text doesn't specify the destruction of the city.

Length of Conquest - Joshua 14:6

If you don't trust the Bible, anything else is an option.

Alternate Models of the Conquest (Reconstruction)

Traditio-historical model (Martin Noth)

No common origin of the tribes - there was no Jacob. The tribes came from unrelated locations.

They were primarily non-Canaanite--forced to align themselves to preserve common interests

Some were dispersed - forced into Egypt

Sociological Model by Norman Gottwald

Shiloh is going to be the religious center throughout the days of the Judges. The tabernacle is located here.

~~~~~~~9/26

Levitical cities have been involved in murder. Murder was a very critical sin. The brother is supposed to avenge the death of his brother. When the avenger arrived, he talked to the town officials. They would not tolerate murder. Non-premeditated manslaughter or accidents could not be punished because they did not try to murder.

The tribe of Simeon is scattered and not found. There are 6 cities of refuge by Joshua.

Joshua 22. Israelites usually don't keep their word on their promises. Joshua is to cross the Jordan and fight. They are currently in the hill area near Shiloh. They are warned to keep the commandments of Moses, like Joshua 1:8. Don't be afraid to repeat something. People need to hear things repeated.

Joshua 22:5 "But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 "And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?"

The answer is yes and God wants this for their own good.

Deut. 12 - God establishes the place for worship. He doesn't want worship where other God's had been worshiped. Those places were to be destroyed. Paganism shouldn't be seen, remembered or practiced.

An altar is built before they cross the river, after leaving Shiloh. Joshua hears the report and sent Phinehas to investigate the situation.

In Deut. 13, Moses commands death to those who are serving or worship a different god. No mercy, but death.

3 times a year, God prescribed that all of Israel would meet at the tabernacle. This was a time to unite as a nation and people. God knew that they were going to be spread out. They needed to return to the tabernacle to be instructed by the priest, too.

The altar or shrine was not acceptable. They were worshiping at a wrong place. Phinehas was pleased to know that they were not to worship there, but there was not to be an altar there. This could be the beginning of their turning into a Canaanite-like culture.

Joshua 23-24. "Joshua's farewell addresses." Chapter 23 is more personal, 24 is more official.

Deut. and the last few chapters of Joshua are alike.

Joshua 23:3 "And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you."

***Joshua divided the land, he admits this. Compare this to someone who received gifts from their parents to give to their kids. The gifts from the grandparents are not from the parents, but the parents are dividing the goods for the kids. That's what Joshua did.

Joshua 23:7 says, "don't, don't, don't, don't" and later they did it.

Joshua is going back to Deuteronomy and warning the people. This is more a warning rather than a prophetic statement. Moses said the same thing.

Parity treaty = among equals/leaders "I'll do this for you, you do this for me"

Suzerainty treaty = king makes an agreement with lesser people (subjects, newly conquered people, etc.) "I'm king, you'll do what I say"

The Gibeonites said this to Joshua when they came to him (Suzerainty treaty).

2. Historical prologue, king tells subjects what he's been doing for the people. Makes a list.

Joshua 24:12 God put a hornet into the land to make them fear. This was probably a symbol because it was not recorded.

3. Stipulations - Put away the other gods. Israel is obligated to serve God. They must have had some other gods, because they are commanded to get rid of them. Verse 23.

Pagan people called in the gods to watch agreements that were being made. Joshua says that this treaty is between the people and God. He says that the rocks will be our witnesses.

6. Deposit of Treaty - the covenant that has been made were to be put in the most sacred place. Moses gave his writings to the priest. Joshua gave his to the priest. The 10 commandments were put in the Ark.

Judges had to be written before David's time because Israel was not yet in Jerusalem (Jebusites were there). Judges was probably during the early days of Saul and written by Samuel, the last judge. Saul was the first king.

It's noteworthy beginning follows the death of a leader.

Joshua did not train a leader, so there was not a smooth transition between Joshua and the next leader.

Its Literary Genre

Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Barak, Jael, Gideon chaps. 6, 7, 8, Abimelech, Tola (minor judge), Jair (minor judge), Jephthah, (Ibzan, Elon, Abdon - minor judges), Manoah, Samson (chaps. 14, 15, 16).

Earlier books show what God is doing and contributes to the book. In Judges, it shows what Israel is doing in their rebellion.

Suggestion : the narrative of Judges should be define further as "tragedy" -- movement from positive experience to catastrophe

-- Near end of action, P. arrives at perception/insight into what went wrong (learning from mistakes), but we can't point to a chapter in Judges that shows Israel's perception of enlightenment -- the book ends in a discouraging way.

-- Ends in the death of the Protagonist, God makes something of them. He raises up a good Judge in Samuel, then kings in Saul and David

Phineahas is in a civil war. Ruth is before 1 Samuel. Ruth may have been the last 4 chapters of Judges. Chronologically, civil war was one of the first things that happened in the book of Judges. Chronology is not correct in Judges. Samuel was probably the only leader who was different and not doing what is right in his own eyes.

Chapter 1 - The Canaanites and their gods are left in Israel's land. This could pose problems because they could marry their women and worship their gods. It was against what God has told them to do.

The book of Ruth (good story) wraps up the Judges. It takes place in the middle of the Judges period.

Chaps 1-2 : bad political and religious situations

1. Title "Judges" is derived from the type of government or leadership that Israel is going to experience in this time period. In between Joshua -- Saul. Judge comes from the Hebrew word to judge and refers to making a situation right. The Judges were usually military leaders, but some aren't mentioned much.

Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah and Samson raised an army. They weren't necessarily arbitrators, but leaders.

Deborah was a judge -- a resident judge. She listened to both sides and made a decision, probably. She was serving as a prophetess and a judge, speaking on behalf of God. Deborah tells Barak that God is calling him to put together an army. Perhaps she didn't give rulings, but prophecies.

***Joshua's theme: Victory through faith and obedience

The purpose of this book is to glorify God and show how awesome God is for putting up with the people.

The Canaanites were losing to Deborah and Barak in chapters 4-5, so he goes to Jael. Jael is married to a Canaanite. Jael is female. Jael's husband (Heber) wasn't there. Jael is an Israelite and kills the Canaanite.

Judges 1:28 - they made the Canaanites their servants, like Joshua did with the Jebusites.

Everybody gives up after Judah's initial success. They don't drive the people out or kill them. The Israelites put them to work for them.

24:31 and 2:7, 10 Israel's fickleness

Cycles in chapter 2 -- Disobedience is the central theme.

Devotion, Decay, Defection, Defeat, Despair, Deliverance -- The "Religious Circle" in the Days of the Judges.

Compromise, Apostasy, Oppression, Repentance, Deliverance -- Hartman's Wheel

Israel always "cries out in distress to God" they don't necessarily repent.

