Judges // 4 Lessons

After finishing a journey through Joshua, I decided to carry onto into the following book, Judges. It had been a while since I’d last looked at Judges. Samson’s in there, right? Isn’t it all just a bit crazy and full of gruesome passages that atheists use to make God out to be vicious and evil?

Despite such initial thoughts, it’s been an unbelievably helpful and challenging book. The Lord has blessed my reading of it, teaching me some real lessons. This post is an attempt to tie those lessons together under some specific and (hopefully) helpful headings.

Women Bishops Controversy // A Response

The old “it’s-like-buses” cliché has proven true for the Church of England’s media presence this past fortnight. Wait ages for it to appear on the front pages, and then suddenly a new Archbishop of Canterbury is announced mere days before the synod vote on the future of women bishops. As you probably all know, the vote on Tuesday was not sufficient to pass legislation which would have allowed women to become bishops in the C of E.

As a Christian, I’ve been collecting my thoughts on this matter over the last few days, in order to present them here. I am not attempting to incite debate. I am writing in response to the reaction of the media, the public and my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This is still a raw topic, one which must be addressed considerately and sensitively. I just want to share a few of my own thoughts about the situation as it stands. Hopefully, I can enlighten those who aren’t Christians about some parts of the situation, and encourage my fellow Christians about where exactly we go from here.

Kings On Trees [Joshua 8 + 10]

“If a man guilty of a capital offence is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse” – Deuteronomy 21:22-23

During this year’s summer term, the hall groups of my university Christian Union went through Joshua 1-6. The book of Joshua tells the story of how, after the death of Moses and 40 years of wandering, the Israelites finally move into the land which God promised them.

It was a challenging series, generating lots of discussion all round – but it’s always great to be challenged by God’s word, and to learn increasingly that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

As term ended, I decided to carry on reading Joshua alone throughout the summer. Term finished a month ago and I’ve only just finished Ch. 10, so it’s looking more like a year’s devotional plan! However, I have been struck by so much in the few chapters I’ve covered; so much so that, in a way, I’m glad I’ve gone so slowly, as it means things have had a good amount of time to lay themselves on my heart.