Judges 1
How wonderful is it that the first thing Israel does after Joshua dies is ask God their question?
:15 - The story of Caleb's wife asking for springs of water is repeated for some reason.
:19 - Chariots of iron are hard to beat.
Towns that were not driven out when Israel moved in are listed.
Judges 2
An angel rebukes Israel for not throwing down altars of lands they came into.
:8 - Joshua died at 110 years old
Well, now this chapter does not paint as pretty of a picture of Israel's behavior after Joshua's death. After all that warning against serving other gods, they did it anyway.
Judges 3
Proving time. Will Israel remember God's ways with lands that don't remember the wars of taking over their lands?
:9 - Another deliverer for Israel is named. He is Caleb's nephew. Othniel=lion of God http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H6274&t=KJV
:15 - Another deliverer God raises up. He is left handed. Ehud=I will give thanks: I will be praised http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H164&t=KJV
:22 - Explicit details of how Ehud saves Israel is amazing. He stabs the king who is against Israel. The king was so fat the whole dagger went into his body and the contents of his bowels came out.
:31 - Another deliverer, Shamgar, slew 600 Philistines with an ox goad, which is an instrument used to spur or guide oxen for ploughing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goad
Judges over Israel instead of Kings, like other lands. Judges bring deliverance.
Judges 4
:4 - Deborah, the prophetess, is the judge of Israel!
An incredible story here. Deborah is asked to acompany King Barak on a crusade to conquer Sisera. He wins because where Sisera hid when he ran was in the tent of another king's wife...and she nailed a tent stake into his head!
Judges 5
:4 - heavens dropped
:5 - mountains melted
An interesting song by Deborah.
:31 - 40 years of rest in the land.'
Judges 6
Midianites were so strong against Israel that Israel built dens and caves in the mountains.
When they finally cried to God about their trouble, he sent them a prophet this time instead of a judge.
:11 - Gideon is introduced and visited by an angel sitting under an oak tree. There's the oak tree again. The conversation continues between Gideon and the Lord. When the angel spoke, the Bible quotes it as the Lord speaking.
:18 - Gideon actually asks the angel not to leave until he prepares the sign he wants God to give him.
:24 - Jehovahshalom = Jehovah is peace 1) the name of a sacred altar built by Gideon in Ophrah http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H3073&t=KJV
*When you delete the 'h' in the middle of this word, Ophrah, you get...Oprah.
:25-27 - The first thing God tells Gideon to do (that same night that the angel came) is to tear down the Baal altar, cut down the groves (trees) that went with it, build an altar unto the Lord, and offer upon it a burnt sacrifice with the wood they cut down. Gideon and his 10 men do all this in one night. This reminds me of the work it takes us to put up a tent for a revival!
Here is a picture I like because it specifically says the angel appeared SITTING under an oak. And here he is after he waited for Gideon to come back with the sign he wanted....setting fire to the sacrifices, before they had lighters.
:36-40 - Gideon asks for 2 more signs with the fleece. One night for it to be wet with dew, the next for it to be dry. Maybe he was making sure it was a sign and not just nature having her way. And this meant that his hand would save Israel since the sign he asked for was fulfilled. I notice he isn't asking for the sign for if he is supposed to do it (usually why people ask for a sign), but will the result be in his favor.
Judges 7
:3 - Gideon has to downsize to make it obvious that the Lord is the deliverer.
Started out with 32,000. 22,000 departed for being afraid. Then out of the 10,000 remaining, only 300 drank from the water the way God said to pick the keepers. Then someone tells Gideon about their dream of a rolling barley cake that somehow means to Gideon that he will defeat Mideon. So he is not afraid anymore (God gave him the option of going to listen with Phurah if he was afraid...so he did and that's when he heard about this dream.)
:16 - All 300 got a trumpet and empty pitchers with lamps inside them.
Judges 8
:5 - Even with supernatural, holy assistance, God's people of faith and power get tired.
:26-27 - Gideon made a priestly garment (ephod) out of the massive amount of gold he got from the earrings of the Midianites. 1,700 shekels. That would be 3.400 British pounds, or about (3,400 x .638325035 = $2,170) a little over $2,000 USD.
