Thursday

18-April

Judges 19-21; Psalm 47; Acts 1

Judges 19: This is one of the most difficult chapters to understand – it is so horrific.  What other Biblical story does this remind you of?

Judges 20: Why did the Levite send the body parts of his concubine to each tribe? Why did all of the soldiers go to Bethel and weep? Who ended up being victorious?

Judges 21: What dilemma did the Israelites face and what was their solution? What were the disciples told to await for? Who was chosen to fill Judas Iscariot’s spot?

Acts 1: What is the first book that is referred to in verse 1? What did Jesus tell the disciples to wait for?

Journal Prompt: Read the very last phrase of the book of Judges.  What parallels do you see in our society today?

Answers:

Judges 19: This sounds like Sodom, when the men of the village wanted to have sex the two men from God who were staying with Lot.  (Genesis 19:5).  The men of Gibeah were not only unhospitable, but they were also evil.  Note this incident is also referred to in Hosea 9:9. 

Judges 20: He sent the concubine’s body parts to each of the tribes as a sign of the evil deed that the Benjamites had done in an attempt to gather israel together and seek retaliation. They army had sought God’s advice and were instructed to fight against Benjamin yet on the first two occasions, they were defeated and lost 40,000 men.  They continued to ask God for direction.  God won the battle on behalf of the Israelites against the Benjamites.

Judges 21: All but 600 men from the tribe of Benjamin remained alive, and the men of the remaining tribes had sworn not to give their daughters in marriage to those men, so that meant that Benjamin would have no descendants.  They agreed to give the 400 virgins from a tribe which had not assembled and therefore hadn’t agreed not to give their daughters in marriage to the Benjamites.    They then devised a scheme to let the other 200 men ‘kidnap’ the daughters of Shiloh. 

Acts 1: The first book is the gospel of Luke.  This is the continuation.  Jesus told them to await for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.