(Day Seventeen was Joshua 15 - Judges 2. I was reminded of another "not for flannelgraph" story: about fat king Eglon and how he met his demise.)
There were so many amazing stories and references that struck me in today's reading.
1. Shamgar, wielder of a cattle-prod: He killed 600 Phillistines single-handed, using said implement. This giant, bizarre story just gets a small mention in one verse: Judges 3: 31.
2. Jael and the tent peg incident: Judges 4:21- 27 . Even though she was a hero about whom Deborah and Barak sang, it should be noted that nobody I know has a daughter named "Jael."
3. Gideon (hero and star of flannelgraph) and the golden ephod: Judges 8:27. Gideon seems to have made the ephod, a sacred garment, out of the gold from enemies' plunder as a monument to what God had done. But then, Israel "prostituted itself" at the ephod display. We read "Gideon and his family were seduced" by this ephod. It became an idol. What a sad end to a hero's life and legacy!
4. Jephthat's daughter and a fatal vow to God: Judges 11:29-40. This is such a sad contrast to what happened when Abraham started to sacrifice Isaac. It's such a strange thing that Jephthat promised to God; I wonder who/what he expected to come out of his house to greet him, if not his daughter.
5. The perils of mis-pronunciation: Judges 12:5-6. As an ESL teacher, this amused me (in a dark humor kind of way).
6. The beginning of Samson's life: Judges 13 - 15
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