Saul Weinreb - Let the Prophets Speak

Judges 20b - The Tribe of Benjamin is Defeated

The civil war rages on, and the people of Israel deploy an old strategy of feigned retreat.  This exposes the Benjaminites to an attack from the rear, and eventually utter defeat.

Judges 20a - Civil War Breaks Out Again

The people of Israel gather to attack Benjamin to avenge the death of the concubine at the hands of the people of Givon.

Judges 19 - Benjamin Sinks to the Level of Sodom

We read the horrific episode of the Concubine of Givah, and get a sense of the terrible moral decline of the people of Israel.

Judges 18 - Mass Murder and the Idol of Micah

We read the very unfortunate tale of the Danites and how the idol of Micah led to the destruction of a peaceful town.

Judges 17 - Micah’s Idol

We read of the sorry tale of a young thief named Micah. After confessing his thievery from his own mother, he decides to build an idol and set up a house of worship.

Judges 16b - Samson’s Last Stand

No matter how much Samson tries to avoid his destiny, destiny catches upo to him.  Samson ends his life by destroying his oppressors and the oppressors of Israel.

Judges 16a - Samson and Delilah

Samson strays with a prostitute, and then finally meets the woman who will be his ultimate downfall.  He betrays his mission to save the people of Israel and is taken captive by the Phillistines.

Judges 15 - The Jaw of a Donkey

We read of Samson's next attempt to escape his destiny and go back to his Phillistine wife.  When that is unsuccessful, the angry young man takes out his anger on the Phillistines and he becomes a fugitive.  When his people hand him over to the Phillistines to escape punishment, he uses a strange weapon to rescue himself.  Despite his best efforts to avoid his destiny, God makes sure he fulfills it.

Judges 14 - Out of the Powerful, Comes Something Sweet

In the first of Samson's expolits, we read of his falling in love with a Phillistine woman.  On his way to his engagement he encounters a lion which he kills with his bare hands.  Eventually he tests his new wife's loyalty with a riddle with which he challenges his new Phillistine "friends".  He quickly finds out that his Phillistine wife is more loyal to her people than to her new husband.

Judges 13 - The Birth of Samson

We read of the unusual circumstances surrounding the birth of Samson, the final Judge we will read about in the Book of Judges.