~~~~~~~10/8

Papers are due back on 10/15 and the midterm for next week is postponed to after the break. Redo the paper on Jephthah. Makes some changes and hand it back in.

Judges chapters 2 and 3, Israel served Baalim and the groves and forgot God. (3:7) Israel was not supposed to mention Israelite gods, but they were worshiping them. Duh.

Baalim = false deities, 2:11. The "im" ending is plural in Hebrew. Baals.

Baal = the storm god, fertility god, vegetation god, 2:13. Important god in the Canaanite colony.

(Athtart in Ugaritic literature, Ishtar in Assyria and Babylon, Ashtarte in Greece)

Groves = Asherah/Asheroth, a carved pole an object of worship, the dwelling place of a deity, Asherah, the consort of El, 3:17. Another fertility deity to remind the people to worship this god.

***Remember the theme of the book of Judges, "Everybody did what was right in their own eyes."

C. They went after other gods, they bowed down to them, they provoked Yahweh to anger

idolatry and adultery are 2 different things, however God uses the term adultery for going after another god.

In Hebrew, the word anger has to do with the nostrils. Nostrils start to move when people get angry.

"Compassion" is not mentioned, but v. 16 anticipates, v.18 where Yahweh was "moved to pity by their groaning."

God had pity on the people, not because they deserved it, just because God wanted to have pity on them. Vs. 19 - they ceased not their doings. They didn't learn from their judgment. They did not listen to the judges. They continued to do evil.

There will be a test on the day we come back from Fall Break. Review next Wednesday.

6. The land has rest.

Judges 3:5 -- the Canaanites dwelled among the Canaanites -- this was against what God wanted them to do. They may want to intermarry.

Vs. 5-7 "And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites: And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves."

-- A lot of emphasis is on the fact that they ignored God and served other gods.

Israel disobeys in many ways. "Israel does evil in the sight of the Lord," is another theme of Judges.

In 3:12, the word again means : 3254. yacaph, yaw-saf'; a prim. root; to add or augment (often adv. to continue to do a thing):-- add,

The Amalekites were a wandering group, usually in the south. They crossed the river and went into Canaan. They went through Jericho.

Judges 3:15-16 "But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh."

Hebrew word in this case is gomed - cubit - no idea how long it is, probably shorter due to the act it was on his right thigh.

Kishon River is now a small dried up thing. You can cross it easily by walking over it.

Tel or Ruins of Hazor are at the base of the hill. As archaeologists dug through the Tel, they found 3 layers of burning. Joshua destroyed it in 1400, Seti 1^st destroyed it in 1300, Barak in 1230 BC. Scholars take wrong dates for the conquest and exodus and they get wrong dates for this place and the burnings.

Othniel drove out the people from Mesopotamia. Moabites and Amalekites came in and Eglon drove them out. Midianites

---Gideon went against his whole town and father to build an altar to the Lord. Judges 6:25, 27.

Since Gideon did this at night and wouldn't do it alone, some criticize his faith. God didn't say don't do it at night or don't use any help. God told him to get the job done and he did. If he had done this during the day, there would have been strong enough opposition that he couldn't have gotten the job done.

Gideon's father, Joash, comes to his defense. He know calls his son Jerubbaal. "To contend Baal". Joash said, "let Baal defend or take care of himself if he is a god." Theophoric name is a name with the name of God or god. "Yah" or "El" is a from of Yahweh, a theophoric name. In this context, this nickname wasn't a compliment because it had "Baal" in it.

Ishbosheth or Eshbaal was Saul's son. They took out baal and put in bosheth, meaning shame.

