judges

The stories in the book of Judges put human sinfulness on display like few others. One wouldn’t expect to find the broken, sinful people of Judges mentioned elsewhere in Scripture. One would be less likely to expect to find them … Read More

When something fails, you typically investigate why it happened. Before repairs are made or a replacement is ordered, you want to ensure you know how to avoid or prevent the same issue from happening again. This standard practice is carried … Read More

Humans have expectations. It is impossible for any of us to enter a situation without these expectations. In marriage, raising children, attending church, and working a career, expectations impact how we assess our lives. We impose these expectations on God’s … Read More

As we near the end of Judges, we are faced with some shocking examples of human depravity. The author makes it clear that Israel had replaced God’s theocratic rule with natural desire—“Every man did what was right in his own … Read More

Many people remember a repeated phrase from Judges: Every man did what was right in his own eyes. We understand the principle of that phrase, but we seldom see it illustrated like in Judges 17-18. These chapters feature a man stealing from … Read More

As you read the book of Judges, you can’t help but notice how the messiness of sin seems to be spiraling out of control. If Gideon and Abimelech weren’t bad enough, the ugliness of Jephthah’s outcome and now Samson’s selfish … Read More

The middle chapters of Judges provide interesting juxtaposed stories. It begins with Abimelech, the first character whose back story goes to his birth. As Gideon’s illegitimate son, he killed his brothers and acted out a murderous rampage. The next major … Read More

The other day my six-year-old informed me that she was bored. She proceeded to tell me that life was too predictable and our daily routines were no longer exciting. She is the thinker in the family but also the reactionary … Read More

We all have times when we’ve said things we regret. Usually, these things appear as threats or promises that we can’t or won’t follow through on. The Scriptures are full of warnings about our words. We received a reminder of … Read More

The land of Israel is filled with historically rich cities. Not rich in the sense of monetary wealth but of biblical historical significance that spans thousands of years. You might initially think of places like Bethlehem, Caesarea, Capernaum, Jericho, Nazareth, … Read More