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ii) “By invading Western Palestine by the ford near Jericho instead of advancing round
the S[outh] of the Dead Sea, Joshua was able to drive a wedge between the
Canaanites on the N[orth] and those in the S[outh] of the country, and thus to
prevent a union of all the tribes against him.
iii) [SLIDE 2.1] “The first attack was made upon Jericho. This was the key to Western
Palestine, for it was on the way to all the passes of importance into the interior.
iv) [SLIDE 2.2] “Jericho taken, Ai, another town on the principal road to the W[est],
soon followed.
v) [SLIDE 2.3] “The Gibeonites by a trick secured an alliance with the conqueror, who
marched to attack the kings of the S[outh] and defeated them in a pitched battle at
Bethhoron, [SLIDE 2.4] afterwards overrunning their country and destroying their
towns.
vi) [SLIDE 2.5] “Thereafter the victorious leader turned his attention to the kings of the
N[orth] and defeated them in a great battle near the waters of Merom.”2
vii)[SLIDE 2.6] “After defeating the Northern Canaanite Confederacy at Merom, Joshua
burned Hazor, but spared the other cities….
viii) “The Northern Campaign closed the war of conquest, although strife continued
between Israel and her neighbors for several centuries.”3
c) Joshua 1: The Lord calls Joshua.
i) What challenges do you think Joshua faced when the Lord called him to succeed
Moses in leading the Israelites? (He was to lead Israel in the conquest and
settlement of Canaan, which was a mighty undertaking. He was also taking the
place of a great leader.)
ii) Joshua 1:5–9. What assurance did the Lord give Joshua as Joshua prepared to enter
the promised land? What counsel did the Lord give Joshua? Which one did he repeat
three times?
(1) What does this counsel mean to us today in our callings?
d) (Joshua 2.) Joshua sends two spies into Jericho to assess the enemy’s strength. They are
concealed by Rahab, a prostitute. They promise to save her and her household. The spies
return to Joshua with a favorable report (Joshua 2:24).4
e) Joshua 3–4: The Israelites cross the Jordan River.
i) Joshua 3:7. What did the Lord promise Joshua?
ii) Joshua 3:13–17. What did the priests who carried the ark have to do before the
waters of the Jordan River stopped? (They had to step into the overflowing river
while carrying the ark.)
(1) How does the Lord sometimes ask similar things of us?
2 J.R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1973 [34th printing]), 141.
3 Charles P. Pfeiffer, Baker’s Bible Atlas (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2003), 94.
4 Contrast their report with the one the ten spies gave to Moses in Numbers 13:31.
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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth Week 12, Page 3
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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth Week 12, Page 4
9 This is another example of the ancient Israelite’s geocentric cosmology (see Old Testament notes, week 3, pages 4–5;
http://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/ot/week03/arot03_notes.pdf). If the sun and moon are just objects moving across
the dome of the sky (“the firmament”), it would be a relatively simple matter to hold them in place. But since the earth is a
rotating globe, as we now know it to be, explaining this story becomes much more difficult. (The Reformer Martin Luther, who
taught that the Bible was the infallible word of God, rejected the idea that the earth orbited the sun because Joshua
commanded the sun, not the earth, to stand still.) The earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours, which means that, at the
equator, it’s moving at 1,040 miles per hour. Suddenly stopping the rotation of the earth would have cataclysmic effects on the
planet and all life on it (see http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=16 and http://www-
istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/StarFAQ10.htm#q165). Considering the significant problems with stopping the earth’s rotation, it
seems more likely to me that what Joshua and the Israel experienced in their battle with the Amorites was optical illusion that
made it appear that the sun and the moon stood still.
10 This is one of those weird English words that comes from two different roots that just happened to sound alike. The Old
English cleofan (“to split, separate”) came from Proto-Germanic kleubanan (“to cut, slice”). The Old English clifian came from
West Germanic klibajanan (“to stick”). Cleofan and clifian came into Middle English as cleave.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=cleave
11 Marvin J. Ashton, “Straightway,” General Conference, April 1983.
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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth Week 12, Page 5
i) Conclusion
i) Joshua’s final counsel to the Israelites included the same charge that the Lord had
given when calling him to be a prophet—to be strong and to have courage (Joshua
23:1–6). The charge applies as much today as it did then because we are all engaged
in the important spiritual battle between good and evil.
ii) Elder Ezra Taft Benson said that two principles are essential for security and peace:
First, trust in God; and second, a determination to keep the commandments, to
serve the Lord, to do that which is right…. The Lord has made it very clear in the
revelations that even though times become perilous, even though we be
surrounded by temptation and sin, even though there be a feeling of insecurity,
even though men’s hearts may fail them and anxiety fill their souls, if we only
trust in God and keep his commandments we need have no fear.12
2) Judges.
a) Introduction.
i) Israel was united under the prophet-leader Moses for 40 years in the wilderness, and
for another 25 years in Canaan under Joshua.
ii) After the death of Joshua there was no king or central leader in Israel for 250 years
until Saul (Judges 17:6).
iii) Canaan was divided into lands of inheritance for the twelve tribes of Israel, but not
all of those territories were secured until the days of David the king.
(1) [SLIDE 4.3] At the time of the judges, only the central highlands had been
conquered. The coastal plain was still held by the Philistines and the central
valleys by various Canaanite tribes.
