Settling into the Promised Land

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 1 – Prelude

Settling into the Promised Land

[Bible references: Joshua, Judges]                                     

Moses died on the east of the Jordan River. Joshua, one of the 12 spies, led Israel into the Promised Land. After the conquest was complete, the land was divided among the 12 tribes and the tabernacle was moved to Shechem, the place where God promised his descendants would dwell, where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph were buried.

After Joshua’s death, no one was appointed to be the leader of the people. The people did have the Books of the Law as written by Moses to guide them. God was supposed to be their king. But particularly when things were going well, Israel was inclined to forget about God and not be obedient to the Law. To encourage Israel to return to Him, God would allow some of the neighboring tribes harass them. When things got too bad, the people would complain to God, who would raise up leaders (called judges) to help them overcome their enemies, after which Israel would remember to their old ways. The process would repeat several times.

Observe

Read Judges 2:10-19. What habits did the Israelites find hard to break? What habits are hard for you to break?