The story of Samson and Delilah baffles me. Samson makes a litany of questionable choices during the portion of scripture about his life, but his time with Delilah takes the grand prize for bad choices. While staying with Delilah, Samson allows her not once, not twice, but three times to attempt to bind him and turn him over to the Philistines.Even after she tries to turn him over, he STILL tells ...  Read More

The book of Judges is a very repetitive one. This phrase is included over and over:“And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.” (Judges 3:7)They forgot God, and by forgetting God, they ran headlong into sin. After this passage we normally find one like the following:“And when the children of Israel cried unto the L...  Read More

The similarities and connections between Caleb and David are truly astounding. Both from the tribe of Judah, these men were similarly praised in scripture for their faithfulness to the Lord:Joshua 14:14 KJVHebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.Acts 13:22 KJVAnd when he had removed him...  Read More

Joshua 6:18 KJVAnd ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.Joshua gave the army of Israel strict instructions as they prepared to conquer Jericho. Prior to them taking the city, the men of war had obediently followed Joshua’s instructions to march around the wa...  Read More

One of my favorite reminders is there is no coincidence with God. Our reading this week falls in that vein. It was no coincidence that the message from Deuteronomy on Tuesday predicting the Israelites serving false gods coincided with Psalm 115 describing the vanity of false Gods.Psalm 115 tells us idols have mouths, noses, ears, hands, and feet, but they cannot taste, smell, hear, touch, or walk....  Read More

Deuteronomy 23:5 KJVNevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee.This verse makes me think of the song, God Said He Would Turn It Around. Moses tells the children of Israel that His love for us can turn curses into blessings. If God did that pre-cross, how much more does He do that ...  Read More

Deuteronomy 4:9 KJVOnly take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;Throughout the Torah, God asks the children of Israel to remember, to set aside certain items as a remembrance, or follow a procedure/custom to remember the past....  Read More

Numbers 36:8 KJVAnd every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.Several chapters earlier the daughters of Zelophehad petitioned Moses to inherit their father’s portion in Canaan. Their father had no sons, so the o...  Read More

Numbers 20:4 KJVAnd why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?Over and over and over, we see the children of Israel complain in the wilderness. Now, as someone who doesn’t view the idea of camping as fun, I get their complaints. I wouldn’t want to live in a tent, I wouldn’t want to wear the same clothes everyday, and I wouldn’...  Read More

Numbers 7:78 KJVOn the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali, offered :I’ll be really honest, Numbers chapter 7 isn’t exactly a riveting read. It’s VERY repetitive. There are twelve verses like the one above except the name, the father’s name, and the tribe changes 12 times. The verses that follow each one are identical. They tell us that the person brings:• Silver ...  Read More

Leviticus 26:3-4 KJV[3] If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; [4] Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.The 26th chapter of Leviticus lays out a simple dichotomy. We can serve God and receive His blessings and assistance OR we can fail to serve Him and receive his chastisement a...  Read More

Leviticus 17:11 KJVFor the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.The atonement mentioned here was temporary. The blood of bulls, goats, and lambs could cover sins but not purge it. This is also why the Holy Spirit could only come upon individuals in the Old Testamen...  Read More