Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 100

Apr10
Day 100.  Reading 1 Samuel 9 – 12
 

Read today’s scripture.

How do you see God’s faithfulness today?

1 Samuel 9.

This sounds like the beginning of a fairy tale.

“There was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish … a man of wealth. And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.”

A fine candidate for a king! Maybe that’s what Samuel thought as well.  And God told the prophet just that. “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines.”

All we need is a damsel in distress!  Or a nation.

Turns out, the problem is a few lost donkeys. Saul’s father sent him (and a servant) to find them.  They looked everywhere, and when they ran out of food, finally decided to go back home. Saul was worried that his father would now be more concerned about him being lost than the animals.  But the servant suggested one last try before turning around.

“There’s a man of God in this city. I hear that all he says comes true. Maybe he can tell us where the donkeys are.” The servant had a silver quarter to offer to the “seer,” so Saul agreed.  They met some young women with water pots and asked for directions.  They told Saul that the seer was in town for a special sacrifice, and if they hurried they’d meet him just ahead.

They saw Samuel coming out of the city, and Saul said, “Where’s the house of the seer?”

“I’m the seer,” Samuel said. “Today you are going to eat with me and I’m going to tell you all that’s on your mind.  Oh, and as for the donkeys you lost three days ago, they have been found.”

Samuel went on to tell Saul that he and his father’s house had been chosen for a special task. Saul demurred. “I’m a Benjamite, the humblest of the tribes. Why are you talking to me this way?” 

Samuel said nothing more but led them to the feast. He called for the special portion of meat he’d laid aside earlier and the cook brought it to Saul. Afterward, Samuel took Saul to a bed ready for him, and the tall, dark, handsome (but bewildered) man lay down and slept. 

At dawn, he woke Saul up and took him to the edge of the city. “Send you servant on, but you stay here. I have a word of God for you.”

1 Samuel 10.

Alone with Saul, Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul’s head. “The LORD has anointed you to be prince over His people Israel. You shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies.”

  • Saul was shocked to silence and disbelieving. So Samuel said, “This shall be a sign that the LORD indeed has anointed you. 1) You will meet two men on your way home, by Rachel’s tomb. They will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father is now worried about you.”
  • Samuel continued with two more signs. 2) “After that, at the oak of Tabor, you’ll meet three men going up to Bethel. One is carrying three young goats, another is carrying three loaves of bread, and the third has a skin of wine.  They will give you two loaves of bread.”
  • 3) When you come to Gibeath-elohim where there is a garrison of Philistines, you will meet a group of prophets with a harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre, prophesying. God’s Spirit will come on YOU and YOU will also prophesy.  With these three signs, YOU WILL KNOW GOD IS WITH YOU.”
  • “Then you are to go to Gilgal and wait for me seven days.  I’ll come and show you what you shall do.”

Those were some pretty specific signs, and Saul had to believe.  When Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, GOD GAVE HIM ANOTHER HEART.  And all the signs came to pass.

Samuel called the people together to the LORD and told them that the LORD their God had faithfully brought them out of Egypt, given them the land, and fought their enemies.  But that “Today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to Him, “Set a king over us.”  Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD.”

Then by lot, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen, the clan of the Matrites, and finally Saul the son of Kish was chosen by lot.  

But where was he?

“Hiding behind the baggage,” the LORD said. And they brought him out.

“Do you see him, the man the LORD has chosen?” said Samuel proudly.

“Long live the king!” shouted the people.

Samuel read the rights and duties of the kingship and wrote it all up before the LORD.  And everybody went home. (Anti-climax?)

1 Samuel 11.

Then came the new king’s first test.  The Ammonites besieged Jabish-Gilead and offered a peace deal with some awful provisions.   “Help!” cried the people and sent a message to Saul. God’s Spirit rushed upon him and he was greatly angered.

Saul killed a yoke of oxen and cut them into pieces.  He sent pieces throughout Israel, threatening whoever did not come to help would end up like the oxen. Well, 300K men showed up. They tricked the Ammonites into passivity and at dawn attacked. Thousands were killed and all others fled away in terror.

And Samuel took the people to Gilgal and there “renewed the kingdom.” There they made Saul king before the LORD. And Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Saul passed his first test.

1 Samuel 12.

Now Samuel gives a farewell address to Israel (although he will be around for a while longer).

“And now, behold, the king walks before you and I am old and gray; and behold my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. Here I am. Testify against me before the LORD if I have done anything wrong to you.”

Then Samuel preaches a VERY LONG sermon, beginning with, “The Lord is witness…”

After preaching about the goodness and care of God for them, he brings them to their demand for a king

“Now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the LORD has set a king over you.  IF both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, THEN it will be well. But IF you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, THEN the hand of the LORD will be AGAINST you and your king.”

“Pray for us to the LORD your God ...” the people cried to Samuel.

“Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and right way.  Only … fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things He has done for you.”

 

  • O LORD, help me too to fear and love and serve YOU faithfully with all my heart. For indeed, you have done so much for me! 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 99

Apr9
Day 99.  Reading 1 Samuel 4 – 8

Read today’s scripture.

How do you see God’s faithfulness today?

1 Samuel 4.

Wow.

Since Samson had left only a “dent” in the Philistine armies when he died, they continued to be a thorn in the flesh of Israel along Israel’s southwestern border. Now these mighty men invaded Judah from Aphek (the north-eastern-most Philistine town) and defeated them, killing 4K Israeli soldiers.

Israel panicked and instead of turning to God, they got the “brilliant” idea to bring out the Ark of the Covenant. So those wicked sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, brought the Ark of God out of the Tabernacle at Shiloh to the battleground at Ebenezer.

A GREAT, HUGE CHEER broke out from Israel. And it scared the Philistines to death!  They knew and remembered the stories of how Israel’s God defeated the great Pharoah of Egypt and shook in their sandals.

“A god has come into the camp! Woe to us! Woe to us! Who can deliver us from these mighty gods? Take courage and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; BE MEN AND FIGHT!”  And so they fought. This time, 30K Israeli soldiers died, plus the sons of Eli.

