Unit 5 Israel’s Response to the Covenant under the Judges and Kings

What makes a good leader?

Biblical Passages about Leadership  Independently Read the following verses  Joshua 21:43-22:9Joshua 24  Judges 3:7-11Judges 16:4-22  1 Samuel 8:6-221 Samuel 17:32-51  Answer the following question on a sheet of paper for each verse: What characteristics did the leader demonstrate?

What is a hero?  Name some heroes from books, movies, television and public life  What are their characteristics?  What is a hero?  Define HERO :  Of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger; or fortitude in suffering; a prominent or central personage in any remarkable action or event

Biblical heroes or NOT  You will be assigned a scripture about Deborah, Samson, Samuel, Saul and David  write down their heroic and/or not so heroic qualities  You will have about 15 mins to complete  We will discuss your findings as a group  Make sure your name is on the paper, and turn in as you leave class  What is a “covenant hero”?

Class directions:  Turnitin.com is not working  Turn in homework via – put all work late and current in one needs to be in my inbox by 1:50 pm  Check your file for papers

Prayer

The role of Judges in the Bible  Complete the following on a piece of paper  Think about a time when someone has judged you.  What was the situation?  Who was involved? Use pronouns instead of real names  What were you accused of?  How did you feel?  How was it resolved?

 Joshua, successor of Moses, leads the Israelites into Canaan  After the death of Moses there is a need for a strong leader to guide their path toward the Promised Land  God commission is heroic and faithful  The land of Canaan is the land promised to Abraham and his descendants

 The Israelites find Canaan to be very hostile  Canaanites have polytheistic beliefs  Worship many gods and goddesses  Baal and Asherah – gods of earth and fertility – worshipped by the Israelites when they fell away from the one true God  The native people refused to hand over their land

 Joshua and his army swiftly conquered the land of Canaan – including the small West Bank town of Jericho  God is presented as a warrior waging holy war in the Book of Joshua  How can a God of love wage such a savage and brutal war?  The were written for the Israelites  They believed that God was on their side  Joshua served as a strong military leader and as model of true commitment to the Covenant with God

The Book of Judges is a series of short accounts about human leaders accomplishing God’s will

 Israelite history from 1200 to 1000 BC  After the death of Joshua the Israelites fall into a cycle of sin  Sin  Calamity  Repentance  deliverance  They settled disputes within their tribes and between tribes  Led military defenses against outside invaders  Challenged Israel to remain faithful to God

 Judges emerge when Israelites begin to fall away from the core religious identity by worshipping false gods  The Judges act as a conscience for the Israelites, continually calling and reminding them to be faithful to their Covenant with God

The Kings!  Following the judges Israelites demanded a centralized form of leadership under a king, a form known as a monarchy  There was a concern about the growing division among the Twelve Tribes, and the increased power of other nations  Samuel is the last of the judges and first prophet of Israel

King Saul  Saul – from the Tribe of Benjamin – is anointed king by Samuel  He commits he reign to freeing the Israelites from their enemies  He twice disobeys God’s Law

King David BC  He unites the northern and southern kingdoms  His sinful ways hinders him in seeing/promoting the will of God  He is a successful military leader, savvy politician and gifted musician  He does struggle with his humanity and lust for power

King Solomon  3 rd King of Israel  Built the Temple of the Lord in honor of his father  Was know for strengthening and modernizing the Israelite army and creating trade alliances with other nations  He was a man of great wisdom and judgment, an ambitious ruler who imposed steep taxes and forced labor on the Israelities

King Solomon and Temple

David: model of servant leadership!  David was very unique: he always returns to the Lord begging for mercy and promising to change  Despite all his sins and faults, David beckons to God to raise him from the abyss of despair so he may rule with a just heart and serving hand

 Servant leaders – recognize their need for forgiveness and reconciliation; in return they can extend mercy and compassion to all in need  Many people in Jesus’ time did not believe that he was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy because he denounced royal trappings and wealth by choosing the humility of a man, eventually resulting in his death on the cross