Category: Judges

April 10: Read through the Holy Bible in a year

Mark 9:1-32,Mark 9 begins with the Transfiguration and gives an explanation regarding Elijah, he had already come. Then a boy with an evil spirit was healed and the disciples asked Jesus why they could not drive out the evil spirit. He answered: “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” After that Jesus predicted his death and resurrection but the disciples did not understand it.

Judges 10. Things went from bad to worse with Tola, Jair and Jephthah as leaders, so the Israelites were again oppressed. They finally repented and got rid of their false gods.

Judges 11 describes the glorious victory and tragic vow of Jephthah. Jephthah’s Daughter is forever memorialized.

Psalm 33 is a Psalm about the sovereignty of God in creation and history. Here and in many other places of the Bible it encourages us to “sing a new song”.

April 9: Read through the Holy Bible in a year

Mark 8:22-38. Jesus healed a blind man at Bethsaida, followed by Peter’s Confession and Jesus predicting his death.

Judges 7. Gideon called for fighting men. Eighty-two thousand men gathered to fight. God said that was too many, reduce their number, and in two steps they were whittled down to Gideon’s Valiant Three Hundred men. With that “army” and God the Midianites were defeated.

Judges 8. Gideon Defeated the Midianites, the story is getting complicated but read it anyway. After the great victory Gideon made an Ephod from the Ishmaelites’ golden earrings and this became a snare to them all. Finally Gideon died and immediately after the Israelites fell back into idolatry, worshiping Baal.

Judges 9. The Bible tells it as it is, warts and all. So it is with the story of Abimelech’s Conspiracy and the parable of the trees. All the evil led to Abimelech’s downfall. A take home from this chapter is his last words, after his skull was cracked by a millstone, dropped by a woman. “Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him.”

April 8: Read through the Holy Bible in a year

Mark 8:1-21Mark 8 begins with Jesus as he fed the four thousand, the Pharisees were still looking for a sign, but Jesus warned of the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod, all very confusing for the disciples; they were still not thinking in the spiritual realm.

Judges 4. Every now and then God raises up a woman to lead the people. Deborah was such a woman and judged the people of Israel.

Judges 5 is all about the Song of Deborah. Read it and enjoy!

Judges 6. Things were going bad for Israel, the Midianites oppressed them, God called Gideon. Gideon was reluctant but after speaking with the Angel of the LORD Gideon destroyed the altar of Baal. God wanted Gideon to defeat the Midianites but again Gideon was reluctant, so he demanded the sign of the Fleece (twice). God provided the sign.

April 7: Read through the Holy Bible in a year

Mark 7:24-37. Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon and gave an  example of Great Faith: The Canaanite woman, and the healing of her daughter.  Then Jesus healed a deaf-mute man, and the people said: “He has done everything well.”

Judges 1 describes the continuing conquest of Canaan, and the Israelites’ incomplete conquest of the land.

In Judges 2 God decried Israel’s disobedience, the author recorded the death of Joshua, and chronicled Israel’s unfaithfulness and sin.

Judges 3. The cycle of straying from the LORD and coming back to Him began for the nations remaining in the land. Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and He raised up Judges: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, and during their time there was peace in the land for 40, then 80 years.

April 18, read through the Holy Bible in a year in Power-point, with comments.

Four Old Testament. chapters today, the end of Judges.

April 18: Psalm 27, Judges 19, Judges 20, Judges 21 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Psalm 27, of David. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Judges 19 tells in painful detail about the Levite’s Concubine and Gibeah’s crime, probably the most gruesome story in all the Bible. The Bible is honest and tells it as it was, totally wicked.

Judges 20 describes Israel’s War with the Benjamites. Another horrendous chapter.

In Judges 21 they had killed nearly all so the Israelites had to find wives for the Benjamites. The book of Judges ends fittingly: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes,” in other words, anarchy.

April 17, read through the Holy Bible in a year in Power-point, with comments.

