Judges

In the opening of this chapter, we are shown two more instances of zeal (which were not recorded before) on the part of the tribes of Israel,...

The fierce summons of the Levite in the last chapter was just as fiercely responded to by the rest of Israel’s tribes. From north and south,...

The narrative which closes the Book of Judges, in this and the next two chapters, is certainly the darkest in the whole history. The end result...

Sometime after the incidents recorded in chapter 17, the numerous and energetic tribe of Dan – hemmed in by Amorites and Philistines, and...

The first of the two episodes in this final portion of Judges exhibits much degeneracy and superstition; and in the characters who appear in...

We have just witnessed the passing away of Samson in 1101 BC, whose job as Israel’s Judge was to “begin” to deliver his people from the hands...

The closing scenes in the history of Samson painfully exhibit the feebler side of his life. In the last chapter, in particular, his character...

Over the winter, the anger which had prompted Samson to leave his new wife and go home began to subside. By the springtime, his former...

Samson’s first direct contact with the Philistine tyrants who dominated his homeland was when he was about 19 years of age (around 1121 BC). By...

This chapter opens, once again, with the Israelites doing evil “in the sight of the Lord.” And this renewed declension resulted in the longest...

As if the sorrow over his daughter had not been a sufficient cup of bitterness, the haughty tribe of Ephraim now assailed Jephthah with threats...

The last chapter closed with the Israelites making preparations to fight the Ammonites, but they had no leader! Here at the beginning of this...

The brief but stormy reign of the “Bramble King” was followed by a number of years of comparative rest (1197-1170 BC). The sacred historian was...

Part 1 After Gideon died, the worship of Baal became common again in Israel. And having forsaken their Covenant-God, the people next turned in...

The men of the tribe of Ephraim had not been eager to lend their assistance in fighting with the Midianites; but they were haughty and jealous...

Gideon was now about to marshal the assembled tribes for a decisive struggle with the enemy; but he received new directions, which were...

Deborah and Barak’s victory at the Brook Kishon secured the Israelites from further attempts of the remnant of the Canaanite population to...

This chapter contains a triumph-song of God’s people over their enemies. Herein are blended both praise and prayer; the song begins with...

The view from Mount Tabor After Ehud’s deliverance from the Moabite oppression, the land of Israel had rest for 62 years (1342-1280 BC). This...

The first four verses of this chapter are closely connected with the last chapter. We are told that the Lord purposely left some of the...