Problem: According to Judges 4:21, Sisera was lying down fast asleep when Jael approached him softly and drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground. However, Judges 5:27 seems to indicate that Sisera fell down after Jael pierced his head with the tent peg. Was Sisera lying down or was he upright when Jael killed him?
Problem: The Bible says “the Lord raised up a deliverer” (Jud. 3:15) for Israel over their oppressor, King Eglon of Moab. Then it records how Ehud “took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his [Eglon’s] belly” (v. 21). How can the God who forbids murder (Ex. 20:13) condone a brutal assassination like this? Continue reading →
Problem: Joshua 10:40 declares that “Joshua conquered all the land … he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded.” But only a short time later, when the people occupied the land they had conquered, Judges 1:28 says Israel “did not completely drive them out,” but “put the Canaanites under tribute.” But if they had been utterly destroyed, then how could they still be there a few years later?
Problem: In Judges 1:10, the three sons of Anak were “killed” by Judah. But, in verse 20 it says they were merely “expelled” from the land, which is what Joshua 15:14 says as well. Which was it?
Problem: According to Joshua 24:25–26 (cf. v. 1), the sanctuary was at Shechem. But earlier (1 Sam. 3:21; 4:3), it was said to be in Shiloh.
Problem: When God gave the Promised Land to Abraham (Gen. 12–15), Isaac (Gen. 26), and Jacob (Gen. 46), there were no conditions. It was an unconditional covenant (“I will bless you”) with no conditions (“If you do such and such”) in which God swore by His own unchangeable nature (cf. Heb. 6:13–18). However, later both Moses (Deut. 31:16–17) and Joshua (23:16) speak of God expelling Israel from the land if they sinned against God.
Problem: Here they are listed in the land of Simeon, but in Joshua 15:26–32 they are in Judah.
Problem: Joshua 15:8 lists Jerusalem in Judah, but Joshua 18:28 says it is in Benjamin.
Problem: God promised Abraham, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great … River Euphrates” (Gen. 15:18; cf. Deut. 11:24). However, when Joshua divided the land Israel inherited, the boundaries listed do not mention the Euphrates, but cities to the west of it (Josh. 13:9–12).
Problem: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63; 17:12; Jud. 1:22, 29).
Problem: This verse declares that “Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.” But earlier (in Joshua 10:42) it affirms that “all these kings and their land Joshua took at one time.”
Problem: During the battle with the kings of the land, God gave Israel the power to overcome their enemies. As the armies of the people of the land fled from before Israel, Joshua sought the Lord to cause the sun to stand still so that they might have sufficient daylight to complete the destruction of their enemies. But how could the sun stand still in the midst of the heaven for a whole day?
Problem: Joshua 9 records how the Gibeonites deceived Israel into thinking that they were not actually people from the land which God had commanded Israel to destroy, but were from a far country. Thus, Joshua and all Israel entered into a contract not to destroy them. However, when they discovered that the Gibeonites had deceived them and were actually people whom God had commanded Israel to destroy, why did Israel not ignore this contract and exterminate the Gibeonites as God had originally commanded?
Problem: Joshua 8:30 records that Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mt. Ebal and offered burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings upon that altar. However, many passages indicate that the construction of high places was condemned by God (1 Kings 12:31; 15:14; etc.). How can Joshua’s altar be justified in light of God’s condemnation of high places?
What do we need in America? More Government? More freedom? What will stop our decline? Do we need a strong leader. I answer no to all this questions. The following is taken from a book called “Ordinary People, Extraordinary things” by Dr. Bruce Ballast. The following happend in 1857 in a country about to torn apart with civil war.