Category: Judges

“Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, ‘No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.’ And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, ‘Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of…

Remember the Levite whose concubine was murdered horribly, so he sent a message to all of Israel? Well, Israel gathers to hear his testimony, and they end up going to war with the tribe of Benjamin. (the city of Gibeah where the atrocity happened belonged to Benjamin). This civil war should have been avoidable, but…

I must admit, this is one of the more disturbing passages I have read in a long time. A Levite and his concubine are travelling and taken in to a stranger’s house for the night. “As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on…

This dense chapter contains the account of 600 Danite families who travel to capture and occupy some land from the Sidonians. On their way, they convince Micah’s Levite priest to come be their priest, and they also take all of the household gods and ephod with them. “When [the Danites] had gone a distance from…

This rather odd chapter chapter contains the account of a man named Micah, who steals 1100 pieces of silver from his mother. When he returns them, his mother has an idol fashioned out of 200 pieces of the silver. “And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and…

“Then Samson called to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.’ And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his…

This chapter continues following Samson, who continues to have escalating conflicts with the Philistines (Israel’s current oppressors). “Then 3,000 men of Judah… said to him, ‘We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.’ So they bound him with two new ropes… When he came to…

This chapter has the account of Samson’s marriage feast and his famous riddle. I have heard multiple teachings on the shortcomings of Samson, the long list of things he does wrong, yet I’d like to focus on how God works through him, despite his numerous flaws. “Then [Samson] came up and told his father and…

“So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders… And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife… fell…

“The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, ‘Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.’ And Jephthah said to them, ‘I and my people had…