Week 72, Day 5: Taking a wife
Today’s Reading: Judges 21:1-25
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
The book of judges ends with the scene of Benjamin having been almost completely wiped out for their iniquity. This seems like an appropriate picture of what things will come upon Israel down the road because of their unfaithfulness. Israel now has remorse for the 600 men of Benjamin left from the slaughter. 600 is all that is left. That is counting women and children also. Everyone was wiped out except this small remnant. Now Israel moves to provide this remnant with a wife so they can begin to rebuild this tribe. It is interesting to think that some short time later Saul will arise from this remnant to be the first king of Israel.
This book ends with the statement that there was no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. This statment emphasizes that things have unraveled in Israel. Each man living by his own standards and growing farther and farther away from God.
Question: How much do things change for Israel when they do get a king?
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Week 72, Day 4: Benjamin punished
Today’s Reading: Judges 20:1-48
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
After the report of Gibeah’s lewdness was told to Israel they pledge to punish the city. All of Israel except Benjamin go against Gibeah. 400,000 men come against Gibeah. But instead of handing over these vile people, Benjamin assembles themselves to protect Gibeah. On the surface 400,000 against 26,000 sounds like there should be no doubt about who wins. But eighter Benjamin had some very valiant warriors or the Lord wanted things to go bad for Israel for a while. Israel is defeated twice, and twice they go back to inquire of God. They have now lost 40,000 people in these fights. Impressive. But on the third time God says He will deliver Benjamin into their hands.
Question: Why do you think God did not deliver Benjamin into their hands the first time? What lessons could Israel learn from having to go multiple timems against Benjamin?
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Week 72, Day 3: A sinful state
Today’s Reading: Judges 19:1-30
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Things have gone from bad to worse in Israel. The sin of homosexuality seems to be the mark of a society that has progressed very deeply into sin. We have already been seeing examples of how Israel is engaging in widespread idolatry. Their sinful state has gotten so bad that even the Levites have corruption within them. Now we have a city in Benjamin where a pack of men want to rape another man. Truly Israel is in a sad state now.
We can also see a few notes that reflect how very different society was during this time. The custom appears to be that one would sit out in the square until someone gave them lodging. No hotel was available. The old man felt responsible for the welfare of his guest to the point he offered his own virgin daughter to the crowd to satisfy their desires. Apparently either very little value was placed on a daughter or so much value was placed on this sense of duty to protect a guest under your roof that you would sacrifice the welfare of your own.
The last picture in this chapter is a gruesome one. The Levite cuts his concubine into 12 pieces to send out a message regarding Gibeah’s actions. Here this man stopped there because he did not trust the foreigners of the land, only to be treated so harshly. These kind of cruel and wicked acts could not go unpunished.
Question: What was wrong with how the men of Gibeah acted? Find verses that condemn such actions.
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Week 72, Day 2: Dan’s aggression
Today’s Reading: Judges 18:1-31
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Chapter 18 begins by setting the scene in Israel. There was no king in Israel. As we saw last time, every man did what was right in his own eyes. There has been such a decline in the morality and devotion of Israel that idolatry is growing more rampant. The tribe of Dan is said to not have an inheritance. I am not sure if this is just indicating that Dan’s inheritance was currently possessed by the Philistines and so they were now looking for somewhere to dwell. But they now journey to the far north part of Israel to claim a spot for themselves. Along the way they decide to steal and plunder the house of Micah.
We find confirmation that the Levite was simply out looking for something better. He had come to Micah’s house and gotten a very high paying place of prestige within the household. He was treated well and well provided for. But along comes the men of Dan and we are told that the “priest’s” heart was glad when they spoke of him being a father to their tribe. He just got a promotion. Here is a good example of a man who spoke what the people wanted to hear and used his station to get money and prestige. Unfortunately there are many out there who would use preaching as a way to lift up themselves and gain from those around them.
Question: Where was Dan inheritance alloted to them? Where was the city that they seized?
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Week 72, Day 1: Micah’s Idol
Today’s Reading: Judges 17:1-13
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Verse 6 sums this chapter up well. “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” When man is without guidance and left to “figure” things out for himself we have a real mess. This chapter demonstrates that well. We are introduced to a man named Micah whose understanding of what God wants has been so distorted that he thinks that having a graven image will please the Lord. Without the revealed word of God man has come up with a lot of different things in his “service” to a god. Micah sets up a household idol, an ephod – perhaps similar to what the priest wore, and sets up a Levite to be the priest to his household. He has an official garb for the priest (the ephod) and even finds a real Levite to serve as his priest. But whatever man comes up with is just a sad attempt at true worship. When left to his own devices man comes up with many ways to serve god but it just ends up being that he serves a god of his own imagination.
It is sad to see that things in Israel have progressed to this point. Even the Levite who should be familiar with how to serve God correctly has sold himself into paigan idolatry. The question for us today is how do we avoid digressing into such a wretched state of religious decay? We have to know who is our king and where to find instruction for how to serve the king of kings.
Question: Is there any difference when someone serves a graven image or when someone serves a god of their own imagination (they insert practices or beliefs not found in the Bible and say that is what “my” god wants)?
