Judges 19-21; Psalm 66:1-7; 2 Corinthians 4

Judges 19
1-21 The Levite's Concubine

• Like the last story, this takes place in the hill country of Ephraim.
• A Levite living there has a concubine from Bethlehem in Judea, who leaves him to go back home.
• Laden with gifts for her, he goes to Bethlehem to bring her back, after several delays, because her father persuades him to stay "just one more night."
• On the way back, with his servant and his concubine, after refusing to stop in Jebus (Jerusalem) for the night because they are not Israelites, he continues to Gibeah, home of Benjamites, where an old man from Ephraim offers him shelter.

22-30 Gibeah's Crime

• Perverse men of Gibeah surround the house, demanding the Levite for sexual purposes. The old man refuses, offering his virgin daughter and the Levite's concubine instead. The Levite sends out his concubine, they abuse her all night, release her, and she comes back to the old man's house and dies in the doorway.
• The Levite (and this is hard to read, much less type) cuts her into 12 pieces and distributes the pieces to the 12 tribes of Israel with this message: "Has such a thing ever happened since the day that the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until this day? Consider it, take counsel, and speak out." The only purpose I can see for citing the details of this story is to illustrate what happens when people do what is right in their own sight. At the beginning they have no idea that such an attitude will lead them in this direction. By the time they get there, they have no conscience about it.
• Out of curiosity, I looked back at Jacob's prophecy of the tribe of Benjamin in Genesis 49 and found this: "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil."
  

Chapter 20
1-47 Other Tribes Attack Benjamin

• As a result of the graphic message, all the Israelites -- from Dan to Beersheba -- gather at Mizpah - 400,000 foot soldiers bearing arms - and meet with the Levite, who tells them what happened.
  
• The Israelites agree to attack Gibeah.
  
• First, they ask the tribe of Benjamin to deliver to them the men who molested the concubine, but the Benjaminites refuse, gathering 26,000 armed men, plus inhabitants of Gibeah.
  
• 700 of them are left-handed and can sling a stone "at a hair, and not miss." (Left-handed Benjaminites -- as was the judge Ehud. So is this a characteristic of the tribe of Benjamin?)
• They ask God who should go first, and he sends Judah.
• The first day of battle, Israel loses 22,000 men. Mourning, they inquire of God again, and he tells them to "go up against them."
• The second day of battle, Israel loses 18,000 more men. In mourning again, they fast and offer burnt offerings and sacrifices of well-being. Phinehas, son of Eleazar, inquires of God, who answers, "Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand."
• The third day of battle, Israel draws the Benjaminites away from the city, and with 10,000 men, kills 25,100 men of Benjamin.
• Other troops enter the city, "put it to sword." Seeing smoke come out of the city, a pre-arranged signal, the Israelites in and out of the city trap the Benjaminites in between.
• In all, 25,000 armor-bearing Benjaminites are killed that day, "all of them courageous fighters." 600 flee to the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stay for 4 months. The Israelites finish off the rest of the tribe.

Judges 21
1-25 Wives for the Remaining Benjamites

• All those gathered at Mizpah had sworn not to give any of their daughters to a Benjaminite.
• Now they are concerned, in making such an oath, they have obliterated one of their own tribes.
• They surmise that none from Jabesh-Gilead joined in the attack, so they send 12,000 soldiers and kill everyone in Jabesh-Gilead except 400 virgins, and give them to Benjamin.
• 400 virgins aren't enough for the 600 men who escaped, so they are given permission to abduct virgins from Shiloh. If their fathers protest, the Israelites will reply, Be nice to us, because we didn't capture enough virgins to go around for the Benjamites. And this frees you from the guilt of having given them to us [and thereby breaking your Mizpah oath].
• Then another reminder of how this could happen, and how the people have become so degenerate: "In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes."

Psalm 66:1-7 - A Call to Worship (no author mentioned)
Whereas Psalm 65 was a personal song of praise, this one calls others to recognize God's greatness.
1, 3 - "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth...Say to God, 'How awesome are your deeds!"

2 Corinthians 4
1-15 Treasure in Clay Jars

• Therefore [seeing we are changing into the image of Christ], and since it is by God's mercy we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.
• We have moved beyond shamefulness and cunning and have clear consciences.
• The gospel we preach is open to all who have not been blinded by the god this world. Isn't this what Jesus said in Mark 4:9? "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
• This treasure (this gospel) is in clay jars. We are obviously flawed human beings, making it clear that the power is in God, not us.
• Then Paul lists the ways they demonstrate the life of Jesus in their bodies: afflicted, but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, etc.
• I believe, so I speak -- it's that simple for Paul. It's a matter of faith.

16-18 Living by Faith

• Again -- [because of our faith] we do not lose heart.
• Because as our bodies waste away, our inner strength is renewed.
• It's a minor affliction compared to what we will receive in eternity ("an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure").
  

Judges 17-18; Psalm 65; 2 Corinthians 3

Judges 17
1-13 Micah and the Levite

• Micah is a man of the hill country of Ephraim.
• He has taken 1100 pieces of silver [same amount as was given to Delilah for her betrayal] from his mother.
• When he returns it to her, she blesses him, takes 200 pieces and has it made into an idol for Micah's house.
  
• He establishes his own religion with one of his sons as priest. Because:
• "In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes."
• A Levite comes from Bethlehem in Judah, and Micah persuades him to be his priest with a promise of room and board, wages and clothes.
• And thus Micah is satisfied that God will bless him, because he has a Levite as a priest.

