Can It Get Any Worse?

Judges 17-18

Don't know about you, but when I read through Judges, I am struck by how the people only behave (at least in public) when they have a strong leader i.e. a judge in place. Once he (or she) goes, they descend into idolatry and chaos again. There seems to be no godly self-governing principle and (therefore) no appetite for transmitting the knowledge of God to the next generation.

Meet Samson

Judges 13-16

Most people think of the famous Bible character as having rippling muscles, rather like this:

But given the Philistines could not work out what gave him his strength, he probably looked more like this:

Just Enjoy It

Judges 4-5

A couple of years ago, I was of the opinion that the only reason Deborah became a "judge" in Israel was because the men had all abdicated their responsibilities and that the whole situation was wrong. Deborah should not have held that office.

I now think I was somewhat short-sighted. That Deborah was a judge may well have been an exceptional occurrence, but it was not an evil one. Nowhere does the Bible condemn this state of affairs. For example, Isaiah does not at any point introduce his declarations of woe and judgement with the opening line: "Remember the former abominable days of Deborah?... This is like them..." I am thus of the opinion that neither should we.

The Only Defence is a Good Offence

Judges 1-3

The conquest of Canaan was a Holy War, unlike any other campaign that Israel would wage in its subsequent history. After the main offensive drive, there remained pockets of resistance that were to be annihilated (believe it or not I squirm writing that).