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Judges 13 Commentary http://www.lovingscripture.com Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. This statement here and in several other places in this book gives us an impression that Israel had a see-saw relationship with the LORD. We can doubt this view. Israel’sContinueContinue reading “Judges 13 Commentary”

Judges 12 Commentary http://www.lovingscripture.com Ephraimites confront Jephthah with the complaint that Jephthah didn’t involve them in his battles against Ammon. We first met this kind of reaction from the Ephraimites when Gideon defeated Midian. Gideon’s wisdom had pacified the situation. Jephthah is not Gideon and so the outcome of the confrontation is very different. CivilContinueContinue reading “Judges 12 Commentary”

Judges 11 Commentary http://www.lovingscripture.com The story of Jephthah is similar to Abimelek’s. Both are born under similar circumstances. You would expect Jephthah suffered abuse from other family members before he was eventually driven out. That is the difficulty that men subject their children to when they decide to have children in that way. The LORD,ContinueContinue reading “Judges 11 Commentary”

Judges 10 Commentary: Jephthah http://www.lovingscripture.com After the time of Abimelek, we have a couple of Judges that come and go without much-reported activities: Tola and Jair. Our attention is drawn to the eighth judge, Jephthah. He came into the picture at a time when Israel was in great distress. And for a change, Israel prayedContinueContinue reading “Judges 10 Commentary”

Judges 9 Commentary http://www.lovingscripture.com The history of Israel during this time was defined by the two idol temples mentioned in this chapter. Baal-Berith was a temple of crime. The other unnamed temple was a temple of sinful indulgence and revelry, from which Abimelek’s opponent mounted an insurrection. Idol temples have continued to influence world history.ContinueContinue reading “Judges 9 Commentary”

Judges 8 Commentary http://www.lovingscripture.com Now we can approximate the size of the army that had gathered against Israel. How can an army of 120,000 be routed by a mere 300 poorly equipped men? With God nothing is impossible and we are also reminded of the promise that one would put a thousand to flight. ThisContinueContinue reading “Judges 8 Commentary”

Judges 7 Commentary http://www.lovingscripture.com Hidden in the lines of chapter 7 is an important contrast that can help us decipher what the LORD is trying to do. Coming up against Gideon is a league of nations, led by Midian and so numerous that they could not be numbered. So really, the thirty-two thousand that GideonContinueContinue reading “Judges 7 Commentary”

Judges 6 Commentary http://www.lovingscripture.com Chapter 6 finds Israel in trouble again. As everywhere else in this Book, pain and suffering are expected and fully deserved. God’s contract with Abraham hasn’t performed well. We know the culprit. Israel has not kept the faith. It’s a fact that the visiting angel of the LORD underlines. And weContinueContinue reading “Judges 6 Commentary”

Judges 5 Commentary http://www.lovingscripture.com This chapter is fully devoted to Deborah’s song. It is a song of praise but there is a lot more to look at.“God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.” Judges 5 verse 8. VeryContinueContinue reading “Judges 5 Commentary”

Judges 4 Commentary http://www.lovingscripture.com It speaks of God’s generosity that Israel’s cry for help can be heard. We also know any such relief is short-lived as it functions like a bucket of water. It will not heal the leaky roof. The LORD does however help Israel and the human agent is the courageous leader inContinueContinue reading “Judges 4 Commentary”