Devotionals
How Has This Terrible Thing Happened?
The account of the Levite and his concubine is possibly the most horrible account in all of scripture. And it is confined entirely within the nation of Israel. No outside party has a role in the story. It is a story that shocks and conscience and boggles the mind. I remember years ago watching the... Read More →
Using Selfishness For Good
When I look at a guy like Samson, I’m blown away by how terrible this he was. Refused to listen to his parents. Killed 30 men to pay a debt. Visited a prostitute. Tore up the town gate. Married outside the faith. Threw away his vow to God because he had no patience, no discernment,... Read More →
Did God Endorse Child Sacrifice
Can I just say from the outset that many of the Judges are found lacking in terms of character. Just today we’ve read about Ibzan & Abdon who clearly had multiple wives — and that’s the only thing they were known by or remembered for. Samson is a hot mess, but we’ll talk more about... Read More →
That IS The Punishment, Dude
Today’s devotional is a quick one. The cycle of Judges is that Israel does evil, God punishes Israel, Israel cries out, God raises up a Judge, the Judge delivers Israel, Israel does evil. In this particular example we are looking at the Ammonites. But what I found frankly kind of hilarious is when they call... Read More →
The Least & The Greatest
Another day chock-full of all manner of things to dig into, it’s hard to choose where to focus. I think I want to take a minute and contrast our man Gideon with the previous judge, Deborah. Now, we don’t know either of these people of antiquity overly well, but what I find interesting is how... Read More →
Whose Will Be Done?
This is one of those passage where there is almost an overwhelming number of options for things to talk about. Why does Shemgar only get a single verse? Was he a contemporary with Deborah? A female judge? How does that square with the idea of leadership roles being reserved only for men? Jael broke… ALL... Read More →
Did God Drag His Feet?
Yes. Remember when we talked about Joshua saying God had fulfilled His promise, even though the totality of the land was not yet in possession of Israel? It was because God did His part, but the people had to do their part. That is confirmed here in Judges where God outright says as much. Something... Read More →