Gideon, in chapter 7, does something wrong. Keyshone river on one side, Tabor on the other, Midianites in the middle. The backside of Moreh, Gideon puts together his army. Moreh was by the Midianites. 32,000 show up to help in the battle. About 135,000 were in the Midianite camp. Deuteronomy 20:8 Fear breeds fear. Leave them behind.

22,000 people left from fear. They go and drink from the well. God narrows them down from this. 300 people lapped the water and were chosen by God to fight in the battle against the Midianites.

---Gideon took 3 groups and had them take rams horns, a clay pot with fire in it and went out late at night. The Midianites woke up and killed themselves. God brought the victory. Awesome.

Abimelech "my father is king" is Gideon's son. Out of 70 sons, only 1, the rascal, is named Abimelech.

Judges 8:35 --The Israelites wanted Gideon to be the king of Israel and protect their borders. Gideon says "no" that God will be their king. Gideon made a golden ephod and it got Israel's attention. Israel began worshiping the ephod.

Canaanites, Midianites and other tribes have fought the Israelites, but this oppressor would come from within. Gideon.

Gideon has concubines in different places. He has 70 sons. They take the money out of the temple at Shechem and have 68 of his sons killed. Now he is king at Shechem. This place has a history of making allegiance to God, Yahweh. Now, it has made a false king and killed 68 people.

1 got away and hid in the mountains in Garazeem. "The Fable of the Trees" is where this son yells from the Garazeem from Jotham. He yelled down to the people at Shechem.

---Jotham compares king Gideon to bramble. This was actually prophetic because there was a fallout

---Abimelech stacks brambles or wood around the tower and burns it down. Thebez is a city which Abi tries to do the same thing. He has success the first time, but is careless the 2^nd time.

One woman, his mom, put him into office. One woman killed him and took him out of office. One stone is what killed him.

Judges 10:6 - the people served many other gods and did evil in the sight of the Lord, again.

1 Thess. 1:9 "For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;" This is conversion. It is the opposite of what happened in Judges (converse conversion).

In chapters 11 and 12 we focus on the people in the east, later the people in the north and west. Jephthah is the next military leader. He was born to a prostitute in the tribe of Manasseh. He is driven into the wilderness in the east. He has a Robin Hood experience. Other misfits and outcasts join him. He build a reputation because he has leadership abilities. He does raids and catches that attention of his old people who rejected him. Jephthah didn't want them to treat him like they had been treating God. They had used God and forgotten him.

---Jephthah wanted to begin being diplomatic and spoke the king through his messengers.

(Chemosh was the god of Moab, Ammon was the god of Molech) Jephtah got the gods mixed up for some reason.

7. Verse 31, the AND is an OR. "I will give it to the Lord OR offer it as a burnt sacrifice."

---Everybody in the "Hall of Faith" had some flaws. They all did something wrong. Jephthah probably sacrificed his daughter and sinned.

Deuteronomy 32:17 Moses is criticizing his own people for child sacrifice. Israel was doing this while Moses was with them. Even when good leaders (like someone during Isaiah) where around, people still offered up child sacrifices.

