Joshua, Judges, Ruth

When God told Samson’s parents that they would have a son, He was reluctant to reveal His name. “You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it.” (Judges 13:18). In such a dark and violent book as Judges, there is something very significant in these words. We …

This book opens with a king having his thumbs and toes cut off. It ends with the story of a woman being raped all night, left for dead, and then being dismembered and with the body part sent to all 12 tribes. That is just a sampling of the extreme …

The book of Joshua describes the military escapades of God’s people as they entered the Promised Land. Entire cities were wiped out. The women, children and babies were killed. And, God helped them. Joshua asked that the sun stay in place so that he and his men would have more …

Fighting, fighting, fighting! Achan and his entire family are stoned to death for disobeying. God keeps the sun from setting so that more killing can take place. Orders for babies to be killed and horses to be hamstrung. How do we reconcile “eye for an eye” language with Jesus who …

This book begins with a man having his thumbs and toes cut off and ends with a concubine having her body cut up into 12 pieces. In between we have a man stabbed through the temple with a tent peg while he sleeps, Samson killing a thousand men with the …