Joshua and Judges
The Bible Course
Document#: TX001078
Joshua
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• Joshua was the successor to Moses who led the Israelites
into Canaan, the Promised Land.
• Canaan was promised by God to Abraham.
• The Canaanites held polytheistic beliefs and refused to
hand over their land to the Israelites.
“Joshua: God Is on Our Side”
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• Joshua and the Israelite army swiftly conquer the land of
Canaan. A pivotal moment is the taking of the small town of
Jericho with the help of Rahab.
• In the Book of Joshua, God is presented as a warrior
waging a holy war.
• The Israelites believed God was on their side.
How can a God of love wage such a
savage and brutal war?
• It is important to remember that the words in the Sacred
Scriptures are conditioned by the language and culture of
the Israelites.
• The metaphor of God as a warrior provided the Israelites
with a sense of security.
• God freed them from the clutches of Pharaoh and would
lead them into battle in the Promised Land.
• For the Israelites, war was a holy act to fulfill the promise
God made to the fathers and mothers.
Joshua’s Undying Devotion to God
“As for me and my household,
we will serve the LORD.”
(Joshua 24:15)
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• Joshua models a true
commitment to the Covenant
with God.
• He demonstrates to the
Israelites that when they
remain true to the Covenant,
God will abundantly bless
them.
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• After Joshua’s death, the Israelites
fall into a cycle of sin, calamity,
repentance, and deliverance.
• The Book of Judges is a series of
short stories about human leaders’
accomplishing God’s will.
• The time of the Judges was from
1200 to 1000 BC.
• There are twelve heroic yet flawed
leaders in the Bible who are
considered judges.
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Biblical Judges
The Role of the Biblical Judges
• Settle disputes with their own tribe and
between tribes
• Lead the military defense against outside
invaders
• Challenge Israel to remain faithful to God
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Samson
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Deborah
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Gideon
Deborah: Victory with a Gruesome Touch
• Deborah reveals to Barak that he will lead the Israelite militia
against Sisera.
• Sisera and his troops are routed and Sisera deserts his men.
• He goes to the tents of one of his friends and meets the man’s
wife, Jael.
• Jael treats Sisera with hospitality, but is secretly outraged
about Sisera’s actions.
• When Sisera is asleep, she hammers a tent peg through his
skull and kills him.
• Ever after, Jael is glorified in the Canticle of Deborah.
Gideon the Lowly
• After 40 years of peace, the Israelites again fall into evil
practices of worshiping Canaanite gods.
• Gideon’s tribe is oppressed by Midianite desert dwellers.
• The Israelites cry for God’s mercy.
• God decides to save the people through Gideon.
• In a dream, Gideon is told to destroy the altar of the
Canaanite god Baal, built by idolatrous Israelites.
Samson: Strong Man & Victim of Himself
• Several stories tell of Samson’s
exploits against the Philistines, all
of which involve strength and
disastrous relationships with
women.
– Samson kills a lion barehanded
– He slaughters 30 Philistines
– After he is captured, he kills 1000
Philistines with the jawbone of a
donkey.
– The secret of his strength is his long
hair.
Samson & Delilah
• Eventually, he becomes infatuated with
Delilah, a woman bribed by the
Philistines to find out the secret of his
strength.
• Samson falls for Delilah’s tricks and
tells her the secret of his strength is the
length of his hair.
• Once asleep, she cuts Samson’s hair
and he is captured.
Samson In Captivity
• Once captured, Samson is
tortured and made a slave, but
his hair grows back.
• When the Philistines make sport
of him in the temple of their
chief god, Samson stands
between the pillars and pushes
them over.
• The temple collapses, killing
Samson and the Philistines at
the scene.
Success and Failure in the
Books of Joshua and Judges
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• When the Israelites were faithful to their Covenant with God,
they experienced military success.
• When the Israelites were disobedient to the Covenant, they
experienced military defeat.
The Israelites
worship
other gods.
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The judge dies
and the cycle
begins again.
The land has
peace while the
judge lives.
The judge frees the
Israelites from their
enemies.
God becomes
angry and gives
the Israelites over
to the power of
their enemies.
The Israelites cry
out to God.
God raises a
judge to deliver
the Israelites.