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Week 71, Day 5: Samson Tells All
Today’s Reading: Judges 16:1-31
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Samson’s account continues to be one that baffles me. Here we have two accounts of Samson’s interaction with other women. With Delilah we are told that he love her. And yet what we see from Delilah is constant betrayal and a lack of care. But of course these kind of relationships are not new to us. There are plenty of examples today of this kind of attitude in relationships. One person is abused, mistreated, scorned, and neglected. And still they say, but I love him, he needs me, etc. Samson’s “love” should be a good warning for us to consider when it comes to who people choose to date. By the time marriage comes there should be a good understanding of the character of that person and a clear respect for God’s word in the other person.
Samson’s life as a judge continues to be one that breaks the mold of what I would think of as a judge. His life was “interesting” to say the least. It is very fascinating to see God use some people to accomplish His will.
Question: What do you think we can learn from Samson finally giving into Delilah’s constant nagging? What can Samson’s relationship with a gentile woman teach regarding relationship today with unbelievers?
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Week 71, Day 4: Samson’s Revenge
Today’s Reading: Judges 15:1-20
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
We now see the fullness of how the Lord was working through Samson’s marriage to cause an occasion for conflict. Samson’s wife had been given to another and when he finally got around to wanting to go back to her he seeks revenge. Again, Samson is not the picture of moral integrity. He had left his wife behind after the feast in chapter 14. After burning the Philistines’ fields, the Philistine’s burn his wife and father-in-law. Instead of taking this as being the punishment his wife and father-in-law deserved, Samson takes this as another occasion to strike the Philistines. He struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter. We are not told what number equalled a great slaughter but it certainly gives us the picture of Samson inflicting great loss upon them.
And then we have the better known account of Samson killing the 1000 men with a jawbone of a donkey. Again, Samson’s life has some very interesting twists and turns in it. He was one of the most unique judges of Israel.
Question: How would you define the term judge as used here in chapter 15 and in the rest of the book of judges?
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Week 71, Day 3: Samson’s first wife
Today’s Reading: Judges 14:1-20
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Some time has passed since chapter 13 when Samson’s birth was foretold. Now we have him old enough that he is wanting to marry. The problem is that he decides he wants to marry a Philistine woman. His standard upon which he bases his decision is not complicated. He says he wants to marry her because she looks good to him. Thus the stage is set for conflict to come about between Samson and the Philistines.
At the marriage feast Samson gives a riddle with the conditions that if they cannot answer it then he will be given 30 changes of clothes. The Philistines use his new wife to get the answer from him. We are told twice that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson. Already God is beginning to use Samson to work toward delivering Israel. Samson’s actions are going to be very different than we have seen any judge yet. His ability to deliver Israel will come in different ways than other judges. We’ll discuss this more in the next chapters. Also notice how much more is said about Samson than the other judges.
Question: Should Samson’s father have encouraged him not to marry the Philistine woman? Why or why not?
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Week 71, Day 2: Simple Instructions
Today’s Reading: Judges 13:1-25
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
After Israel once again begins to do evil before God, He gives them into the hands of the Philistines for 40 years. This is a long oppression. We are not told that Israel cried out to God for deliverance. We are introduced to the family through whom the next judge would come. This time, instead of picking a man from among Israel, God raised up a judge from the womb. God knew what Samson would do and also knew how he would do it (via being a nazarite). Another interesting things is that God chose a barren woman to bring about this child through. We are not told her age like we are with Sarah. But enough time has passed that it was evident that she was barren. It is interesting that God would choose a woman unable to have children to bring forth the next judge. So there are several things about this account that are very interesting to consider.
Her husband, Manoah, request that God send back the angel to teach them what to do. When the angel comes back the instructions are very simple and the same as what was given before. They were very simple instructions and the woman had heard them well enough to repeat them to her husband. Accounts like these make me think of how patient God is with us at times. Giving us time for His words to “sink” in. We can understand the commands but then have a hard time sometimes for things to “click”. I don’t know if that is the case here or if it was perhaps Manoah just wanting to see the angel himself. We do also see another temptation of man evident here. Manoah wants to know the angel’s name so that when the child comes they may honor the angel. What? Giving honor to an angel, a messenger from God. Man seems likely to be drawn away to wanting to honor the wrong things. Instead of realizing that he should honor God for this miracle, Manoah wants to honor the messenger. How many times man places honor on the wrong things or puts his focus in the wrong direction?
Question: What were the requirements for the boy to be a Nazarite? When was he to begin to keep this vow?
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Week 71, Day 1: Ephraim’s anger
Today’s Reading: Judges 12:1-15
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
We see another time here where Ephraim becomes angry that they were not summoned to come fight against Israel’s enemies. They had contended “vigorously” with Gideon in 8:1 over not being called to fight with Midian. Now they come out against Jephthah and threaten to burn down his house on him. I think this is an interesting picture to see of Ephraim. Gideon had pacified them by stoking their ego. He had told them that they had captured the leaders of Midian and how was he able to compare with them. But this time they are threatening violence and have actually come out against Jephthah. It seems like Jephthah has no choice but to fight with his brothers. How very sad but it appears to go back to a pride issue. Ephraim wanted to be treated a certain way and be included in the victories or else they were offended. Jephthah is able to give them a sound whipping. We do not see Ephraim acting in this way again during the time of the judges. Perhaps they learned a lesson here.
Question: Do the judges all come from one particular tribe or region?
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