In the Beginning – Lessons from Liberators

July 1, 2018

Listen to audio  Israel’s Judges were really Deliverers or Liberators. Archaeology and geography testify to them; their major battles foreshadow Armageddon; and they give us many character lessons. “Joshua vs. Jericho” typifies the fall of symbolic Babylon and shows us the meaning of seven trumpets elsewhere in the Bible. Apostasy, repentance, and deliverance are lessons of defeating extreme wickedness and of defeating opulent obesity, in “A New Generation and a New Direction in Israel’s History” (Othniel and Ehud). “Deborah and Barak vs. Jabin […]

Samson: Then, Now, and Future

July 1, 2018

Samson is Like, and Unlike, the Church “The time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson … who through faith … from weakness were made strong” (Hebrews 11:32-34 RKJV). Listen to audio  There were friendly Philistines in Abraham’s day. Egyptians had colonized Caphtor (Crete), and thereafter Cretans colonized the modern Gaza Strip (Genesis 10:13-14, 21:32, Deuteronomy 2:23, Jeremiah 47:4). More Cretans came later (BC 1615? and 12th century) until the Philistines oppressed Israel forty years in Samson’s time.  Samson was […]

Guilty— or Not?

July 1, 2018

Overcoming Guilt “A just man falleth seven times and riseth up again” (Proverbs 24:16). Listen to audio  Some of us have lived unsavory, perhaps even sordid, lives prior to coming to Christ. As we grow in the Lord, the gravity of our sins becomes increasingly apparent. It can be a struggle to believe forgiveness truly applies to us. This can be especially true when we find ourselves, well into our Christian journey, still doing battle with our sinful tendencies. Perhaps, we had expected […]

Idolatry and the Danites

July 1, 2018

A Long-Standing Error “And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh” (Judges 18:31). by David Rice Listen to audio  After the narrative about Samson, the book of Judges appends three narratives that do not pertain to any particular judge. These narratives occurred earlier in the sequence of Judges, before Samson. However, they are appended at the end of the book, followed by the story of Ruth, before proceeding […]

More to Learn

July 1, 2018

Still Some New Rich Gem Appears Some supplemental archaeological, typical, and character details are suggested here. Listen to audio  Deborah: Barak’s forces were in the north on Mt. Tabor, while Sisera was coming on the north side of the Carmel mountain range. Thus, Deborah could see storm clouds coming from the south and call Barak to battle; when the Canaanite forces saw clouds it was too late. Similarly, we need to look to heaven for direction, not to the world. Gideon: Seasons of oppression […]