Judges 18
1-26 Migration of the Tribe of Dan

• Danites don't have a territory to claim (See Judges 1:34,35)
• They send out 5 spies to find land to settle in. The spies come and stay at Micah's house, and meet the Levite.
• The Levite assures them their mission will succeed.
• They travel on to Laish (in northern Canaan), where the land is prosperous and the people are "quiet and unsuspecting" and unprotected. Laish becomes their choice.
• They return to their tribe and persuade them to go up against Laish.
• On the way north, with an army of 600, they pick up Micah's priest, who comes willingly and brings Micah's idol, ephod and teraphim (images connected with magical rites).
  
• Micah and his neighbors follow them and challenge them, but the Danites threaten him and his family. Seeing they are too strong for him, Micah gives up and goes back home.

27-31 Danites Settle in Laish

• They go up to Laish, conquer the land, and rename the city "Dan."
• They set up the idol, and appoint Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons as priests "as long as the house of God was at Shiloh."

Psalm 65 - Psalm of David - Thanksgiving for the Earth's Bounty
No requests here -- just praise for God's goodness, power, and providence.
4 - "We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple."
6 - "By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might."
11 - "You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness."

2 Corinthians 3
1-18 Ministers of a New Covenant

• We don't need letters of commendation -- you are our letter.
• God has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, a covenant of the Spirit, who gives life.
• The old covenant (ministry of condemnation) came with much glory, but it is dark compared to the new covenant, the ministry of justification.
• Moses had to veil his face from the people when he came down from the mountain.
• In spite of the glory of the new covanant, there is no veil now -- we can look at the glory of the Lord and, as if we're looking into a mirror, we can be transformed into his image.

Judges 13-16; Psalm 64; 2 Corinthians 2

Judges 13
1-24 Birth of Samson

• Israel returns to evil, and God gives them into the hands of the Philistines for 40 years.
• An angel appears to the barren wife of Manoah in Zorah, of the tribe of Dan.
• He tells her she will conceive, but she must not drink any strong drink or any unclean thing, for her son is to be a nazirite, who will deliver Israel from the Philistines.
• After she tells Manoah, he wants another visit from the "man of God." The angel comes and tells him exactly what he told his wife before. God seems to indulge Manoah in his need to confirm his wife's story.
• Manoah asks the man to stay, but he declines, instructing Manoah rather to offer a burnt offering.
  
• When Manoah asks his name, the angel replies, "Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful." Another appearance by the second person of the godhead? Somehow this seems not as important as the other two appearances (as I remember): to Abraham and Sarah, announcing Isaac's birth; and to Joshua as he commanded the Israelite armies. After all, this was just another judge in a long line of judges.
• When Manoah offers a goat and grain as an offering, the angel appears in the fire. Now Manoah realizes it was an angel all along, and fears for his life. His wife assures him, "If God had wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our offering."
• Their son is named Samson, and he "grew, and the LORD blessed him. The spirit of the LORD began to stir him."
  

Judges 14
1-20 Samson's Marriage

• Samson sees a Philistine woman in Timnah he insists on marrying, against his parents' wishes. They did now know "this was from the LORD," as a means of acting against the Philistines.
• On the way with his parents to Timnah, a young lion roars at him, "the spirit of the LORD" rushes on him, and he kills it barehanded. They don't see this incident. On another trip, he eats honey from a swarm of bees that has formed inside the carcass. He shares it with his parents, who don't know where he got it.
  
• At the marriage feast to the Philistine woman, he bets with 30 Philistine men at the feast they can't answer a riddle about the lion and the honey: "Out of the eater came something to eat; out of the strong came something sweet."
• They talk Samson's wife into finding the answer to the riddle. Giving into her tears and nagging, he tells her, she tells them, they answer the riddle. "The spirit of the LORD" rushes on him, and he goes to Ashkelon, kills 30 men there, takes their garments, and delivers the winnings back to the Philistines (30 festal garments).
• Angry, Samson returns to his father's house, and his wife is given to his best man.
  

Judges 15
1-15 Samson Defeats the Philistines

• Samson returns to Timnah with a goat kid for his wife, but she has been given to the best man.
• In anger, he catches 300 foxes, ties them together in pairs by their tails, fastens a torch to the tie and sends them into the fields to burn up the grain.
  
• When the Philistines find out who did it and why, they burn Samson's wife and her father. He kills the Philistines and escapes to the cleft of the rock of Etam.
• Philistines raid Lehi, near where Samson hides, which belongs to tribe of Judah. When men of Judah find out why, they find Samson, and he agrees to let them deliver him to the Philistines if they promise not to kill him. They bind him with ropes and bring him out of the rock.
• The "spirit of the LORD" comes upon him, his bonds easily break, he grabs the fresh jawbone of a donkey, and kills a thousand men with it, then throws it away.
• Now he's thirsty, so he appeals to God, who splits open a hollow place, which produces water.
• And Samson judges Israel for 20 years.

Judges 16
1-22 Samson and Delilah

• Samson goes to Gaza, and while he's with a prostitute the men there plot against him, intending to kill him the next morning. But he wakes up at midnight, takes hold of the doors of the city gate, with the two posts, puts them on his shoulder and carries them to the top of a hill. Apparently, what we would consider living a clean life was not a prerequisite for being a judge. Also, it's interesting that most of the time, we don't hear about the "judging" as much as we do the "fighting." What Deborah did as a judge -- sitting under a tree and welcoming citizens -- is what we would expect to hear.
  