And…the Ark of God was captured!  

When it was told to the fat, 98-year-old Eli that his sons were dead, and most importantly, that the Ark was in Philistine hands, he fell over backward, broke his neck, and died. (Just as the young Samuel had prophesied.)

“The Glory had departed from Israel! The Ark of God had been captured!”

But God wasn’t a helpless captive. He would NOT let his “throne” be desecrated.

1 Samuel 5.

The Philistines took the Ark to Ashdod, their nearest city, and put it into the temple of their god, Dagon, as a “trophy.”  But, when they went in the next morning, they saw their idol had fallen face down, in worship, before the Ark of God.

Whoa!  Looking around in fear, they set their idol back up on its pedestal.

The next morning, they found the same thing, except the idol’s head and hands were broken off and placed in the doorway.  Not only this, but the people of Ashdod began getting tumors all over them. EEK!  “Get rid of that thing!”

So the Ark of the God of Israel was taken to Gath.  The same thing happened there – tumors on the men and boys.  Those citizens also freaked out and sent God’s Throne to Ekron. Now, the third of the five Philistine cities suffered too. The hand of God was very heavy on them, and those who did not die were struck with those dreaded tumors.

All the lords of the Philistines decided they MUST send the Ark of the God of Israel … BACK to Israel. Seven months of suffering was ENOUGH!

1 Samuel 6.

The Philistine priests and diviners told them how to return the Ark.  They were to build a cart, hitch up two milk cows (with calves locked in the barn), put the Ark of the God of Israel on the cart, along with five gold items (for each of the cities – Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron) as “guilt” offerings, and send it off.  If the cows returned home to their calves (which would be natural), they would know that the tumors, etc. were NOT from God, but a mere coincidence.  But if the cart did not return, they would KNOW, that the God of Israel was responsible.

The cows – with their calves crying in the distance – took the cart with the Ark (without turning to the right or left) STRAIGHT to the Levite town of Beth-shemesh, in Judah.  Farmers who were reaping there, stopped and rejoiced to see it. They sacrificed the cows on the wood from the cut-up cart as a burnt offering to the LORD.

When the Philistines who followed saw this, they returned to Ekron, satisfied.

However, 70 men of Beth-shemesh came to look (ogle?) at the Ark of God, a great sin of presumption. (See Numbers 4:20)  This lack of awe and respect caused God to flash out and kill all 70.  Yikes!   The people there cried out, “Who can stand before the LORD?  Where can we send the Ark?

They sent to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim in the heart of Judah. The men came and took the Ark of the LORD. They put it into the house of Abinadab after consecrating his son Eleazar to have charge of it. It stayed there until King David brought it to Jerusalem (See 2 Samuel 6:1-19)

Why they didn’t return it to Shiloh, we don’t know.

1 Samuel 7.

After that, Samuel – “the voice of God” – said to the people, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD, and serve Him only. He will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines.”

So the people did what Samuel said.

Then Samuel gathered all of Israel together and said, “I will pray to the LORD for you.”  They fasted and confessed their sin against God at Mizpah.

When the Philistines heard the people were gathered there, they came up to fight them.  The people – scared of the hoards – cried to Samuel to cry to the LORD to save them.  Samuel did and the LORD answered him.

The LORD thundered with a mighty sound against the Philistines, threw them into confusion, and routed them.  The men of Israel pursued them and struck them down.  And so, the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the land of Israel all the days of Samuel, and there was peace with them.

Samuel set up a stone at Ebenezer (not the one in 4:1) and said, “Till now the LORD has helped us.” (Ebenezer means “stone of help.”

Have you heard of the old hymn, “Come, Thou Fount”? Here is the second verse:

  • “Here I’ll raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’m come;
  • And I hope by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
  • Jesus sought me when a stranger, wand’ring from the fold of God.
  • He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.”

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. He went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, returning to Ramah where his home was.

1 Samuel 8.

When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel; Joel (“the Lord is God”) and Abijah (“my Father is the Lord”).  But God had not chosen them, and they did not walk in the ways of their father. They “turned aside after gain” and took bribes and perverted justice.”

(How did this happen? Did the godly Samuel neglect to discipline his sons, as Eli had?  It’s so sad. But God is sovereign, and His plan must not have been for the time of judges to continue.)

The people of Israel saw Joel and Abijah and how they acted, and heartlessly said to Samuel,  “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a KING to judge us like all the nations.”

Samuel was heartbroken. He prayed to God, and God told him to “Obey the voice of the people in all they say. For they have not rejected YOU, but they have rejected ME from being king over them. Obey their voice, only WARN THEM SOLEMNLY and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them,”

So Samuel warned them about having a king.

  • He will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and soldiers.
  • He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and fifties, and some to plow his ground and reap his harvest and to make implements of war.
  • He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
  • He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.
  • He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and servants.
  • He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys and put them to HIS work.
  • He will take the tenth of your flocks and you shall be his slaves.
  • And in the day you cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, the LORD will not answer you.

It’s like they didn’t even hear him.  “NO, but there SHALL be a king over us, that we also may BE LIKE ALL THE NATIONS, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles!”

Samuel repeated these words to God.

And God said, “Obey their voice and make them a king.”

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 98

Apr8
Day 98.  Reading 1 Samuel 1 – 3
 

Read today’s scripture.

How was God faithful to Israel in these chapters?

1 Samuel 1.

A sweet and sad love story. 

Hannah was deeply loved by her husband Elkanah (a member of the Kohathite clan of the tribe of Levi), but she had no children. He married a second wife, Peninnah, to produce an inheritance, but he loved Hannah and treated her very well. 

Each year they would go to Shiloh where the Tabernacle was, to worship God as all men were required to. (This was probably the Feast of Tabernacles.)  This year, Hannah went to the gate of the Tabernacle and silently poured out her heart to the LORD. She promised that if God would give her a son, she would give him back to the LORD all the days of his life. 

Eli (a corrupt priest, with corrupt sons, as we shall see), thought she was drunk, and rebuked her.  Hannah said she was praying, and Eli probably felt rebuked himself and blessed her, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition.”

