“Why is the Bible so obsessed with yeast?” I had no idea how important that question would be. I was reading chapter 2 of Leviticus. It was my second attempt at the book after putting it down in disgust the previous evening in chapter 1. I had gotten to the part about squishing a bird … More Symbols in Leviticus: Yeast & Honey
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
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
Chapter 16 of Judges brings a close to the story of Samson. Samson’s character is more fleshed out and his story is more elaborately told than any other person’s in Judges. Not even Gideon is illuminated in the way that Samson is. When the Bible highlights someone so strongly, I take it to mean that … More First Reading of Judges: 16, Blinding of Samson
So, in the past few days, the Nix household has been visited by a series of unfortunate events. First, I got sick. Next, my daughter got sick. After that, my husband had to leave for a two-week work assignment. So it’s been a little longer than I planned between Judges installments. I’m sorry about that, … More First Reading of Judges: 15, Fall of Samson
Welcome to Part 4 of my First Reading of the Book of Judges. This post will discuss chapter 14, which covers the early adulthood and marriage of Samson. It is absolutely packed with symbolism and allusions and deeper meanings. I had so many thoughts to share with you from this chapter. In fact, I wish … More First Reading of Judges: 14, Rise of Samson
If you haven’t read Part 1 or Part 2 of my First Reading of Judges series, go and have a look at those. Remember that when you read anything here entitled “First Reading,” it means that what you’re reading is my first thoughts and ideas from the first time I studied that piece of Scripture in adult … More First Reading of Judges: 13, New Ruler & New Rescuer