• He falls in love with Delilah, whom the Philistines bribe with 1100 pieces of silver to use to find the secret of his strength. Samson tells her being bound with 7 fresh bowstrings will do it. She binds him up, but when the Philistines attack, he easily breaks them "as a strand of fiber snaps when it touches the fire."
• Same story again, this time with new ropes.
• Same story again, this time, weaving his hair into a loom. All of these are done while he was asleep? Either he was a very heavy sleeper, or else he just pretended to sleep.
• Finally, she pleads and nags long enough to wear him down, and he tells her the truth -- it's the length of his hair (because he's kept the nazirite vows) that gives him his strength. A curse of nagging: here it causes a man to do what he had to know was fatal for him.
  
• She "allows him" to fall asleep on her lap, then has his hair cut. The Philistines overpower him, gouge out his eyes, and imprison him in Gaza.
• His hair grows out.

23-31 The Death of Samson

• The lords of the Philistines gather to offer sacrifices to Dagon to celebrate their victory over Samson
• They call him out of prison to "entertain" them. The house is full of people, with about 3,000 on the roof watching him.
• He "leans" against two pillars that hold up the house, prays to God for help, and pushes them apart until they collapse, killing everyone there, including himself. Even though he seems to be a vile -- and violent! -- person in many ways, I have to give credit to Samson for acknowledging at the end that his strength came from God. In spite of -- or because of -- his violent and short-tempered nature, God used him to accomplish his own purposes.
  
• "So those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed during his life."
• His family buries him in the tomb of his father Manoah.

Psalm 64 - Psalm of David
It seems like a lot of David's prayers in this section of the Psalms are for protection from enemies. I had the thought as I started this one: "No, no -- another psalm about people out to get David." On further reflection, though, what these psalms emphasize is that yes, David was a man of war, but he was constantly appealing to God for help in his distress -- he never stopped trusting that God would help him. I may tire of reading what seems like the same plea over and over again; David had the constant need of making that plea. Therefore, in the words of verse 10: "Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him. Let all the upright in heart glory."

2 Corinthians 2
1-4 Continuing from Chapter 1 (not a good chapter break)

• Paul had some hard things to say to the Corinthians but didn't want to say them in person, knowing it would cause them -- and him -- too much pain.
• Paul wrote not to cause them pain but because he loved them.

5-11 Forgiveness for the Offender (of 1 Corinthians 5)

• Forgive and console, and reaffirm your love to the man [who had obviously repented after being shunned].
• Paul would forgive whomever they forgave.
• However, Satan does not want us to forgive -- it's another of his traps.

12-15 Paul in Troas

• Although a door [of opportunity] was opened to him there, he was anxious when he arrived there because he did not find Titus.
• But [I think he is saying] wherever he went he could be the "aroma of Christ," a fragrance of life to the saved, a fragrance of death to the perishing.
• He doesn't "sell" the gospel to the highest bidder, as some do.
• He stands in God's presence and is therefore sincere in his work.

Judges 11-12; Psalm 63; 2 Corinthians 1

Judges 11
1-28 - Jephthah

• Mighty warrior, son of Gilead and a prostitute, driven away by Gilead's wife's sons, he flees to Tob and becomes an outlaw and leader of a gang of raiders
• When Ammonites attack Israel, Gilead's elders go to Tob to persuade Jephthah to help them. He agrees, but only if he becomes both head and commander.
• As commander, Jephthah enters into correspondence with the king of the Ammonites, who defends their right to attack Israel because Israel took away their land. Jephthah denies this, saying they fought Edom, Moab, and the Amorites because of their own aggression. Commentators say this king of the Ammonites, though not named, was probably from Moab, and therefore was seeking to regain the territory as a Moabite.
  
• Besides, don't you possess what your god Chemosh has given you? Why should we not possess the land the LORD our God has conquered for us? Chemosh was the god of the Moabites.
  
• Why did you not recover these lands the 300 years others occupied it?
  
• Let the LORD decide who should possess this land.
• The king of the Ammonites does not respond.

29-33 Jephthah's Vow

• Jephthah travels toward the land of the Ammonites through Gilead and Manasseh.
• He makes a vow to God that (NRSV) "whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the LORD's to be offered up by me as a burnt offering." The commentator Matthew Henry says, "Jephthah’s vow is dark, and much in the clouds." Having spent so much time among disreputable people, it's possible he didn't realize God's disdain for human sacrifice. And he is most probably referring to a person, not an animal, because an animal would not come out of the doors of his house to meet him, other than a pet dog, and dogs were not worthy sacrifices. His vow also points to his doubt that God would deliver the Ammonites into his hands unless he was willing to make a major sacrifice to God.
  
• His military campaign is successful; the Ammonites are subdued.

34-40 Jephthah's Daughter

• The first person who comes out of his house to meet him is his daughter, "with timbrels and with dancing." What is her joyful meeting is devastating to him.
• She willingly succumbs to his vow, but asks that she be given two months to "bewail" her virginity. Some say Jephthah does offer her as a sacrifice, so she will die without children, a shame in Israelite culture. Some say this means she remained a virgin for the rest of her life, obviously shut up, because otherwise she would be free to go up to the mountains anytime. Again, quoting Matthew Henry, "...probably, the reason why it is left dubious by the inspired penman whether he sacrificed her or not was that those who did afterwards offer their children might not take any encouragement from this instance. Concerning this and some other such passages in the sacred story, which learned men are in the dark, divided, and in doubt about, we need not much perplex ourselves; what is necessary to our salvation, thanks be to God, is plain enough."

