What?!

No picture for this one. Just read this. I can't believe it. Just read it. Ew. Just read it.

Judges 19:22-30

22 While they were celebrating, behold, the men of the city, certain worthless fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have relations with him.” 23 Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly. 24 “Here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. Please let me bring them out that you may ravish them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit such an act of folly against this man.” 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and brought her out to them; and they raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn. 26 As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight.
27 When her master arose in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up and let us go,” but there was no answer. Then he placed her on the donkey; and the man arose and went to his home. 29 When he entered his house, he took a knife and laid hold of his concubine and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel. 30 All who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel and speak up!”

What?!

Hey there Delilah

SAMSON AND DELILAH

I guess I always thought this was supposed to be a love story. I have the same feeling now that I had when I saw the second act of West Side Story. The first half makes you so excited. Love! It makes everything grand! Then after intermission it tears your heart out and you wind up sobbing down the aisle as some older woman hits her husband and says, "See! I wasn't the only one bawling, Henry!" For those of you who don't know (spoiler alert) here's what happens:

Judges 16:18-21 When Delilah realized that he had told her his whole secret, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "This time come up, for he has told his whole secret to me." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands. She let him fall asleep on her lap and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. He began to weaken and his strength left him... So the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes.

Dying a virgin

Jephthah told God that if he would have the Ammonites given into his hand the first person he saw come out of his door at home he would offer as a burnt offering. When he came home his daughter ran out to meet him. He tore his clothes and was very sad. She asked if she could have two months to wander in the mountains with her friends and woe her virginity and how she would die without ever sleeping with a man.

There arose a custom of the daughters of Israel to go out and lament the daughter of Jephthah for four days.

This story made me cry. First, that her father had to come home victorious and rather than be happy to see his daughter he was so sad because he had to offer her up to God as a sacrifice. Second, that she never got to know love. Third, that she's not even mentioned by name. Poor Jephthah's daughter. What a sad fate.

Son of a prostitute

Judges 11:1-2 Now Jephthah the Gileadite, the son of a prostitute, was a mighty warrior. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. Gilead's wife also bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away, saying to him, " You shall not inherit anything in our father's house; for you are the son of another woman."

What jerks! Well, let me tell you, he doesn't need his brother's and father's love or money. He becomes a judge for 6 years and helps save Israel. Unfortunately, his daughter...well, you'll read about it next time.

By the way, how do you think Jephthah is pronounced? I keep tripping over it in my head. Is it Jep-tah or something completely different?

Trees

Judges 9:7-15

The Parable of the Trees

The trees once went out

to anoint a king over themselves.

So they said to the olive tree,

'Reign over us.'

The olive tree answered them,

'Shall I stop producing my rich oil

by which gods and mortals are honored,

and go to sway over the trees?'

Then the trees said to the fig tree,

'You come and reign over us.'

But the fig tree answered them,

'Shall I stop producing my sweetness

and my delicious fruit,

and go to sway over the trees?'

Then the trees said to the vine,

'You come and reign over us.'

But the vine said to them,

'Shall I stop producing my wine

that cheers gods and mortals,

and go to sway over the trees?'

So all the trees said to the bramble,

'You come and reign over us.'

And the bramble said to the trees,

'If in good faith you are anointing me

king over you,

then come and take refuge in my shade;

but if not, let fire come out of the bramble

and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'

The Song of Deborah

Deborah was a prophetess. Her story starts with Barak who went on a mission to take Mount Tabor. On the way he almost gets caught but is rescued by Jael. When his persecutor, Sisera, tries to find Barak in her tent here's what happened:

Judges 5:25-26 He asked for water and she gave him milk, she brought him curds in a lordly bowl. She put her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen's mallet; she struck Sisera a blow, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple.

This is a direct excerpt from a song. It's no Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice but it paints quite a picture!

He must be relieving himself...

Rather than write a commentary about the story of the second judge I think everyone should take some time out of their day and read it. This guy was tricky!

Judges 3: 14-30

The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.

Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who had carried it. At the idols near Gilgal he himself turned back and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king." The king said, "Quiet!" And all his attendants left him. Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace and said, "I have a message from God for you." As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king's belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. Then Ehud went out to the porch; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, "He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house." They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them."Follow me," he ordered, "for the LORD has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands." So they followed him down and, taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no one to cross over. At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not a man escaped. That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.