“WHY the Violence?” (Joshua 11&12)

Published 4 October 2025

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Designed for Personal Bible Study or for Bible Teaching

1️⃣ Treating pervasive violence as meaningless instead of asking “why?” (Joshua 11–12).
2️⃣ Living under the sinful nature’s impulses rather than the Spirit’s fruit (Gal. 5:19–24).
3️⃣ Growing comfortable near idolatry and immoral influences (Num. 25:1–3).
4️⃣ Shrinking back from intimacy with God after seeing His holiness (Exod. 20:18–21).
5️⃣ Forgetting that small compromises can invite large-scale spiritual drift (Num. 13–14; Num. 25:1–3).

1️⃣ Israel’s first generation refusing God’s invitation to enter the land (Num. 13–14).
2️⃣ Choosing distance over relationship when God spoke at Sinai (Exod. 20:18–21).
3️⃣ Yoking with pagan worship at Shittim (Num. 25:1–3).
4️⃣ Spiritual immaturity that made the nation vulnerable to surrounding debauchery (Num. 25:1–3; Joshua 11–12).
5️⃣ Failure to display a God-honoring life that draws nations to Him (intended contrast: Gal. 5:22–24).

1️⃣ Sexual immorality and idolatry that enslave (Gal. 5:19–21; Num. 25:1–3).
2️⃣ Witchcraft/false worship that invites darkness (Gal. 5:20; Num. 25:2–3).
3️⃣ Hatred, discord, rage, selfish ambition—fracturing community (Gal. 5:20).
4️⃣ Drunkenness and debauchery—lives ruled by the flesh (Gal. 5:21).
5️⃣ Hardening against God’s holy closeness (Exod. 20:18–21).

1️⃣ God’s purpose to form a people set apart in the land (Joshua 11–12).
2️⃣ Clear moral contrast: the Spirit’s fruit as God’s desired evidence (Gal. 5:22–24).
3️⃣ God’s protective warnings against corrupting alliances (Num. 25:1–3; cf. the conquest in Joshua 11–12).
4️⃣ Provision of a path out of bondage to darkness—ultimately fulfilled in Christ (stated in transcript; cf. Gal. 5:24).
5️⃣ The narrative itself as instruction for future generations (Joshua 11–12; Exod. 20:18–21 context).

1️⃣ Examine the “why” behind violence through God’s lens (Joshua 11–12).
2️⃣ Choose the Spirit’s fruit over the flesh’s works (Gal. 5:19–24).
3️⃣ Guard intimacy with God instead of backing away in fear (Exod. 20:18–21).
4️⃣ Refuse yoking with idol practices that invite compromise (Num. 25:1–3).
5️⃣ Let your life become an attractive witness to other nations (Gal. 5:22–24; purpose statement in transcript).

1️⃣ Lead people into Spirit-shaped living that displays love, joy, and peace (Gal. 5:22–24).
2️⃣ Confront flesh-driven patterns that destroy communities (Gal. 5:19–21).
3️⃣ Heed God’s warnings about corrosive cultural ties (Num. 25:1–3).
4️⃣ Shepherd toward closeness with God, not distance (Exod. 20:18–21).
5️⃣ Teach the next generation why holiness mattered in the conquest (Joshua 11–12).