Judges 12
1-7 Intertribal Dissension

• Ephraimites complain to Jephthah that he did not ask them for help when he went to Ammon. (Same complaint to Gideon in Judges 8. Apparently, Gideon and Jephthah were both of the tribe of Manasseh, and there was jealousy behind their complaints, as both Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph.)
  
• Jephthah: I called you for help, but you did not respond.
• The tribes fight; Gilead wins and control the passage from Gilead to Ephraim.
• Curious incident: When an Ephraimite would pretend to be of Gilead and try to cross back over to Ephraim, the Gilead would ask him to pronounce "Shibboleth." Ephraimites could not pronounce the "Sh" sound, so they would be identified and punished for trying to escape.
  
• 42,000 Ephraimites were killed by their Gileadite brothers.
• Jephthah judged for 6 years.

8-13 Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

• More 30's: The next judge, Ibzan of Bethlehem, gave his 30 daughters in marriage outside his clan, and brought in 30 daughters from the outside to marry his 30 sons.
• Ibzan is judge for 30 years.
• Elon the Zebulunite is judge for 10 years.
• Abdon, a Pirathonite, judges for 8 years, has 40 sons, 30 grandsons, who rode on 70 donkeys (which probably means they went about the country as judges or as gentlemen who did not work as farmers or laborers).
  

Psalm 63 - A Psalm of David in the Wilderness of Judah
3 - "[O God,]...your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you." David has no reservations in expressing his devotion and love to God. In this psalm alone, he uses very personal expressions: My soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you; my lips will praise you; I lift up my hands; my soul is satisfied; my mouth praises you; I think of you on my bed and meditate on you; my soul clings to you.

2 Corinthians 1
1-2 Salutation

• Same first verse as 1 Corinthians 1, except this time he's accompanied by Timothy instead of Sosthenes.
• This time he mentions not only Corinth, but all the saints throughout Achaia.
• Verse 2 here exactly the same as Verse 3 in 1 Corinthians 1

3-11 Paul's Thanksgiving after Affliction

• Paul blesses God, the "Father of mercies and God of consolation," who in consoling those with him helps them console others. I think this word bless is strange in the way it is used both ways, and has to mean different things. We know how God "blesses" us -- he gives us things we need or that make us happy. Just how do we bless him? According to Strong, it's simple; one of the definitions of the Greek word used here, eulogetos, is "to praise or celebrate with praises."
  
• Our consolation through Christ is as abundant as the sufferings of Christ. [Just as he suffered for our sakes,] we suffer for your "consolation and salvation" and know you are consoled in your affliction.
• Paul speaks of their affliction in Asia (the incident with Demetrius in Ephesus?), when they thought they might die and have to rely on God's power to resurrect.
• But God rescued them, and Paul expect hims to rescue them again.
• Paul asks the Corinthians for their prayers so thanksgiving will continue among many.

12-24 Paul Delays His Visit

• We have reason to boast: we have acted frankly and sincerely, by the grace of God
• Another reason to boast: You Corinthians, as we are also your reason to boast.
• Paul was not being deceitful when he changed his plans regarding visiting Corinth both on the way to and from Macedonia, just as he showed his sincerity when he and Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy taught them the gospel.
• It was for your sakes I did not come to Corinth as I wanted to and had planned.
• We are workers for your joy.
  

Judges 9-10; Psalm 62; 1 Corinthians 16

Judges 9
1-6 Remember Abimelech?
The following is the reason none of Gideon's sons is named in the previous chapter, but the son of his concubine is.

• Abimelech gains a following among his mother's relatives, who give him 70 pieces of silver from a pagan temple, with which he hires "worthless and reckless fellows."
• They kill all of Gideon's 70 legitimate sons, except Jotham, the youngest, who successfully hides from them.
• Then the lords of Shechem make Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

7-21 Parable of the Trees

• Spoken by Jotham on top of Mount Gerizim to the "lords of Shechem"
  
• He compares Abimelech as a leader to a bramble, as opposed to an olive tree, fig tree, or a vine
• Then plainly: You have betrayed my father, who rescued you from Midian. If you have acted in good faith with Jerubbaal (Gideon), then rejoice in Abimelech.
• If not, may you burn one another with fire.
  
• Then out of fear, Jotham flees to Beer.

22-57 Downfall of Abimelech

• He rules only 3 years.
• God sends an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem, to avenge the deaths of Jerubbaal's 70 sons.
• The lords "deal treacherously" with Abimelech, begin robbing travelers in the mountain passes.
• A newcomer to Shechem, Gaal son of Ebed, proposes to overthrow Abimelech.
• Zebul, ruler of the city, tells Abimelech of the plot and tells him to attach Gaal and his family early the next morning, and they drive them out.
  
• The next day, he attacks the people in the fields around Shechem, also razing the city and "sowing it with salt."
• The lords hide in the temple of El-berith.
• Abimelech and his troops light brushwood and carry it to the stronghold and set it on fire.
• He tries the same thing at a stronghold in Thebez, but before he can set it on fire, a woman throws a millstone down on him, crushing his skull.
• He asks his armor-bearer to kill him, so it would not be said that a woman killed him.
• Israel goes home, and the deaths of Jerubbaal's sons are avenged.

