Understanding The Bible
1. The Purpose of the Bible
2. The Land of the Bible
3.The Story of the Bible – Old Testament
 Israel’s Settlement in Canaan
Apologetics Question: Was it OK for God to Have the Israelites
Destroy the Canaanites Down to the Women, Children and Infants?
But in the cities of these people that the Lord your God is giving you
for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you
shall devote them to complete destruction ... (Deuteronomy 20:16, 17a ESV)
How do you answer this when non believers (or believers) ask?
Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit
the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. (Joshua 1:6 ESV)
So Joshua took all that land, the hill
country and all the Negeb and all the
land of Goshen and the lowland and
the Arabah and the hill country of
Israel and its lowland from Mount
Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far
as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon
below Mount Hermon. And he
captured all their kings and struck
them and put them to death.
(Joshua 11:16, 17 ESV)
"Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in
faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the
River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your
eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the
River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as
for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
(Joshua 24:14, 15 ESV)
Israel’s Downward Spiral
Under the Judges
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD
and served the Baals. And they abandoned the LORD, the God of
their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They
went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were
around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the
LORD to anger. They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals
and the Ashtaroth. (Judges 2:11-13 ESV)
So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave
them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into
the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer
withstand their enemies. (Judges 2:14 ESV)
Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of
those who plundered them. (Judges 2:16 ESV)
Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other
gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way
in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the
commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so.
(Judges 2:17 ESV)
And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was
established as a prophet of the LORD. (I Samuel 3:20 ESV)
When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. The
name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second,
Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. Yet his sons did not walk in
his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted
justice. (I Samuel 8:1-3)
So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from
him. He said,
"These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and
appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and
some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the
equipment of his chariots.
He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his
servants.
He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his
servants.
He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and
your donkeys, and put them to his work.
He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for
yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." (I Samuel 8:10-18 ESV)
But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said,
"No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the
nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight
our battles." (I Samuel 8:19, 20 ESV)
"Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them
out before you, 'It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has
brought me in to possess this land,' whereas it is because of the
wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before
you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your
heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the
wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out
from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD
swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
(Deuteronomy 9:4, 5 ESV)
Understanding The Bible
1. The Purpose of the Bible
2. The Land of the Bible
3.The Story of the Bible – Old Testament
 Israel’s Settlement in Canaan