#Old Testament Judge

[portraitsofsaints]

Happy Feast Day

Saint Deborah the Prophetess

2654-2694 BC

Feast day: November 1

St. Deborah was the Fourth Judge of the Israelites. Living in Ephraim, she was faithful and true, a prophetic voice of God during dark, sinful times. God spoke to Deborah to instruct Barak, the Israelites commander, to lead his army into battle against the Canaanites and their cruel general, Sisera. Barak refused to go into battle unless Deborah would go with him. She agreed but told him the glory of victory would be a women’s. God was with the Israelites and scattered Sisera’s army. Sisera fled to the tent of a woman named Jael, who killed him with a tent stake while he slept. Deborah herself glorified Jael in her famous “Song of Deborah”.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase. (website)

[flagellant]

yeah we might be brothers in christ but so were cain and abel so shut the fuck up before i decide to find a rock about it

[artandthebible]

The Angel and Gideon

Artist: Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (Dutch, 1621–1674)

Date: 1640

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Collection: Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden

The Angel of the Lord Visits Gideon | Judges 6:-11-16

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

[sleepyeye17]

My dad (who is lovely) expressed surprise that I hyperfixate on the mad max universe (I majored in pacifist studies). To which I say, father, you are the one who read me the old testament when I was six. I was drawing the book of revelation during arts and crafts. The cosmic battle of good and evil is in my bones.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Call of Gideon

And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have not I sent thee? — Judges 6:14 | 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY) The Darby Translation of the Holy Bible is in the public domain. Cross References: Judges 6:11; Judges 6:36; Judges 13:3; Hebrews 11:32

Read full chapter

Judges 6:14 - Bible Verse Meaning and Commentary

[anokha-swad]

[pink-fiat003]

Jephthah and his Daughter by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (c. 1708-1713)

[twobrothersatwork]

"So Jahel, Haber's wife, took a nail of the tent, and taking also a hammer: and going in softly, and with silence, she put the nail upon the temples of his head, and striking it with the hammer, drove it through his brain fast into the ground: and so passing from deep sleep to death, he fainted away and died"

Judges 4;21 Douay-Rheims Bible.

Artwork: Artemisia Gentileschi (Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest), Giaele e Sisara (ca.1620).

[sbbreflections]

LEVITICUS

3. Leviticus

The Lord, through Moses, further solidifies His relationship and covenant with the Israelites, and outlines His list of non-negotiable rules - along with blessings for those who obey, and punishments for those who would disobey Him. It is a call to Holy Living through choice and action.

This is the book where proper practices for making Holy Sacrifices and Offerings to God are detailed. A major thing of note that casts a sort of shadow on Leviticus is the “Sin Offering” which at the time needed to be done on occasion of specified sin as well as on a yearly ritualistic basis to cleanse the people. If I understand correctly, this particular offering practice would become obsolete when Jesus was crucified and died for our sins.*

Also defined are:

1. Clean and Unclean Animals (which should and should not be eaten/touched),

2. Particular Purification Rituals,

3. Prohibitions regarding Sexual Practices and the handling of Blood, and

4. Personal Holiness/Conduct (how one sets themselves apart as “holy” and in reverence to The Most High) {Leviticus 19}

Some of the ordinances set in this chapter had not been mentioned previously and that means to me that God was capable of not only creation and destruction, but also of awareness and modification. It’s almost as if he utilized the SWOT analysis after each Human Hiccup. I believe that the Lord set these laws with the Israelites as a continued test of faith and loyalty to Him. “Before we go any further, hear me and hear me well.” I mean, yes He would want to see his children prosper, but He didn’t mind executing with fury, as well. If His people could rebuke the sins of those who they lived with before, and refuse the sins of those who they would come into contact with BECAUSE GOD SAID, they would of course find favor in His eyes.

Think in Morgan Freeman’s epic voice: “I have saved these {people} and given them food, water and protection. Still, they are capable of doing what they want because I have also given them free-will. I give them what they need, and still, they consistently find new ways to defy me - even after I tell them what should not be done and what will happen if they do… when I show them my Glory, they fear me awhile and turn back to their wits soon enough. They are either brave or stupid. But at least if I tell them *everything* they need to know not to do, their punishments (or rewards) would be justified. They will worship me, for I am the Lord their God, or they will perish.”

I’m not mocking The Lord at all, I assure you. I like movies and this is how I imagined he may have felt during the times. I do pray this is not offensive to anyone who matters.

