Joshua 17
Joshua 17 recounts the allotment given to the half tribe of Manasseh as well as the second allotment given to the tribe of Joseph, that is, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Sheba Rebels against David
2 Samuel 20
Sometime after David’s son Absalom had rebelled and was killed near Mahanaim (2 Samuel 13-18; see “Absalom Rebels against David” map), David and his forces began the journey back to Jerusalem. Along the way, many people from Judah and other Israelite tribes came to the Jordan River to escort David and his men back to Jerusalem. A Benjaminite named Sheba, however, rallied many people to follow him instead of David. After David completed his journey back to Jerusalem, he summoned Amasa and instructed him to gather the people of Judah, presumably to begin hunting down Sheba. David had earlier reaffirmed Amasa’s role as commander over his forces, even though Amasa had first ascended to this role when he was appointed by Absalom during the rebellion (2 Samuel 17:25; 19:13-14). But now Amasa delayed in rallying the people of Judah, perhaps indicating that he was not fully committed to David’s return as king, so David dispatched Joab to deal with Sheba instead. By this time, Sheba had passed through the tribes of Israel and assembled his forces in the town of Abel-beth-maacah. Located near the northern boundary of the land occupied primarily by Israelites, Abel-beth-maacah sat at the edge of the region known as Maacah. This region, along with Geshur to the south, remained as a Canaanite enclave in the midst of Israelite territory and had even fought against David’s forces year earlier (2 Samuel 10:6-8; 1 Chronicles 19:6-8). As Joab began his pursuit of Sheba, he first headed to Gibeon, where he found Amasa and killed him. Then Joab and all those that followed him headed north and set up a siege ramp against Abel-beth-maacah. A wise woman from the city called out to Joab, however, and convinced him to cease attacking the city if they would deliver the head of Sheba to him. Joab agreed, Sheba’s head was delivered to him, and Joab rallied his troops and headed back to Jerusalem.
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Audio-Visual Reading of Luke 2
Luke 2
Luke 2 recounts the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and the response of the shepherds, of the priest Simeon, and of the prophet Anna. It also recounts the story of Jesus’ boyhood visit to Jerusalem, where he amazed the teachers of the law with his understanding of the Scriptures.
Philistines and Arabs Attack Judah
2 Chronicles 21
During the reign of Jehoram of Judah, the Philistines and the Arabs near the Cushites attacked Jerusalem and carried off all his possessions, his wives, and his sons except Jehoahaz, his youngest son. The Arabs who joined in the attack were likely those who lived southeast of Edom, and the Cushites were likely those who lived along the western coast of Arabia (Genesis 10:6-7). It is likely that the primary motivation for their attack was the same as that of Zerah the Cushite over fifty years earlier (2 Chronicles 14; see “Zerah the Cushite” map): They wanted to prevent Judah from impeding or heavily taxing their lucrative trade along the Incense Route, which stretched from the southern tip of Arabia to the Mediterranean Sea ports in Philistia. Both the Arabs and the Philistines would later be attacked by King Uzziah of Judah about fifty years after Jehoram’s encounter with them (2 Chronicles 26:6-7; see “Resurgence of Israel and Judah” map). During Jehoram’s reign the Philistines and the Arabs were most likely taking advantage of the perceived weakness of Judah after Edom and Libnah declared their independence from Judah (2 Kings 8:20-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10) and Jehoram had lost a battle to retake Edom (2 Kings 8:21-22; 2 Chronicles 21:9-10; see “Edom and Libnah Revolt” map).
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Josiah’s Reforms throughout Judah and Israel
2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35
If ever there was a point in biblical history when the worship of the Lord seemed all but extinguished, it was during the years leading up to King Josiah’s birth. Yet it was against this incredibly dark backdrop that the Lord raised up Josiah of Judah to bring about one of the greatest spiritual reforms his nation had ever seen. Josiah was the grandson of Manasseh, one of the most wicked and idolatrous kings of Judah (2 Kings 21:1-9; 2 Chronicles 33:1-9), though Manasseh later repented (2 Chronicles 33:12-19), and the son of Amon, another wicked, idolatrous king (2 Kings 21:18-22; 2 Chronicles 33:20-23). After his father’s death, Josiah became king at the young age of eight, so perhaps it was this lack of influence from his wicked father during some of his most formative years as a leader that enabled him to become such a force for spiritual renewal throughout Judah. Whatever the reason for his spiritual fervor, Josiah’s passion also coincided with a period of Assyrian decline, which allowed him to expand his renewal even to the lands once ruled by the northern kingdom of Israel. Josiah began his reforms by commissioning repairs to be made to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. During these repairs, the book of the law, likely the book of Deuteronomy, was found in the Temple and brought to Josiah. When Josiah read the book, he tore his clothes in anguish over the punishment that surely awaited the nation for their disobedience to the laws of Moses. He called for all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to gather by the pillar of the Temple, and he read the law to them as well and led them to establish a new covenant to follow the laws of Moses. Josiah then began a great purge of idolatry throughout Jerusalem, Judah, and even Israel. Utensils used for pagan worship were removed from the Temple in Jerusalem and burned in the Kidron Valley, and their ashes were carried to Bethel. The image of Asherah was also removed and burned in the Kidron Valley, and the remains were ground to dust and spread over graves of the common people. The houses of the male prostitutes in the Temple area were also broken down. The horses and chariots dedicated to the sun by the kings of Judah were removed, and the chariots were burned. The altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz and the altars that Manasseh had made in Temple courtyard were pulled down and broken in pieces, and the rubble was thrown into the Kidron Valley. A place called Topheth in the Hinnom Valley was defiled so that no one would make a son or daughter pass through fire as an offering to Molech. Just east of Jerusalem the high places built by King Solomon for his pagan wives on the Mount of Corruption (also called the Mount of Olives; 1 Kings 11:7-8) were defiled. Josiah’s reforms throughout Judah included putting away the mediums, wizards, teraphim, idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land. At Bethel he tore down the altar and the high place erected by Jeroboam son of Nebat. He burned the high place, crushing it to dust, and burned the sacred pole. There he also saw tombs of people who must have been associated with the pagan rituals there, so he removed the bones and burned them on the altar, thus defiling it, as was prophesied years earlier (1 Kings 13:1-10). Josiah then extended his reforms to lands that formerly belonged to Israel but were now directly governed by Assyria. Throughout the towns of Samaria all the shrines of the high places were removed, the priests of the high places were slaughtered on the pagan altars, and their bones were burned on them. Throughout the rest of the land of Israel and Judah–in Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali–Josiah also broke down the altars, ground the sacred poles and images into powder, and demolished all the incense altars. When Josiah returned to Jerusalem, he celebrated the Passover in a way that exceeded all the Passover celebrations since the time of the Judges.