Back at home, she conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, which means “heard of God.”

(So far, this kind of sounds like Samson’s story. Samuel would also “judge Israel” all his life, but how differently!)

For three years Hannah and baby Samuel stayed home when the others went to Shiloh. (Elkanah agreed with her vow to give the boy to the LORD. As her husband, he “could” have annulled it.)  I know that she prayed for her son and filled him with songs and truths about God as he grew, and perhaps of his destiny in the service of God.  At 3 years old, after she weaned him, she took him to Shiloh when the family went to worship.  

And she fulfilled her promise to give him to the LORD.  It must have been doubly hard because the priest, Eli was so lax in raising and disciplining his own sons. But she left Samuel there, as she had vowed.  Did her heart break???

1 Samuel 2.

Hannah’s prayer is nothing but praise to God!

  • My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is exalted in the LORD…
  • I rejoice in Your salvation.
  • There is none holy like the LORD; there is none besides You; there is no rock like our God.
  • He raises up the poor from the dust; He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.
  • The pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them, He has set the world. 

Elkanah and Hanna went back home.  And the boy, Samuel, ministered to the LORD in the presence of Eli the priest.   But the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD. They stole the LORD’s portion. They extorted meat from the worshippers, treating the LORD’s offering with contempt for their own gratification.

But the boy Samuel ministered before the LORD, wearing a tiny linen ephod.  Hannah made and brought him a new robe each year when they came for the yearly sacrifice. And Eli would bless her and Elkanah.

And, indeed the LORD blessed them. Hannah conceived and bore THREE more sons and TWO daughters!!

The young man Samuel grew in the presence of the LORD.

But the very old Eli did nothing to stop his own priest-sons from grossly sinning. They even had sex with the women ministering at the gate of the Tabernacle.  Eli did scold them, but they didn’t listen.

HOWEVER, the young man, Samuel, continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and man. (It truly must have been a miracle of God for him to do this, living in such corruption of the priesthood.)  

One day a prophet of God came to Eli and told him the LORD’s will. “Why do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest part of every offering of my people Israel??”  “Behold the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house.”  “And Hopni and Phinehas, your two sons, shall both die on the same day.”

1 Samuel 3.

Meanwhile, Samuel ministered to the LORD under Eli, whose eyesight was fading.  It seems that Samuel was sleeping in the Holy place of the Tabernacle (??) where the Golden Candlestick burned, in front of the veil which hid the Ark of the Covenant.

“Samuel!” the young man heard and ran to Eli. 

“Here I am, for you called me.”  

“I didn’t call you, go lie down.”

“Samuel!” the LORD called again. Samuel went to Eli.

“Here I am, for you called me.”

“I did not call you, my son, lie down again.”

“Samuel!” the LORD called a third time, and off Samuel went to Eli.

“Here I am, for you called me.” 

Hmm, though Eli. Could it be?  “Go, lie down, and if He calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears’.”

And God did call Samuel again. “Samuel! Samuel!”

“Speak, for your servant hears.” 

Then the LORD gave him a message that was very hard to hear. “I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of his house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

Wow. 

Samuel lay there until morning.  He was afraid to tell the vision to Eli, but the old priest said, “What was it that He told you?  Do not hide it from me.”

So Samuel told him everything.  (Like a prophet has to do, speaking the hard things of the LORD to a people who need to hear them.)

“It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him,” said Eli.

After that, the LORD was with Samuel and let none of his words “fall to the ground.”  From Dan to Beersheba, all Israel knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 96 & 97

Apr7
Day 96 and 97.  Reading Judges 19 – 21 and Ruth 1 – 4
 

Read today’s scripture.

How are you encouraged in the book of Judges?

How is God shown as faithful in the book of Ruth?

DAY 96.

Judges 19.

Wow, today, we finish Judges.  I’m glad we do. This section is really horrible.  It shows so clearly what happens when people turn from God and “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

This is a story about a despicable Levite (not the same one who traveled north with the Danites).  This one lived in the hill country of Ephraim. He took a concubine (servant with benefits) from the tribe of Judah. She was unfaithful to him and ran home. The Levite went there to get her and was kind to her, but the woman’s father kept him staying day after day and night after night eating and drinking. Finally the Levite got tired of that and left with the woman.

In another town in the land of Benjamin, they were forced to spend the night in the town square until a nice old man said it wasn’t safe and invited them to stay with him.  So they were eating and drinking and making merry.

And then….  (Replay Sodom at Lot’s house.)  Men from the city came seeking the Levite. These aberrant men lusted after him. The old man went out to calm them down and offered his two daughter for them to “use.”  But their lust was not satisfied and demanded the man.  Then the Levite threw  out his concubine forcibly. The men abused her all night until she died.

Next morning, the Levite saw her lying at his doorstep. “C’mon let’s go.” But she didn’t move. He three her body on his donkey and took her home.  THERE, HE TOOK A KNIFE LAND CUT HER UP INTO PIECES!!!!!  THEN HE SENT ONE OF EACH OF THE TWELVE PIECES THROUGHOUT ISRAEL TO THE TRIBES.”

Judges 20.

Well, all the men of Israel came out – from Dan to Beersheba (far north to far south) – over 400K men.

“This is what happened when I stayed in a town in Benjamin.” the Levite said.

After a lot of palaver, talking, and deciding, including inquiring the High Priest about what to do, Israel gathered together and fought against Benjamin, destroying over 25K of the men of valor. Then they struck the cities, and men and beasts with the edge of their swords. And finally set all the towns on fire.

Judges 21.

Then when the remaining Benjamite people wept, saying, “O LORD, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?”

“What shall we do?”  Their great idea was to go up to an area that had not sent men to fight, kill all the men and wives, and bring back the virgins to the remaining men of Benjamin.  They did, and brought back 400 virgins.  Peace was proclaimed and the women were given to the tribe of Benjamin.  And, oh my, there was still not enough. So the army went and captured 200 more virgins from Shiloh and gave them to fill the quota.

The people of Benjamin took the wives, returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in them.  And the army of tribes went back home and did likewise.

There was no king.

Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

(NO ONE thought to inquire of the LORD, turn to Him, seek His face…. or even read His Law.)

I am so glad this is the last of the book of Judges.

Tomorrow we’ll begin a book of HOPE after DISPAIR … a godly woman meets a godly man, and the royal line is established. Praise God!

###

DAY 97.

Ruth 1.

“In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.”  The text doesn’t say exactly, but figuring backward, the story could have happened during the judgeship of Tola (23 years) and Jair (22 years) from Judges 10: 1-5. 

A (local?) famine was in the land, and a man, Elimelech (my God is king). his wife, Naomi (pleasant), and their two grown sons, Mahlon (sick) and Chillion (pining) from the tribe of Judah (important) living in Bethlehem decided to migrate to Moab until the famine was over.  Sadly, Elimelech died there.  Naomi’s sons married Moabite women, Orpah (stubborn) and Ruth (friendship), but it doesn’t seem any children were born from these unions.  Finally, the two sons also died.

Three widows. In a pagan land.

It’s been ten years. Naomi decides to go home.  She sends her daughters-in-law back to their homes in hopes they can remarry and have good lives. Orpah hugs her and leaves. But Ruth refuses, even when Naomi insists and tells her the bleak story of what their lives would be like in Israel as widows.

Nope. Ruth remains firm. “Do not urge me to leave you, or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.  Where you die, I will die and there be buried.  May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”

WOW. How many young women love their mothers-in-law like that today?

Naomi gives in and the two make their way back to Bethlehem. Naomi tells the women of the town to call her “Mara” (bitter) “for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full and the LORD has brought me back empty.”

It was near the end of April, the time of barley harvest (the famine had ended!).

Ruth 2.

A close relative of Naomi’s husband (important), whose name was Boaz (strength) was someone she could “maybe” go to for help. He was “a man of valor” (like Gideon and Jephthah) and could manage and protect his property. He’d never married, or maybe was a widower too.

Naomi sent Ruth to his barley fields to “glean.” God’s law said that farmers were to leave the corners of their fields, and any grain that dropped, for the poor to pick up. (See Leviticus 19:10-11, 23:22)  Ruth labored long and well in Boaz’s field.  Later he happened to pass by and saw her. He asked his men who she was and learned her story, 

Boaz went to Ruth and told her to stay and work in his fields only. His men would not interfere, and if she got thirsty, she was to go to the water the young men had drawn and drink. 

Ruth bowed deeply and asked why he was so kind. He told her he’d heard about her faithfulness to Naomi. “The LORD repay you and may a full reward be given you by the LORD under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

At the noon break, he invited her to eat bread, roasted grain, and wine with the reapers. When she returned to work, Boaz told his workers, “Let her work among the sheaves too, and do not reproach her. Also, pull out some stalks from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up.”

After gleaning all day (back-breaking work) she went to the threshing floor and beat out the grain. This she took to Naomi (about 30-40 pounds!).  Naomi was astounded at the amount and told her to stay in his field. So Ruth worked there until the end of the barley harvest.

Meanwhile, Naomi’s heart lifted. Boaz was a near redeemer in her family. That meant he could rescue them. He could marry Ruth, and their firstborn would be accounted to Abimelech’s line, like a grandchild to Naomi, so her husband’s name wouldn’t be lost in Israel. After that, the children would be for Boaz.

Ruth 3.

Naomi tells Ruth about Boaz as their redeemer and explains what she should do to let him know that she is available and willing for him to redeem. 

He was willing and gave her a pledge of 6 measures of barley.  He explained that there was one glitch (a closer redeemer) that he had to take care of first. She should be patient.

Ruth 4.

Boaz went to the gate of the city – where business was transacted – and approached the man who was a closer redeemer. He told the man about Ruth and Naomi and asked if HE wanted to be the redeemer.

At first, the man was willing, but when he learned there was no offspring from Elimelech, and he would need to provide one, he turned down the offer.  He had children of his own, and didn’t want to split up their inheritance for the dead man’s offspring.

Boaz was formal, but inside he was rejoicing. Ruth could be his. And sure enough, soon they were married.  And the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. Naomi was once again blessed by the LORD, and when she held the baby boy, her own grandson, she rejoiced.

They named him Obed.  He was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, who would become KING in Israel (and ancestor of the Messiah, Jesus).

  • Wow, what a wonderful ending, after those horrid accounts in the book of Judges.  During all that sin and forsaking of the law, God had His eye on one family, descended from Judah through Perez, Salmon (with Rahab), Boaz, and on to David, a “man after God’s own heart” and eventually to the “Son of David,” to the Savior, His only begotten Son, Jesus. PRAISE HIM!

Yay! We’ve now finished the  8th and 9th books of the Bible, in our Chronological Reading!

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 95

Apr5
Day 95.  Reading Judges 16 – 17 
 

Read today’s scripture.

Is there anything that encourages you from the book of Judges?

Judges 16.

Oh, Samson. Your lustful eyes and arrogant pride will be your downfall. (Literally.)

Samson goes down to Gaza, the southernmost Philistine city, and there he sees and uses a prostitute. When the people learn their arch-enemy is in town, they surround the house, thinking they will kill him at dawn. But Samson wakes at midnight, goes to the gates of the town (which are closed/locked for the night), pulls up the posts, and carries them and the gates to the top of a nearby hill.  So much for locking him in!

Then, in another place, Samson sees and falls for Delilah. Instead of trying to “take” Samson at dawn, as the people of Gaza, these Philistines offered to pay Delilah $35K to discover the “trick” to his strength.

She woos him, plays on his pride, and using her feminine wiles, has him “confess” three times the key to his strength. She calls the men, but Samson breaks the bindings like wax. She is peeved (seeing that cash melt away) and eventually tricks Samson into telling the true source of his strength – his Nazarite Vow, which forbids him cutting his hair.

Samson sleeps, Delilah calls a barber then the Philistines. Yep, he’s as weak as a babe.  The last thing Samson sees before losing his eyes is Delilah counting her money.  Betrayed!!!  Such glee among the Philistines! They make him “perform” and then put him to work like an ox, grinding grain at the mill in prison.

