Fall 2008 Joshua Class
Joshua is probably one of the most misunderstood and misapplied books of the Bible. From this book, false messiahs initiated, prosecuted, and justified terrible atrocities such as the Crusades and the Inquisition. Like Catholics, Protestants too have misapplied the book, as evidenced by various pilgrims migrating from Europe, exterminating Indians, and claiming the United States as their own sort of promised land. Germany, one of the most so-called Christian nations in mid-twentieth century Europe, committed terrible crimes against Humanity. In short, lots of so-called holy wars have been fought in God’s name, and sadly, false messiahs tend to cite or at least reference the book of Joshua to justify them.
In response to these false messiahs and ungodly wars, many people reject the book of Joshua altogether, as well as the God of the Old Testament. For Christians, this is dangerous. We Christians believe that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same. Therefore, an explanation is required to make sense of the book of Joshua and understand its implications for God’s Church today. Although the context of Joshua operates in Theocratic Israel (which has not existed since the 70 AD), the book still has tremendous relevance to us in this present day and age. Using both Old and New Testament sources, we will attempt to answer the questions: “What was God’s motive, means, and objective to the Canaanite wars?” and “How is the book of Joshua relevant to the Church today?”
Like previous classes, the format of this series will be interactive where we will discuss biblical readings using the Socratic Method. To prepare for each class, I will post these readings for class discussion through my website: www.biblicaltheology.us
Class #1 Jericho and Genocide Both liberal and conservative scholars have accused God of genocide in commanding the annihilation of the cities of Jericho, Ai, and several others (Sodom, Gomorrah, etc.). We will review four primary scholarly positions on the issue of Biblical holy war and then evaluate each of them within a framework of biblical theology. Through examining critical Old Testament texts, we will see that God always acts justly and gives sinners ample opportunity to repent. However, like most people today (and throughout human history), the people of Jericho did not repent and accept God’s mercy, but continued their war against God and people made in His Image, resulting in their ultimate and just destruction. We will project the significance of these wars into the current era. The end result is that we will observe that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same.
Class #2 Rahab and the Gospel In this class, we will tackle an ancient dispute within both Judaism and Christianity. Was Rahab right to lie to the King of Jericho in order to save the two young men that visited her house? Or, did she sin? Unfortunately, this issue has proven to more than academic over the life of the Church, particularly in times of war. For example, the story of Corrie Ten Boon, made famous in the film “The Hiding Place” echoed Rahab’s dilemma. In this class, we will examine Rahab’s actions through the lens of redemptive history using relevant data from Joshua, Hebrews, and James. By doing so, we hope to develop a strong theology towards making Godly decisions. We will also see the foreshadowing of the Gospel itself in this amazing Old Testament text.
Class #3 Achan and the Unforgiveable Sin Most readers of the Achan narrative believe that God acted unfairly in commanding the destruction of Achan and his household. Through careful exegetical work, we will see the great extent of Achan’s sin, as well as the sin of his entire household. Despite the magnitude of their sin, God gave them an opportunity to repent. But, Achan and his household committed the Unforgiveable Sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit and did not repent. For their transgression, they were punished accordingly. Like the Acts 5:1-11 narrative of Ananias and Sapphira, this biblical text illustrates the Unforgiveable Sin that Jesus warned about. Although this text is rightfully terrifying, we will see how Jesus saves us from the coming wrath.
Class #4 Slaves and Slavery Did Joshua sin in making a treaty with the Gibeonites and subjecting them to servitude? Some conservative scholars believe that Joshua sinned since he did not obey the so-called letter of the Law and exterminate the Gibeonites. More liberal scholars argue that Joshua chose the lesser of two evils. We will make sense of this confusing and controversial passage within a biblical theology of servitude. We will then project the role of the Gibeonites throughout the rest of Israel’s history to illustrate God’s purposes concerning the institution of slavery within Israel and how it should be interpreted within the Church today.
In response to these false messiahs and ungodly wars, many people reject the book of Joshua altogether, as well as the God of the Old Testament. For Christians, this is dangerous. We Christians believe that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same. Therefore, an explanation is required to make sense of the book of Joshua and understand its implications for God’s Church today. Although the context of Joshua operates in Theocratic Israel (which has not existed since the 70 AD), the book still has tremendous relevance to us in this present day and age. Using both Old and New Testament sources, we will attempt to answer the questions: “What was God’s motive, means, and objective to the Canaanite wars?” and “How is the book of Joshua relevant to the Church today?”
