It is always a challenge to teach in ways that will grab the students’ attention. One way to do this in a course on the Scriptures is to highlight the warrior-heroes and battles of the Old Testament. This activity is especially useful if you teach at an all boy’s school.
Assign students the following names of warriors of the Old Testament and have them create a report on them to present to the class.
2. Caleb (Joshua 15:13-19
3. Ehud (Jgs 3:12-30)
4. Deborah (Jgs 4-5)
5. Gideon (Jgs 6-8)
6. Jephthah (Jgs 11)
7. Samson (Jgs 13-16)
8. Jonathan (1 Sm 14)
9. Saul (1 Sm 10-12
10. David (1 Sm 17)
11. David’s Warriors (2 Sm 23:8-39)
12. Joram (2 Kings 3)
13. Naaman (2 Kings 5)
14. Jehu (2 Kings 9)
15. Hezekiah (2 Kgs 18-20)
16. Judith (Judith 8, 13)
17. Mattathias (1 Mc 2)
18. Judas Maccabeus (1 Mc 3-5, 9)
19. Jonathan (1 Mc 9-13)
20. Simon (1 Mc 13)
Give the students the following guidelines for the report:
1. Read the passage from Scripture about the warrior (including the footnotes).
2. Write summary of everything you can deduce from the Old Testament passage: unique qualities, reason for fighting, the enemies, their success of failure.
3. Describe whether they consider the warrior to have participated in “Miracle Warfare” (see below).
In the Torah, “Divine Warfare” or “Miracle Warfare” was commonplace. Miracle Warfare is the idea, unique to the Israelites, that God will fight, not just with them, but for them against their enemies. Ask the students to decide whether or not they see this theology in action as they are doing their research. Does God literally fight on their behalf? If so, explain.
*Note that studying these figures does not condone the evil of violence and war. You may also consider following up with a lesson on the Just-War Doctrine of the Catholic Church.