Judges 17-18 Are you beginning to get dizzy from the downward spiral? Do you smell the stench of decay? Do you see the pervasive perversion of worship? About the only positive noble act in our entire reading today is Micah’s confession of having stolen his mother’s silver. (Jg. 17:2) After that, it is all down …
Author Archives: John S.
March 17 / Judges 13-16
Judges 13-16 I’m guessing we are all familiar with Samson as a man with long hair and incredible strength. We hear of his great strength as children, and we wonder what his hair has to do with it. I remember as a young boy browsing through The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes and seeing …
March 16 / Judges 11-12
Judges 11-12 Be careful what you say! Today we get the story of Jephthah and the tragic consequences of his rash vow to sacrifice the first thing to come out of his house. When that turns out to be his daughter, Jephthah immediately regrets his vow, but he declares that he cannot break his oath, …
March 15 / Judges 9-10
Judges 9-10 King Abimelech. (Jg. 9:6,22 — Oh, you thought Saul was the first king of Israel? Well, now you are a bit better prepared for Bible Trivia Night!) Clearly, although Abimelech carries his father Gideon’s DNA, that DNA does not convey Gideon’s faith in the LORD. He convinces the men of Shechem to act …
March 14 / Judges 6-8
Judges 6-8 Before we get any further into the book of Judges, I should mention that we need to be careful in how we read and interpret what we encounter here. The story of Gideon presents a great example. We know Gideon as a great hero of the faith. Even if you have never before …
March 13 / Judges 3:7-5:31
Judges 3:7-5:31 Straightaway we see the cycle from yesterday’s reading play out, first with Othniel (Judges 3:7-11), then Ehud (Judges 3:12-30), and Shamgar (though in very abbreviated fashion! Judges 3:31). Then we come to the story of Deborah. The mention of a woman in leadership should immediately wake us up, since that is clearly not …
March 12 / Judges 1-3:6
Judges 1-3:6 Israel now enters a new phase of its history, the period of the Judges. It is a time that we might just as well call “the yo-yo years.” Lacking the strong godly leadership of Moses and Joshua, the people of Israel rapidly descend into idolatry, which sets off a series of up-and-down cycles …
March 11 / Joshua 23-24
Joshua 23-24 Joshua comes to the end of his life’s journey. Like Moses, before he departs this life, Joshua exhorts the people of Israel to keep the covenant, to continue following the LORD, to cling to Him, and to utterly forsake any and all other gods. Under Joshua’s leadership, Israel is mostly faithful, serving the …
March 10 / Joshua 20-22
Joshua 20-22 And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size. … And when the people of Israel heard of it, …
March 9 / Joshua 18-19
Joshua 18-19 So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD. And there Joshua apportioned the land …