He probably expected a servant to come out and greet him after the battle, but his daughter came out. He probably should have repented of him to being rash and not consulting the Lord.

~~~~~~~10/31

Finishing Jephthah -- no animal that would have come out of the house would not be worthy of offering to God. A dog or cat or something would come out. Not a sheep or cow.

-- He was the son of a common prostitute and living in a time where morals are low. He's also living outside the contact of priests and prophets. He may or may not have known the law of child sacrifice. It was taking place at that time. It was not right.

-- We don't know for sure why he made the specific vow about sacrificing. It's sort of a mystery.

Jepthah had the people say - Sheboleth - grain or moving water. Everybody ready to cross the river had to say Sheboleth. The way they pronounced the word showed the border guards which side of the river they came from. 42,000 people died.

Chapter 13, one problem in the West is started to be taken care of (Philistine).

13:5 "For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."

Samson BEGUN something. He wasn't totally successful, probably due to his lifestyle. The Philistines aren't put down until David.

Micah in chapter 17 was religious, but idolatrous. Chapter 18, the tribe moved way up north. Some remained in their own territory, close to the Philistines.

2. Not to cut his hair -- a visible, voluntary thing. The Nazirites would shave their heads and make a public stand to become a Nazirite. They let it grow. When the period was over, they shaved the head and burned it.

Being a Nazirite is sort of like fasting for a period of time. They would do this to become closer to God and/or do a service for Him. Samuel was also a Nazirite. John the Baptist was probably a Nazirite.

-- Many ungodly judges had been introduced before chapter 13. Since Samson was a Nazirite, the read believes that this may be a turning point.

-- The angel of the Lord comes to the mother. She didn't ask Him who he was or where he was from. Manoah wanted more information or a special meeting from the angel. He doesn't learn anything new about the rearing of the child.

Manoah's wife is seen in better light than Manoah. Manoah is worried about dying and seeing the angel personally.

November 5 ~

(In chapter 18, Dan is unsatisfied with their land and they move north. It actually takes places much before the time of Samson, in the period of the judges)

Samson's mother and father and a few families in the tribe of Dan are in their old, original place.

The word "now" in the Hebrew has several meanings. It can be a "polite particle" like "please, pray thee". Samson isn't saying please here, he's saying "right now."

Some people are circumcised for various reasons. The Israelites were circumcised because God wanted it. The Philistines were uncircumcised people and despicable, but Samson wanted a Philistine wife.

14:3 When Samson says that this woman is "right (yashar)" for him, he may have meant that her entire culture and way of life was right for him. This word is generally not used in this context.

"It was right in his own eyes," which is the theme of the book of Judges (everybody did what was right in their own eyes).

Vs. 5 Why was Samson in the vineyard? Maybe he went to the bathroom. Maybe he went in to get grapes. Maybe God put the lion there to deter him from eating grapes in the vineyard (and violating his Nazirite vow).

Samson can't resist a weeping woman. After 3 days, his wife's people come to her and pressure her to get the answer to the riddle. She does.

(Samson never mentions love for this woman. He only mentions love in Delilah's relationship, but she doesn't love him.)

Vs. 18 "If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle." He calls his wife a cow.

Samson goes into one of their own cities, probably crashing a party, and kills 30 people wearing party clothes.

Vs. 19 The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, although he is performing an ungodly act because God had plans for him to destroy many people that were even more ungodly than he. He allowed Samson to take out 30 of the evil men this time.

Samson could have been in a type of marriage where he doesn't have to live with her (sadigah). Or he could have went home to cool of for awhile. When he comes back, she is married to somebody else. They thought Samson divorced her since he left in anger. Incidentally, he brought a kid or goat instead of flowers or something. Odd.

15:4 Samson caught either foxes or jackals. The corn was grain or wheat, not actual corn fields as we know them.

--In some cultures it was illegal to marry a man, get divorced, then marry his best man. That's a possible explanation for her and her father's demise by fire (vs. 6).

Samson uses a freshly killed donkey's jawbone to kill 1000 Philistines. This breaks his vow, again.

Ramathlehi - hill of the jaw

5 Results of the Relationship with the Philistine Woman

3. He violated intermarriage restrictions. God told the Israelites not to marry Canaanites, but the principle is the same. They were both pagan people.

"Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling."

16:1 Samson goes to visit a prostitute and most likely slept with her -- due to terminology and context.

Vs. 3 Samson tore off 2 doors. They were in the ground with a post on each door. They were tall and heavy wood. He walked about 38 miles with them and it was uphill!!! The "trophy of their defense" was in another city. People had bragged about the defense of this gate, but Samson had ripped it off.

Delilah may have been an Israelite. The Philistines don't threaten her, they bribe her. They know his weakness, women, so they use one to find the secret of his strength. She was offered 5500 shekels (1100 from each of the leaders of the 5 key cities). The lords came to her personally -- this matter was very important. Usually a messenger was sent.

-- Delilah was not cunning, she asks him the secret of his strength. She's blunt. He's a bit cunning by telling her stories.

It would be awfully funny to see a man with long hair walking down the street with a loom in his hair. Who took it out?

Samson was probably not an enormous looking man, but the spirit of God made him strong.

November 7 ~

After Delilah and the Philistines were made to look like fools, she was certain that she knew the secret of his strength, now. (Hartman's translation for verse 18: "and bring my money, said Delilah.")

