by Sam E. Stone After Joshua died, the children of Israel were led by judges. These influential individuals kept the Hebrew people united until the time that Saul was selected as the nation’s first king. Joshua had been dead about 250 years when the person featured in today’s text—Samson—came onto the scene. Israel had experienced […]
Return to God’s ways—The Uniform Lesson for July 31
by Sam E. Stone During Gideon’s lifetime, the land of Israel had peace for 40 years (Judges 8:28), but then he died (v. 32). At that point the cycle of forgetting God and paying the price for sin began once more. “No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals” […]
Let God Rule—The Uniform Lesson for July 24
by Sam E. Stone It happened over and over again! After Ehud led the people to victory, the book of Judges describes how the same cycle of sin, repentance, and deliverance was repeated. Shamgar was the next judge. Only one verse summarizes his efforts (3:31). Then came Deborah. Scripture gives much more information about her […]
Use God’s strength—The Uniform Lesson for July 17
by Sam E. Stone Judges 3:1-6 sets the stage for the remainder of the book. The following verses outline the pattern that is repeated as each judge comes on the scene. Over and over we learn the name of the oppressor, the duration of the oppression, the name of the deliverer, and the length of […]
Listen to God’s Judges—The Uniform Lesson for July 10
by Sam E. Stone The first five lessons this quarter were based on the book of Joshua. The next five are from the next book, Judges. Today the term “judge” suggests a legal expert wearing a long, black robe and sitting in a courtroom. In Old Testament times, however, this title was used in a […]
