Another day, another book of the Bible! I can feel Hannah’s anguish at not being able to have a child.  I can see her praying silently to the Lord, sitting on her knees with her eyes closed and her mouth silently pleading for an answer to her prayer for a son.  She wanted one so much she was willing to give him up in service to the Lord! Imagine deciding before your child was born that you would willingly let the Lord have him.  Metaphorically, many of us do just that.  We have baby dedications where we promise to raise … Continue reading 1 Samuel 1-3: Hannah’s Heart

This is one of my favorite books of the Bible.  There is no murder or rape or idol worship.  It is a story of loyalty and tender mercies.  The way Boaz takes care of Ruth is a picture of the way the Lord takes care of us. When she was poor…he not only allowed her to gather the leftover grain, but he also instructed his workers to let her even have some of the grain set aside for his household. When she was vulnerable, he provided his protection by having her stay close to the women. When she needed a … Continue reading Ruth: How one woman’s loyalty led to royalty

25In those days Israel wasn’t ruled by a king, and everyone did what they thought was right. That about sums up these chapters.  They could have been pages torn out of a modern day novel of suspense and war.  A woman was raped and murdered (after her husband GAVE her to the thugs).  Then the people of that town refused to hand over the guilty parties, so all of Israel joined forces and attacked the tribe of Benjamin, killing so many people that the whole tribe was nearly wiped out. If the husband hadn’t thrown his wife to the thugs…if … Continue reading Judges 19-21: Thrown to the wolves

A twisted theology is what I read tonight. First, Samson was lured by Delilah into telling the secret of his God-given strength.  She must have had him wrapped around her little finger, because he never caught on to her scheme despite her overt pouting and nagging.  Did it now occur to him to question WHY she wanted to know how she could tie him up?  Maybe he enjoyed having her tie him up? And then his stunning feat in bringing down the temple is reminiscent of today’s suicide bombers, isn’t it?  He killed more people in his death than he … Continue reading Judges 16-18: Defending Against Twisted Theology

The story of Samson begins in these chapters.  I was excited to finally get an explanation of something that had been hovering at the back of my mind — just who or what exactly is “the angel of the LORD?” The angel of the Lord, as described in Judges 13, is a manifestation of the LORD himself… 15 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.” 16 The angel of the LORD replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. … Continue reading Judges 13-15