Judges
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The aftermath of the civil war rendered the remaining men of Benjamin devoid of spouses, endangering the very survival of their tribe. Compounding this dire situation was the unwavering reluctance of other tribes to offer their daughters in marriage to the six hundred Benjamites, who had sought refuge in the desolate wilderness of Rimmon.
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After receiving the dreadful parcel, the entire nation of Israel, spanning from the northernmost region of Dan to the southern border of Judah, gathered at Mizpah. However, the tribe of Benjamin refrained from participating in this assembly.
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In the Benajimite town of Gibeah, the Levite and his wife could not find any lodging as the people were not as hospitable as he had imagined. However, there was an old farm worker who took pity on them and offered his place for the couple to spend the night. The old man was also from the hill country of Ephraim and that was grounds enough for him to invite the Levite and his concubine to spend the night with him. Perhaps, the old man had the foresight about the evil present in the men of Gibeah and did not…
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Religions and denominations have given the people a worship order that is moulded according to their convenience. When God brought the recent pandemic to remind people that they do not religion to connect with Him, the religious leaders doubled down on the need for organized worship. Again and again, we continue to defy God when we keep holding on to our idols be it the silver ones that Micah crafted or the leaders we are ready to follow instead of listening to God’s voice.
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Samson was the last judge during a tumultuous period in Israel’s history but God had a plan for Israel even through these Judges. God wanted the Israelites to realise that no matter who ruled over them, He was in total control. He wanted to show that He is the only one they would need but the Israelites kept chasing after human leaders. The Israelites accepted the forefathers, Moses, the Judges, the kings, the prophets and even the Jewish temple leaders as their rulers but they never accepted God as their leader. The purpose of bringing the Israelites into this new…
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After Samson had come of age, he sought to marry a young Philistine woman whom he had met in Timnah, a city twenty miles east of Jerusalem. Even after the objections of his father and mother, Samson was adamant in his pursuit of the young woman who he had fallen in love with. Samson was chosen to be the deliverer of his people even before his birth and was under a Nazarite vow that forbids unions with pagan worshippers. His parents were not keen on this alliance and tried their best to persuade Samson to marry one of the girls…
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The twelfth judge of Israel came from the tribe of Dan, born in the town of Zorah. Back then, the Danites were settled in the southern part of the kingdom and shared their borders with Philistia. The continuous abandonment of everything that was moral, led the Israelites to be subjected to their old foe. The LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years before raising a deliverer from the most unexpected source. No Judge or deliverer of Israel had ever come from the modest tribe of Dan. But that was about to change as God himself…
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When we confront the forces of this world with the power of God we must lean on His understanding and wisdom rather than making our own assumptions. Failure to do so will not only dilute the word of God but also make others think that it is on par with the manmade cultures of this world.
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God allowed the reign of Abimelek to continue for three years before it started self-imploding. God is working according to His own plans and has set a time for everything. There was time for Israel to repent and a time for them to endure the consequences of their actions. A time for us to come closer to God, a time for us to move away from his grace and protection. The people got what they wanted when Abimelek forcibly became the king but evil cannot be subsided without the fear of God. None of the people in this chapter display…
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Gideon assumed that their cause would be lauded with the same exhilaration as it had been accepted in the regions west of Jordan. But the eastern tribes shared boundaries with the Midianites and the other eastern countries that were raiding Israel. They had more to lose if the Midianite reinforcements were able to defeat the short-lived Israelite uprising. There was already a shortage of food in the land and they did not want to lose their supply over an unworthy cause.
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The LORD knew that Israelites would count the victory as theirs if they had the slightest confidence in their own numbers. He used a barebones version of Israel’s army to rout the mightiest of forces leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that He is the one in control. But people still found a way to redirect their gratitude towards a mortal vessel that God had used to deliver them.
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We often question God for the heartaches and grief in our lives without fully understanding His will. God wants us to come to Him with these questions rather than festering them up in our minds and fading away from His presence. Gideon was right to ask God for a reason for his misfortunes but he was also ready to accept God’s solution. Many a time we crib to God about our plights but seldom do we act on His guidance to come out of our problems.
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On the outskirts of Kedesh, Hebner the Kenite had pitched his tent as he was on good terms with the king of Hazor, Jabin. Jael was the wife of Barak, literally a nobody and not even part of any of the tribes of Israel, who brought down the army of Sisera and helped Israel overcome the mighty Canaanites.
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It is strange to see a whole generation grow up not knowing anything about God. The Israelites loved their traditions and festivals and the festival of Passover would have been religiously followed each year. Families would get together over the Passover meal as the elders would recount the adventures of their ancestors in the desert and how the LORD would constantly bring them out of the brink of annihilation. However, for some strange reason, this new generation did not feel connected with their Maker. Not only did they abandon their own relationship with God but they were responsible for the…
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It is strange to see a whole generation grow up not knowing anything about God. The Israelites loved their traditions and festivals and the festival of Passover would have been religiously followed each year. Families would get together over the Passover meal as the elders would recount the adventures of their ancestors in the desert and how the LORD would constantly bring them out of the brink of annihilation. However, for some strange reason, this new generation did not feel connected with their Maker. Not only did they abandon their own relationship with God but they were responsible for the…
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The book exposes the downward Spiral of the Israelites and paints a picture to its readers of their lives without God. Whether we acknowledge it or not, our surroundings have a lasting effect on our belief system. Israel seamlessly blended in with its neighbours and at every opportunity chose to align itself with the pagan world than associate with the God of Heavens and the Earth. No sooner did they enter the promised land, the people forgot about everything that God had done for them and their ancestors during their journey through the wilderness.
The Jordan Valley 