I can fully understand how this chapter (the one that basically calls most of us all Sinners) could be a trigger for most people in the world today - it is where [who we are] and [what we do] that would have undeniably disappointed our Father in Heaven is written plainly and lives forever. It is where our devilish neighbors pull a line from to demonize the next sinner. While some of the information is outdated and/or simply irrelevant for modern day Christians*, other parts do give us a first glance at right and wrong in the eyes of TMH (and those who walk with Him). And so, it is a very important book to familiarize yourself with if you want to be “good” in the general sense of the word. Because of Jesus’ crucification, we experience wrath and reward much differently from what is written here - as in, punishments are not carried out the same as they were anymore, and some of these regulations no longer apply.

Be wise. Use discernment.

Numbers is next.

Originally post dated February 21, 2024.

Written x SP

[artandthebible]

Samson and Delilah

Artist: Lucas Cranach the Elder  (1472–1553) 

Genre: Religious Art

Date: circa 1528-1530

Medium: Oil on Beech Wood

Collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this scene from the Hebrew Bible, the Israelite hero Samson sleeps in the lap of his treacherous Philistine lover Delilah, who shears a lock of hair from his head to drain his superhuman strength. A group of soldiers emerges from the forest, seeking revenge against the disempowered hero who had murdered a thousand Philistines with the ass’s jawbone lying at his feet. The panel’s small size suggests that it was displayed in a private context. In the courtly setting of Cranach’s time, the biblical story had an allegorical meaning, warning men of the pitfalls of love and the supposed wiles of women.

Judges 16:19-21 (New Living Translation)

Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the LORD had left him. So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.

[thedangerfloofhasreturned]

Forgotten Bible Heroes - Shamgar

(Pencil and digital original work)

No one knows who he was; no one knows his real name. All that is known is his one heroic feat: killing 600 Philistine warriors with an oxgoad. What tragedy had driven him from his home? Did he die in this effort? Did he meet the God of Israel? Will we ever know?

Video explanation here: https://youtu.be/FCVfcfom_Ao?si=HFVqOZUU2PVOl3gU

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

1 Why dost thou stand afar off, O Lord? Why dost thou hide thyself in times of trouble? 2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes which they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart, and the man greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord. 4 In the pride of his countenance the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

5 His ways prosper at all times; thy judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. 6 He thinks in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”

7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. 8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the hapless, 9 he lurks in secret like a lion in his covert; he lurks that he may seize the poor, he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

10 The hapless is crushed, sinks down, and falls by his might. 11 He thinks in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thy hand; forget not the afflicted. 13 Why does the wicked renounce God, and say in his heart, “Thou wilt not call to account”?

14 Thou dost see; yea, thou dost note trouble and vexation, that thou mayst take it into thy hands; the hapless commits himself to thee; thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and evildoer; seek out his wickedness till thou find none. 16 The Lord is king for ever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land.

17 O Lord, thou wilt hear the desire of the meek; thou wilt strengthen their heart, thou wilt incline thy ear 18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. — Psalm 10 | Revised Standard Version (RSV) Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved. Cross References: Exodus 15:18; Exodus 22:23; Deuteronomy 8:20; 1 Kings 9:3; 1 Chronicles 29:18; Job 20:12; Job 22:13; Job 24:14; Job 38:15; Psalm 1:1; Psalm 7:16; Psalm 9:12; Psalm 13:1; Psalm 14:1; Psalm 17:4; Psalm 17:7; Psalm 17:12; Psalm 22:1; Psalm 22:11; Psalm 28:5; Psalm 30:6; Psalm 36:1-2; Psalm 37:17; Psalm 49:6; Psalm 49:18; Psalm 59:7; Psalm 146:9; Proverbs 24:15; Isaiah 29:15; Isaiah 29:20; Matthew 5:21; Matthew 13:19; Romans 3:14; Revelation 18:7

[kdmiller55]

Rejection Notice

1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey…

[twobrothersatwork]

The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes.

They took him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze shackles, setting him to grind grain in prison.

Judges 16:21

Artwork: Carl Bloch (Danish, 1834-1890), Samson and the Philistines (1863)

[brainypixel]

The history of Israel, from Abraham to Samuel, briefly explained in a single, breathtaking comic panel! Looking for a family friendly comic with good values and morals? Check out our indie comic, "Chronicles of Faith: David" in the link below! Link for more: https://brainypixel.com/shop/ols/products/chronicles-of-faith-david-1

[geekpreacher217]

A Leader Like Gideon (11/12/23 Bible Class)

This week we consider a bit of a character study into Gideon, one of the judges of Israel in the time before they had a king.  We consider the circumstances that led to Gideon’s call, as well as some characteristics of Gideon that might make him more relatable to us. Teacher: Justin P. Sivley