#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.”

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Jethro Visits Moses

1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.

9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country. — Exodus 18 | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide. Cross References: Genesis 14:20; Genesis 29:13; Genesis 31:54; Genesis 47:6; Exodus 2:16; Exodus 2:21; Exodus 3:1; Exodus 4:23; Exodus 24:14; Leviticus 24:12; Numbers 10:29-30; Numbers 11:14; Numbers 11:17; Numbers 27:5; Deuteronomy 1:9; Deuteronomy 1:17-18; Deuteronomy 4:1; 1 Samuel 15:6; Luke 1:51; Acts 6:3; Acts 7:29; Hebrews 11:34

Notes: Exodus 18 is a chapter in the Bible that shows how a great leader can accept advice and delegate responsibility. The main points of Exodus 18 include:

I. A great leader should accept advice from other godly believers. II. Everyone needs help and everyone can contribute something. III. Pastors should not carry the burden of ministry and care alone. IV. Delegation is the exercise of leadership, not the abandonment of it.

Key Passages in Exodus 18

1. Jethro brings his wife and two sons to Moses 7. Moses entertains him, and relates the goodness of the Lord 9. Jethro rejoices, blesses God, and offers sacrifice 13. He gives good counsel, which is accepted 27. Jethro departs

[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.

[laertesoaj]

Jael/Yael from the book of Judges

[ha-bakbuk]

[pink-fiat003]

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

[northemoonduringthenight]

"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).

[geminiagentgreen]

[broodingnightgoddess]

She's responsible for torturing Job for no good reason (or letting the Devil torture him I can't recall), provoking mass murder by the flood instead of sending the Messiah early and tricking someone to almost killing his child just to say "it's a prank bro, chill"

has this been done

[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

[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

[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.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Samson's Parents

But his wife replied to him, "If the LORD had intended to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from us, he wouldn't have shown us all these things, and he wouldn't have permitted us to hear things like this, now would he?" — Judges 13:23 | International Standard Version (ISV) The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation. All rights reserved internationally. Cross References: Psalm 25:14; Judges 13:24

Read full chapter

Notes: In Judges 13:23, Manoah's wife responds to her husband's fear that they would die after seeing the angel of the Lord. She reassures him by reasoning that if God intended to harm them, He would not have accepted their sacrifice, shown them the miraculous sign, or given them the promise of a son.

[laertesoaj]

Ehud, second Judge of Israel