Saul Weinreb - Let the Prophets Speak

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.

Judges 12 - Civil War and Chaos

Yiftach's reign descends into civil war and chaos. We read of three more obscure judges, and the quality of leadership of Israel continues it's decline.

Judges 11b - Yiftach’s Painful Vow

In one of the most painful and tragic chapters in the entire Tanach, we read of Yiftach's vow, his victory in battle, and his fulfillment of this terrible deed.

Judges 11a - The Outcast Becomes a Leader

We are introduced to Israel's next judge, an outcast and child of a prostitute.  When Israel needs a fighter to lead them. they turn to the leader of a band of thieves, Yiftach.  We read of Yiftach's failed attempt at a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Judges 10 - Searching For a Leader

After Avimelech is gone, the people are led by two judges about whom there isn't much to be said.  Without guidance they find themselves falling back into their old patterns of idol worship, and under the oppression of a new set of tormentors.