This Week
We are reading:
Joshua 16-24
Judges 1-12
Psalm 13, 24-28, 31
Summary
We are finishing Joshua this week, and we see that God’s promises are being fulfilled as the Promised Land is divided amongst the tribes. Unfortunately, Israel does not hold up their end of the bargain, doesn’t wipe out the existing cities, and chaos ensues pretty quickly.
God told the Israelites to eradicate the people of that land for a reason. And, listen, I get it. It is hard to understand this kind of warfare. But we’ve read the Book of Enoch! We know what kind of genetic corruption exists in the bloodlines of giants, and unfortunately, they are at odds with humanity as originally designed by God.
And whew if these people dragging their feet about taking possession of what God already gave them isn’t relatable. Stop being a mirror, Bible!
And then we start the Book of Judges.
Judges details the leaders of the Israelites after Joshua, but before Israel had kings.
This week we also have a couple feminist icons — Deborah, the only female Judge and leader of the Israelites, and Jael, an iconic assassin.
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Here is the daily breakdown from our annual plan:
Day 110 — Monday, 4/20 — Joshua 16-18, Psalm 13
Day 111 — Tuesday, 4/21 — Joshua 19-21, Psalm 24
Day 112 — Wednesday, 4/22 — Joshua 22-24, Psalm 25
Day 113 — Thursday, 4/23 — Judges 1-3, Psalm 26
Day 114 — Friday, 4/24 — Judges 4-6, Psalm 27
Day 115 — Saturday, 4/25 — Judges 7-9, Psalm 28
Day 116 — Sunday, 4/26 — Judges 10-12, Psalm 31
Day 110 — Monday, 4/20 — Joshua 16-18, Psalm 13
The land is distributed according to God’s promise — but the Israelites are not fully driving out the inhabitants as required.
Day 111 — Tuesday, 4/21 — Joshua 19-21, Psalm 24
More land assignments, more promises fulfilled
Day 112 — Wednesday, 4/22 — Joshua 22-24, Psalm 25
The eastern tribes build an altar, which the tribes on the other side of the Jordan assume is yet another rebellion against the Lord, nearly plunging the Israelites into civil war. The eastern tribes explain it is an altar of unity, a reminder that all tribes have a right to worship the one true God.
Joshua dies and is buried, after reiterating to the Israelites that they must burn their idols and worship God alone.
Day 113 — Thursday, 4/23 — Judges 1-3, Psalm 26
We get a bit of a retelling of the end of Joshua, with Israel declining to fully remove the Canaanites and living amongst them and intermarrying, in direct disobedience to God’s commands.
God reiterates that this will have consequences — cut to the Israelites becoming oppressed by King Eglon of Moab.
We get a story worthy of inclusion in The Princess Bride when Ehud saves the Israelites from the Moabites by assassinating their king.
Day 114 — Friday, 4/24 — Judges 4-6, Psalm 27
Deborah is especially interesting — a prophet AND leader in a time of total instability and oppression by the Canaanite King Jabin.
But Jael’s story is the best. When Sisera, commander of King Jabin’s army, has his whole army wiped out in a battle with the Israelites, he retreats to hide in Jael’s tent. He falls asleep, and she drives a tent peg through his head.
The pattern of “the Israelites did evil in the Lords sight — the Lord handed them over to _____” continues
Day 115 — Saturday, 4/25 — Judges 7-9, Psalm 28
Gideon is chosen by God to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites. God intentionally reduces his army through a weird test of how they drink water from a spring. At any rate, with the size of the army greatly reduced, the victory is clearly divine.
But afterward, Gideon takes all the Ishmaelites gold earrings and creates an idol that leads people astray.
Abimelech, Gideon’s son, decides to name himself King and kills all of his half-brothers — except for one. After three years, the city rebels against him and, long story short, Abimelech is killed by a woman dropping a stone on his head from the top of a tower.
Day 116 — Sunday, 4/26 — Judges 10-12, Psalm 31
Jephthah makes a tragic, rash vow that costs him his daughter. It’s interesting to note that God never asked him to do this, and Jephthah is mixing pagan ideas of sacrifice (particularly child sacrifice) with faith.
By now, leadership is unstable, morality is slipping, and everyone is improvising spiritually as Israel falls further away from their orthodox faith.
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