Nathan Whitley's Blog, page 19

Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 16-18

Every superhero has their villain. If you ever read comics, or watched a superhero movie then you know the villain is always looking for ways to defeat his arch nemesis. The villains evil plots are never going to come to pass if the hero is there to thwart the evil plan. Therefore, the villain looks for ways to weaken the hero, either by poisoning him, or holding someone they loved hostage. The villain is looking for the superheros weakness. If the villain can reveal the weakness he can...

Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 13-15

The spiritual climate in Israel grew colder. Israel was now indifferent to Jehovah and to the idea of being bondage. They hadnt learned the lesson of keeping themselves from idols which inevitably led to them doing evil again in the sight of the LORD. This time God allowed them to be oppressed by the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

There is some hope in Israel for there was a couple that had not turned to either worshiping an idol or to doing evil. Manoah and his wife were the...

Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 10-12

After the awful war between Abimelech and Jotham, Israel had peace under the leadership of Tola and Jair. But once again, Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and worshiped idols. The Lord sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and the Ammonites, and they were oppressed for eighteen years (Jud. 10:1-9).

This time, however, things were different. When the children of Israel cried out, the Lord rebuked them. He reminded them of all the times he had delivered them, and yet they...

Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 8-9

After the death of Gideon, the people of Israel went after strange gods again (Jud. 8:33). Israel had quickly forgotten what the Lord had done for them, and the victory that Gideon wrought. Israels lack of spiritual leadership was proving to be futile.

Gideon had served Israel as a judge, not as a king. After his death, Israels void for a leader needed filled. History has shown that sons follow in their fathers footsteps, whether willingly or reluctantly. But that may not always be Gods will....

Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 6-7

Everyone loves an underdog. We have a hard time cheering for the giants and the super elite. Theres something special about seeing the little guy have his day. The story of Gideon is that of an underdog.

Israel, again, did evil in the sight of the Lord. For punishment, He gave Israel over to the Midianites. Part of the Midianites oppressive strategy, was to come and take Israels harvest each time they would plant and sow. In order to stave off future attacks, Israel built caves, dens and...

Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 3-5

Mesopotamia was the place that God had called Abraham to leave (Gen. 12:1-4). Now after several centuries, the people of Israel were under the oppression of the Mesopotamians, on account that Israel had gone back into idolatry. They began worshiping false gods, and started to intermarry with the Canaanites (Jud. 3:6-7). Mesopotamia, like Egypt, represents the world and all its allurements. By attempting to become like the world they lived in, they failed to be the light that the world...

Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 1-2

The books of Judges is exhausting and exhilarating. Its exhausting because the same thing happens repeatedly. Its exciting because the Lord does extraordinary things through very ordinary people.

The books theme can be found in its final verse: In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes (Jud. 21:25). This is a sad indictment of Israel. The climax of Joshua details Israels conquest of Canaan, and their recommitment to God (Josh. 24:1-28). How...

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 23-24

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem for one final address. He began by recounting Gods redemptive acts in Israels short history. Joshua wanted to make sure the people understood their history, their present, and their future. Had God not revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; worked mightily through Moses to bring them out of Egypt; and given them the land of Canaan, then they wouldnt have any identity as a people (Josh. 24:1-13).

Joshua needed to remind them of their...

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 19-22

You might remember from our reading in Numbers how the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and a portion of Manasseh requested to settle in the land east of the Jordan River (Num. 32:1-42). Moses granted their request as long as they fought with the others tribes during the Canaan conquest. After the death of Moses, they promised Joshua to remain loyal to their initial commitment (Josh. 1:12-13).

Having completed their mission, Joshua allowed them to return to the land east of the Jordan (Josh. 22:1-3)....

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 16-18

In todays reading we have an account of the inheritance of Joseph divided between his sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraims allotment was a beautiful and fertile area. Howbeit, the difficulty of possessing the land included clearing out additional hill country and removing the Canaanites from the land. There was just one issue: And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute (Josh. 16:10). They...