Judges 10
1-5 Tola and Jair

• Tola, a man of Issachar, judges Israel 23 years.
• Jair the Gileadite, judges Israel 22 years - 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys and had 30 towns in Gilead.

6-18 Oppression by Ammonites

• Israel returns to worshiping the Baals and the Astartes, gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia.
• God delivers them to the Ammonites, who oppress them for 18 years in Gilead.
  
• They cry to God, confessing their sins.
• God: Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, and also the Sidonians, Amalekites, and the Maonites? Go - cry to the gods you have chosen.
• They begin worshiping him, and he can "no longer see Israel suffer."
• The Ammonites gather against them, so Israel looks for a leader to fight for them.

Psalm 62 - Song of Trust in God Alone
9 - "Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath."
11 - "...power belongs to God, and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord."

1 Corinthians 16
1-4 Collections for the Christians.
As I told the Galatians, so I tell you: every first day of the week, lay something aside to give to saints in need, so it will all be gathered when I get there. You'll choose the one who takes it to Jerusalem. They will go with me, if it's fitting.

5-12 Plans for Travel

• Paul plans to visit Corinth for a good visit after passing through Macedonia, but for now he has a challenging work in Ephesus.
• If Timothy comes your way, treat him as you would treat me.
• I urged Apollos to come see you, but it's not convenient for him now.

13-24 Final Messages and Greetings

• Be alert, firm in your faith, courageous, strong. Do all things in love.
• Recognize the servants of the saints, like Stephanatus, Fortunatus and Achaicus
• Greetings from the churches in Asia, Aquila and Prisca and the church in their house, all the brothers and sisters.
• Let those who do not love the Lord be accursed. Grace and love be with you all.

Judges 8; Psalm 61; 1 Corinthians 15

Judges 8
1-21 Gideon's Triumph and Vengeance

• Ephraimites angry at Gideon because he didn't call them at the beginning of the battle with Midian
• Gideon reminds them they were responsible for the deaths of Oreb and Zeeb -- more consequential than what he has done, and it appeases them
• Gideon and his army cross the Jordan in pursuit of Midianites, exhausted and hungry, and ask for help from people of Succoth, then Penuel, both of whom refuse, because Gideon hasn't yet captured Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
• He catches up with the kings, and the 15,000 remaining in the Midianite army, surprises them, and captures the kings.
• On his way back to Succoth, he finds out from a young man of Succoth who the 77 leaders of Succoth are.
  
• With kings in tow, he takes them into Succoth, confronts the leaders, and "tramples" the people of Succoth with thorns and briers, as he had threatened to do. I'm not sure what this means. Commentators say in some way he tore their flesh with the thorns from the area, maybe even throwing them into a pit with the thorns and literally trampling them with his (or their) feet or driving over them with farming implements.
  
• He also broke down the tower in Penuel and killed their men, as he had threatened to do.
  
• In vengeance for the deaths of his brothers, Gideon orders his son to kill Zebah amd Zalmunna, but he is young, and can't bring himself to do it. So Gideon does it himself, taking the crescents from the necks of their camels.

22-28 Gideon's Idolatry

• Israelites ask that Gideon and his family rule over them.
• Gideon's reply: Not me but the LORD.
• Then he asks them for their gold booty, totaling 1700 shekels of gold, and builds an ephod which he erects in Ophrah, his hometown.
• "And all Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family." This is surprising, seeing that at the beginning Gideon tore down an altar to an idol, and he wouldn't accept a special position himself. This shows, I think, that it's just as dangerous to worship a "thing" that represents the true God as it is to worship a "thing" that represents a false god.
• After the conquest of Midian, Israel has rest for 40 years.

29-35 Death of Gideon (Jerubbaal)

• Gideon goes back home, has 70 sons by the time he dies, because he also has many wives and a concubine in Shechem who bears him a son named Abimelech.
• At his death, Israel goes back to worshiping Baal, forgetting the LORD and "all the good that [Gideon] had done in Israel."

Psalm 61 - Of David
Familiar phrases:
2 - "...Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Stronger, higher, giving shade and shelter)
4 - "Let me...find refuge under the shelter of your wings."
An example of what "forever" means in Old Testament writings:
6-7 - "Prolong the life of the king...May he be enthroned forever before God."

1 Corinthians 15
1-11 The Resurrection of Christ

• Back to Basics: "Let me remind you...of the good news":
• that I proclaimed to you
• which you in turn received
• in which you stand
• through which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the word Another indication that our salvation, though a gift, still has conditions of faithfulness.
  
• The good news?
• Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day
• He appeared to Cephas and the 12, then to 500 disciples, to James, and lastly, to me
• I am the least of the apostles, but through the grace of God, I work harder than any of them
• But no matter, we all preach the same thing

12-34 The Resurrection of the Dead

• If there is no resurrection from the dead
• Then Christ was not raised, and your faith is meaningless, and you are still in your sins
  
