#4. SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN CANAAN

(Joshua, Judges, and 1 Samuel 1 - 8)

JOSHUA AND SUCCESS IN CANAAN. Joshua took the Israelites into Canaan in 1405 BC to conquer, divide, and settle the land. Jacob (Israel) had blessed Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, with a blessing reserved for his own sons ... making them of equal status with Jacob's other sons, Genesis 48:8-22. Therefore, both of their tribes were given a share of the land ... as were the other tribes of Israel. Each of the tribes of Dan and Manasseh received their land in two pieces. The Levites received no land. God was their inheritance, Joshua 13:33. However, the Levites were given 48 cities, Joshua 21:41. God had instructed the Israelites to make no covenants with the people of the land ... not to serve their gods but to tear down their altars ... and to utterly destroy the inhabitants of the land, Exodus 23:32, 34:12-16, and Deuteronomy 7:1-5,16. The reasons for God's severe judgment against the evil people of Canaan are in Leviticus 18. Joshua and the Israelites did not obey these commands ... and they and their descendants suffered the consequences of coexisting in the land with their enemies and their false gods. However, in spite of their failures, Scripture records, "Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua.” Joshua 24:31.

THE JUDGES AND FAILURE IN CANAAN. Seventeen cycles of the Israelites' failure over 330 years are outlined in Judges (13 cycles) and   1 Samuel (4 cycles). The description of the cycle of all these failures is in Judges 2:11-19. The people did evil and angered God ... He gave them over to oppressors ... in response to their groaning He sent a deliverer (a judge) to free them ... then in the time of peace that followed they forgot and turned back to their evil ways ... and the cycle began again. Seven cycles are detailed including those of judges Gideon and Samson. Thirteen of the judges are in the book of Judges and four are in 1 Samuel. After the 17 cycles of failure the Israelites wanted a king (monarchy) like everyone else had, 1 Samuel 8:5-20 ... and rejected God's rule (theocracy). At their demand Samuel, one of the last judges, appointed the first king ... Saul, 1 Samuel 8 - 10. Ruth (David's great-grandmother) is an example of a godly woman during the time of the judges.

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