Judges 4

“Israel sinned again…,” v1, and for twenty years, God allowed them to be in bondage. And again they called on God. A prophetess, Deborah, was leading Israel. She summoned Barak and told him God was sending him to lead the army. His answer was, “I will go if you will go with me,” v8. Ultimately, Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army was defeated.  Sisera himself fled. Exhausted, he stopped at a tent to rest. Jael, the wife of a godly man, killed him. 

This strange sto

Judges 3

Because of sin, Israel was in bondage to Eglon, king of Moab even paying an annual tribute to him. When Israel cried out to God, God raised up a deliverer, Ehud, a left-handed man who was  to deliver the tribute to Eglon!   He strapped a hidden blade on his right side. The guards searched only his left. He used the blade to kill Eglon. 

Before Israel prayed, God had Ehud in place. Where his left-handedness would have been considered a problem, it was essential to the solut

Judges 2

This chapter explains the cost of “making peace with evil,” whether evil practices in one’s life, or binding covenants in the business or the political world. Verse 10 speaks of a generation that arose that “did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done.” Their incomplete obedience was a poor foundation that produced repetitive chaos, chaos allowed by God to remind them of the price of disobedience.

Not all chaos is the result of disobedience, but when a nation or i

Judges 1

The books of Judges and Ruth contain Jewish history that cover the time between the death of Joshua and birth of Samuel. They portray Israel as a tribal federation, becoming a nation, coming into possession of the Promised Land. The stories usually revolve around the faith and action of leaders.

Caleb, who had led under Joshua, needed to identify men and women with leadership faith, so he offered his daughter to become the wife of any man who would capture Kiriath-sepher.

Luke 8

Luke 8 captures much of the nature of Christ and His work including some of His best-known parables and most instructive miracles. These reveal His power over nature, demons, sickness and even death. The chapter begins, however, with recording the faithfulness of a group of women who had been healed of a variety of diseases, and even demon possession, who helped support both Jesus and his disciples “out of their private means,” v3. Some are named; some are not, but all we

Luke 7

John the Baptist had been put in prison by Herod (Luke 3:20). Though having identified Jesus as “the Lamb of God” (Jh 1:19-36) and even having been thought of by many as being the Messiah, he had ended up in Herod’s prison while Jesus was gaining a following. So, he sent two trusted disciples to ask, “Are you the one to come?”, Lk 7:18-28. 

Sometimes events appear to overpower faith. One can go through a “Herod’s prison” experience and need assurance. It does not mean we h

Psalm 36

“Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes, for it flatters him” v1. A person intent on doing good, “feels good” when he does good. It is the affirmation of a godly conscience. A person intent on doing evil, however, “feels good” when he has done evil. Evil resonates in his heart. 

Gross acts of evil are easily understood as such. But how we regard the success or failure of others reveals what is in our own hearts. There

Joshua 24

“Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord” (24:14). Joshua knew that the Israelites would not only be tempted by the “new” idols of Canaan; they also faced the temptation of serving the old gods of their own ancestors. This included the false gods of Abraham’s family from “beyond the Euphrates” (v2) as well as the gods of Egypt (v14). Among many competing options, the choice to serve the one true God always required stea

Joshua 22-23

 “Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God” (23:11). Joshua’s last words to the Israelites reminded them that life in the Promised Land depended on their faithfulness to the Lord. “Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses ...” (23:6-7). They would be tempted to worship the idols of their neighbors, but if they did, they would lose God’s favor in the land (23:13). Joshua urged them to maintain their passio

Joshua 21

“The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were in all forty-eight cities with their pasturelands” (v41). The Levites (including priests) were the only tribe without their own land allotment, because, as servants of the tabernacle (and later Temple), God Himself was their inheritance. When they weren’t serving in the Temple, they lived in designated cities “in the midst of” all the other tribes, some of which were cities of refuge. I

Joshua 20

“These were the cities designated for all the people of Israel and for the stranger sojourning among them, that anyone who killed a person without intent could flee there ...” (v9). God commanded Joshua to create several “cities of refuge” throughout the Promised Land, so that those who accidentally killed someone (manslaughter) could find safety there, rather than be executed by a family avenger or mob violence (v9). That person was supposed to explain his case to “the e

Luke 6:20-49

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (v46). Jesus insisted that calling him “Lord” should mean a whole-life revolution. He rejected the status quo that affirmed caring only for one’s own family and status (v24-26) and left peoples’ hearts unchanged. “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them” (v32). Instead, Jesus announced that people were “blessed” who, in their weakness, threw themse

Luke 6:1-19

“The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath” (v5). Not all Jewish people lived close enough to visit Jerusalem’s Temple, but all Jewish people could observe Sabbath. By declaring himself Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus touched the heart of Judaism, demonstrating God’s true character and teaching what God really wanted. Religious leaders were furious at this, because they used Sabbath rules to boost their own authority (v2,7). Jesus deliberately healed people on the Sabbath to demon

Psalm 35

“Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!” (v1). The psalmist shows us that we can call on God, trusting that He “has our back”, no matter what. We often feel that life is a battle we cannot win, and we aren’t sure who is trustworthy. Even when we try to do right, we are “repaid” with trouble (v12). But amidst threats, doubts, and even self-accusation, we hear the Lord’s unchanging assurance: “I am your salvation!” (v3).

Go

Joshua 19

“When the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them, the people of Dan went up and fought against Leshem” (v47). Instead of possessing their promised allotment, the tribe of Dan decided to move far away to the north and take a city on their own (see Judges 18). Joshua, though, was given “the city that he asked, Timnath-serah... he rebuilt the city and settled in it” (v50).

The Dan clan failed to trust God and moved far away from the tent of meeting, eventually becomi