• We have misrepresented God
• We hope in Christ only in this life, and we are to be pitied. This goes against what I have believed and said, that even if the Christian story were untrue, the Christian life would be the best way to live. This points, I'm sure, to the easy life I live as a Christian, free from persecution. Maybe life is too easy....
• But Christ has been raised.
• Death came through a man (Adam), and life came through a man (Christ)
• Christ was the first fruits -- the first to emerge from the ground in resurrection
• He is reigning now, ruling until the end, when he will hand his kingdom over to his Father.
• God has given Christ authority over everything. At the end, Christ will again be subject to God. So one member of the Godhead is subject to another? Since Christ is the eternal logos (Word), is this something like our words being subject to our brains? And therefore, it is like the Word is reigning now -- it is the Word that will overcome death?
• And a passage that puzzles everyone I know of: What will happen to the people who baptize on behalf of the dead, if the dead are not raised?
• Going back to the misery of Christianity: I'm in danger everyday, so what's the point, if Christ has not been raised from the dead?
• "Come to a sober and right mind and sin no more; for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame." A lack of knowledge of God is the cause for their troubles. This is reminiscent of Hosea 4:6 - "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

35-58 The Resurrection Body

• Typically, the Corinthians want the details: Exactly how does all this resurrection happen?
• Paul: You fools -- look at nature. Does the plant resemble the seed?
• All through God's creation, bodies look different.
• So it is with earthly (physical) and heavenly (spiritual) bodies. Spiritual bodies are made for heavenly places.
• The joyous reality of resurrection: Death loses its power over us, and we become victorious over it. Christ overcame it for himself; he will conquer it for us as well.
• Therefore: "be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord."
  

Judges 6-7; Psalm 60; 1 Corinthians 14

Judges 6
1-10 The Midianite Oppression

• After Deborah, the Israelites return to evil, and God gives them up to Midian for 7 years.
• When Israel plants seed, Midian and Amalek come in and destroy their crops.
  
• Israel calls to God for help.
• God sends a prophet who reminds them of what God has done for them, but they have not given up the gods of the Amorites, where they live.

11-27 The Call of Gideon

• An angel appears to Gideon as he is "beating out wheat in a wine press," with the greeting "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." A strange place to thresh wheat -- perhaps a way of hiding it from the Midianites. The greeting is also interesting. He appears to be a farmer, not a soldier.
  
• Gideon: If the LORD is with us, why are we oppressed by Midian?
• The LORD (not an angel now): I commission you to deliver your people. I will be with you.
• Gideon: I need a sign. He prepares a meal, which the angel burns up with the tip of his staff, then promptly vanishes.
• Gideon calls to God for help: "I have seen the angel face to face!"
• God: Don't be afraid; you won't die. And Gideon builds an altar there.
• God tells him to tear down his father's altar to Baal and replace it with an altar to God, and offer a bull on it. With the help of 10 servants, he does so, but by night, because he fears the reactions of his family and the townspeople. Isn't that typical? Here he's seen an angel, received instruction by God to do something, yet because of fear he feels like he has to sneak around to do it.

28-35 Reaction of the Townspeople and Gideon's father

• When townspeople see altar to Baal torn down and discover who did it, they demand that Joash bring out his son so they can kill him.
• Joash defends his son's actions: Let Baal fight his own battles.
• Gideon's name changed to Jerubbaal - "Let Baal contend against him."
• As Midianites and Amalekites gather against Israel, Gideon sounds a trumpet and calls Abiezrites as well as tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali to follow him.

36-50 Sign of the Fleece

• Gideon again asks for verification from God with a fleece of wool - in the morning, dew on fleece, dry ground around it. It has always amazed me that God complied with these "tests" that Gideon requests.
• That's not enough -- another test, this time, dew on the ground, dry fleece, just in case the previous one was a fluke. Maybe God complied either because of Gideon's attitude "Do not let your anger burn against me..." or because it also served as a sign to Gideon's followers that God was with him.

Judges 7
1-8 God Chooses Gideon's Army

• The troops Gideon has gathered camp south of Midian's camp
• God to Gideon: Too many troops. The credit needs to be given to me, not to them. Send home the fearful. Out of 32,000, Gideon is left with 10,000.
• God: Still too many. Another test: Take them to the water. Those who lap like dogs, put to one side; those who kneel, drinking out of their hands, put to another side.
  
• God: Those 300 who lapped are your army. Gideon sends the rest home but keeps their jars and trumpets.

9-25 Gideon Routs the Midianites

• God to Gideon: I have given the Midianite camp into your hand. But just to assure you, take your servant Purah and go spy on the camp.
• The Midianites are "thick as locusts," but Gideon hears one Midianite recount his dream to another of a cake of barley bread toppling a tent in Midian. Another interprets it: This is the sword of Gideon; God has given Midian into his hand.
• Gideon worships, then returns to camp with the good news.
• He divides the 300 into 3 companies, each having a trumpet in one hand, and empty jars in the other, with torches inside them.
  
• As they approach the camp, following Gideon's lead, they blow their trumpets and break the jars at the same time, confusing the Midianites, who turn on each other then flee, pursued by the army.
  
• (If I understand the geography) Gideon calls on the Ephraimites to "head them off," and they capture and behead Midianite captains Oreb and Zeeb.
  
• They bring their heads to Gideon.
  

Psalm 60 - Prayer for National Victory
1 - "O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; now restore us!"
11 - "O grant us help against the foe, for human help is worthless...." A prayer applicable to the Israelite's during Gideon's time.

1 Corinthians 14
1-25 Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

• Pursue love most of all.
  