"And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he (knew) wist not that the LORD was departed from him."

In verse 3, Samson left Gaza triumphantly, but now he is returning in disgrace. He left in the darkness of the night in verse 3. Now he's returning in the darkness of his own blindness. The first things he saw in the first verse that mentions Samson is, "I saw a woman." By the end of his life, he couldn't see anything at all. He was a He-Man with a She-Problem.

There's a connection between the gods Dagon, Baal and El. Dagon relates to the Hebrew word dag or fish. Dagon used to be the fish god or the fish-man god. Later, it has been connected with dagan and grain (a fertility god).

God delivered Samson into the Philistines. Usually the people were oppressed and the judge delivered the people. In this case, the judge is captured.

Samson went from intimidator of the Philistines to entertainer for the Philistines.

Vs. 28 is the only recorded prayer by Samson. "And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes."

Compared with Stephen's prayer, who was stoned, and Jesus' prayer, who was crucified, Samson prayed for himself. He wanted to avenge himself.

Samson and Samuel were probably living at the same time. Their paths never crossed. Eli's sons confronted the Philistines and so did Samson.

1 Samuel 7:3 "And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, 'If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines'."

-- There was no cause for the Philistines to go after the Israelites. However, when Samson killed many Philistines, this could have been the act that angered the Philistines and caused them to go and oppress the Israelites (Leon Wood's reconstruction).

(Samson probably didn't have huge muscles. If he did, they probably would have tried to poison him, not restrain him with ropes and such. -- Hartman) What could Samson have done if he was a more Godly man? What else did Samson do that was not recorded?

-- The tribe of Judah was upset at Samson because most of the Danites left and went North. Because Samson went against the Philistines, and the tribe of Dan was gone, the Philistines attacked Judah, the closest Israelites. That is why Judah was upset at Samson.

Samson's hair regrowing was not necessarily a sign of his repentance, but it was a symbol of his Nazirite vow being renewed. His cry to the Lord was the closest sign of repentance that the Judges or Israelites have made.

Outline of Judges

Chapters 17-21 Appendix or Spiritual and Moral Confusion. 2 stories that happened very early in the Judges period, shortly after the death of Joshua.

17-18 Micah - a religious, yet wrong person. He made his son a priest. A Levite from Bethlehem named (18:30) Jonathan.

Vs. 18 "And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land."

-- This is the only place in the Hebrew Bible where a letter is written above the regular line of letters. People think that Jonathan was a descendant of Moses and a letter was inserted to make it look like Manasseh (Manasseh was the worst king). People didn't want to think or spread the word that a descendant of Moses was resolving to paganism. That would make Gershom and Joshua contemporaries.

(Aaron, Eleazar, Phinehas) lived at the same time, in order, as (Moses, Gershom-Joshua, Jonathan)

The beginning of Judges, Joshua died and so did the elders. The end of Judges, there was no king in Israel.

Chapter 17, were in Ephraim. Shiloh (the religious center) was in the same territory as Ephraim.

17:3 "And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee."

Vs. 5 "And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest."

-- When a man does what's right in his own eyes, it will be evil in God's eyes. (Vs. 6)

Jonathan was job hunting and gets offered the job of priest. Micah thinks that God will do him good because he has a Levite as priest. Only Aaron's sons were to be priests. Jonathan was a descendant of Moses, but not of Aaron. Micah could care less.

Chapter 18 summary: the people of Dan, long before the time of Samson--still living in the South, don't feel that they have enough room. They send spies North to look for a new location. The went through the area of Micah and Jonathan. They go to a northern town called Laish, a great spot. It is a paradise, where 3 rivers came together. It was beautiful with really nice water, "a tropical paradise." There were people living in Laish that seemed peaceful and weak, so they figured they could push them out.

These spies in Dan noticed Jonathan and Micah and their gods. The people of Dan ask them to come with them and "pastor and bigger church."

One of the dumbest verses in the Bible is Judges 18:24. "And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?"

The tribe of Dan is always having Godly problems. Since they were the farthest North, they would be the closest ones to be hit by Damascus and Syria.

November 12 ~

Chapter 19, a Levite woman leaves and goes to Bethlehem. The man goes after his wife after she's gone for four months.

-- The word "Bethlehemjudah" refers to Bethlehem. There may have been another Bethlehem up north.

-- Jerusalem is occupied by Jebusites (pagans). Gibeah is occupied by Benjaminites (the tribe of Benjamin).

Judges 19:18 says the man was going to "his house" in the Septuagint, but it says the house of the Lord in the KJV. See NRSV for "his house." This man could have been lying and telling that he was pious because he needed a place to stay.

Vs. 22 Belial -- without profit

Judges 19:22 The people of Belial wanted to have homosexual sex with this man, the visitor.

-- The man who owns the house is sinful by choosing the "lesser of two evils". It is always wrong to avert one sin to embrace the other. He wanted the people of Belial to take his daughter or concubine instead of having homosexual sex with the visitor.

This man got up, after giving his concubine to the evil people, and was ready to leave. He slept, got up and saw her on his doorstep. He tries to wake her up in an insensitive manner.

-- The concubine may have been his secondary wife or wife. Her position in the household was uncertain. But warmth and affection was not showed to her.

Judges 19:30 "And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds."

He was trying to get Israel to leave their immoral lethargy. It worked, somewhat, but he was not a good example for them because of this act.

20:1 "Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh."

