Judges 6

Dear RTB’ers,

First, clearing up an item… Yesterday I made a light-hearted remark about Gideon and fleece before the Lord. That remark was only intended to introduce the next day’s reading – I am not a person who supports the idea of our putting fleece before the Lord. But clearly the connection between Gideon and his fleece-test is an item well known, I daresay, to most Bible-reading Christians. So, what of it…?

First, as with Barak yesterday, Gideon is mentioned as one of the “heroes of the faith” in Hebrews 11:32, so if we are “non-fleece” people, let’s not judge him too quickly. If we have difficulty with Gideon’s fleece, maybe we should back up and have even more difficulty with his earlier request: And he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your eyes, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. (v. 17) Have any of us ever asked for a sign from the Lord before we proceeded with some particular activity? Carol and I had a good conversation on this item yesterday. We came to the conclusion that we are not “sign-seekers”. We do, however, seek the Lord when we are moving forward with a decision to make. So take, for example, our decision to teach in Slovakia last fall. Yes, we sought the Lord as to whether or not it was a good plan for us to move forward with that decision, but it was more a matter of our hearts telling us to go and our asking the Lord to show us somehow if that was a wrong decision. That is, any “sign” that we were seeking would have been something to hold us back, not for us to move forward.

Gideon asked for this first sign when his faith was weak (verse 17). God responded and Gideon then took action, tearing down the altar of Baal and the Asherah, even if he did so somewhat timidly in the middle of the night. He was moving forward, but needed a further nudge: But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.. (v. 34) When God put His Spirit on Gideon, he became a mighty man. But then, even in spite of this and even with Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali behind him, that is when Gideon put God to his fleece test. And lest we fault Gideon for this test, we need to remind ourselves that God must not have been offended – He responded as Gideon requested.

So, Gideon’s fleece… A good theological discussion! We’ll meet as an RTB group on May 25. Get it on your calendars, and let’s plan to discuss Gideon’s fleece!

Blessings!

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See also: March 14 (2023) / Judges 6-8

Judges 5

Dear RTB’ers,

I asked a couple of days ago whether the judges are deliverers for all of Israel or if they are more regional in their leadership. Today we see a very national Israel at war with Sisera and the Canaanites – national, except that not all tribes participated. First of all, Judah and Simeon are not mentioned. You may recall that these two tribes inherited the southern land, what became known as Judea, all the Promised Land basically south of Jerusalem. So this battle today is more northern in its perspective, defeating the Canaanites and their King Jabin who ruled from Hazor, a city just north of the Sea of Galilee. Second, we read yesterday of the leadership of Zebulun and Naphtali, who settled west and northwest of the Sea of Galilee. They were joined by Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh (Machir, v. 14 was Manasseh’s oldest son, and Issachar. Finally, Reuben, Gad (Gilead, v. 17), Dan and Asher are chided for staying home. So all twelve tribes are accounted for – truly a national war!

My Study Bible had a note explaining the Lord’s hand in delivering Israel in this battle: From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. The torrent Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. (vv. 20-21a) Evidently Sisera, the leader of the Canaanite army did not understand the power of the Kishon river when God sent storms to defeat him. In 1799 the flooded Kishon River had also aided Napoleon in his defeat of a Turkish army. This incident brings to mind the Egyptians being swept away in the Red Sea when the waters closed back in on them.

Gideon is next. Any of you have a particular fleece you would like to set before the Lord?

Blessings!

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See also: March 13 (2023) / Judges 3:7-5:31

Judges 4

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we have our only female judge, Deborah, and another female hero, Jael. If an “average” Bible reader were asked to name Israel’s judges, the three most commonly named (in my mind) would be Deborah, Gideon, and Samson. In truth, more pages are devoted to these three than to any of the other three major judges or any of the minor judges.

So, today’s reading begins: And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor … and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. (vv. 2,3b). Note that this is the first mention that we have of Israel being treated “cruelly” by her oppressors. Both Jabin and Hazor are mentioned in Joshua’s conquest of the northern part of the Promised Land. (See Joshua 11:1-11.) Jabin was the king of Hazor who amassed an army to do battle with Joshua. And the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel… (Joshua 11:8b) The victory was complete: And Joshua … captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword … And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction; there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. (esp. Joshua 11:10-11) Hazor was completely destroyed by Joshua, but was apparently rebuilt a few years (decades?) later. So today we have another Jabin, king of a larger area of Canaan and residing in Hazor.

Today’s reading is fairly straightforward – Deborah and Barak lead the Israeli army to victory over Sisera, the leader of the Canaanite army. Again, the Lord wins the battle: And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. … and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. (vv. 15a, 16b) Sisera flees, finding refuge with Jael – likely, a non-Israelite – who finishes this female-led incident by killing Sisera.

