Week 5 | The Gift of the Land | Joshua, Judges, Ruth We’ve come to the Bible because we want to know: What is wrong with us? What is wrong with our world? What is God doing to fix it, and how will it all turn out in the end? We’ve seen in our study thus far that our core problem is the problem of human sin. The result of the fall of man is that we have all been infected with an ugly corruption of soul that leads to an arrogant disdain for God and nastiness in our hearts toward others. We are enslaved to sin and death; nevertheless, there’s glorious hope for salvation for us. God has proclaimed His purpose to conquer sin and death. God revealed in Genesis 3:15 that there will be a Man—the seed (or offspring) of the woman—and this Man will crush the head of the Evil One. This Warrior-to-come will rescue us from our slavery to sin and death. The book of Genesis reveals that this future Savior will be a King from the tribe of Judah who will reign over all nations—over all the world. And so we see that God is building His glorious Kingdom, and one day this Promised One will come into our world to reign as King, and He will change everything. We’ve seen in our study of the book of Genesis that God selected a man—Abraham—and God revealed His plan in the form of a Covenant—a binding commitment that was expressed in the form of Promise. The promises that God gave to Abraham were three:

• God promised to give to Abraham a land for the possession of Abraham and his offspring • God promised that Abraham would have many descendants—kings would come from Abraham’s

offspring. Nations would come from him. • Abraham would be blessed by God, and most importantly, through Abraham’s offspring, all nations

on earth would be blessed. All nations on earth would have the opportunity of knowing the grace and love of God.

God has promised to give His people a land where they will put down roots and He will dwell among them. As the book of Joshua opens, God’s people are poised at the border of that land. God’s promise seems to be on the verge of fulfillment. God has promised that Abraham would be the father of a huge multitude of descendants. As the book of Joshua opens, the nation has grown to be a multitude of well over one million. God has promised blessing for the children of Abraham, and the notion of blessing flows from the concept of the nearness of God, the embrace of God, the good favor of God. As God’s people come to the border of Canaan, God still dwells with them. God has led them there; God has provided all their needs; God remains in their midst. We see as we come to the book of Joshua that none of God’s promises have failed. Final fulfillment is not yet complete, but God has been unswervingly faithful to His people. 1. Reflect back on what you’ve seen as you’ve looked at the course of Biblical history thus far.

a. What strikes you about how swiftly (or slowly) God fulfills His promises? What does this teach you about the problems you are encountering today? How does this bring you comfort as you consider the ongoing challenges you face in your life?

b. God has rescued His people from slavery, but their response has been characterized by grumbling and

rebellion. What does God’s continued presence with His people tell you about God? How does that bring encouragement to you as you consider your relationship with God?

The Book of Joshua – Come and Take It 2. Read Joshua 1:1-9.

a. Which of God’s promises to Abraham is about to be fulfilled at this point in Israel’s history? (Joshua 1:6)

b. What does God command Joshua to do in Joshua 1:7?

c. What personal practice should Joshua do to help him live in obedience to God? (Joshua 1:8)

d. How does this command to Joshua (Joshua 1:8) apply to us today? Have you found a way to implement this concept in your life?

3. Read Joshua 21:43-45. By God’s sovereign power and Joshua’s human leadership, the people of Israel moved into the land of Canaan, defeated the godless tribes that challenged them, and took possession of the Promised Land. God fulfills His promises.

a. Joshua gave a farewell address to the people of Israel just before his death. Read Joshua 24:2-7 and Joshua 24:13-15. What does Joshua challenge God’s people to do? (Joshua 24:14)

b. Read Joshua 23:12-16. What does God declare that He will do if Israel turns away from God?

God promised Abraham that He would give this land to Abraham’s offspring, and God has done so. By the final pages of the book of Joshua, Israel possesses the land, but according to the Covenant given at Sinai, Israel’s continued presence in the land is conditional on their continued faithfulness. Will Israel remain faithful? That question is addressed in the book of Judges.

The book of Judges – The Progressive Deterioration of God’s People 4. In the book of Joshua, the spotlight was on God’s power, provision, and faithfulness. In the book of Judges,

the spotlight is on God’s people—their rebellion, the ugliness of their sin, and their decline as a nation whenever they disregarded God.

a. Refer back to the book of Numbers. Read Numbers 33:50-53. What did God command His people to do after they took possession of the land?

b. Read Numbers 33:55. What did God warn would happen if the Israelites failed to drive out the inhabitants of the land God was giving to them?

5. Although God had promised that He would be with His people as they took possession of the land and drove the Canaanites out of the land; nevertheless, each tribe of Israel failed to obey God. They allowed the Canaanites to remain among them. Judges chapter 2 is a brief account of the course of 400 years of Israel’s history after the death of Joshua.

a. Read Judges 2:10-13. How did the generations after Joshua turn away from God? What did they do?

b. How did God respond to their disobedience? Judges 2:14-15

c. When God’s people suffered distress at the hands of their enemies, what did God do for them? Judges 2:16-18.

6. God sent judges to lead His people—military warriors who would save God’s people from the oppression of their enemies. The judges were flawed human saviors who were raised up by God to demonstrate God’s mercy and to overthrow Israel’s oppressors. In spite of God’s repeated intervention to rescue His people, the nation was tracking a descending spiral of sin—a descending spiral into deep depravity. The influence of the judges was temporary; their leadership did not effectively move the nation to live in obedience to God.

a. The book of Judges gives an account of the highlights of 400 years of Israel’s history. Read Judges 17:6 and Judges 21:25. How were the people of God living in the Promised Land making decisions about what was right and what was wrong during these dark centuries?

b. The people of Israel did what seemed right in their own eyes, but what is God’s verdict of how they lived? (See Judges 2:11). This verdict is repeated in Judges 3:7, 3:12, 4:1, 6:1, 10:6, and 13:1.

c. Do you see a correspondence between the Israelites’ view of right and wrong with our culture’s common view today?

The Book of Ruth – A Kinsman-Redeemer is Coming 7. Whereas the book of Judges paints an ugly picture of the corruption and faithlessness of God’s people Israel,

the book of Ruth stands as a beautiful picture of God’s love and mercy for His people of faith.

a. Read Ruth chapter 1. Elimelech and Naomi and their two sons left the people of God to move to Moab to escape a time of famine in Israel. After the deaths of Elimelech and his sons, Naomi was left destitute. She decided to return to Israel. Naomi’s daughter-in-law Ruth was utterly determined to stay with Naomi. From Ruth’s promise in Ruth 1:16-17, what do you observe about Ruth’s decision?

b. Read Ruth chapter 2. How is God’s goodness evident through Ruth’s experience gleaning for grain?

c. Read Ruth chapters 3 and 4. Through the marriage of Ruth and Boaz, what extraordinary blessings has God provided…

i. for Naomi?

ii. For Ruth?

iii. For Israel? (hint: in Ruth 4:17, there is a reference to David, the greatest of all Israel’s kings)

d. Have you experienced in your life an extraordinary, unexpected blessing from God? Share if you feel comfortable.