by Wells, Steve
JOSHUA 24
24 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
(24.2) “They served other gods.”
9 How many gods are there?
3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
(24.5-12) God brags about his previous genocides and promises more, if the Israelites will obey him.
5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
(24.5) “I plagued Egypt.”
6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.
7 And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
(24.7) “The Lord … brought the sea upon them.”
8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
(24.8) “I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.”
9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
11 And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
(24.11) “I delivered them into your hand.”
12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
(24.12) “I sent the hornet before you.” God sent hornets to fight for the Israelites.
13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
(24.13) “I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not.” God gave the Israelites other peoples’ stuff (after killing them all).
14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
(24.14) “Fear the Lord … and put away the gods which your fathers served.”
132 Should we fear God?
9 How many gods are there?
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
(24.15) “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”
158 Do humans have free will?
16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
17 For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
18 And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.
19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
(24.19) “God … will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.”
168 Does God forgive sins?
20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
(24.20) “If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you.” God is jealous and will never forgive you for your sins. “He will turn and do you hurt, and consume you.”
21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.
24 And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.
32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
(24.32) “The bones of Joseph … buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor.”
169 Who bought the sepulcher?
33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.
JUDGES
And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel. — Judges 19.29
Judges is a violent book, even by biblical standards. It begins by cutting off the thumbs and big toes of a captured king and ends with a genocide following the dismemberment of a concubine’s body. Along the way it describes, with apparent relish and approval, a gruesome “message from God” (a knife blade stuck deeply into a fat man’s belly); a tent stake driven through a sleeping man’s skull; a couple of severed heads delivered to Gideon; the killing of 69 brothers upon a single stone; a daughter killed by her father as a sacrifice to God; 300 foxes tied together by their tails and lit on fire; 1000 men killed with a jawbone of an ass; and, in what is probably the most disgusting story in all literature, the rape, death and mutilation of the Levite’s concubine. And I’ve left a lot out. Read it yourself, if you have a strong enough stomach, that i
s.
Be sure to check out:
Cutting off the thumbs and big toes of a captured king. 1.6-7
Five massacres, a wedding, and some God-proof iron chariots 1.9-19
God sells the Israelites into slavery. 2.14, 3.8, 4.2, 6.1, 10.7, 13.1
Ehud’s message from God. 3.20-22
Shamgar kills 600 Philistines with an ox goad. 3.31
Jael drives a tent stake through her guest’s head. 4.17-23, 5.24-26
God takes Gideon’s fleece/dew test. 6.36-40
He finds a few good men with a dog-lapping test. 7.4-7
“The Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow.” 7.22
Two princes killed and their heads delivered to Gideon 7.25
Gideon tears the flesh of the elders of Succoth and kills the men of the city. 8.7, 16-17
Abimelech kills 69 brothers “upon one stone.” 9.5
A city is massacred and 1000 people burn to death because of God’s evil spirit. 9.23-57
Jephthah sacrifices his daughter to God. 11.29-39
42,000 die for failing the “Shibboleth” test. 12.6
The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Samson and he murders 30 men for their clothes. 14.19
Samson catches 300 foxes, ties their tails together, and sets them on fire. 15.4-5
He kills 1000 men with the jawbone of an ass. 15.14-16
He kills 3000 in a suicide terrorist attack. 16.27-30
The massacre of the peaceful, unsuspecting people 18.26-27
Gang rape and dismemberment of the Levite’s concubine. 19.22-30
A holy civil war called by twelve rotting concubine body parts. 20.1-48
A God-approved genocide to provide wives for 400 of the 600 surviving Benjamites of God’s civil war. 21.11-14
200 virgins of Shiloh are stolen to provide wives for remaining Benjamite civil war survivors. 21.19-23
JUDGES 1
(1.2-7) The Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites
After Joshua died, the Israelites wondered who was going to do their killing for them. God told them not to worry; he had selected the tribe of Judah to kill the Canaanites and steal their land. The first killing was easy, since God delivered them into their hand, killing 10,000 Canaanites and Perizzites. After the slaughter, they capture Adonibezek and “cut off his thumbs and great toes” to pay him back for doing the same to seventy other kings. (Abonibezek fed his table scraps to seventy thumbless and big toe-less kings who lived under his dinner table.)
God’s 39th Killing
1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
(1.1) “After the death of Joshua … the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?”
2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.
(1.2) “And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.”
3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.
4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
(1.4) “The LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.”
5 And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
(1.6) “But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.”
7 And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
(1.7) “Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table.”
8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
(1.8a) The Jerusalem Massacre
The Israelites killed everyone in Jerusalem and set the city on fire.
God’s 40th Killing
(1.8b) “The children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.”
9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.
(1.10-25) Five massacres, a wedding, and some God-proof iron chariots
After the Jerusalem Massacre “the children of Judah” go on a God-assisted killing spree, wiping out entire kingdoms “with the edge of the sword.” It’s hard to say how many cities were massacred, but there were at least five: three in Hebron, along with Zephath and Bethel. And there would have been a lot more, too, if it weren’t for those damned iron chariots (v.19). Some things are just too hard, even for God.
God’s 41st Killing
These killings also contain an important message about Biblical Family Values. In verses 12 and 13, God’s special hero (Caleb) gave his daughter to the man who could kill the most people. Now that’s family values for you!
10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher:
12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
(1.12-13) “Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher … will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. And Othniel … took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.” Caleb offers to give his daughter to whoever conquers the city of Debir. Caleb’s nephew wins the contest and is given his cousin for a prize.
14 And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?
15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.
16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.
19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
(1.17-19a) “They slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it … And the Lord was with Judah.” (You can tell by the number of innocent people he killed.)
(1.19b) “The Lord … could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.”
59 Can God do anything?
170 Can God stop iron chariots?
20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
(1.21-29) “The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem …
neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites.” God promised many times that he would drive out all the inhabitants of the lands they encountered. (Ex 33.2; Dt 7.1, 7.24, 9.4-6, 31.3-7; Jos 1.1-5, 3.10, 17.17-18, 21.43-45) But these verses show that God failed to keep his promise since he was unable to drive out the Canaanites.
21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el: and the LORD was with them.
23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry Beth-el. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.
25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.
(1.25) “When he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.” The Israelite spies killed everyone in Bethel, except for the man (and his family) who showed them how to enter the city.
26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.
27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
(1.27) “Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.”
28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.