Judges 7:8-8:35 ; Proverbs 11:19-28 ; John 5:31-47 "Deutsche Bauernkunst, III" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Acrylic on Wood In Judges 7:8-8:35, we see how God used Gideon to overcome the Midianite oppressors of Israel. A strange character, Gideon has another name – “Jerubbaal” (Judges 7:1) – which means “contender against Baal.” This name indicates that Gideon is zealous for God and for His purposes in opposition to this heathen deity. Apparently, Gideon seems to th

Judges 6:1-7:8 ; Psalm 57:7-11 ; John 5:16-30 "Deutsche Bauernkunst, II" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Acrylic on Panel Today we come to Judges 6:1-7:8. The content of this book is becoming repetitious, for we read “ again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites” (Judges 5:1). It is the same behavior – just a different judge and a different oppressor. This time, God raised up Gideon to judge

Judges 4-5; Psalm 57:1-6; John 4:43-5:15 "Deutsche Bauernkunst, I" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Acrylic on Panel In Judges 4, we see that “the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan” (verses 1-2). In the book of Judges, we will see this as a pattern that recurs over and over again. After twenty years of Jabin’s oppression, the Israelites “cried to the LORD for help” (verse 4). We wonder

Judges 2:6-3:31 ; Psalm 56 ; John 4:27-42 "Heaven's Garden" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Acrylic on Panel Now in Judges 2, we already see the awful cycle of sin beginning to grip the Israelites. Under “Joshua and the elders,” the nation of Israel had been generally obedient and “served the LORD” (verse 7). In verses 8-15, we see a brief, mini-history about the “generation who grew up and knew neither the LORD nor what He had done for Israel … they did evil in the eye

Judges 1:1-2:5 ; Proverbs 11:9-18 ; John 4:1-26 "Nadja at 14" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Colored Pencil on Paper Today we come to the book of Judges, and we want to look at chapters 1:1-2:5. The book of Judges takes its name from the twelve different judges that we will meet here, and interestingly, the book of Judges is everything that the book of Joshua is not . Notice the differences : in Joshua we saw the victories of the Israelites in the land; in Judges, we

Joshua 23-24; Psalm 55:12-23: John 3:22-36 "In the Black Forest" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Watercolor on Paper The major theme that resounds through all of our passages today is making wise choices. Our choices have consequences. In Joshua 23-24, we see that Joshua is “about to go the way of all the earth” (verse 14), and he testifies that “you know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every prom

Joshua 21:20-22:34 ; Psalm 55:1-11 ; John 3:1-21 "Yellow Flower, I" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Colored Pencil on Paper Once again, today’s readings are filled with wonderful truths that we need to apply to our hearts and our daily lives. In Joshua 21:20-22:34, we read about the further division of the Israelite land inheritances. Yesterday, we saw how the Levites (the Kohathites, Gershonites, and the Merarites) received towns from within the various other Israelite