March 17, 2024
Gideon’s first act as a judge was to tear down his community’s altar to Baal, which he did at night because he knew they would be upset. Sure enough, the next morning the whole town is fired up: When...
March 10, 2024
My last reflection focused on Gideon recognizing he was dealing with God, and so he built an altar to commemorate the experience. Now God speaks directly to Gideon:That night the Lord said to him, “...
March 4, 2024
Last week’s reflection dealt with how we sometimes delay or avoid what God is calling us to do. In Gideon’s case, once he runs out of excuses, he offers God’s angel a gift of meat, bread and broth,...
February 26, 2024
My last reflection was about how God sent an angel to speak with Gideon, and how their conversation began with some startling words about Gideon’s strength. The discussion continues with a back-and-...
February 18, 2024
Last week we learned about Israel’s feeling of utter devastation from being continually assaulted by their current rulers. They are at the low point in the cycle, and God identifies Gideon and...
February 11, 2024
In last week’s reflection, I laid out the full cycle of Israel and God’s interaction during the time of the judges. Now we’ll begin to look at individual judges, beginning with Gideon. But first,...
February 4, 2024
My last reflection focused on how the Israelites suffered because they turned away from God. It is one part of a cycle, and we see the fullness of the pattern here:Then the Lord raised up judges, who...
January 28, 2024
In last week’s reflection, we see that Israel angered God by forgetting their covenant with Him and worshipping other gods. Now we see the consequences of Israel’s disobedience:So the anger of the ...
January 22, 2024
Last week’s reflection focused on how Israel was becoming separated from God by forgetting God’s expectations, lessons, and values. We see the detachment deepen in the next verse, as Israel begins to...
January 15, 2024
As we begin to study the Book of Judges, we see a period of time, after Joshua’s death, when Israel repeatedly disappoints God. Chapter two describes the beginning of this separation:…And there arose...