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Lecture 8b: Deuteronomistic History - Selected Texts

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Joshua

  • Joshua was the disciple, servant, and successor of Moses. Under his leadership, the Israelites succeeded to conquest Canaan (the Promised Land). He is called in Sirach a "prophet according to the model of Moses"
Joshua 2 - Spies Sent to Jericho & Rahab
  • Now on the Eastern side of the Jordan River
  • From around Nebo, where Moses died, Joshua sent two spies to see if Jericho was well defended
  • The spies arrived in Jericho and were welcomed by Rahab (a prostitute). She shelters them on the roof of her house. Rahab denies having them when the king of Jericho finds out there are two Israelites in the city.
  • The spies escape using a scarlet robe out of the window. Rahab asks them to take mercy on her and her family when they come and conquer Jericho - the sign will be the scarlet robe. In Joshua 6, the siege of Jericho, Rahab and her family will be spared
    • The scarlet robe is considered by the Fathers to be a foreshadow of the redeeming and saving power of the Blood of Christ shed on the Cross
    • Rahab, a Gentile prostitute, is one of the ancestors of the Lord in His genealogy (besides Ruth, a Moabite woman) 
    • Jesus came for the entire fallen humanity, not just for the Jews
    • God is merciful that even a prostitute would be in the genealogy
  • They inform Joshua about Jericho
Joshua 5:13-15 - Joshua's Vision
  • Joshua's Vision of the Angel of the Lord

  • 13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”

    14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

    And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”

    15 Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

  • Two questions and two answers
    • Are you for us or for our adversaries?
      • Are you for Israel or for Jericho? Instead, the answer is "No" - I am with neither one. "But as Commander of the army of the Lord" - He identifies Himself. "I have now come."
      • Joshua detects someone not of this world, so he worships Him. People don't worship regular angels in the Old Testament, but on this occasion, Joshua saw Someone different. He saw a Divine Character. So he worshipped Him
    • What does my Lord say to His servant?
      • Instead of a straight answer like a military command... but He tells him "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy"
      • The place of His appearance is now holy
      • Similar to Exodus 3 when Moses encounters God in a burning bush, hears the voice of God telling him to take off his shoes, for the ground on which he stands is holy
  • God's interventions in time and space turn time and space into a holy entity
    • Holy = Separated from the World; Dedicated to God
    • Holy in Hebrew comes from kadosh from kadar = to separate
Joshua 6 - The Siege of Jericho
  • Through a miracle - Israelites surrounded the city for seven days
  • On the seventh day (Sabbath Day), the Israelites go around the city seven times and the walls/fences of the city fell down by God's intervention
  • When it is the will of God, things will go very easy. When we do things contrary to the will of God, things become complicated
Joshua 23 - Joshua Exhorts the People
  • Before his death, Joshua exhorts the people to observe closely the commandments of the Lord

Judges

Israel is settled in Canaan, and the land is divided among the 12 tribes. When a foreign invader is coming (e.g. the Philistines) to menace the Israelites, the Lord may choose someone (e.g. a farmer) to become the Judge of Israel and lead the military for a short period of time (4 years, 10 years, 20 years) and after your time as a Judge, you return to your life (e.g. as a farmer)

This period lasted around 200 years from 1250 BC to 1050 BC

Judges 4-5 - Deborah and Barak
  • Deborah was a judge, like Barak, but also a prophetess (prophet = called by God to deliver a message)
  • Old Testament introduces us to several female prophets (unusual for the time/place)
    • Miriam - sister of Moses (Exodus 15)
    • Deborah (Judges 4-5)
    • Wife of Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 8)
    • Huldah (2 Kings 22-23)
    • Noadiah (Chronicles)
Judges 6-8 - Gideon
Judges 11 - Jephthah
  • Jephthah was not an Israelite - he was coming from Gilead on the Eastern Side of the Jordan, and he became a Judge (commander in chief, defender) of Israel and had a victory against the foreign enemies. But before the victory, he made an oath to God (in order to force God to give him a victory).
  • Instead of saying "Your will be done" he said "My will be done"
  • If You give me this victory, I will sacrifice any person who comes through that door. And God gave him the victory, but who comes out of his house? His only daughter.
  • Don't be so hard on Jephthah, he is a Gileadite not an Israelite. Did not know the law of Israel forbids human sacrifice. 
  • When we proceed on some endeavors, always say "Your will be done, not my will" - don't try to force the hand of God. We ask the Lord for things, but we always end with "Your will, not my will, be done."
Judges 13-16 - Samson
  • Samson went from being a Nazirite, a servant of God, and then married and became a servant of his wife instead
  • Judges 13 - the encounter of Manoah with the Angel of the Lord
  • A Nazirite is like a monk
  • "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?"
  • As in the case with Joshua, Manoah and his wife worship the Angel of the Lord - He is different from a regular angel/messenger.
  • The Fathers of the Church see that this is God the Logos in a pre-incarnation appearance

