Judges / chapter 21 (read the chapter)
You might think that’s a funny title to describe a chapter of the Bible in which God never speaks. But, for me, that’s precisely the point, so I thought we’d get right to the point today. Did you notice God’s lack of participation in the dialogue of this chapter? The Israelites were asking a lot of questions, but they never received an answer. Continue Reading »
Judges / chapter 20 (read the chapter)
I think this chapter is a great example of how God often gets a bad rap for things we decide to do. In this instance, the men of the tribes of Israel gathered to go up against the Benjamites. At first, they asked the tribe of Benjamin to hand over the men who had raped and killed the Levite’s concubine. They refused and, in turn, geared up for the fight. Continue Reading »
Judges / chapter 19 (read the chapter)
I was amused when I heard about a Christmas ad campaign that ran in Washington D.C. last year. It featured signs on buses that said: “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.” I thought that was so odd, because what people don’t understand is that without God, there is no goodness. Without Him, we have absolutely no idea what goodness is. And my own personal belief is that people who practice goodness are manifesting the Spirit’s work in their lives—whether they believe in God or not. Outside of Him, there is no concept of goodness. He is the one who brought the idea of goodness to this world. Continue Reading »
Judges / chapter 18 (read the chapter)
Judges 18 begins with a mantra that will repeat through the last several chapters of the book: “In those days Israel had no king.” As you will discover (if you don’t already know what’s ahead in the next few chapters), this isn’t a good declaration. This isn’t a statement of freedom. Rather, it’s a statement of spiritual slavery. Israel had no king, no spiritual leadership, no direction, no moral compass. Everybody just did whatever they saw fit . . . and that always makes for a very scary scene. Continue Reading »
Judges / chapter 17 (read the chapter)
What a quirky little chapter. Out of the blue, there is a story about this guy named Micah. He was a thief—having swiped 1100 shekels of silver from his mom. (Who steals from Mom?) After he heard her pronounce a curse on whoever had stolen the money, he fessed up and returned it. In turn, she was so worried that the curse would follow her thieving child that she had some of it melted down and made into a little idol that Micah kept in his house. His “god” would hopefully protect him from the curse. Continue Reading »
Judges / chapter 16 (read the chapter)
Samson, Samson. What can you say about this guy? He was so stupid. He was so blind—both figuratively and (later on) literally. He was singled out to be God’s leader in Israel, but he couldn’t seem to keep to his Nazirite vow. When he wasn’t marrying heathen women, he was sleeping with prostitutes. He did nearly everything wrong, including the big one—finally telling Delilah the secret of his strength. Why would he do that? Had he become so narcissistic that he believed his strength lay within himself and not in God? Continue Reading »
Judges / chapter 15 (read the chapter)
If you like sports, you’ve probably heard the old saying that the best defense is a good offense. In other words, in the middle of a game, instead of trying to fight off an attack from the opposing team, you want to be on the offensive. You want to have to make them shut you down . . . not the other way around. The best defense is a good offense. Continue Reading »
Judges / chapter 14 (read the chapter)
I thought this was an extremely interesting chapter, in that it revealed two (seemingly opposite) things about God. First, God accepts failure. Second, God does not accept failure. How can both of those things be true? Continue Reading »
Judges / chapter 13 (read the chapter)
When it comes to God, one of the hardest things to wrap my finite, little mind around is the fact that He stands outside of Time. As creatures who are so attached to linear time, it is nearly impossible to discuss this aspect of God, because even the words we use to talk about it—past, present, and future—are all words that are irrevocably linked to linear time. God is outside of and above all of these things. Continue Reading »
Judges / chapter 12 (read the chapter)
Jephthah . . . what can you say about a guy like Jephthah? This was the man God used to win a decisive victory over the Ammonites and to lead Israel for six years. The Lord was definitely with him, but he was so . . . flawed. I mean, in the previous chapter, it seemed that Jephthah thought he would have an easier time securing the Lord’s favor if he “bribed” Him with a sacrifice—the first person who stepped out of the house on his return home. Unfortunately, that was Jephthah’s daughter. He paid dearly for that misconception of God. Continue Reading »