Dan (North, now), Beersheba (South), and Gilead (East) ....water was on the West

The man tells what they did to his concubine, but he doesn't not tell them that he shoved her out the door.

20:18 Judah was told to fight first in the beginning of Judges and Judah is told to fight, now. Judah's daughter had been raped and killed. Judah ends of getting whipped. Perhaps Benjamin was not less wicked than Judah.

20:28 They are at Shiloh and Phinehas is the high priest. This helps date the story to early in the judges period.

Benjamin gets destroyed besides 600 people. Jabesh in Gilead had not participated in the 400,000 people and the judgment of the Benjaminites. All of the people were destroyed but 400 virgins. There were 200 Benjaminites who had no wives. So, they let these people hide in the vineyards and let them kidnap their daughters. Crazy, huh?

Judges 21:25 "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

When man doesn't look to God and put Him first, this is the best that they can do.

This Levite came from Bethlehem in Judah to Micah. Micah gives him a job. We begin to wonder what is wrong with Bethlehem. Why didn't they support the Levite and why did he have to leave?

Judges 19-21 ~

his concubine went home to Bethlehem in Judah, the Levite went through Gibeah in Benjamin, all of the tribes got together to punish Gibeah. (Previously Belial was to be punished, but Benjamin was protecting them, so Benjamin was destroyed, too.)

Because of a famine, they move to Moab, then move back to Bethlehem (eventually)

Samuel is introduced -- he is the Judge and Prophet, serves as "priest" and is recognized as Israel's leader. (Last judge) Israel doesn't understand that their problem is spiritual, not political. They see stabilization around them, but don't realize that they need to get right, spiritually. They want a king.

Saul is introduced and he is from the tribe of Benjamin. His home town is Gibeah. Wicked town and wicked tribe. This town was almost erased, just a few years earlier.

-- Samuel goes to Bethlehem and the house of Jesse and anoints David to be the successor of Saul.

David has to leave home because he is a fugitive. He sends his family to Moab. He thinks that Saul may capture his family and use them as leverage to pull him out of hiding.

In Jabesh (Gilead), they wanted to poke out their right eye. Most people were right handed and held a shield in their left hand. Having no right eye would be terrible for fighting.

Jabesh (Gilead) was where Saul got his wife. He had some ties with these people. Saul came to their aid and rescued them. Some people who took wives from Jabesh (Gilead) went back into the land and settled there, since the town exists after mass destruction just a few years earlier.

-- God favors David from Bethlehem in Judah. In Genesis 49:10 "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." God promised a king from Bethlehem in Judah. Why did the people even look for a king elsewhere?

-- Saul and Jonathan's body was portrayed in a terrible way in the temple, nasty. Jabesh (Gilead) gave both of them a decent burial.

** With all of the history, the people of Israel should have said, "What good can come out of Gibeah and Benjamin?"

November 14 ~

Ruth is the bridge between the Judges and the Kings (1 and 2 Samuel). It is an important book.

This book is more than a history or romantic story. It is a theological book, along with every one of the OT books. They all have a theological purpose. The OT wasn't about Israel, it was about God. He is a God who wanted to do things through Israel.

-- Some scholars believe the time of Ruth was early in the judges period or far later in the OT. Some people propose that Israel just intermarry with anybody. Untrue.

1. Friendship - Ruth is willing to turn her back on her family and religion to be with her mother-in-law, Naomi. She was devoted to Naomi. Naomi was devoted to Ruth in Bethlehem.

2. "Levirate" (Latin term for brother-in-law, based on Deut. 25:5) marriage. If a man dies with no children, his next or younger, unmarried brother can take the woman and have children in the dead man's name. This happens in Genesis 38. Judah and the daughter of Shuah have Er, Onan and Shelah. Er was married to Tamar and Er dies. Onan screws up, has sex and doesn't marry Tamar, so God kills him. Tamar comes after Judah because he wouldn't give her his third son, Shelah. We don't have exact brother-in-law marriage in Ruth, we have something like it.

Elimelech (tribe of Judah) has a son who marries Ruth, but dies. Her husband's brother dies, and he was married to Orpah. Boaz tells a close relative to buy a field from Naomi, but tells him that he has to marry Ruth, bear a child and give the land to their child. Ruth was a Moabite.

3. Grace to Gentiles - In Matthew 1, Rahab was in the line of Christ and the lineage went through Perez (Judah), not Tamar who was wicked. It went through Ruth, also.

1. To exhibit faith and Godliness in the time of apostasy - there were some Godly people

3. To show the scope of God's grace - it goes beyond national borders to foreigners

5. To bridge the gap between the Judges and the Kings in 1 Samuel

-- We don't have any conversations between God and one person. God's name is used, though. God is the hero, perhaps hidden hero, of the book. The writer is showing us that God is in control. Covenant - God has promised to keep His covenant with Israel. Here is a foreign girl who shows Israel how to keep their covenant.

-- we don't know exactly who wrote Ruth or exactly when Ruth was written.

1 Samuel -- authorship -- Samuel dies in the 25^th chapter of the first book.

1 Chronicles 29:29 "Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,"

Nathan is a good prophet in the time of David. He was a possible writer of Samuel.

Timeline: Judges period = Eli was priest and judge, Samuel serves under him until he dies. Samuel picks Saul and he reigns for 40 years. David is anointed by Samuel to become next King. David becomes king at age 30. Saul reigns for 10 years before David is even born.

Jonathon initiates a friendship with David. Jonathon saw the leadership in David and knew the he was going to be God's next king. The success of Jonathon's friendship with David would be very beneficial for him. He asks David to take care of his descendants and David does.

Jonathon is already a military man before David is born. He's most likely 20-25 years older than David. He was a hero in the battle against the Philistines.