(Was Jesus thinking of Samson when He said, “If your eye offends you, gouge it out.”? (See Matthew 5:27-29)

But Samson’s hair begins to grow.  And perhaps repentance and submission to God too.

Years later at a great feast for their god, Dagon, who has the head of a man and the body of a fish, the great crowd gets bored and calls for some entertainment. Samson.  The blind man, with a head of hair to his shoulders (DIDN’T THEY SEE THAT???) is brought in to perform and be mocked.  They laugh and cheer and guzzle their wine.

“Young man,” Samson whispers, “let me feel the pillars with my hands so I may rest.“

The boy places Samson’s hands on the two center columns.

He pretends to sag with exhaustion.

“O LORD God,” he prays silently, “please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my eyes.”

God hears him. 

Samson grasps the pillars with his hands and leans forward.

“Let me die with the Philistines!” He prays.

And he pulled with all this strength … and the house fell down.

“The dead whom Samson killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.“

His brothers buried him in the tomb of his father, Manoah. He was a national hero who died for his God and country. 

DID YOU KNOW? Samson is on the list of the heroes of the Faith in Hebrews 11:32, along with Gideon, Barak, and Jephthah.

Judges 17.

This story is evidence that the people of Israel had NOT been reading the Law of God annually.  They had no idea about His commands, statutes, rules, and laws.

Micah, a man from the tribe of Ephraim was a thief to begin with.  He stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother but returned it. She was so happy that she dedicated some of it to make a silver image. An idol!! She put it in her son’s house along with the ephod he made and a bunch of other household idols. This inspired Micah to ordain his son as a priest. (MAN!!! How far can they go from the LAW OF THE LORD??)

“There was no king in Israel in those days. (So) Everyone did what was right in his OWN EYES.

Then a true Levite living in Judah’s land journeyed to the land of Ephraim. When Micah saw him, he thought, “Wow, here is a real priest!!” He invited the man to stay with him. The smug Micah then thought to himself, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me because I have a Levite as a priest.” SERIOUSLY??

Judges 18.

Dan, the tribe from which Samson came, “was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then, no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them?”

(WHAT??  What about that small area on the coast including Joppa? Judges 1:34 tells us that they were indeed given that land, but THEY HAD FAILED TO SECURE IT and let the Amorites press them up into the hill country.)

Anyway, now this very small tribe was looking for some land they could easily take. Spies left Zorah (Samson’s town) and came to Micah’s house. They asked the wayward Levite priest living there for God’s direction. “Oh, all is cool,” said the Levite. “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD.”

So the five spies went waaaayyyyyyy north into the land of the Sidonians (not the land that God had given to Israel).  The people there were isolated and quiet. Cool. No problem.  They returned to their fellow Danites and said, “Let’s go up against this people, for we’ve seen the land and it is very good. Don’t be slow to go and possess the land.  The people are unsuspecting. The land is spacious. We will lack nothing there.” 

So 600 Danites, armed with weapons of war went up and arrived at the house of Micah. The 600 men went into his house and took the ephod, the household gods, and the carved silver image.

“What are you doing?” asked the Levite.

“Keep quiet. Come with us. You can be a priest of a whole tribe in Israel, and not just one man. “

“Cool!” said the priest. He took the artifacts and went with the Danite troops.

Micah, of course, was not happy.  “Why are you taking my priest and my gods?“

The Danites told him to be quiet or else he’d “lose his life.”

The Danites then went up to the people of Laish, a quiet and unsuspecting people, and struck them with the sword and burned their city.  There was no deliverer for them since Sidon was so far away. 

The Danites rebuilt the city and named it Dan. They set up the carved image and had the priests as their own. And so they remained until the day of the captivity of the land. 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 94

Apr4
Day 94.  Reading Judges 13 – 15
 

Read today’s scripture.

What encourages you from the book of Judges?

Judges 13.

Samson, the Old Testament Super Hero?  Not, when you get to know him!

The story begins as it has in the last chapters:

  • The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.
  • So the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines for 40 years.

This time we don’t read about the people crying out to God for help, but you can be sure they did.  The help would come from the tribe of Dan this time.  Remember, their land allotment was a small area at the Mediterranean Sea around Joppa. This was just north of the five main cities of Philistia (Ashdod, Gath, Ashkelan, Ekron, and Gaza). 

The town of Zorah, where Samson’s parents lived, was just east of Ekron and north of Gath. (kind of scary!)

As in so many of the Bible stories where God chooses special people for specific tasks, we see a man with a barren wife. One day the Angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah and told him that his wife was going to have a son. He was to be a Nazarite FROM BEFORE BIRTH. That meant that not only would the son NOT have his hair cut, and would not eat anything unclean or connected with grapes (juice, wine, raisins or skins), and never touch anything dead, but his MOTHER would also not eat anything from the vine or unclean.

The Angel of the LORD also told him that this son would “begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”  The couple believed, and asked God for more instructions on what they were to do with the child born to them. And the angel returned to instruct them.

Manoah asked the Angel for his name and the answer was amazing! “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”  This immediately reminded me of Isaiah 9:6, speaking about the Messiah to come.

  • “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

It was surely the pre-incarnate Jesus, talking to this Danite man.

And… in due time, Manoah’s wife conceived and bore a son. They called him Samson. “And the young man grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him.”

Sounds good, so far……

Judges 14.

Samson went to Timnah, a boarder town of Judah, saw a Philistine girl there and told his parents to get her for his wife. His parents were of course upset, thinking their nice Jewish boy should marry a nice Jewish girl.  But they forgot that God was going to use Samson to “begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”  Samson was “seeking an opportunity against the Philistines” and this was from the LORD.

As the three journeyed down to Timnah, a lion rushed out at them. YIKES!  Samson grabbed the cat with his bare hands and tore it to pieces (in the power of the Spirit).  WHAT???  Then they calmly went the rest of the way and talked to the woman. (I assume they made the deal for the bride price.)