(2) The Israelites were not successful in taking the plains and valleys because their
enemies had chariots (Judges 1:19; 4:3, 13). The Israelite infantry could take and
hold the high areas where chariots could not go, but on flat lowlands they were
unable to conquer against a hardened, mobile battle force.13
iv) But Israel’s problem was more than just lack of central leader or a more powerful
enemy: As the book of Judges explains, sin and internal conflict were the main
hindrances to a complete Israelite victory over the Canaanite armies.
b) The judges.
i) [SLIDE 5] The word translated “judge” in the Old Testament has a broader meaning
than in English. It can refer to someone who serves in a judicial function, but it can
also be applied more broadly to anyone who exercises rule. The Hebrew noun shopet
( )שפטיםincludes the ideas “decide,” “judge,” “rule,” “govern,” “vindicate,” and
“deliver.”14
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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth Week 12, Page 6
ii) The judges’ duty was to save the Israelites from their enemies and preserve the peace
among the tribes. They were to dispense absolute, impartial justice and not take
bribes (Deuteronomy 16:19); they were to protect widows, orphans, and strangers
(Deuteronomy 27:17) and not let themselves be unduly influenced by popular
opinion or the plight of the poor (Exodus 23:2–3).
iii) Six judges—Othaniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson—functioned
as military leaders and traditionally have been called the “major judges.” The other
six—Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon—are traditionally called the “minor
judges” because so little is recorded about them. (Abimelech is not treated as a judge,
but as a king.)
c) Outline.
i) [SLIDE 6] Judges 1:1–2:5 presents a review of the conquest of Canaan.
(1) Judges gives a somewhat different view of the conquest than Joshua: Joshua
portrays the conquest as unified action under a single leader, while Judges has
the tribes acting independently.
(2) [SLIDE 7] The conquest of the south is attributed to Judah and Simeon (1:2–21),
and the conquest of Bethel to Joseph (1:22–26); the other tribes fail to drive out
the inhabitants of their territories (1:27–36). An angel of the Lord tells them their
failure is due to their disobedience to the Lord’s commandments (2:1–5).
ii) [SLIDE 8] Judges 2:6–16:31. The exploits of the judges begin with an explanation of
the cycle of sin-punishment-repentance-deliverance that takes place throughout the
book (2:6–3:6).15
(1) The individual judges are then treated in order:
(a) Othniel (3:7–11).
(b) Ehud (3:12–30).
(c) Shamgar (3:31).
(d) Deborah (4:1–24).
(i) The song of Deborah and Barak (5:1–31) is a priceless piece of ancient
Hebrew poetry.
(e) Gideon (6:1–8:32).
(f) Abimelech (8:33–9:57). Abimelech’s story is a turning point in the narrative.
Previous to him, the judges were righteous and had helped secure peace for
Israel. The judges after him were unrighteous, tragic, or ineffective, allowing
Israel to fall into sin and military defeat.
(g) Tola (10:1–2).
(h) Jair (10:3–5).
(i) Jephthah (10:6–12:7)
(j) Ibzan (12:8–10).
(k) Elon (12:11–12).
15 This is the same cycle that is so familiar from the Book of Mormon.
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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth Week 12, Page 7
16 Note the identical statements that bookend this section in 17:6 and 21:25.
17 “Baal Deity” in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, David Noel Freeman, ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 2000), p. 134.
18 Some English translations, including the KJV, transliterate the plural Hebrew term (“Ashtaroth,” cf. NAB, NASB),
pluralize the transliterated Hebrew singular form (“Ashtoreths,” cf. NIV), or use a variation of the name (“Astartes,” cf. NRSV).
Most modern translations simply apply a common plural to the singular “Ashtart.”
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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth Week 12, Page 8
19 Exodus 34:15, 16; Leviticus 17:7; 20:5, 6; Numbers 15:39; Deuteronomy 31:16; Judges 2:17; 8:27; 8:33; 1 Chronicles
5:25; 2 Chronicles 21:13; Psalms 73:27; 106:39; Ezekiel 6:9; 23:30; Hosea 4:12; 9:1.
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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth Week 12, Page 9
This is the duty of a prophet and constitutes the office and calling of a prophet
just as much as the declaration of things which are yet to come.20
f) Gideon
i) Judges 6:11–16. When the angel of the Lord first visits Gideon, he calls him a
“mighty.” What is Gideon’s response? Why does the Lord keep calling men who have
what we would describe as a poor self-image (such as Enoch and Moses)?
ii) Judges 7:2–7. How did the Lord reduce the number of Israelites who were to go into
battle? Why did he do this?
g) Samson
i) The story of Samson is not an uplifting story: He betrays his covenants, marries a
foreigner, engages the services of prostitute, breaks his Nazarite vow, and finally kills
himself in the act of avenging himself by killing 3,000 people.
(1) Why does the Old Testament not only include it, but also give us a great deal of
detail about Samson’s reign?
3) Ruth.
a) Although it is short (only four chapters), Ruth is one of the most moving stories of the
Old Testament.
b) Ruth is another in a series of non-Israelite woman who were nevertheless made
partakers of the covenant, and were eventual ancestors to David the king, and Jesus the
Messiah.
i) Thus, Ruth joins such mixed company as Tamar, the Canaanite wife of Judah’s sons
who had to dress up like a prostitute to get Judah to honor his duties to her under
Levirate marriage;21 and Rahab, the harlot of Jericho who protected the Israelite
spies and as a result gained an inheritance in Israel when everyone else in Jericho
was utterly destroyed.22
ii) Tamar,23 Rahab,24 and Ruth25 are all direct ancestors to David and Jesus.
c) Naomi and her two Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, are widowed. Unlike
her sister-in-law, Ruth chooses to remain with Naomi (Ruth 1:16–17) and seek her
fortunes in a world that is hostile to widows, and even more hostile to Moabites.
d) Through the counsel of her mother-in-law, Ruth courts and marries Boaz. Ruth bears a
son, Obed, who becomes the grandfather of David (Ruth 4:13–17).
4) Next week:
a) Samuel; Saul; David (1–2 Samuel).
© 2010, Mike Parker For personal use only. Not a Church publication.