Orpah, returning to Moab, disappears in obscurity; Ruth, choosing Israel’s God, gains immortality. It would be easy to overlook the importance of the scene: three women in animated conversation by the Moabite roadside. Here’s what’s happening. The older one is remonstrating with the two younger ones about a decision they have to make. “Naomi said […]
With relief we move from the rigorous account of the Judges to the delightful little story of Ruth. Here’s a simple outline of the book of Ruth: Chapter 1, Returning; Chapter 2, Reaping; Chapter 3, Resting; Chapter 4, Redeeming. The book begins “in the days when the Judges ruled” (Ruth 1:1) and tells us there […]
What happens when people don’t seek wisdom from above? The cure is worse than the disease. Just as an aside, there isn’t one of us smart enough to figure out life on our own. Only one Man could do that—but He never did! He always checked in with His Father first: “I always do those […]
Little Benjamin defeats all the other tribes? Obviously the 11 had some hard lessons to learn, too! “So all the children of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead” (Jdg 20:1), and gathered at Mizpah. There “the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered” (v […]
Do you think humanity needs a Savior? God gives it to us straight. We are rotten to the core! We must remind ourselves that “All Scripture…is profitable” (2 Tim 3:16) when we see Judges 19! First, we read of “a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim” (Jdg 19:1). Then, “He took for […]
In the Bible, a journey to Jerusalem is always up; when Dan moves north, it’s downhill all the way. The Danites receive the spies’ report with alacrity. The spot was ideal! “God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth,” said the spies […]
Read More… from August 9, 2023 — The Easy Way Out — Way Out!
These last chapters show how Israel discovers what’s wrong with doing what’s right in your own eyes. We’ve seen the rot of the judgeship under Samson, whose two outstanding characteristics were physical strength and moral weakness. We’ve begun to see the Levitical system corrupted, with Micah’s rent-a-priest (it gets much worse). We’ll also observe the […]
Read More… from August 8, 2023 — Collapsing Like Dagon’s Temple
Samuel may be considered the last judge, but in Judges itself, Samson is the end of the line. Following Samson, who “judged Israel twenty years” (Jdg 16:31), we are introduced to Micah, whose name is a rhetorical question: Who is like Jah? Who indeed—certainly not idols! He lives in the mountains of Ephraim (17:1), not […]
How many struggling saints have found hope in Samson’s final prayer, “just this once, O God” (Jdg 16:28). From the last chapter in Samson’s life, the saying was framed, “Oh, the binding, blinding, grinding consequences of sin.” Here they are: “The Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. […]