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God Keeps His Promise – A Study in Joshua, Judges, And Ruth

Introduction to Joshua and Judges

Joshua

The book of Joshua is a continuation of the history of the Pentateuch. Joshua is an indispensable bridge between the books of Moses and the history of Israel in the land of Canaan. Just as Exodus is the story of God leading His people out of Egypt, so Joshua is the story of God leading His people into the Promised Land. It records Israel’s crossing the Jordan River into Canaan after Moses’ death, as well as the conquest and settlement of Canaan by the twelve tribes under Joshua’s leadership. The Biblical date for Israel’s invasion of Canaan is about 1405 B.C. The book covers the next 25-30 years of Israel’s history. Joshua would complete the good work He began despite the unbelief of the nation. The people hadn’t changed; they were still faithless. Nevertheless, God’s promise would be fulfilled and the seed of Abraham would be planted in the covenant land to take root and grow.

The authorship of the book is credited to Joshua by Jewish tradition and was completed after his death by Eleazar the high priest and his son Phinehas. Internal evidence strongly indicates that the author was an eyewitness of the conquest.

The events of this book follow those recorded in the last chapter of Deuteronomy. The people of Israel were encamped on the Plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River. Moses had died, and Joshua had become the leader. The book divides into three sections. The first section describes Joshua’s commissioning by God as Moses’ successor and Israel’s preparation for entering Canaan, their crossing the Jordan, and their first covenant activities in the land. The second section describes how Israel marched obediently against well-armed cities with fortified walls. God gave His people decisive victories in central, southern, and northern Canaan. The highly unusual manner in which Jericho was conquered clearly demonstrated to Israel that God was in charge of their salvation. Section three records the distribution of the land by Joshua to the twelve tribes, the inheritance of Caleb, the six cities of refuge, and the 48 Levite cities among the tribes.

Joshua’s name is the Hebrew equivalent of the name “Jesus” in the New Testament. In his role of leading Israel into the promised land, Joshua is an Old Testament type or foreshadowing of Jesus, whose role is to bring many sons to glory. The man Joshua is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ who won the victory over sin and Satan and who gives rest to those who trust Him. Joshua’s career illustrates the victory we have through faith. Each of us has an inheritance to claim, a “land” to conquer, and Joshua tells us how to do it.

Judges

Although the authorship of Judges is uncertain, the Jewish Talmud and early Christian tradition say that Judges, Ruth, and Samuel were all written by Samuel.

The book of Judges is the main historical link between Joshua and the time of Israel’s kings. The period of the judges dates from about 1375 to 1050 B.C. during which time Israel was a confederacy of tribes. The book derives its name from the individuals whom God raised up periodically to lead and deliver the Israelites after they had backslidden and fallen under the oppression of foreign neighbors. Judges is the book of “no king”. God was to be their King, but the nation refused to obey Him. Their disobedience led to defeat, discipline, and decay. Eight times we are told that the people “did evil” in God’s sight and therefore had to be chastened. When God disciplined them, they cried out for mercy and were delivered, but then they lapsed back into their evil ways and had to be disciplined again. Thirteen judges were raised up at different times to deliver Israel. The judges were military leaders and civil magistrates from different tribes. By heroic deeds of faith, they executed God’s judgment and overthrew their oppressors, thereby restoring a measure of peace and freedom to the people. Some are given extensive coverage in the book while others are mentioned in only one or two verses. They came from nine different tribes and delivered their people from the Mesopotamians, Moabites, Philistines, Canaanites, Midianites, and Ammonites. No judge ruled over the entire nation until Samuel.

Historically, Judges provides the main record of Israel’s history in the promised land from Joshua’s death to the time of Samuel. Theologically, it reveals the spiritual and moral decline of the tribes after settling in the promised land, showing clearly the adverse consequences that always occurred when Israel forgot its covenant with the Lord and went instead in the direction of idolatry and immorality.

God bringing strength out of human weakness is uniquely chronicled in this fascinating book. In fact, in a sense, the Book of Judges is a commentary on the three verses, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

The book of Judges reveals an enduring divine principle: when God uses a person in His service, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him. God’s way of overthrowing the enemy and advancing His kingdom is by the energy, strength and power of the Holy Spirit working through yielded and obedient human vessels.                                                     Gary Amick

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All scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.