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 1-3 - Samuel's Birth, Calling and Prophetic Activity
  • Hannah was barren (again!?) and birth happened through a miracle done by God
  • Hannah delivers a beautiful song in 1 Samuel 2
  • The calling of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3
    • He is the last judge and the first prophet
    • The prophetic movement in Israel starts with Samuel
    • He is called by God when he is a teenager and becomes a spokesperson of God
1 Samuel 5 - The Philistines and the Ark
  • The idols of the Philistines would fall down before the Ark of God, and the people of the cities would be struck with disease in their private parts
  • So they moved the Ark to another city and the same thing happened
1 Samuel 9 - Samuel Anoints Saul as King
  • Saul is taken to Samuel by divine intervention, and Samuel recognizes him by the prophetic eye
1 Samuel 16 - Samuel Anoints David as King
  • Saul dies without establishing a dynasty
  • David is the first King of Israel that established a dynasty (1000 BC - 536 BC The Babylonian Exile)
1 Samuel 20 - The Friendship of David and Jonathan
1 Samuel 28 - Saul Consults a Medium
  • In the wake of a battle with the Philistines consults a medium (witch)
  • Prophet Samuel is in Sheol, but this medium brings him up Saul is terrified.
  • Samuel reveals to Saul the outcome of the next day

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 1 - David Mourns for Saul and Jonathan
  • Despite Saul's persecution of David, David in his humility mourns him
2 Samuel 6 - David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem
  • David was so passionate about the Ark coming that he danced in front of the Ark
  • Michal, his wife, daughter of King Saul, thought "what a buffoon" and God punished her with barrenness
2 Samuel 7 - God's Covenant with David (cf. Ps 89; 132)
  • So far we had two covenants
    • Abraham in Genesis 12
    • Israel on Mt Sinai in Exodus 19
  • God promises David His steadfast love and His loyalty
    • On your throne will be your Seed established forever
    • Christians take this as being a prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ
2 Samuel 11-12 - David and Bathsheba; Nathan Condemns David
  • The great sins David committed: Adultery with Bathsheba, and Murder of her husband
  • Nathan condemns David and David has to pay the consequences
  • One of the consequences is the rebellion of Absalom, the son of David, against his father
2 Samuel 14-15 - David and Absalom
  • David reacts to Absalom's rebellion humbly
  • "A man according to the heart of God" (Acts 13:22)

1 Kings

1 Kings 1-2 - The Struggle for Succession; Solomon as King; David's Death
1 Kings 3 - Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom
1 Kings 6 - Solomon Builds the Temple
  • First Temple built by Solomon, would be destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar
1 Kings 8:22-53 - Solomon's Prayer of Dedication
  • This prayer is used by the Orthodox Churches when they are consecrated and dedicated
1 Kings 11 - Solomon's Errors, Jeroboam's Rebellion, and Solomon's Death
1 Kings 12 - The Division of the Kingdom: Jeroboam (Northern Kingdom of Israel)
1 Kings 14 - Rehoboam Reigns over Judah
1 Kings 18 - Prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel
  • Non-writing Prophets: Elijah, Elisha, Nathan, etc.
  • King Ahab marries Jezebel, a Phoenician, who brought 900 prophets that serve Baal and Asherah - Elijah has a competition with those prophets on Mount Carmel
  • God is on the side of Elijah
  • The prophets serving Baal were executed
  • Elijah is afraid that Queen Jezebel would be after him
  • Elijah goes to Mount Sinai (probably the same place that Moses met God)
1 Kings 19:11-18 - Elijah Meets God at Horeb
  • Horeb or Sinai 
  • God speaks to Elijah like a "murmuring sound"
1 Kings 22 - Prophet Micaiah Ben Imla and the Heavenly Court
  • What does the Heavenly Court look like? Just God? No, God has a Court that executes His decisions

2 Kings

2 Kings 2 - Elijah Ascends to Heaven; Elisha Succeeds Elijah
  • Elijah ascends to heaven
  • Elijah and also Enoch (in Genesis) did not die a physical death, but were taken up to heaven by God
2 Kings 4 - Elisha Raises the Shunammite's Son
  • Elijah and Elisha foreshadow the Lord Jesus Christ because they raised the dead
2 Kings 14 - Jeroboam II Reigns Over Israel
  • Emergence of the first written prophets (Hosea, Amos, Isaiah, Micah)
2 Kings 16 - Ahaz Reigns Over Judah
2 Kings 17 - Hoshea Reigns Over Israel; the End of the Northern Kingdom; Israel Carried Captive to Assyria
  • Assyrians led by Sargon II against Samaria
2 Kings 19-20 - King Hezekiah and Isaiah
  • Prayer of Hezekiah, we see how God is merciful even to change His mind
  • King Hezekiah was crying in prayer and God added 15 years to his life
2 Kings 22-23 - King Josiah of Judah
  • Three good kings of Judah - Asa, Hezekiah and Josiah
2 Kings 24 - The Fall and Captivity of Judah
  • 586-587 BC with the siege of Jerusalem and the burning of the city and the Temple by King Nebuchadnezzar
  • The inhabitants are brought to the Babylonian Exile
  • The exile will end with the Edict of the Persian King Cyrus (539 BC), that permits all nations captive in Babylon to go back to their homes. Judahites return home to build the Temple
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