-- Jonathon was Saul's son and a possible future king. Jonathon could have taught David many things.

1 Samuel 18:1 "And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul."

-- some say that there was a homosexual relationship here, but they must be reading into it and adding things.

Samuel was not in the line of priests, but offers sacrifices as one would.

November 19 ~

2. Index page/Table of Contents (Introduction is on first page-a paragraph or two and end with the Conclusion paragraph, then Bibliography)

1. Purpose: Samuel 1-7 (the king maker), Saul 8-15 (and rules through 31-the abortive king), David 16-31 (the ideal king)

(Deut. 17:17, 19 Moses tells Israel about the future king. He's to be a Godly man and obey the Mosaic law.)

-- Israel thinks that their problem is political, "we need a king," but their problem is religious. "They need God."

Political success of any king depends on his relationship and devotion to God. The king was no better than his service to God.

-- At the beginning of 1 Samuel, there is a weak, loose confederation of tribes. Israel didn't do much together unless their was a common enemy. Gideon and Jephthah had problems raising an army--people didn't want to help. Other people like the Philistines covered the coastal plains. By the time of Solomon, Israel has a lot of land and dominance--the Phoenicians and Philistines are under control and have little land. By the end of 2 Samuel, Israel is a strong force and dominant. It is due to David (and God) and the way he reigns.

The ark is in Shiloh. The ark and the tabernacle become separated. Shiloh is destroyed. The ark moves from location to location. In 2 Samuel 6, David brings the ark to Jerusalem. In 2 Sam. 24, David purchases a spot to build the temple (Araunah).

B. Electing/Choosing

1. A little boy Samuel is chosen by God to be Israel's prophet and spiritual leader.

2. God also chose Saul to meet the requirements of a people who did not know what they needed or what the role of a king required. David is chosen later and is a successful king.

C. Sovereign Reversal

2. Eli's sons are in a position of privilege, but get killed in battle because they are wicked.

3. David is a shepherd boy and Saul was on the farm, too. Both become kings. Rural farming -- Royalty. Saul is king, then David is king. (Bethlehem trilogy) David is from the tribe of Judah.

4. David is a beautiful contrast with Saul. David is after God's own heart, unlike Saul, but has an affair with Bathsheeba. -- moral stain. David and his family pay dearly for this.

Israel wants a different kind of king and their timing is not necessarily God's timing. So, God gives them their request, but gives them Saul. God gave them what they wanted, so they could see that what God wanted is truly best. They got what they wanted in a king, but not what they needed.

1. The people seem to think they can manipulate God by bringing the ark into battle. The Philistines think they can manipulate God with the ark in their possession. But God destroys Dagon (their god) and causes them to all have hemorrhoids

(Deut. 18 - divination was a popular thing, looking at the entrails of animals and draw an omen or looking at smoke and drawing things from it like visions--learning the future through divination or omen. God says that He'll raise up a prophet for revelation. Samuel is the spokesman for God that we hadn't seen since Moses. God uses Samuel to select a king. The king was to know the Word of God thoroughly. God demanded that all of the kings write their own copy of the law, so that they'd remember it. No kings did it, but perhaps David did. The King was to be the administrator of the law and the prophet is God's spokesman who interprets the law.

(Deuteronomy means 2^nd law) (David was a prophet because of the Messianic psalms, but not in the usual way. There were other prophets like Nathan and Gad)

1. Saul did not represent God well. His failure brought David. David was successful, but took Bathsheeba. And he trusted in his own army and doubted God's care after two rebellions. When David numbered his fighting force, disaster soon ensued.

-- If the king is Godly, God reigned through the king. When the king wasn't Godly, we saw miserable behavior.

1 Samuel chapter 1

Eli was from the tribe of Levi. He wasn't in the priestly line, but he was close.

Elkanah is the father of Samuel. They are going from Rammah to Shiloh to sacrifice to God.

1 Samuel 1:11 "Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."

2 Samuel 2:22 "Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."

-- it may have not been too unusual to have drunkenness around the temple area. Or maybe Eli's judgment was poor.

-- People in the OT had many wives lots of times. This was usually due to production that boys could have. They helped on the farm. God gave them the model, earlier. We can't see God judging polygamy in the OT, but God does not bless it. He tolerates it and teaches people slowly. We don't see people in the OT acting like Hugh Hephner and using many women for purely sexual purposes. It was still wrong, but God had mercy on them.

1 Samuel 1:19 God remembered her. God never forgot her, though. This indicates that God is about to do something special. God remembered Rachel in Genesis 30:22. Exodus 2:24, 6:5 -- Israel is in Egypt and God remembers Israel.

1 Samuel 2:17 "Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD."

-- this could indicate the sin of the entire nation, since this was the place of holiness and should be the model.

-- Hannah lives in Ramah and Samuel is in Shiloh. That is like Lynchburg to Bedford. She could have gotten there in a day. She lent Samuel to the Lord and took her hands off. She bought him clothes once a year, but didn't overwhelm him with visitation. She was a good example.

November 21 ~

Eli's sons were so wicked, they were having relationships with prostitutes right in front of the temple. It was immoral and flagrant, no matter what the exact nature of the sin. Eli felt some of the blame since he never corrected them.

1 Samuel 2:24 Eli performs a toothless censure on his sons. It was weak and just a warning. It is one thing to sin and another thing to bring other people into it.

-- When flagrant sin is not dealt with inside the church, there are people in the world that look in and are turned off.

