I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Judges 1-3.

    The Israelites has failed to drive the people out of the land which God had given them. With the death of Joshua they stopped trying and began to enter into treaties and co-existence with those peoples. Many of them began to worship the gods of the people around them. This is always a temptation for God’s people. It is easy to become complacent and adopt the practices of those around us. Doing so allows us to avoid conflict. In addition, we have a desire as human beings to not be different.

    Time and again the people turned from God and suffered the consequences. Time and again they cried out to God and He sent a judge to rescue them. The first of those judges was Caleb’s nephew, Othniel. While Othniel was judge the Israelites had peace for forty years. When he died the Israelites once more turned to worshiping other gods and following the practices of the people around them. Once more they suffered as a result. When they called out to God for rescue, he called Ehud. Ehud killed their oppressor and led them to victory over the Moabites. The circumstances which occurred here remind us of that groups of people need a strong leader to direct them to follow God. We, also, see that each generation needs to learn to follow God for themselves. Those who have not experienced God’s mighty works often believe that they have no need for God.