Psalms 18; I Chronicles 11:10-14; II Samuel 23:8-12; II Samuel 23:18-39; I Chronicles 11:20-47
I Chronicles 13:1-14; II Samuel 6:12-16; I Chronicles 15:1-29; Psalms 24; Psalms 68
II Samuel 3:1-5; I Chronicles 3:1-4; II Samuel 3:6-5:5; I Chronicles 11:1-3; I Chronicles 12:23-40
I Samuel 31:1-13; I Chronicles 10:1-14; II Samuel 1:1-2:32
I Samuel 22:11-23; Psalms 52; I Samuel 23:1-25; Psalms 54; I Samuel 23:26-24:22
I Samuel 13:8-14:48; I Samuel 14:52; I Chronicles 5:10; I Chronicles 5:18-22
Judges 15:1-16:31; I Samuel 2:27-36
Judges 20:29-21:25; Judges 13:1-25
Once again, we see where a vow was made that would later be regretted. Prior to engaging Benjamin in battle, the Israelites made a vow that none of them would give their daughters in marriage to a Benjamite. However, once they had nearly destroyed the tribe of Benjamin, they were sorrowful and wished that they could give the tribe enough young women so that it would not cease to exist. The final plan they devised was to allow the Benjamites to kidnap wives for themselves. The Israelites should not have made the vow in the first place.
Ruth 4:13-22; Judges 19:1-20:28
As the book of Ruth closes, we learn that Ruth and Boaz marry and have a child named Obed, who will become the grandfather of David. Had Boaz not accepted his responsibility as a redeemer, Israel would not have had the opportunity to serve under King David, and Christians would not be blessed by the psalms of David.
After reading about the men of Gibeah and what they did to the visitor's concubine, I wonder if this is what Jacob had reference to in his "blessing" when he said Benjamin is a ravenous wolf (Genesis 49:27).
Ruth 1:1-4:12
The book of Ruth is a narrative of a family that lived during the time of the judges. The setting starts with a famine that causes the family to move. Most likely the famine was a result of the unfaithfulness of Israel. This family falls upon hard times, as perhaps many families did during this time of unfaithfulness. The focus of the story, however, is on the kindness of Ruth and Boaz.
Judges 10:6-12:15
In today's society, vows are taken very lightly. However, God's intention has always been that when we make a vow, we keep it. While keeping a vow is important, the making of a vow is even more important. We should not make vows that we are not willing to keep. Today we read about the tragic vow that Jephthah made to God. This story should cause us to give more thought to the vows that we make.
Judges 8:22-10:5
Do you sometimes wonder if God is at work in the world today? The people of Abimelech's day may have thought that God wasn't active during the reign of Abimelech. However, the writer of Judges tells us that God was actively involved (Judges 9:23-24). God caused the conflict to arise between Abimelech and Shechem, and in the end, both Abimelech and the people of Shechem were punished indirectly by God for their role in the killing of Gibeon's 70 sons.
Judges 6:19-8:21
Today we read the amazing story of how Gideon and his 300 man army defeats an army of more than 100,000 soldiers. As with the previous battles Israel has won, this was accomplished through the hand of God. A literal translation of Judges 6:34 tells us that Gideon was "clothed" in the Holy Spirit; it was as if Gideon's garment was the Holy Spirit. Wow! Wouldn't it be amazing to have such a relationship with God that his Spirit was as close as the garment on your back? Guess what: today each of us can have a relationship with God such that his Son is as close to us as the garment on our back (Galatians 3:27).