Joshua, Judges. Ruth

Joshua Theme

The Lord keeps his promises.

Joshua Outline

I. Israel enters the promised land

II. Israel conquers the promised land

III. Israel divides up the promised land

IV. Joshua’s farewell address

What would make (and did make) Joshua a successful leader:

Meditation on the law day and night

The Battles of Jericho and Ai and the lesson Israel learned from them:

Jericho was heavily defended with large walls. They were victorious because they obeyed strange commands: march around the city for seven days and on the seventh day blow ram’s horns and the city wall will fall. They were supposed to destroy all the plunder. Ai was small and unfortified, a seemingly easy victory. However, Israel was in a state of disobedience, retaining plunder from Jericho, resulting in embarrassing defeat. When the obeyed, God fought for them.

When they disobeyed, they were on their own

The tabernacle’s first location in the promised land:

Shiloh (the middle of the land)

Answer criticism of God’s command to kill Canaanites

The God of love also is the God who sends wrath on all workers of iniquity. The solution to God permitting evil in the world is not found in redefining God, but in receiving the salvation he provides through his Son, our Savior. The Holy war only has meaning because it is preparation for Jesus.

Judges Theme:

Cycles of Disobedience and Deliverance

Judges Outline

I. Introduction to the cycle of the judges (1-2)

II. The cycle of judges (3-16)

III. Examples of religious and moral corruption (17-21)

The four-part cycle of the judges

1. Idolatry

2. Defeat

3. Deliverance

4. Rest

Description of one of the judges (traits and actions) in detail

Samson was a judge who took the Nazarite vow. He did not cut his hair, avoided dead bodies, and avoided wine. He took revenge on his father-in-law by burning his crops, killing many people with a jawbone, sleeping with a prostitute, telling Delilah the secret to his strength, and ending up at the temple with his eyes gouged out. Samson had strength as long as God was with him.

The two kinds of corruption prevalent during the period of the judges, an example for each:

An example of religious corruption would be the making of idols and making people who are not supposed to be priests priests. An example of moral corruption would be the rape of the Levite concubine to death and the subsequent actions of cutting up her body and shocking the rest of Israel into action against the Benjamenites. The Benjamenites are slaughtered, and they replace their wives by stealing.

Ruth Summary

Set during the period of the judges, Ruth illustrates God's covenant faithfulness (hesed) and providential care in the midst of spiritual darkness. Naomi and her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth return to Bethlehem as impoverished widows after the deaths of their husbands. Ruth demonstrates profound loyalty to Naomi and the God of Israel. In Bethlehem, Ruth gleans in the fields of Boaz, a wealthy relative who acts as their kinsman-redeemer by buying back the family land and marrying Ruth. Their son Obed becomes the father of Jesse and grandfather of King David, showing how God works through ordinary faithfulness to prepare the lineage of Jesus Christ.

Ruth Theme

Love and faithfulness during the period of the judges

Historical context of Ruth

During the time of the Judges