A few days later, Samson went back to claim his wife and saw the carcass of the lion he killed. THERE WAS A SWARM OF BEES INSIDE … AND SOME HONEY.  Samson scraped out some of the honey and ate it! (Now did he touch a dead body?)  When he saw his parents later he gave them some and they ate too. 

Now, why is this in the story – other than to show Samson broke the Nazarite Vow?  Because our clever “judge” made up a riddle for the wedding party guests to guess.  The winning prize would be 30 changes of garments, awarded to the guests if they guessed the answer, or kept by Samson, if they didn’t.

Here it is:

  • Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.

Of course WE know what it was, but no one else could guess.  CHEATERS!!  Yep, the young men went to Samson’s fiancé and threated her to find the answer. She did and told them.  They smugly gave him the answer,

Samson was furious.  “If you had not ‘plowed with my heifer’ you would not have found out my riddle!”

The Spirit of the LORD rushed on him. He went down to Ashkelon and killed the young men in hot anger.  He returned to his parent’s home, and his new bride was given to his best man.   Oh, boy!!!

Judges 15.

After he cooled off, Samson went down to claim his wife, only to discover she had been given to the other man.  The dad offered her younger sister, but Samson was angered again.

He caught 300 foxes (how did he do THAT?), tied there tails together with torches and lit the torches.  The foxes ran wildly though the grain fields and burned up all the crops and the fig trees.

This enraged the Philistines, so they came and burned Samson’s “wife” and her father with fire.

Samson struck them all with great blows, braking their hips and thighs. Then he went to sulk.

The Philistines got up an army and raided Judah.  When asked why, they said, they wanted Samson.  So 3,000 men of Judah went to Samson and made a deal.  They bound him and gave them over to the Philistines. 

The Philistines shouted in victory when they saw the bound Samson coming.  But……………………

The Spirit of the LORD rushed on him and the ropes binding him melted away.  He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey (another dead body), grabbed it, and with it killed 1,000 Philistines!  And he sang a song about it.  Then he threw away the jawbone.

Samson was then very thirsty and called out to God, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”

And God split open the hollow place and water came out from it, and Samson drank it.  WHOA!

And Samson judged Israel twenty years.

..

(But wait! that’s not the end of his story. Stay tuned to tomorrow when Samson meets Delilah.) 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 93

Apr3
Day 93.  Reading Judges 10 – 12 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What encourages you from the book of Judges?

Before I go on to today’s reading, I want to share this children’s church song.  I hadn’t ever remembered reading about that 1-verse judge, Shamgar (Judges 3:31) who fought the Philistines for Israel. (We studied him three days ago.)

And then I came across this song while looking for something else.  I wonder how many kids singing this, KNOW about this Canaanite Judge for Israel!! I just had to add it here!

 

Amazing, huh?

Judges 10.

Six more mostly short-term judges follow Gideon’s family and fill in before Samson.  After God fulfilled the curse Jotham made on Abimelech and the people of Shechem, the judge Tola arose to save Israel.  He was a man of Issachar but he lived in Ephraim.  He judged Israel for twenty-three years.

After him, Jair from Gilead (East Manasseh) judged Israel for twenty-two years. (He was known for his thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and ruled thirty cities.

Then … the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served Baals and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. They forsook the LORD and did not serve Him, so His anger was kindled against them.  And … God gave them over to the Philistines and Ammonites who “crushed and oppressed them for eighteen years.”

The Ammonites crossed the Jordan River to fight against Judah and Benjamin and Ephraim. And Israel (surprise, surprise) called out to the LORD.  “We have sinned against you because we have forsaken our God and served Baals.”

But God was tired of rescuing them. He said, “I will save you no more.  Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”

That was a serious blow, and Israel got serious. “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to You. Only please deliver us this day.” (And they put away the foreign gods from among them.)

Judges 11.

And once again God raised up a judge for His people (Oh, the depths of His mercy and grace!)  Jephthah was a Gileadite (East Manasseh) and a mighty warrior.  After a time the Ammonites made war with Israel and they fetched Jephthah (after some bargaining) to help. 

Jephthah sent a long message to the kings of Moab and the Amorites, explaining how it came about that Israel took their land in the time of Moses … 300 years earlier!  But they would NOT LISTEN to reason.  So Jephthah decided to go to war.  He made a VOW that when he returned victorious, the first thing that came out of his house would be a sacrifice to the LORD.

Yikes!

Well, the LORD caused him victory in his battles and he defeated twenty cities of the Ammonites with a great blow.  He came home, and out walked – not a chicken, a cow, or a sheep – but his one and only offspring, his daughter.  GULP!!!

Now, Jephthah “could have gotten out of that foolish vow had he known the law of the LORD, which gives account for such thing.  He could have admitted sin and made a sacrifice for it, and saved his only child.”  But alas, he did NOT KNOW the law and after giving his daughter two months of solitary introspection out in the country to mourn her virginity…………… he sacrificed her. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Jephthah judged Israel for six years.

Judges 12.

Next there was a bit of intra-tribal fighting.  Soldiers of Ephraim were again miffed that Jephthah hadn’t called them to fight the Ammonites with him. They vowed to burn him and his house with fire.  What??? He tried to explain, but they got into a tussle fighting each other and 42K Ephraimites ended up being killed!!! 

(I guess none of the other tribes ever called them for help because they were such poor fighters!)

After that came Ibzan of Bethlehem. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He judged Israel seven years.

Then, Elon from Zebulun. He had judged Israel ten years. 

Next up was Abdon the son of Hillel from Ephraim.  He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel eight years. 

Yes, I know. I’m tired keeping track of all the one-term judges.  Tomorrow we’ll start the study of Samson, the worst judge yet, albeit, the most well-known.

  • O LORD, help me to learn more about You, and hide more of Your Word in my heart, so I don’t sin against You.

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 92

Apr2
Day 92.  Reading Judges 8 – 9 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What encourages you in today’s reading in Judges?

Judges 8.

And so, on with Gideon.  He’s valiant now, but beginning to slip. He and his 300 men chase the two kings of Midian. He met some men of the tribe of Ephraim who were mad at him for not calling them to battle. (He only called Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh.)  

