Judges 21: Christless Religion
In those days there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in their own eyes, Nick says, quoting the verse that sums up the whole book of Judges as he reaches its...
Judges 20: Civil War
The first sin after the fall led straight to the first murder, brother against brother, Nick notes, and James 4 tells us our own wars and fights come from the same source. He works through...
Judges 19: When Jesus is not our King
How bad can human beings get without God? Nick asks, and Judges 19 answers in full, horrifying detail. He works through one of the darkest chapters in the Bible as a picture of what happens...
Judges 18: The Apostasy of Dan
How does a whole group of God’s people slide into apostasy? Nick asks, opening a chapter deliberately placed out of chronological order to make its point land harder. He works through the tribe of Dan’s...
Judges 17: Will-worship
Will-worship is an old Puritan term for worship aimed at God but shaped by human will rather than his own instructions, Nick explains, and the Reformation was fought largely over exactly this question. He works...
Judges 16: The Death of Samson
Pride comes before a fall, and God gives grace to the humble, Nick says, both truths borne out in Samson’s final chapter. He works through Samson as a picture of Israel itself, a people set...
Judges 15: God uses sinners
God draws straight lines with crooked sticks, Nick says, and last week’s chapter proved it: God’s purposes weren’t frustrated by Samson’s sin, they were accomplished through it. He works through another chapter of Samson using...
Judges 14: Samson the Man
The last chapter ended on real promise, Nick says, quoting the Spirit beginning to stir Samson toward his calling. He works through the disappointing reality of who Samson actually turns out to be, a man...
Judges 13: The Birth of Samson
Of all the judges, Samson stands out most clearly as God’s own appointment, Nick says, marked from birth by a miraculous announcement and evident gifts to deliver Israel. He opens the account of a judge...
Judges 11:12-12:15: Jephthah’s Leadership
Gifts and graces are two very different things, Nick says: gifts are unconditional, given at birth, while graces have to be nurtured and grown by depending on God. He works through Jephthah’s leadership to see...
Judges 10-11:11: The Appointment of Jephthah
Judges tells the story of a nation sinking ever deeper into sin, Nick says, using each new generation of rulers to show what life without God actually looks like. He introduces Jephthah, the outcast who...
Judges 9: The Rise and Fall of Abimelech
Where is God when things go badly wrong? Nick asks, calling Judges 9 the perfect chapter to wrestle with that question. He works through the dark, self-serving reign of Abimelech, a stain even within a...
Judges 8: Gideon the Sinner
One of the most dangerous temptations we face is success itself, Nick says: once people start approving of us, we start believing our own opinions matter more than they do. He works through Gideon’s fall...
Judges 6:33-7:25: God of the Weak
Paul’s thorn in the flesh, the weakness God refused to remove so his power could be seen instead, frames Nick’s approach to Gideon’s own army: whittled down from thousands to three hundred so the victory...
Judges 6:1-32: The Conversion of Gideon
The Hound of Heaven, Francis Thompson’s poem about a sinner running from God only to be persistently run down by him, is one of Nick’s favourites, and it frames his account of Gideon’s own reluctant,...
Judges 4-5: The Servants of God
How does a nation respond when it’s called to war? Nick asks, pointing to the range of modern reactions since Vietnam, from protest to willing service. He works through Deborah and Barak’s very different response...