Chapter 5
The Journey Takes New
Shape:
A People at Home
Pages 106 - 123
INTRODUCTION pgs 106-108
Some background info…
Deuteronomy means “second law”
The book of Deuteronomy and the next
6 Historical Books of the Bible have
Religious and Theological themes in
common.
Can you list the books?
Priesthood in the Old
Testament
• In post-Exilic Times (after the Exiles) only priests
could offer the Temple sacrifices.
• Priesthood was inherited
• Tribe of Levi or descendants of Aaron
• 24 classes of priests
• Some offered scarifies in the Temple (rotating
weekly)
• Other priests performed daily sacrifices
• Others were Temple priests
• Leader of the priests “High Priest” who had a lot
of authority
• ONLY he was allowed to enter the “Holy of
the Holies” on the Day of Atonement (once a
year) to offer sacrifice on behalf of the
people
3 Laws found ONLY in Deuteronomy
Offer sacrifice ONLY in the Temple in Jerusalem
Do not worship the stars. (astrology)
Celebrate the Passover each year. ( The most
important Jewish feast to this day!)
What is a Sacrifice (Temple Sacrifice)??
An offering made to God as an act of worship.
 After the offering the sacrifice is consumed (eaten) or destroyed so that it can’t be used
for any other purpose.
Why do people engage in ritual sacrifice?
 To communicate with the deity (god) that they worship
 Praise, Thanksgiving, Petition, Atonement for sin
Jerusalem (the capital city)
Restricting sacrifices to the Temple in
Jerusalem was a great way to promote
tourism in Palestine.
This basically forced observant Jews to visit
the capital city every now and then.
587 BC
Most Biblical scholars agree that the first 6 books of the
Historical Section were completed after 587 BC
WHY?
The last event described in 2 Kings is the beginning of the
Babylonian Exile which means that historically the writing
would have to have happened after 587 BC
UNDERSTANDING THE EVENTS OF
SETTLEMENT PG.S 108-114
How did the early settlement of Palestine by the
Israelites take place?
 Told in the Books of Joshua & Judges
 Remember – Scripture is meant to teach us a “Religious Lesson”. There is history and
some facts in the Scripture but the Bible is NOT a History Textbook or a Science Book.
 The religion of the God named YHWH was very different from the religions of
Egypt and Canaan
 It is believed that Joshua was put in charge of the Israelites when Moses
died.
 He was a military leader
 The Israelite “army” attacked the Promised Land that began with the conquest of
Jericho
 Between the years 1250 BC to 1200 BC
The earliest reference to
“Israel” as a people (outside of the Bible)
is from an inscription of the Pharaoh
Merneptah in 1207BC; in which he claims
to have defeated the Israelites.
Remember the people called “Israelites”
were not immediately a nation. After
arriving to Canaan (Promised Land) they
lived as the Israelites within the nation of
Canaan.
The Battle of Jericho
Beginning of the book of Joshua
According to Scripture Jericho is
conquered by means of a miracle of
God
What is the message? (Religious Truth)
An illustration of how the Israelites should
depend on God over their own strength and
abilities.
The miraculous nature of the battle in order
to emphasize this point: when the Israelites
have faith, God takes care of them.
Joshua & Jesus (pg. 110)
The Greek name for Joshua and Jesus is the same: Iesous
This is meant to connect Jesus’ mission and ministry with the stories of
Joshua leading the Israelites
Promised Land is a place (Canaan) but it is also an idea (Eternal
Life)
In Hebrew Joshua’s name is “YHWH is Salvation” which means “YHWH
Saves!”
Remember the name “YHWH” is the name of God given to the Israelites.
Lecture 1 Ch. 5 Done!
Lecture #2
The Battle of Jericho cont…
The Israelites marched around the city for 6 days
The number “6” in Hebrew means “incomplete”
On the 7th day they marched around the city 7 times while
sounding horns
The number “7” in Hebrew means “complete”
Why is it appropriate that the Israelites defeat Jericho on the 7th day?
The walls of the city collapsed after that!
What’s the connection to the Story of Creation?
The 6 Books of Deuteronomic History
1. Joshua
2. Judges
3. 1 Samuel
4. 2 Samuel
5. 1 Kings
6. 2 Kings
The Book of Ruth is not included in this list.
• This “book” might have been attached to
another book and later Greek or Latin
editors pieced it out as it’s own book.
• It is also believed that the book was most
likely written after the Babylonian Exile.
• Another reason for the books placement
among these Deuteronomic Books is that
it connects Ruth to King David.
The Book of Ruth
 Ruth is a Moabite woman (not ethnically a Jew)
 A foreign woman’s fidelity to the Jewish family of her husband
 Ruth follows her mother-in-law Naomi back to Judah after the death of her
husband.
 Eventually Ruth does marry again in observance of the Law in Leviticus
about marrying her nearest male relative. (Levirate Marriage)
 She marries Boaz (relative by marriage not by blood)
 T he son she has through this marriage is “legally” the son of her dead husband.
 Thus allowing property to remain within the clan (family)
 Ruth is sealed in the Covenant of the Israelites through her marriages (and
son) thus she is an ancestor of King David and Jesus.
 She is connected to King David in her genealogy
 The book claims to come from the time of Judges
Miracle Warfare
An example of this is when Gideon’s army must carry a
horn and a torch (not a sword).
God commands Gideon to actually reduce his army (not
increase).
Why does God give instructions like this right before going
into battle?
What point is God trying to make?
The 7 Elements of St. Augustine’s Just War Doctrine
1. It must be a just cause.
2. The aggressor nation must
have already attacked and
caused serious harm.
3. War can only be declared by
those with proper authority to
do so.
4. All peaceful means to resolve
the conflict must be proven
ineffectual.
5. Non-combatants must be
protected.
6. There must be legitimate
hope of victory and eventual
peaceful relations.
7. Weapons used in defense
must not cause graver evil
than those being inflicted by
the aggressor nation.
How the Judges Lead…
 The typical response of the Judges when people asked them to be king
was?
 The Lord must rule over you!
 Why do you think this would be the response?
 In reality Samson’s strength came from?
The Role and Duties of the Judges
 Military Leadership
 Settling political disputes within the tribes
 Reminding the people to turn to God
Joshua & Judges
Central religious message in both of these books is that the
people are to turn away from false gods and to trust the One True
God completely!
 How are the stories of conquest different in these books?
 Judges suggests that some battles continued after the settlement in Canaan.
 Judges describes a “mixed” population of people existing alongside the Israelite community.
Joshua describes more of a complete conquest.
 The details of particular battles also have differences between the two books.
Why Palestine?
Important to Know
Archeological evidence does suggest that the Israelites lived in the Hill
Country
Reasons the Israelites settled in the Hill Country of
Palestine?
Escape the political unrest and battles taking place in the coastal towns
To avoid conflict with the sea peoples who arrived into the coastal towns
Escape the oppression the poor experienced in the coastal cities.
More liberal Israelites laws seemed to provide for a better life.
THE
END