Samson. His name still stirs up images on a Herculean man, like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his bodybuilding hay day. Samson is probably the most popular of the Judges of Israel. His story is riveting. One wonders why Hollywood has not latched onto it, as it would make for a blockbuster! I mean this dude tore lions apart with his bare hands and killed 1,000 enemy soldiers wi...

If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth (Numbers 30:2). Enter Jephthah. A "mighty warrior" and "the son of a prostitute" (Judges 11:1). Hardly the description we would expect of a man of God. Jephthah's brothers cast him out of the family ...

Gideon. Fleece. The two words go together like butter and biscuits. Gideon is one of the more well known of the Judges of Israel, for two main reasons: His laying out the fleece to obtain confirmation from the Lord that he was to lead the battle against the Midianite oppressors. The famous scene of God reducing his army to a mere 300 men, telling Gideon to cull all t...

Deborah. The only female judge of Israel. A prophetess who spoke God's words to Israel. Hero of all feminists, evangelical or otherwise! Some well-meaning brothers and sisters in Christ have tried to use the story of Deborah (Judges 4-5) to justify ordaining women as elders and preachers. My intent here is not to tackle such issues, though I do want to insist that whateve...

Having now set the backdrop with the first three posts in this series, let's take a look at a few judges. Some well-known. Others not so much. Othniel. Not so well known. But since he is the first named judge in the Book of Judges, we should expect to perhaps see aforeshadowingof things to come. And indeed we do. But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, th...

Leadership Matters. Big Time. A seminary professor once told me "Nothing of consequence happens in the church apart from leadership." I thought that was a bit hyperbolic. Surely people do not need leaders that badly. Do they? Well, over a decade of gospel ministry experience and pastoring now confirms my Prof's pithy prophecy.And so does the Bible. God has ordained lead...

God saves and preserves His covenant people. His people sin against Him. God judges His people for their sin. His people cry out for help. God gives mercy and restores His people. Repeat process starting at Point #1. This is what many scholars have called "The Judges Cycle." This is exactly the pattern we see repeated throughout the period of history covered by t...

Recently a friend and brother in Christ began texting me some questions on things he had been reading in the Book of Judges. After rejoicing that my brother was reading Judges, and praying that the Lord would increase his tribe in the church I pastor, I set out to provide a few responses to his inquires. Responses, I trust, that were faithful to God and His Word. The Book...

Earlier this week, on the CBS Morning Show, a segment featured a new book titledDarwin Comes to Town.The author discussed the thrust of a book in a segment you can see here: https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs_this_morning/video/gcum75ud_Z6H5NnLhfIYKdo5W9Z1Nm0K/urban-ecologist-on-how-cities-speed-up-evolution-process/ While I am sure the author is a man of educational "letters...

Every pastor I have ever known has experienced discouragement. And many of the "great" preachers / pastors in church history have battled seasons of depression and melancholy. Spurgeon being the classic example here. We pastors are human and our calling baptizes us daily in trench spiritual warfare. Sometimes our discouragement is unwarranted. A pity party for which we mu...