So, Barak… Is he a coward, unfaithful, untrusting of the Lord or is he simply being submissive to Deborah, the prophetess who was judging Israel at that time? Once assigned the task by Deborah, he follows through, complete to the end, pursuing Sisera and viewing the body with Jael. So, Barak… unfaithful and cowardly or submissive, dependable, and responsible? Your thoughts? (Spoiler alert: He is mentioned as one of the “heroes of the faith” in Hebrews 11:32!)

But with my focus on Barak, let’s not diminish this female-led victory. We’ll continue to celebrate it tomorrow!

Blessings!

Judges 3:7-31

Dear RTB’ers,

The geography might be a bit confusing. When we left Joshua, Israel had possession of the Promised Land plus the Trans-Jordan land where Reuben, Gad and one-half of Manasseh lived. We also learned two days ago that Israel did not drive out all the inhabitants of the land, but that in fact the Israelites intermarried with them and served their Baals and Ashtaroth. Now as we read Judges, it is confusing (at least to me) whether the judges become deliverers for all of Israel (including the Trans-Jordan people) or if they are regional deliverers. We will not see that confusion today, however, with the first two judges in today’s reading.

Othniel is the first of the major judges. (NOTE: The STS introduction to Judges mentioned twelve judges, six of whom who “received extended mention” (the “major” judges) and six other judges whom they referred to as the “minor judges”.) We met Othniel earlier in Judges 1:12-15. He was Caleb’s nephew who conquered Kiriath-Sepher and was given Caleb’s daughter as his wife. Now he becomes Israel’s deliverer from their servitude to the king of Mesopotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers). Because Mesopotamia is many miles removed from the Promised Land, we have to assume that God’s deliverance through Othniel applies to all of Israel.

The same can be said of His deliverance through Ehud. Initially we read that Israel is defeated by a neighboring nation, Moab, in league with two other “peoples”, the Ammonites and the Amalekites. God raises up Ehud, our second major judge. He assassinates Moab’s king and then leads Israel into battle. We read of 10,000 Moabites dead, so it is clear to me that we have a national war – all of Israel up against these three neighboring nations.

Finally, we meet Shamgar, our first minor judge, who does battle with the Philistines. So I’m wondering if this is a regional deliverance, although the author does say that Shamgar “also saved Israel” (v. 3:31).

Three judges down, nine to go!

Blessings!

Judges 2:6-3:6

Dear RTB’ers,

There are a couple of key verses in today’s reading. First, And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that He had done for Israel. (v. 2:10b) One generation had served the Egyptians and seen the miracles that the Lord had brought about through Moses and Aaron. This generation died in the wilderness. Their sons then crossed over the Jordan River with Joshua and did battle with the inhabitants of the land to win the Promised Land. Finally, their grandsons constitute the generation that did not know the Lord. I think there’s a message in that verse above for those of us with grandchildren: And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.. (v. 2:11) Their parents need our help, our support, our wisdom. Do it!

So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He gave over to plunderers, who plundered them. (v. 2:14) That generation’s disobedience and unfaithfulness led to dire consequences and He turned against them: …the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned… (v. 2:15b) However, loving God that He is, He never forgets His people: Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. … For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. (v. 2:16, 18b) Sadly, however, they forgot Him! So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He said, “… I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died…” (vv. 2:20-21a) And that’s the prelude for the rest of the book of Judges. Read on!

Blessings!

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See also: March 12 (2023) / Judges 1-3:6

Judges 1:1-2:5

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we go back to the Old Testament, to the book of Judges. Joshua is the book immediately preceding Judges in the Bible. It’s been a while, almost nine months (August 2024) since we read Joshua in our RTB reading schedule. It was inserted by the STS authors halfway through Exodus, and we’ve since finished Exodus and read the rest of the Pentateuch (Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), as well as nine more New Testament books. So we’ve covered a lot of ground in the interim.

To get a feel for the book of Judges we need to review a bit from Joshua. Your Study Bibles (if you have one) provides a good introduction to Joshua. Alternatively our STS intro to Joshua provides a bare-bones look at the content – see pages 78-79 for their quick “analysis” of the book, then go through the questions in the next few pages to help you remember what we covered back then. In a nutshell we saw Joshua leading the Israelites as they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, then did battle with the inhabitants to secure the land (see especially Joshua 10-11). They divided the land into territories for all twelve tribes, established cities of refuge on both sides of the Jordan River, and settled into their inheritance. A good closing for the book of Joshua is given in Joshua 24:31, Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the LORD did for Israel. That takes us to Judges.