Gideon chased the kings across the Jordan River but the men were, by this time, exhausted and very hungry.  He asked the people of Succoth and Penial for some food for his men.  They refused and Gideon vowed to “pay them back” with violence on his return (which he did). He attacked the remaining Midianite army and the two kings fled. Gideon’s men caught them, and the rest of the army fled in a panic.

On his return, Gideon dealt cruelly to Succoth and Penial, then told his young son to kill the two kings. But Jether was scared, so Gideon did the deed himself.

WARNING, GIDEON – temptation is coming.  The men of Israel said to Gideon, “rule over us.”  And at first, he was cool.  “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; The LORD will rule over you.”

Good start, Gideon, but then he asked for part of the gold from their spoil. He made an Ephod (only priests were to have them!).  Soon all of Israel “whored after it” for it had “become a snare to Gideon and his family.” 

But, the land had rest for forty years.

Gideon left behind 70 SONS from his wives and one more from a concubine.  This man was Abimelech.  Remember him.

And the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals. They did not remember the LORD their God who had delivered them from their enemies.

Judges 9.

Abimelech (Gideon’s son by a female servant) went to Shechem where his mother lived and stirred up the people. “Which is better for you, that all the 70 sons rule over you or ME? Remember that I am your bone and your flesh.“

“You!” they cried.

So, Abimelech hired a gang of worthless men and went south. They killed all of his half-brothers, missing only the very youngest, Jotham, who escaped.  And THE PEOPLE (not God) made him king at Shechem. 

Young Jotham, went to the top of Mount Gerizim and yelled out a parable about Abimelech and the leaders in Shechem, pointing out his murderous deeds.  He proclaimed a curse on them.  “Let fire come down from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and devour Abimelech.”

Then Jotham ran away. 

Abimelech ruled for three years. Then GOD sent an evil spirit between him and the leaders and they dealt treacherously with him. Anger stirred up strife. Each ambushed the other and plotted against the other.  Abimelech finally set fire to Shechem. The people ran for safety in their tower. Abimelech set it afire too, but before it fell a woman took a millstone and dropped it down onto Abimelech and crushed his skull. 

After that, the others who were with him left and went home.  

God returned the evil of Abimelech on his head and the evil of the men of Shechem on their heads.

And so, God fulfilled the curse of Jotham, Gideon’s son.

Sigh.

What a horrible time to live in Israel. After the LORD had fulfilled all His promises to them, they kept turning farther and farther away from Him.  He rescued them with flawed judges, but soon they were back at the evil their hearts craved.

  • O LORD, keep me firm. May my heart NOT stray from You!

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 91

Apr1
Day 91.  Reading Judges 6 – 7. 
 

BEGINNING THE MONTH OF APRIL

Continuing with the judges of Israel and the repeating cycles of sin.

What truth can help you TODAY?

Judges 6.

Oh, no! It’s happening again!

“The people did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.”

And the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. (Those people who had corrupted Israel by the hand of Balaam when Moses was alive. Israel had declared a holy war against them and defeated them soundly, killing all except the young girls. Now they were back to repay Israel.)

The Midianites overpowered them. Israel hid in caves and dens. The Midianites stole and destroyed all their crops and produce, so food was scarce. Midian came like locusts with their camels (not chariots) and laid waste to the land. 

Israel was brought VERY LOW. 

And the cried out for help to the LORD.

The LORD sent a prophet saying, “I led you up out of Egypt and drove out all in this land and gave it to you. I said I am the LORD your God, you shall not fear the gods in the land you dwell. But you have not obeyed my voice.”

Nevertheless, God raised up another judge, one fearful little man who was threshing his meager grain at night so as not to be seen.

The Angel of the LORD: “The LORD be with you, O mighty man of valor!“

Gideon: “Huh? If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened?  Where are all God’s wonderful deeds that our fathers talked about? The LORD brought us out of Egypt, but now He has forsaken us,” 

The Angel of the LORD: “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from Midian. I’m sending YOU.”

Gideon: “Seriously??? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am least in my father’s house!”

The Angel of the LORD: “I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

Gideon. “Show me a sign! Oh, wait, if it’s really you, stay here and I’ll bring you a present.”

The Angel of the LORD: “I will stay till you return.”

This was an extraordinary conversation!  But amazingly, the Angel remained till Gideon brought back some food. The Angel zapped the meat and broth and unleavened bread that Gideon brought with His staff and consumed it. 

“Whoa! Now I know I’ve seen the Angel of the LORD!“

The LORD gave Gideon the task of destroying the local alters of Baal and Asheroth that night, and Gideon obeyed. The whole town was angry and wanted to kill Gideon, but his father mocked.  “Do YOU defend the gods? Why don’t they defend themselves?”

Then the Midianites came. And the Amalekites. And the people of the East. They crossed the Jordan and camped in the plain of Jezreel. And all Israel quaked.

BUT… not Gideon because the Spirit of the LORD clothed him.  He sent messages to his tribe of Manasseh, and to Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali to meet him and they did, all 30K of them.  Then Gideon got the shakes. 

“God, if you will save Israel by my hand – as you have said – behold I’m laying a fleece of wool on the floor. If there is dew on it and not the surrounding area in the morning, I WILL KNOW YOU WILL SAVE US.

It happened as Gideon asked.

But he was still shaking.  “God, this time, let the fleece be dry and the surrounding floor be wet.”  Yep. It happened.  

Convinced yet, Gideon?  

Judges 7.

And so, Gideon and his 30K set themselves in array camped by a spring, ready for battle.

The LORD:  “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me saying, ‘My OWN HAND HAS DONE IT.’  So, tell all who are afraid to go home.”

And 22,000 left Gideon!!!

“Still too many, Gideon.  Give them the water lapping test.”  

Gideon did, and there were but 300 men left to fight the hoard of Midianites.

“With the 300 men I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand.”

And it seems that Gideon believed God.

Later that night God sent him to spy out the Midianite camp, and he heard one of the soldiers recounting a dream he’d had about a simple disaster.  But the other soldier declared, “It’s none other than the sword of Gideon, a man of Israel. God has given us into his hand, the whole camp.”