Like previous classes, the format of this series will be interactive where we will discuss biblical readings using the Socratic Method. To prepare for each class, I will post these readings for class discussion through my website: www.biblicaltheology.us
Class #1 Jericho and Genocide Both liberal and conservative scholars have accused God of genocide in commanding the annihilation of the cities of Jericho, Ai, and several others (Sodom, Gomorrah, etc.). We will review four primary scholarly positions on the issue of Biblical holy war and then evaluate each of them within a framework of biblical theology. Through examining critical Old Testament texts, we will see that God always acts justly and gives sinners ample opportunity to repent. However, like most people today (and throughout human history), the people of Jericho did not repent and accept God’s mercy, but continued their war against God and people made in His Image, resulting in their ultimate and just destruction. We will project the significance of these wars into the current era. The end result is that we will observe that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same.
Class #2 Rahab and the Gospel In this class, we will tackle an ancient dispute within both Judaism and Christianity. Was Rahab right to lie to the King of Jericho in order to save the two young men that visited her house? Or, did she sin? Unfortunately, this issue has proven to more than academic over the life of the Church, particularly in times of war. For example, the story of Corrie Ten Boon, made famous in the film “The Hiding Place” echoed Rahab’s dilemma. In this class, we will examine Rahab’s actions through the lens of redemptive history using relevant data from Joshua, Hebrews, and James. By doing so, we hope to develop a strong theology towards making Godly decisions. We will also see the foreshadowing of the Gospel itself in this amazing Old Testament text.
Class #3 Achan and the Unforgiveable Sin Most readers of the Achan narrative believe that God acted unfairly in commanding the destruction of Achan and his household. Through careful exegetical work, we will see the great extent of Achan’s sin, as well as the sin of his entire household. Despite the magnitude of their sin, God gave them an opportunity to repent. But, Achan and his household committed the Unforgiveable Sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit and did not repent. For their transgression, they were punished accordingly. Like the Acts 5:1-11 narrative of Ananias and Sapphira, this biblical text illustrates the Unforgiveable Sin that Jesus warned about. Although this text is rightfully terrifying, we will see how Jesus saves us from the coming wrath.
Class #4 Slaves and Slavery Did Joshua sin in making a treaty with the Gibeonites and subjecting them to servitude? Some conservative scholars believe that Joshua sinned since he did not obey the so-called letter of the Law and exterminate the Gibeonites. More liberal scholars argue that Joshua chose the lesser of two evils. We will make sense of this confusing and controversial passage within a biblical theology of servitude. We will then project the role of the Gibeonites throughout the rest of Israel’s history to illustrate God’s purposes concerning the institution of slavery within Israel and how it should be interpreted within the Church today.
Shalom
I am not part of these classes and therefore I have not even heard or participated in the things you are discussing in this post, but I am a student of scripture and a follower of Christ, and I have a few comments on this post...
“Through examining critical Old Testament texts, we will see that God always acts justly and gives sinners ample opportunity to repent.”
What about Job? The theology of Job is that God's justice is arbitrary, capricious, and undefinable to us—that he can punish a righteous person for no reason other than his choice to do so. This directly contradicts the theology of whatever “critical” texts you are looking at. That is just one text in scripture out of many that would throw the intended pedagogical theology of your class entirely off.
Reply to this
Hi,
Thanks for reading and contributing. I teach these classes in Manhattan as part of Redeemer Presbyterian's SOGF. Redeemer is well known in the evangelical and particularly Reformed community, so you can easily guess "the center of mass" of my theology.
If you believe that "God's justice is arbitrary, capricious, and undefinable..." and that "he can punish a righteous person for no reason other than his choice to do so..." then what's the point in following this so-called god? This god is unjust, cruel, and sadistic. Unfortunately, this is the broad, but distorted interpretation many have from the book of Job. In fact, I was watching Southpark one night and this very interpretive issue came up with a similiar conclusion to yours. Fortunately, the God of the Bible is not "aritrary, capricious, or undefinable" nor does he "punish a righteous person." I would commend you to get a good commentary on Job and outline the arguments of Job, his 3 friends, Elihu, and God. If you want to talk about each of their arguments, I would be happy to discuss this with you further.
Take care, In Christ, Marty
Reply to this