Samson and Delilah – Judges 16

People say that you live and learn, but sadly, too many people just live! Samson is a man much like that, making mistakes, the same mistakes, over and over again. He is the saviour of Israel and yet he is a man who needs a saviour. Samson is indeed a weak man in man areas […]

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For many people, the struggle with sin is a slide. There is a gradual rather than steep slide downwards What can be so small and seemingly insignificant, to begin with, can spread and infect the whole of our being. In Samson, we see impulsiveness and disregards for his parents, a man who does what is […]

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Judges 13 – Samson

As we are given the birth announcement of Samson, we find that he is born into a period in history when the Israelites continue to do what is right in their own eyes. The people, then, like today are powerless to change themselves or be saved. So then, like today, God takes the initiative and […]

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Judges 11 – Jephthah’s Tragic Vow

The chapter starts with the leaders making asking Jephthah to be their leader against the enemy. Before the battle, Jephthah makes a tragic vow regarding the sacrifice of whoever would come out of his home when he returns in victory. He returns and is greeted by his daughter. We ask ‘Why does he make this […]

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Judges 9

Judges ch9 paints a pretty bleak picture of what human beings are like when left to their own devices. In a chapter where God is not mentioned we see what a society without God might look lie but also ask, is he absent? But God is not absent then or now and has been acting […]

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Judges 8, “Gideon seeks glory”

After defeating the Midianites with only 300 men, bearing only trumpets and empty jars, we conclude that the victory is the Lord’s! It could be no other. Yet in Judges ch8 we find a picture of Gideon that suggests he is trying to claim some credit for himself. We consider that we cannot seek glory […]

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Judges 7 “The Battle is the Lord’s”

As God whittles Gideon’s army down from 32,000 to 300, and as God gives them only trumpets and jars for the fight, when they come out victorious, it is clear that the Battle is the Lord’s. No one else could be responsible for this victory. We also see Gideon as a changed man,]. The man […]

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