• It is good to pursue spiritual gifts. Of them all, prophecy (teaching) is the most profitable for others. Again, Paul's emphasis on doing and desiring what is most beneficial for others, not for yourself.
• The gift of tongues is useless for communication -- like the indistinct sound of a musical instrument -- unless you have an interpreter.
• Seek for the spiritual gifts that can be used to build up the church (not yourselves).
• Better to speak 5 words in a language others can understand than 10,000 words in a tongue.
• Don't be childish. The purpose of tongues is not for show, but for the purpose of showing God's power to unbelievers. If you're all speaking tongues to each other, unbelievers who come in will think you're mad. But if you're teaching in languages that can be understood, unbelievers -- and believers -- will benefit.

26-40 Speaking of a Disorderly Worship...

• Let ALL things be done for building each other up.
• This means:
  
• Let there be only 2 or 3 speaking in tongues -- one a a time -- and with an interpreter.
• If there is no interpreter, let the tongues be silent.
• God is a God of peace, not disorder.
• Women should be silent in the churches, thereby showing their subordination. (Another way of maintaining the order.)
  
• In summary, what I've said is from the Lord. Be eager to teach, while not forbidding speaking in tongues.
• Do all things decently and in order.
  

Judges 4-5; Psalm 59; 1 Corinthians 13

Judges 4
1-23 Deborah and Balak

• At the death of Ehud, Israel turns again to evil, and God "sells" them to King Jabin of Canaan, whose army commander is Sisera.
• Israel cries to God for help, for Sisera has 900 iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed Israel for 20 years.
• Deborah, a prophetess, also serves as a judge, advising people from under "the palm of Deborah" in the hill country of Ephraim.
• She sends for Barak (of Naphtali) and tells him to gather an army of 10,000 to meet Sisera.
• Barak agrees, but only if she goes with him.
• Deborah: Okay, but you won't get any glory out of this. The LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.
  
• Sisera meets Barak in battle, but when he sees they will be defeated, he flees on foot. The rest of his army is killed.
  
• He flees to the tent of Heber, a Kenite (see Judges 1:16), who has encamped away from the other Kenites. Sisera believes it to be safe territory, for Heber's clan is on good terms with King Jabin.
  
• Heber's wife Jael invites Sisera in to rest in their tent, gives him milk when he asks for water. He asks her to keep watch for him. Instead, after he goes to sleep, she drives a tent peg through his temple. When Barak comes in pursuit of Sisera, he is already dead.
• God subdues King Jabin, and the Israelites eventually destroy him.

Judges 5
1-31 The Song of Deborah and Barak

• Praise to the God of Israel
• Tribute to Deborah and Barak
• Blessings to Jael
• And the land has rest 40 years.

Psalm 59 - A Miktam of David, when Saul has had his house watched
David never loses faith that God will save him.
3 - "[My enemies] lie in wait for my life..."
8 - "But you laugh at them, O LORD...O my strength, I will watch for you; for you, O God, are my fortress."

1 Corinthians 13
1-13 The Gift of Love
I like the above title the editors of the NSRV have given this chapter. Love is, after all, a gift from God. If we see it as a gift we have received, perhaps it will be easier to extend to others. Paraphrasing this chapter doesn't seem appropriate, and so much as been written and said about this chapter, my words will fall short. Nevertheless, here is what I see as I read it this time:

• Pretty speeches, insights into God's word, faith that can move mountains, even an ultimate sacrifice of life itself is nothing without love.
• Love is patience and kindness and truth personified. Envy, boasting, arrogance, rudeness, insisting on one's own way, irritability, resentment, pleasure in wrongdoing are all what love is not.
  
• It bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things.
  
• It will remain when everything else -- all the spiritual gifts we admire and strive for -- are gone.
• These spiritual gifts are like our childhood, or like a mirror in which we see just a dim image. When we will reach full enlightenment, these childish things will disappear, and we will see clearly.
  
• Our faith, our hope, and love will remain, but the greatest of these is love.
  

Judges 1-3; Psalm 58; 1 Corinthians 12

Judges 1
1-36 Israel's Failure to Complete the Conquest of Canaan

• The Israelites ask God, "Now [with the death of Joshua] who will go fight for us?" God answers, "Judah." Judah asks Simeon to fight with him, who agrees.
• At Bezek they defeat the Perizzites and Canaanite Adoni-bezek. They cut off his thumbs and big toes and bring him to Jerusalem, where he dies. (Adoni-bezek sees this as a "payback" from God for his doing the same thing to 70 other kings who then begged for scraps under his table.)
• Next: Jerusalem, then the hill country, the Negeb, and the lowland, Hebron (formerly Kiriath-arba), and others, including Debir. This seems to be a repeat of Joshua 14 and 15, which told of Caleb receiving the land Moses had promised him; it also includes the promise of Caleb's daughter to whomever would take Kiriath-sepher (his nephew Othniel).
  
• Kenites (descendants of Moses' father-in-law) join Judah to "settle" with the Amalekites, then Judah and Simeon "devote to destruction" Zephath, and called it Hormah. Jericho had also been "devoted to destruction" (Joshua 6:20-24).
• Benjamites did not drive out Jebusites in Jerusalem (another repeat from Joshua 15).
• Joseph defeats Bethel (formerly named Luz), with the help of a local man who helps guide them into the city. They spare him, and he moves to the land of Hittites and names his city there Luz, after the previous name of his hometown.
• Now a list of what the Israelites did NOT do:
• Manasseh did not drive out the Canaanites in several cities
• Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites in Gezer
• Zebulun did not drive out the Canaanites in 2 cities
• Asher did not drive out inhabitants of several Canaanite cities
• Naphtali did not drive out the people of Beth-shemesh, but lived among them, using them as forced labor.
  
