Reading: 1 Samuel 1-3, Psalm 78 מָשִׁיחַ (mā·šîaḥ) messiah, the anointed one Welcome to the book of Samuel. We are going to begin looking at this book, which was split into two books by the Alexandrian Jewish translators of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, by looking at the word messiah,
Reading: Ruth 1-4, Psalm 77 We’ve gotten through Judges! Hurrah. Hopefully we get to read something a little more hopeful now. I’ll forgive you if the first couple of lines of Ruth don’t excite you. In the days when the judges ruled… Uh oh. Is this just another story of
Judges 19-21, Psalm 76 Disaster. There is no other way to look at it. This last story in the book of Judges is pretty much the worst part of the Biblical story. God’s chosen people are reduced to the level of Sodom. The outrageous mistreatment of women at several points
Reading: Judges 16-18, Psalm 75 Let’s recap. The Philistines have effectively conquered Israel and are treating them badly. Our “hero” is Samson, whose birth was foretold by God and who was to be exceptionally set apart for the service of the God of Israel as a Nazirite. When he grows
Reading: Judges 13-15, Psalm 74 Following on the heels of Jephthah, that paragon of Israel, we get the story of Samson. The people of Israel have again fallen into idolatry- although following Jephthah it was more of a minor slide than a fall, considering how he “worshiped” the God of
Reading: Judges 9-12, Psalm 73 The death of Gideon brings on the closing cycle of judges. His son, Abimelech, isn’t really a proper judge, but his story will show us how Israel continues to deteriorate. The following judge, Jephthah, will show us that while God is still prepared to deliver
Reading: Judges 4-5, Psalm 71 I’m a big fan of well written epic fiction. My favorite work of fiction by a fair margin is J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. As a fairly obsessive youngster, I sought voraciously for more material on the world Tolkien invented. One thing I
Reading: Joshua 22-24, Psalm 69 Our last day in Joshua leaves behind the exciting epic of property divisions. Very disappointing, I know, but they’ve all been well defined now, and the story has to move on. It moves on to a little story about the two and a half tribes