In 21st-century North America, we are a culture that focuses on hands. We don’t really think about it that way on a daily basis, but it’s nevertheless true. We communicate a lot of information with our hands, and you can tell a lot about a person in our culture by looking at his/her hands. All … More First Reading of Ruth: 4, Redemption
Chapter 3 of the book of Ruth dives right into the point. If you haven’t read chapters 1 & 2, go do that so you can catch up. They’re very short chapters, and the context is pretty important. Now that Naomi has really experienced her daughter-in-law’s loyalty and been reminded of the kindness and justice … More First Reading of Ruth: 3, A Widow’s Proposal
I have been away too long! My husband got very sick for three solid weeks, and our household has been in chaos. But let’s get back in where we left off. Just open your Bible to Ruth chapter 2 and read through it. It’s quite short. Come back when you’re there and let’s go through … More First Reading of Ruth: 2, Abundance, Respect, & Support
As I approached writing a First Reading post on Ruth, I believed it would be easy. The book of Ruth is very short, tells only one story, and contains nothing that will upset or frustrate the reader. Unlike literally every other book of the Old Testament before it, Ruth gives us only good examples. The people … More First Reading of Ruth: 1, This is What Love Looks Like
Well, this will be the last First Reading post on the book of Judges. It always feels good to complete something, and this experience of writing everything down has been wonderfully beneficial for me. I hope it’s useful for other people, too, and if nothing else, I hope it encourages people to open their … More First Reading of Judges: 21, When Vows Lead to Violence
I had initially thought to make this a final post combining both chapters 20 and 21 together, but since my post on chapter 19 was so incredibly long, I decided to give us all a break and split the finale of Judges into two parts. More “Ooh! Look at the Bible art!” Less … More First Reading of Judges: 20, Losing Benjamin
Preface: I have not abandoned Judges! We still have another article in Judges to go, but right now my daily readings are in 1 Chronicles, and the urge to talk about the “begats” struck me. I will do a proper introduction to the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles in my first article about the … More First Reading of 1 Chronicles: 1-9, The “Begats”
I had to study this one before I could write about it. It’s still technically my first reading, but unlike everything else in this First Reading series on Judges, I had to spend time with this story before I could write about it with any clarity. I will start this one off with a warning: … More First Reading of Judges: 19, The Levite’s Concubine
Because of the utter moral failure of Israel after the death of Joshua, God never allowed portions of the Promised Land to be fully occupied by the Israelites. The Israelites intermarried with Canaanites and adopted the customs and idol-worship of Canaan. Israelites gave their favor to false gods, so God removed his favor from Israel. … More First Reading of Judges: 18, Unholy Conquest
If you’re still with me in Judges, welcome back! We are in the home stretch, now. This First Reading series on Judges just keeps getting longer. I would apologize if I weren’t enjoying it so much. The act of going over it all and looking at my notes and taking the time to sit and write … More First Reading of Judges: 17, Micah and His Levite
