19–25 June 2016. 1 Samuel 17 (Click to read). Over and over in this world we see how the strong survive and succeed, and how they do this at the expense of the weak. Strong nations attack weaker nations; strong armies fly into other countries and randomly bomb and kill families and children; big companies use […]
12–18 June 2016. 1 Samuel 7–8 (click to read). Today when we think about good judges, we think of someone making neutral decisions, someone not biased one way or the other, someone who doesn’t get involved. But the great judges in ancient Israel weren’t like this. Instead of simply making neutral decisions, the great judges […]
5–11 June 2016. Ruth 3–4 (click to read). Anyone who has lived in a different country knows how hard it is to be a foreigner. We often get pushed away or treated badly just because we’re different. Sadly, the ancient Israelites often treated foreigners in shocking ways: oppressing and rejecting them, even murdering foreign women, children and […]
29 May – 4 June 2016. Judges 16 (click to read). From beginning to end, Samson’s story is like a train wreck. We see the disaster coming, but just can’t look away! What was Samson thinking? He is supposed to be a Nazarite, a man living a life dedicated to God, but instead he’s a […]
22–28 May 2016. Judges 7–8 (click to read). In Judges 7 and 8 we read about the Israelites’ trouble with the Midianites. Back in those days, the Midianites were a powerful group. They attacked and oppressed the Israelites, took their food and possessions, controlled their lands, and forced them into lives of misery. In ancient times, people […]
15–21 May 2016. Joshua 22 (click to read). One day I got an email advertising holidays to the “holy land”. Of course, what the travel agent meant was that they were selling trips to Israel. Sometimes we still hear people talking about “the holy land”, but it’s really quite a strange expression. What makes land […]
8–14 May 2016. Joshua 13 (click to read). What’s going on in Joshua 13? In chapter 11:23, we just read how Joshua conquered the whole land, gave it to the Israelites, and how “the land finally had rest from war.” But now we open chapter 13 and find God worried because Joshua is an old man […]
1–7 May 2016. Joshua 3–4 (click to read). The ancient Romans used to tell a story about the way their empire began. Twin baby boys, Romulus and Remus, were abandoned by their father, but were then saved by a female wolf. This wolf fed them with her own milk, cared for them, and helped them grow strong […]
Bonus April 2016 Text. Deuteronomy 28 (click here to read). Deuteronomy 28 is such a frightening text! Moses’s death is coming, and he wants to make sure that after he is gone the people never forget to obey God. So he stands before them and gives them a choice: do good and be blessed, or […]
24–30 April 2016. Deuteronomy 19 (click to read). Deuteronomy 19 talks again about cities of refuge, an idea we saw back in Numbers 35. But unlike in Numbers, this chapter is special because it includes the “lex talionis“, the famous Jewish law of revenge. In verse 21 this law demands “life for life, eye for […]