While still between the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles we stay in the Old Testament reading one chapter pf Proverbs and four chapter of Judges.

April 17: Proverbs 5, Judges 15, Judges 16, Judges 17, Judges 18 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Proverbs 5 tells of the perils of adultery and doesn’t mince words.

Judges 15. Samson defeated the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass.

Judges 16 contains the vivid story of Samson and Delilah and how he finally was captured. In his death Samson slew many more than when he lived.

Judges 17 is short, contains only the telling of Micah’s Idolatry.

Judges 18, as the Danites had failed to take their allotted land from the Philistines they wandered around and finally settled in Laish and changed the name of the city to Dan, and there they still practiced idolatry.

April 16, read through the Holy Bible in a year in Power-point, with comments.

Taking a pause between the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles we read two Psalms and three chapters of Judges today.

April 16: Psalm 25, Psalm 26, Judges 12, Judges 13, Judges 14 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Psalm 25, of David. “Unto Thee, o LORD do I lift up my soul.”

Psalm 26, of David. A Psalm where David asked God to judge him on his merits based on faith.

Judges 12 records Jephthah’s Conflict with Ephraim where they killed people based on their accent. After that three more people, Ibzan, Elon and Abdon led Israel.

Judges 13 tells of bad times for Israel for forty years. Then came a glimmer of hope, the birth of Samson.

Judges 14. Samson started out great, but then he took a Philistine as his Wife.

April 15, read through the Holy Bible in a year in Power-point, with comments.

Well do a 5 day study in the Old Testament as we move from Luke to Acts, enjoy!

April 15: Psalm 23, Psalm 24, Judges 11 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Psalm 23, of David. Probably the most memorized Psalm of them all. Do it, if you can.

Psalm 24, of David. This time the Psalm is illustrated with pictures. Enjoy!

Judges 11 describes the glorious victory and tragic vow of Jephthah.  Jephthah’s Daughter is forever memorialized.

April 13, read through the Holy Bible in a year in Power-point, with comments.

Today’s chapter of Luke contains the Good Friday message, read it carefully and ponder. The chapter in Judges is a lesson in how not to behave.

April 13: Luke 23,  Judges 9 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Luke 23. This is it, the second most important day in the Christian calendar. Jesus was on trial before Herod and Pilate. Pilate was trying to wiggle out of sentencing Jesus by setting one condemned prisoner free on Passover. The crowd chose Barabbas over Jesus, Pilate reluctantly gave in, so Jesus was sentenced to be crucified.   On the cross Jesus said the famous “Seven Last Words”, (taken from the four gospels), then he died and was buried before sundown.

Judges 9. The Bible tells it as it is, warts and all. So it is with the story of Abimelech’s Conspiracy and the parable of the trees. All the evil led to Abimelech’s Downfall. A take home from this chapter is his last words, after his skull was cracked by a millstone, dropped by a woman. “Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him.”

April 12, read through the Holy Bible in a year in Power-point, with comments.

Today’s chapter of Luke tells the first half of Jesus’ last day before his death. The chapter in Judges tells the rest of the story of Gideon, the part never preached. Read it as history.

April 12: Luke 22,  Judges 8 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Luke 22. Judas agreed to betray Jesus, it was Passover so Jesus commemorated   the Last Supper with his disciples, after which they went to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed. While they were there Jesus was betrayed, arrested and taken to the house of the high priest. Waiting outside, Peter disowns Jesus three times before the cock crowd. Jesus was interrogated during the night and before daybreak the Sanhedrin had heard enough, and were ready to sentence him to death, but only the Romans had the right to execute the sentence.

Judges 8.  Gideon Defeated the Midianites,  the story is getting complicated but read it anyway. After the great victory Gideon made an Ephod from the Ishmaelites’ golden earrings and this became a snare to them all. Finally Gideon died and immediately after the Israelites fell back into idolatry, worshiping Baal.