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).

Bonus Gospel!!

David Murray is professor of Reformed Theology at Puritan Seminary, Michigan. He has put together a series of videos that talk about the appearances of Christ in the Old Testament. He's drip feeding these out over the next couple of weeks on Vimeo:


CrossReference+ Episode 1

Looking Backwards and Forwards

The last chapters of Joshua reveal some interesting details about the history of God's people, which help us to make sense of what we'll see next in Judges and why Joshua presents such a strong ultimatum to Israel before his handover to the next generation.

You may remember that Exodus opens (Ex.1:8) with the statement that there arose a Pharaoh in Egypt who did not know (acknowledge) Joseph and what he had done for the nation. This Pharaoh had deliberately forgotten his history and so began to deal "craftily" with God's people by making them slaves.

Mafia Babies

One of the perks of my teaching job is that my pupils do recommend some great video clips for me to watch and given that most of what I'm reading in Joshua is about land divisions (and I don't have much to say about that - yet ;-), I thought I'd post this very amusing little number instead! Enjoy:



Original here.

Conquest and Compromise

Observations on Josh 4-7

As mentioned in the previous post, the people of Canaan are dreading the arrival of the Israelites. When they hear that God has dried up the river Jordan, their hearts melt with fear.

Israel consecrates itself to the Lord by mass national circumcision and Passover. Had the Canaanites had any sense, they would have seen this as their chance to strike (just like Simeon and Levi did back in Gen.34:25), but they are so awash with terror that even though the whole Israelite army gets laid out for a week like sitting ducks - they still don't try to gain an advantage.

What Took You So Long?

Observations on Joshua 1-3

God promises to establish Joshua as long as he meditates on the law and is strong and courageous. Those are the only prerequisites. His primary support is not his strategy, back up plan or wise council, but the Word of God and the good courage that comes from trusting the one who inspired it. Not much has changed. (Acts 4:29)