Posts with the tag “judges”

Daily Devotional from Ruth 2—Verse 12May the LORD reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.Boaz, seeing the righteousness of God in Ruth, praised her and proclaimed blessing on her. He not only encouraged her, but made sure she was safeguarded and made sure she was secured with more than enough food...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ruth 1--Verse 16But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”Not all of us were born into families that follow the Lord. That can be tough. It’s hard when you can’t relate with your birth family in your love for God. But Psalm 68:6...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 21–Verse 20If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh…Have you ever tried to clean mud off your shoes by wiping your shoes in mud? Well, you can’t fix a problem with a problem, and you can’t solve violence with violence. But by the end of the book of Judges, that’s...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 20--Verses 26Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.After suffering defeat twice in battles against Benjamin, the people of Israel finally inquired of the Lord.28b …And the Lord said, “Go up, for ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 19—Verse 12And his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel, but we will pass on to Gibeah.”God set the Israelites apart as his special people, and he forbade them from mixing with others, so they wouldn’t slip into idolatry. But they didn’t separate themselves for God, they did whatever they lik...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 18--Verses 19b-20“Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” And the priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people. As we read through Judges, we consistently hear 'In those days there was no king in Israel.' Everyone did what was righ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 17—Verse 13Then Micah said, "Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest."Micah, a man who stole from his mother, a man who worshiped idols, a man who ordained his own son as a priest, and finally a man who found a Levite who would live in his house and become his priest says “I know that the Lord will prosper me.”Why? Micah was directly...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 16—Verse 28Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.”Samson was not very faithful to God while he judged Israel. He was rash and quick to head into relationships he shouldn’t have been in. His love for Delilah blinded him from seeing ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 15—Verses 18-19And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord andsaid, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand ofyour servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into thehands of the uncircumcised?” And God split open the hollowplace that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And whenhe drank, his spirit returned, and he revived.Samson knew God w...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 14—Verse 6, 9Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him…Out of all the things that happened in this chapter, the most remarkable were preceded by the Spirit of the LORD rushing upon Samson. That’s a principle we can take from this chapter–where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is strength, power, and miracles that would not be possible without him. When the Spirit rus...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 13--Verses 17-19And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 12—Verse 7Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.Jephthah had humble beginnings, but was still used mightily by God. Yesterday, we read about his humble beginnings. And today, we read about how the Lord continued to bless him as a warrior.Maybe you’ve come from humble beginnings yourself. You doubt that G...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 11—Verse 36 (HCSB)Then she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD brought vengeance on your enemies, the Ammonites.”This story is perplexing. After leading the Israelites in multiple victories, Jephthah celebrates by making a foolish vow to God. Why is it not surprising that his only child is the first to ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 10—Verses 12-14The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”It’s a scary thought that God could aba...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 9--Verse 56Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers.This whole chapter is messed up. Everyone throwing their weight around, acting all macho and arrogant, acting in anger, treachery and deceit, murdering brothers and rejoicing in the crime. Messed up.Abimelech began his story hungry for power, contro...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 8—Verses 33-34aAs soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side…Oh Gideon. Such a sad example of a lukewarm life. God chose him to deliver Israel. But he had a very hard...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 7–Verse 2The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand…Wait, what? Too many? Don’t you mean too few?No, Gideon. I said too many. You have too many soldiers. When you win this victory (and you will win), I don’t want you thinking that you won because of the size of your army. Therefore, I’m going to shrink your unit of 32,000 men down to...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 6--Verse 15How can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.And in verse 16, God doesn’t even argue with Gideon. He says, “Yeah, but I will be with you!” Isn’t that just like God? He votes for the least likely to do some of the greatest things. If you don’t feel like you measure up, you might just be in the perf...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 5—Selection from verses 3-12“Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the Lord I will sing. I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel…To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord…“Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, break out in a song! Arise, Barak, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam.”Like Deborah...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 4--Verse 9And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”God tends to use unexpected things for His glory. Not only was Jael a woman, she was not a warrior or an Israelite; her husband was actually an enemy of Israel.It’s easy to assume certain ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 3--Verse 9But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them…Israel disobeyed.God punished using enemies.Israel cried out to God for help.God sent a savior (judge) who punished the enemies.Repeat.Repeat again.You would think Israel would have learned their lesson. But how many times have we done ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 2--Verse 15Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.God warned them, and God keeps His word. Could you imagine if he wasn’t true to His word? Without any accountability for their actions, the Israelites would probably lose faith in God rather ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 1—Verse 2The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.”Does anyone else get chills when “The LORD said” comes across their page? I can imagine a deep, rich, booming voice that shakes the earth with its magnificence, glory, and authority. How powerful is our God! Take Judges 1 for example. He brought about victory after victory for the ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 19—Verse 12And his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel, but we will pass on to Gibeah.”God set the Israelites apart as his special people, and he forbade them from mixing with others, so they wouldn’t slip into idolatry. However, as we’ve seen thus far, the Israelites were not separating the...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 18--Verses 19b-20“Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” And the priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people. As we read through Judges, we consistently hear 'In those days there was no king in Israel.' Everyone did what was righ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 16—Verse 28Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.”Samson was not very faithful to God while he judged Israel. He was rash and he was quick to head into relationships he shouldn’t have been in. His own love for Delilah blinded him f...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 13--Verses 17-19And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 11—Verse 36 (HCSB)“Then she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD brought vengeance on your enemies, the Ammonites.”The story of Jephthah is perplexing. After leading the Israelite army in victory after victory, he celebrates by making a foolish vow to God. Why is it not surprising that his only child is ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 8—Verses 33-34As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the g...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 6--Verse 15How can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.And in verse 16, God doesn’t even argue with Gideon. He says, “Yeah, but I will be with you!” Isn’t that just like God? He votes for the least likely to do some of the greatest things. If you don’t feel like you measure up, you might just be in the perf...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 4--Verse 9And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”God tends to use unexpected things for His glory. Not only was Jael a woman, she was not a warrior or an Israelite; her husband was actually an enemy of Israel.It’s easy to assume certain ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Judges 2--Verse 15Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.God warned them, and God keeps His word. Could you imagine if he wasn’t true to His word? Without any accountability for their actions, the Israelites would probably lose faith in God rather ...  Read More