When it became a coined piece of money, the shekel of gold was equivalent to about 2 pound of our money.[From an English website, I assume, since they say that pounds are their money. I like this reference. Will have to use it to look more things up.] http://devel.searchgodsword.org/dic/ebd/view.cgi?action=Lookup&word=shekel&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=Lookup
1 U.S. dollar = 0.638325035 British pounds http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GPEA_enUS314US314&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=how+many+pounds+are+in+a+dollar
:30 - GIDEON HAD 70 SONS!
:33 - Israel doesn't do well without authority.
Judges 9
The number 70 has shown up already 3 times by verse 5.
:8 - A tree parable. The trees are trying to decide who will reign over themselves.
:21 - A city named Beer
Judges 10
:1 - The next ruler after Abimelech arises to defend Israel. Tola. Not much is said of him here.
:3 - Next is Jair =he enlightens. http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H2971&t=KJV
:7 - God sold the Israelites to their enemies for their disobedience.
:16 - God's soul was grieved. ***God has a soul! soul =1) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion
a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man
b) living being
c) living being (with life in the blood)
d) the man himself, self, person or individual
e) seat of the appetites
f) seat of emotions and passions
g) activity of mind
1) dubious
h) activity of the will
1) dubious
i) activity of the character
1) dubious
Judges 11
A beautiful story of one who was rejected being chosen and redeemed to be the leader to bring victory to those that had brought forth rejection. Jephthah, who is one of the "Gideonites," as we have now...not to be mistaken for Gilead. Gideon. Gilead. Very closely lettered. Tragic ending, however. This was a child sacrifice for which the Lord did not provide a ram in the bushes.
Here is a picture that shows what emotion must have been felt when Jephthah realized to fulfill his vow to God, he would have to sacrifice his daughter, since she was the first one that peacefully approached him upon his return of victory in the battle. Don't promise something to God you might not want to fulfill!
Judges 12
:5-6 - A lisp is key to knowing who is a native and who isn't. If they couldn't say this certain word, they were killed!
Judges 13
Manoah's wife, who was barren, was visited of the Lord by an angel who prophesied to her of her son, who would be a Nazarite...hello Samson!
Manoah comes from the same primitive root as Noah = 1) to rest
a) (Qal)
1) to rest, settle down and remain
2) to repose, have rest, be quiet
b) (Hiph)
1) to cause to rest, give rest to, make quiet
2) to cause to rest, cause to alight, set down
3) to lay or set down, deposit, let lie, place
4) to let remain, leave
5) to leave, depart from
6) to abandon
7) to permit
c) (Hoph)
1) to obtain rest, be granted rest
2) to be left, be placed
3) open space (subst)
Again a kid (goat) burnt offering happens with an angelic visitation. Gideon and Manoah.
Judges 14:15 - Philistines take riddles very seriously. Life or death.
Judges 15
Samson burns the Philistines cornfields by lighting 300 foxes on fire by their tails and letting them run into the fields. This causes them to burn his wife and her father. That was a strange father for keeping his daughter from her husband and then trying to offer his other daughter instead. I know marriage was a lot different then. Not always one woman for every man. Thank God for 2010!
Judges 16
:1-22 - The great story of Samson and Delilah. I have yet to understand why after 3 times actually following through with doing whatever Samson said took away his strength that he would tell Delilah the truth...KNOWING she would do it. Did he think it was a game to her? Surely not. Or his soul would not have been vexed to death (:16). Also, how did he not wake up when his head was being shaved?
Judges 17
:6 - In those days [there was] no king in Israel, [but] every man did [that which was] right in his own eyes.
Micah's mom makes an idol and Micah hires a travelling Levite to be his personal priest.
Judges 18
:19 - A group of people lure this priest away from Micah. They tell him to be quiet and go with them. Looks like congregations have tried (and sometimes succeeded) to control the priesthood since Bible days.
Thank you God for the driving power I feel to keep moving forward!