Whoa!  Prophecy from the mouth of the enemy, no less. And Gideon worshiped God.

“Get up, men, the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand!”

And so, Gideon and the 300, with only empty jars with torches inside and their trumpets, attacked at the sound of Gideon’s trumpet. “THE SWORD OF THE LORD AND GIDEON,”  they shouted and blew their horns.

And all of Midian fell into chaos, turning, spinning, falling, killing their own. Gideon called the other tribes to chase and capture them before they got to the Jordan River.  They did and also captured the two princes of Midian and killed them.  

Whew.

  • LORD, encourage my little faith as you did with Gideon. Help me to remember that YOU are a majority. YOU have the power to defeat any enemy in my life. O may I trust you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 89 & 90

Mar31
Day 89 – 90.  Reading Judges 1-2 and 3-5. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you find encouraging or challenging today?

Judges 1.

It seems that after Joshua died, the people of Israel tried to finish the conquest of the Land.  The LORD had Judah lead the charge, along with Simeon, who was positioned inside Judah.  They were successful with God’s help in several campaigns.

Interestingly, the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law also fought with Judah, south into the Negev. Judah and Simeon went west and captured three Philistine cities, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron. 

  • They cleared out and settled in the hill country, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because those people had chariots of Iron.
  • Benjamin could not drive out the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 
  • The house of Joseph (dual tribes) captured  Bethel with the help of a man of the city. They protected him and his family for the help – much like Israel had with Rahab and her family.  But Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants in some of their cities, putting them instead to forced labor. And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer.
  • Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of several areas but put them into forced labor.
  • Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, and other cities.
  • Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants in their area.
  • The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country and did not let them come down to the plain.

Joshua 2.

The Angel of the LORD came to the people at Gilgal.  “I brought you up from Egypt and into this land, I swore to give to your fathers. I told you I would never break my covenant with you, and YOU SHALL MAKE NO COVENANT with the inhabitants of this land. Instead, you shall break down their altars!”

“BUT, you have not obeyed my voice.  What is this you have done?  So, now I will not drive them out before you. They shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to trap you.“

And all the people wept.

  • And the people of Israel did what was EVIL in the sight of the LORD and served Baals.
  • They abandoned the LORD the God of their fathers, who brought them out of Egypt.
  • They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them.
  • And they provoked the LORD to anger.
  • They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.

So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel and he gave them over to plunderers. And He sold them into the hands of their enemies, so they could no longer withstand them. And whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them.

And they were in terrible distress.

And then …. like a pitying Father … the LORD raised up judges (military leaders) who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

Yet they DID NOT LISTEN to their judges, for the whored after other gods and bowed down to them. 

Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD saved them from the hand of their enemies.  He was moved to pity for their groaning.

But when the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than before, going after other gods, serving them, and bowing down to them.

(The book of Judges follows those SEVEN CYCLES OF SIN, each worse than the one before.

  • LORD, help me to be more mindful of the important instructions you have given me (for YOUR glory and MY good). Let me not get so involved with “MY” desires and plans that I forget what You have told me to do FIRST. Clean out the enemy! After all, You have promised to help me do it.

.

Judges 3.

Here’s what the LORD did to test His people.  After those who fought and conquered Canaan under Joshua’s leadership died, the next generation seemed content to simply settle down in comfort. (Not a good plan!)

God wanted to teach “war” to those who had not known it before, so He left some of the pagan nations undefeated inside the Promised Land. Would young Israel obey the commandments of the LORD and drive them out?

Here are the nations: five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites and Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon.  (It looks like they didn’t make war on those.)  Instead the people LIVED AMONG the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 

They not only did NOT make war against them, they settled among them, intermarried, and served their gods.

Disgusting!

  • But wait….  Doesn’t the LORD also tell believers to cast off our old sin nature and cast down every evil thought against Him, and resist the devil? Hasn’t He given believers a suit of Armor to protect us, and the mighty Sword of the Spirit with which to stand and defeat the devil? Hasn’t He given us His Spirit to strengthen us?  So why don’t we make use of it all?  

1) “The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served Baals and the Asheroth.” 

  • This angered God and He “sold them into the hand of the king of Mesopotamia for EIGHT YEARS.
  • They cried out to Him.  
  • The LORD raised up a deliverer who saved them – Othniel, Caleb’s younger brother from Judah. The spirit of the LORD was on him and he went to war and defeated that king.
  • So the land had rest for 40 years.
  • Then Othniel died.

2) The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 

  • He strengthened King Eglon, the king of the Moabites, plus the Ammonites and Amalekites. They defeated Israel and took the area around Jericho, and served him EIGHTEEN YEARS.
  • They cried out to the LORD.
  • The LORD raised up a deliverer – Ehud, a left-handed Benjamite.  When Israel sent “tribute” to King Eglon, Ehud went too, and stealthily killed the king with an 18″ double-edged sword. (A kind of funny story – read verses 16-26a.) 
  • Then Ehud ehud and the Israelites killed 10L Moabites, so they were subdued.
  • So the land had rest for 80 years.
  • And Ehud died.

3) The next judge was a converted Canaanite, Shamgar, who killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad and saved Israel.

Judges 4.

4) Again the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.

  • God sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan who reigned at Hazor.  The commander of the army was the cruel Sisera. And he had 900 iron chariots. He oppressed the people for TWENTY YEARS.
  • The the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help.
  • And the LORD raised up Deborah, a prophetess who judged Israel. She sent Commander Barak with 10K men from Naphtali and Zebulun, for the LORD had promised to give Sisera into his hand. He went and he LORD routed them all before Barak, pressing until they had killed the Canaanite king as well. 
  • Barak obeyed, knowing a woman would get credit for the battle’s win.  Not Deborah, but the wife Heber the Kenite, who fed the escaped Sisera some warm kefir and then pounded a tent stake through his skull while he slept.  YIKES!!
  • And the land had rest for 40 years.

Judges 5.

And they sang a song that Deborah wrote, all about the victory on that day, ending with, “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD! But your friends be like the sun as it rises in its might.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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