1 Sam. 2:27 - Eli's first warning "Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?" -- A man of God was generally a prophet. Some unnamed person came to Eli and warned him. This was a man of God and had more character than Eli and his sons. This was his prediction and warning to Eli.

1 Sam. 3:11 - Eli's 2^nd warning

Aphek was West of Shiloh. Israel brought the Ark into battle and lost it here to the Philistines. The Ark of the Covenant is never returned to the tabernacle. There's never worship at Shiloh anymore. The Philistines must have moved inland and taken over Shiloh or destroyed it. 1050 or 1100 Shiloh was destroyed and leveled. The tabernacle worship was later at Nob and Gibeon. The Ark was at Kirjath Jearim.

(-- Eli's neck was broken and he died after hearing the ark was stolen.)

1 Sam. 22:19 the priests at Nob are massacred by Saul. Saul hear's that David went to Nob and is angry because the priests let him stay there. Doeg massacred the whole place except Abiathar (son of Ahimelech), he fled to David. Ahimelech helped David. Saul killed him. Abiathar goes and joins David in exile--the one surviving priest.

1 Chron. 15:11 Zadok and Abiathar (the priests) were called to bring the ark to Jerusalem.

1 Chron. 16:1 they set the ark in tent David pitched it in Jerusalem

-- Abiathar probably had a falling out with David. He supports a different king, Adonijah, to get the throne after David. Zadok and Nathan the prophet supports Solomon to get the throne and it was proper for him to get it.

1 Kings 2:26 - Abiathar the priest was sent to Anathoth

2:27 - the prophecy concerning Eli was fulfilled

1 Samuel 3:12 - God speaks through Samuel and to Eli about his judgment. The first prophetic duty that Samuel has is to give a death notice to the religious leader.

-- Saul goes to the witch of Endor to call up a prophet of God, Samuel. Samuel says that Saul was going to die. The last prophetic event was a death notice to Saul. His first and last notice and prophetic vision were of death (Eli, then Saul).

1 Sam. 4:1 - Ebenezer was next to Aphek. "Don't gotta do nothin'" Israel thought they'd bring the Ark to battle for good luck. Like a rabbit's foot or 4 leaf clover, they thought the Ark would have the same affect.

1 Samuel 4:8 "Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness."

This was between 1075 and 1051. God did these things to the Egyptians around 1446. About 400 years and people still knew about God's power and deliverance of Israel.

Phinehas' wife has Ichabod when she hears this news, too. Ichabod means "no glory."

-- The tabernacle wasn't beautiful on the outside, there were animal skins and things. But it was awesome inside. The same was with Christ. The outside was ordinary and the inside was extraordinary. The Ark was the same way. There was a covering over the exterior of the Ark. But the Ark was awesome.

-- The Ark could have been dismantled and taken out of the tabernacle before Shiloh was destroyed by the Philistines.

1 Samuel 5:6 - the plague on the Philistines could have been a hemorrhoid or boil or even Boubonic plague, since the rats were made shortly thereafter. Rats spread Boubonic plague.

-- The Philistines resort to magic and make models. There's 5 cities in the Philistine kingdom (Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron and Ashdod).

-- Cows make a lot of noise after the calf is taken from her. The Philistines take an untrained cow away from their calves and watch them walk off unguided. HOWEVER, they went straight to Bethshemesh with the Ark of the Covenant. They were whining, but did it. This was a miraculous event. Those people look in it, so it goes to Kirjath Jearim.

Chapter 7 is in Kirjath Jearim. 20 years pass between verse 2 and 3. The Ark is here for at least 67 years. The 20 years here, plus 40 in Saul's reign, plus 7 more in David's.

The time when the Ark is here is about the same time when Samson goes on his rampage and judges Israel. Samson was from Timnah. Since Samson kills many in Gaza, the Philistines go after Israel's crowd. Israel was having a revival, so it's a poor time to attack. Samuel calls the people back together at Mizpah. The Philistines prepare to attack and God steps in.

-- Saul does these, but Solomon really does all of the to extremes

Saul is from the tribe of Benjamin, not Judah. He should not be Israel's first king. God chooses David and he is in the tribe of Judah.

-- David's line leads to Jesus Christ. Everything is fulfilled in the person of Jesus. When Jesus comes along, they say that they don't have a king and they don't want a king. This is ironic.

-- Israel's problem is still a spiritual one, not a political one, but they don't realize this.

Did God intend for Israel to have a king? Yes

Did God like who Israel chose or want a king like Israel asked for? No

1. Mankind was created in Image of God to rule over all created things (Gen. 17:6, 16).

4. In his blessing Jacob predicted a "scepter" and "ruler's staff" in Judah (Gen. 49:10).

B. King must abide by principles of Torah (not a lot of wealth, horses, wives, political alliances)

-- Samuel's quarrel: Not with kingship, but with the timing and reasons and kind of king they wanted.

1. To prevent further military losses (1 Sam. 8:20, 12:12).

-- Of all the OT books, the book of 1 Samuel is most oddly put together. There was a copy of 1 Samuel in the dead sea scrolls that have a few extra verses. Nahash, king of Ammon, was oppressing Gad and Reuben and gouged out their right eyes. Right before chapter 11, there are a few verses of introduction. The above words was a paraphrase. Israel needed a king because the King of Ammon was oppressing them.

1 Samuel 12:12 "And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,' when the LORD your God was your king."

3. To be like other nations - 1 Samuel 8:5, 20...Lev. 20:26, God says to be separate.

The Real Reasons --

1. They rejected the theocracy (1 Sam. 8:7 - they rejected God, 12:12 - God was their king)

-- There were no spiritual qualifications by Israel. God gives them the man that would meet the qualifications of Israel. Like our parents would sometimes let us make a wrong decision, we realize it and ask for help for the next decision.

Saul and David were both sinners. However, David repented and turned to God after sinning. Saul did not.

13:1 - is an ambiguous text because the Hebrew doesn't say how long he was king for. The literal reading makes no sense.

"Saul was . . . years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel two years."