Closer Day By Day

Judges 18

Yesterday, belovedofthelord showed us 3 characters that served as cautionary tales for us Christians in the last days.  Today, let us conclude the 2 part series of chapters 17-18 by looking at what other warning signs we - as the supposedly faithful men (and women) of God in the last days should be careful of… lest we also quickly slipped to become faithless people. Bible Passage:  Judges...

Judges 17

Bible Passage:  Judges 17 We now reach the final portion of Judges. These last 5 chapters showcase several puzzling, inhumane, and ultimately, faithless deeds of the people of Israel. The rampant  idolatry and mind-boggling violence are probably at the lowest point in the history of God’s people. Judges 17-21 is an appendix to the list of judges since the events here took place back in the...

Judges 16

Bible Passage:  Judges 16 Seeing His people’s misery and hearing their cries, God chose Samson (even before he was born) and commissioned him to deliver His people out of the hand of the Philistines (13:5). Samson’s parents took the revelation of this consecration of offering with great cares (i.e. the dos and don’ts for being a Nazirite). The Lord blessed Samson and the spirit of...

Judges 15

There is a Chinese saying that goes “冤冤相报何时了?”, which literally means “revenge for revenge, when will it end?” If you are a fan of Chinese kung fu dramas, you may have come across this saying very often, and it is very true that if we allow our anger to lead us into taking things into our own hands, vengeance is always inevitable; and whenever there is vengeance,...

Judges 14

Bible Passage:  Judges 14 Of all the judges, Samson is probably one of the notorious and controversial ones. During the period of judges, some of the judges raised by God to deliver the people were not only ungodly but were even evil. Let us look into this chapter. The first thing I noticed was that Samson’s wife was unnamed and was a Philistine. The Philistines were oppressing Israel...

Judges 13

Bible Passage: Judges 13 In this chapter, we see the events that led up to the birth of the strongest man to have ever walked the earth, Samson. In brief, the Angel of the Lord told the wife of Manoah (a man from Zorah) about the forthcoming birth of Samson, who would deliver the Israelites from the Philistine. After she had told Manoah everything, he prayed that he might see the Man again, and he...

Judges 12

Bible Passage:  Judges 12 At the beginning of the chapter, we see something familiar. The Ephraimites came forward to complain against Jephthah just like they did to Gideon in chapter 8. But this time they even threatened to burn Jephthah’s house with fire. Also, this time they were not turned away with a gentle reply, instead Jephthah gathered the Gileadites and there broke out civil war! I...

Judges 11

Bible Passage:  Judges 11 Jephthah’s rule as a judge was a short span of 6 years (Judges 12:7). Within these years, he accomplished the work of the Lord and his story presents historical and spiritual lessons for us. Jephthah’s name carries the meaning “God will open”, and in fact we do see how this comes into effect when we consider the overall account of his life. Despite...

Judges 10

Ever seen what a vicious cycle looks like? It looks like this: Puns aside, today’s chapter is an archetype of the cycle of events we find in the book of Judges. After the turmoil caused by Abimelech, there were two minor judges, Tola and Jair. We can assume the land was at peace in the time of these two judges and the Israelites enjoyed rest from the oppression of their enemies for 45 years...

Judges 9

Bible Passage:  Judges 9 After the death of Gideon (in Chapter 8), his son, Abimelech, aggressively sought to rule Israel by force and proclaimed himself King of Israel (only the people of Shechem recognized him as their king). This was in stark contrast to his father’s acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty as the King of the chosen race, who then declined Israelites’ request to be...