Judges And Saviors Deborah And Samson

This is a book about a book: it is an in-depth yet reader friendly analysis of the Book of Judges, one of the most dramatic books of the Bible. Against the commonly-held view that this remarkable work is no more than a collection of hero tales stemming from Israel’s earliest days in its land—its “Heroic Age,” so to speak—this study makes the case that the Book of Judges is a unified composition with a single focused message: that it is the values held by a people and not its politics that determine its fate. Further, Judges contends that there is a direct connection between the kind of values people internalize and the level of violence that racks their society, both inflicted from without and generated from within. And not least, that the presence of violence is a symptom that a society has abandoned the moral values of monotheism for the Machiavellian politics of a pagan worldview that worships power as the ultimate reality. The larger-than-life heroes and heroines—Ehud and Jael, Deborah and Gideon, Jephthah and Samson—who people the pages of Judges serve by their example to illustrate the way this thesis works out in the world.

The Book of Judges provides information about judges who corrected the behavior of the descendants of Israel while ruling over them as their leaders.It includes details about battles of victory and defeat, angels, Deborah and Barak, Gideon and the fleece, Jephthah and his daughter, Samson and Delilah, the consequences of idolatry, and restoration. This book includes verses translated from the Greek old covenant writing, sometimes referred to as the Septuagint. Additionally, some comparisons to the Hebrew text are provided.

The story of Samson in the Bible is told in just four chapters of the Book of Judges, but the story of his life is composed of a mosaic of events. This book examines many aspects of the unique figure of Samson: Samson as the chosen of God, who is destined to save the Israelites from Philistine oppression, and who ultimately dies with the Philistines; Samson, who appears on the stage of history as a promising leader but whose leadership fails; Samson the dissolute Nazirite; a powerful man who rips apart a lion as though it were a lamb, who uproots the gates of the city of Gaza and pulls down a pagan temple - but at the same time he succumbs to his women and is ruled by them. This book invites the reader to contemplate Samson's highly contradictory personality, to take up moral issues, and to reflect upon love and betrayal, life and death, family and society - subjects that have concerned people from antiquity to the present.

This outstanding collection of essays, presented at the 2005 Wheaton Theology Conference, explores the current issue of women in ministry from biblical, theological and ecclesiological perspectives. Bringing to bear the ministerial and sociological insights on the issue, this impressive integrative work aims to break through the current impasse between complementarians and egalitarians. These essays point the way forward for women and men in ministry in our churches. Contributors include Henri Blocher, Timothy George, James Hamilton, I. Howard Marshall, Cheryl J. Sanders, Sarah Sumner and Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen

In the midst of the dark days of the Judges, God faithfully raised up men and women of character to lead his people. Journey through Judges and Ruth and marvel at the godly character of women such as Deborah, Jephthah's daughter, Samson's mother, Naomi, and Ruth—God's woman of excellence. Women seeking God's heart are encouraged to: See giant-of-the-faith potential in ordinary lives Cultivate the good qualities of character Honor God's faithfulness with our own

The book of Judges presents Israel’s frailty, the nation’s need for deliverance, and God’s use of flawed leaders to guide his chosen people through a dark period of their history. The book of Ruth tells a smaller story within this narrative, showing God quietly at work in the lives of a few individuals. Mary Evans’s commentary places each book in its historical and canonical context, examines key theological themes and addresses issues facing twenty-first-century readers. Part of the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series designed to help the reader of the Bible understand what the text says and what it means.