• Dan did not defeat the Amorites, but were driven back by them, although the Amorites did become subject to forced labor by Joseph.

Judges 2
1-5 Israel's Disobedience

• The angel of the LORD to Israel: I promised you I would give you the land, and I will never break that covenant. [God sends his angel now -- the second person of the Godhead who also appeared to Joshua in 5:13-15? -- instead of speaking to them directly.]
• On your part, you were not to make covenants with the people of this land, but were to tear down their altars.
• You have disobeyed me, therefore, they will become your enemies, and their gods will be snare to you.
• The people weep, and sacrifice there to the LORD and Bochim (which means "weepers").

6-10 Death of Joshua

• A reminder of the influence of Joshua and the faithfulness of those who followed him, their commitment to him and to God
• But this is a new generation, and though the angel made them sorrowful, they quickly forget their sorrow and look to the "gods" they can see.
  

11-23 Israel's Unfaithfulness

• Then the Israelites:
• Do what is evil in God's sight and worship the Baals
• Abandon the LORD
• Follow others gods, bow down to them, provoke the LORD to anger
• (Once again) abandon the LORD
• So: God becomes angry, and gives them over to their enemies
• And they are in great distress
• Prophetic summary of the downward spiral in Judges:
• Out of pity, God raises up judges who deliver them
• They stop listening to the judges and go back into idolatry
• God raises up another judge, and they're okay until the judge dies
• Then they relapse and are worse than before.
• This is God's plan -- not to let Joshua defeat all the nations so his people will be tested in this way. Sure enough, they fail the test.

Judges 3
1-6 Nations Remaining in the Land

• Nations left to test Israel, so that successive generations will know about war: 5 lords of the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites. 2nd reason for not defeating all the inhabitants of the land.
  
• The Israelites live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, marry their daughters and give their daughters to their sons, and worship their gods.

7-11 The 1st Judge: Othniel

• Because of their disobedience, Israel is defeated by King Cushan-rishathaim and serve him for 8 years
• Israel cries to God, and he raises up Othniel (of Judah) as judge. (This is the same Othniel who married Caleb's daughter back in Joshua 15. I thought I'd heard that name before, and here it is!)
• Othniel defeats King Cushan-rishathaim, and the land has rest for 40 years.

12-30 Judge #2: Ehud (the left-handed Benjamite)

• Israel again turns away, is defeated by King Eglon of Moab, in alliance with the Ammonites and Amelekites, and serves King Eglon for 18 years.
• Israel cries up to God, and he raises up Ehud.
• On behalf of Israel, Ehud goes to Eglon to deliver their annual tribute money.
• Left alone with Eglon, Ehud pretends to give him a "message," and reaching with his left hand stabs him with a sword he has hidden under his clothes. Eglon is so fat, his flesh closes over the sword. Ehud leaves, closing the door to the "cool chamber." His servants, granting their king privacy, don't discover the body until Ehud is long gone.
• Ehud returns to the hill country of Ephraim and sounds the trumpet for Israel to follow him in defeating Moab, killing about 10,000 of them.
• And the land has rest for 80 years.

31 - Shamgar, who killed 600 Philistines with an oxgoad, also delivers Israel. (No time period given.)

Psalm 58 - A Miktam of David (Prayer for Vengeance)
An extremely violent psalm. This is written by the "sweet singer of Israel"?
3 - "The wicked...err from their birth, speaking lies." Some people are just born wicked.
And what does David want God to do with them? 6 - "Break the teeth in their mouths...let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime."
And how shall the righteous respond to the demise of the wicked? 10 - "The righteous will rejoice...they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked."
Note: The reason God did not allow David to build the temple was because he had become such a man of war. I think maybe his developed violent nature shows up in this psalm.

1 Corinthians 12
1-11 Spiritual Gifts

• Paul speaks to former pagans, who formerly worshiped idols that couldn't speak.
• Now they worship a God who does speak -- through His Spirit.
  
• Those led by His Spirit would never curse His Son, and those who claim His Son as Lord do so only through the Spirit.
  
• The activities of those led by the Spirit take on different forms, but they are still led by the same Spirit. Maybe there was a misunderstanding among the Corinthians that different gifts came from different gods -- like a god of ministry, and a god of wisdom, and a god of knowledge.
• But Paul does not want them to be uninformed (v. 1). There are a variety of gifts, but only one Spirit.
  
• Examples of those gifts -- all "activated by God" and given for the common good: utterance of wisdom; knowledge; faith; healing; miracles; prophecy; discernment of spirits; tongues; interpretation of tongues.
• The Spirit allots these gifts as He chooses.

12-31 The Body with Many Members

• Again -- just as the Spirit is one, so the body is one.
• Jew, Greek, slave, or free -- at baptism we come into one body.
• Comparison with the physical body, which has many parts, but each one does its part to make the whole body function.
  
• Body parts that get the most attention are sometimes the least useful.
• When one part of our body is in pain, the rest of the body suffers with it. If one part is honored, the rest of the body rejoices with it. (So when we accomplish something, our face smiles, and our step is lighter.)
• You are all the body of Christ, and like the members of a physical body, are each important.
• God is the one who has appointed people to certain positions in the church. Just like the brain would be useless without necks, arms, fingers, knees, and elbows to carry out its commands, so each of us would be useless without our fellow members.
  
• There is one difference: we can all strive for the greater gifts. Greater than all of these is a "more excellent way."