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Judges 16 Commentary Chapter 16 winds down the story of Samson. What a story! It is a nice Sunday school story, but every grown man knows men don’t have to be this dumb. Samson is an embarrassment to the menfolk. There can be an easy conclusion to the story: With his hair, Samson is strong;ContinueContinue reading “Judges 16 Commentary”

Judges 15 Commentary One can decide to focus on the awesome strength of Samson and never get disappointed. Imagine the strength of a single man who rounds up a pack of 300 foxes! Most men will have problems catching one chicken! It took three thousand men from Judah to ask him to surrender to theContinueContinue reading “Judges 15 Commentary”

Judges 14 Commentary His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” Indeed, isn’t there an acceptable man or woman among the brethren? Must you go to the nightclub to get a spouse?In Deuteronomy 7ContinueContinue reading “Judges 14 Commentary”

Judges 13b Commentary “He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” Verse 5b. Actually, Samson would be killed by the Philistines! How God’s great and awesome plans are undone by men’s wickedness! “Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eatContinueContinue reading “Judges 13b Commentary”

Judges 13 Commentary Samson’s birth is detailed because of the special circumstances around it Samson is a miracle child, so is Israel. They both come from barren situations. They are both consecrated to the LORD at birth – before birth, long before birth. Samson’s mother and Sarah have children specifically born for a purpose. TheyContinueContinue reading “Judges 13 Commentary”

Judges 12 Commentary Ephraimites, again. Gideon dealt with Ephraim’s arrogance and indifference with tact and wisdom. A civil war was abated. Jephthah isn’t Gideon. Wisdom isn’t common knowledge! Foolishness, arrogance, and pride all take root within God’s community, and a civil war claims forty-two thousand lives. The saint’s enemy has many identities. Jephthah defeats oneContinueContinue reading “Judges 12 Commentary”

Judges 11 Commentary The story of Jephthah is similar to Abimelek’s. Both are born under similar circumstances, and you expect animosity and abuse among the siblings. But strangely, the LORD God doesn’t have these dividing lines! Like Abimelek, Jephthah found solace in a group of scoundrels. He was an effective leader.When Ammon pressed against Israel,ContinueContinue reading “Judges 11 Commentary”

Judges 10 Commentary After the time of Abimelek, we have a couple of Judges but without details. Our attention is drawn to the eighth judge, Jephthah. He comes into the picture when Israel is in great distress. And for a change, Israel prays the right prayer: “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and servingContinueContinue reading “Judges 10 Commentary”

Judges 9 Commentary 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. Today,ContinueContinue reading “Judges 9 Commentary”

Joshua 8 Commentary Now we can approximate the size of the army that had gathered against Israel. How can an army of 120,000 be defeated by 300 poorly equipped men? With God, nothing is impossible. We are also reminded of the promise that one would put a thousand to flight. This is one important factContinueContinue reading “Judges 8 Commentary”