So what do we read today? Good news, then bad news, then the beginning of the Lord’s judgment for Israel’s failure to trust Him. Judah and Simeon bring the good news, taking almost all of their inheritance and re-introducing us to Caleb, that “faithful spy” (along with Joshua) from Numbers 13. Then we see the beginning of the bad news, But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem… (Judges 1:21) This verse is followed by a number of other “…did not drive out…” verses covering Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali. Finally, there is one more “…drive them out…” verse, in the next chapter from the angel of the Lord speaking: So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides… (v. 2:3a) So that’s where we are today, their ever-faithful Lord telling them that they’ve got work to do! These words provide the context for the rest of the book of Judges. Happy reading!

Blessings!

Mark 16:9-20

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we end Mark’s gospel, the second gospel on our three-year journey. John will come later this year and we’ll pick up Matthew next year. Tomorrow we will return to the Old Testament, to the book of Judges.

As you may have noted in today’s STS footnote, today’s reading (vv. 9-20) appears to be an “add-on” ending. (The NASB also offers one additional verse not included in most other translations, placed either after verse 8 or after verse 20.) Each of Jesus’ three appearances mentioned in STS is covered in much greater detail in the other gospels. (Luke 24:13-27; John 20:11-23)

Mark’s “add-on” section has Mary Magdalene going to the tomb alone. John’s gospel also has her going alone (in a much longer account), while Matthew and Luke have her going to the tomb with one or two other women. Matthew, Mark and John also have her at the foot of the cross with other women, while Luke has her identified as the woman from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons. (Luke 8:2) She is certainly an intriguing figure, officially recognized by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church as a saint, with a special feast day for her on July 22. If greater devotion to Jesus is a goal you wish to attain, she might be a good model for you to research.

Blessings!

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See also: June 25 (2021) / Mark 16:1-20

Mark 15:42-16:8

Dear RTB’ers,

And when evening had come … Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. (vv. 42-43) “…took courage”. The NASB says “…gathered up courage…”. Both Matthew and Luke also report on Joseph of Arimathea asking for Jesus’ body, but Mark is the only one who speaks of the courage that it took for Joseph to approach Pilate. As a prominent member of the Council he had seen what the Jewish leaders and their rabble had already done to Jesus; he must have wondered what might happen to Jesus’ followers. It took courage for him to go forward, especially in view of the fact that he was a secret follower: Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. (John 19:38b)

I have long admired Joseph of Arimathea. It’s worth mentioning Nicodemus here also. An online source has an excellent article covering both of these men, “What We Get Wrong about Nicodemus and Joseph: Often chided by readers of Scripture for hiding their faith, they showed more courage than you realize.” Here is a sampling of the content of the article:

Joseph of Arimathea shows up in every gospel account of Jesus’ death. He is described by Matthew as a “rich man” and a “disciple of Jesus” (Matt. 27:57–60). Mark describes him as a “prominent member” of the Sanhedrin and someone who was “waiting for the kingdom of God” (Mark 15:42–46). Luke calls Joseph “a good and upright man,” a “member of the Council” who didn’t agree with their decision to seek Jesus’ death (Luke 23:50–51). John calls him a “disciple of Jesus” who kept his faith secret due to fear of his fellow religious leaders (John 19:38).

https://dandarling.substack.com/p/what-we-get-wrong-about-nicodemus

It would be a delightful read for you this Sunday morning!

Blessings!

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See also:

• December 11 (2019) / Mark 15:42-47
• December 15 (2019) / Mark 16:1-8

Mark 15:22-41

Dear RTB’ers,

And it was the third hour when they crucified Him. (v. 25)

And those who passed by derided Him, wagging their heads… (v. 29a)

So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked Him to one another… (v. 31a)

And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. (v. 33)

And at the ninth hour … Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last. (vv. 34a, 37)

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (v. 38)

“Truly this man was the Son of God!” (v. 39b)

Blessings!

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See also: November 18 (2023) / Matthew 27:32-66; Mark 15:21-47; Luke 23:26-56; John 19:17-42

Mark 15:1-21

Dear RTB’ers,

And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. (v. 1) We read yesterday that the Jewish leaders had charged Jesus with blasphemy and agreed that He deserved to die. However, only the Romans could order a prisoner’s death. Unfortunately for the Jewish leaders, a charge of blasphemy was not a reasonable charge to bring to the Roman authorities, so they had to come up with something else. Presumably this meeting of the council resulted in a charge of treason against the Roman authorities.

The scourging, the crown of thorns, the soldiers mocking Jesus… All these trouble me. Yes, theologically, Jesus had to die on our behalf. But did He have to suffer such a horrible death? Did He have to undergo all this punishment prior to His crucifixion? Wouldn’t His death on the cross have sufficed? He could have died at the scourging. He could have collapsed under the weight of the cross. Why this horrible ordeal? Why? Why did His Father let it all happen? Why?

Again, as always, God is God, I am not. It’s my only response.

Blessings!

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See also: June 15 (2021) / Mark 15:1-20