Reasoning Through the Bible

Judges 18 continues the story of Micah, his household idols, and the Levite he hired as a private priest. When six hundred armed Danites arrive, they steal Micah’s religious objects and persuade the Levite to leave with them by offering him a larger congregation.
In this session, Glenn and Steve examine the danger of measuring spiritual success primarily by numbers, money, influence, or prestige. The Levite is delighted by the opportunity to serve an entire tribe, but neither he nor the Danites shows concern for obedience to God or the spiritual maturity of the people.
The Danites eventually establish Micah’s stolen idol and a separate center of worship in the northern city of Dan. This corrupt worship continues and later provides a foundation for the golden calf established there by King Jeroboam. A small departure from God’s revealed pattern produces consequences that continue for generations.
Judges 19 then records one of the darkest events in Scripture. A Levite travels with his concubine and eventually stays in Gibeah, a town belonging to the tribe of Benjamin. During the night, wicked men surround the house and demand that the Levite be sent out to them.
The men inside respond with cowardice and moral failure. The Levite’s concubine is handed over to the mob, brutally abused throughout the night, and left dying at the doorway. The Levite later cuts her body into twelve pieces and sends them throughout Israel.
The Bible records this evil without approving it. The story reveals what happens when people reject God’s authority, corrupt worship, ignore His Word, and continually do what is right in their own eyes.
Scripture: Judges 18:16–19:29
Series: The Book of Judges — An RTTB Study
 Questions discussed in this session:
Is church growth measured in numbers of people? 
Can a child of God can be distracted from the Lord’s work? 
How can a society get so immoral to wink at murder?
Are we equally guilty of not dealing with murder near us?  
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Judges 17 begins the final section of the Book of Judges, where the narrative moves away from individual deliverers and shows the spiritual and moral condition of Israel more broadly. The repeated statement, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” becomes increasingly visible.
In this session, Glenn and Steve examine Micah and his mother, who attempt to combine the name of Yahweh with practices God had clearly forbidden. Micah steals a large amount of silver from his mother, returns it after hearing her curse, and is then blessed by her. She claims to dedicate the silver to the Lord but uses part of it to create carved and molten images.
Micah builds a household shrine, makes an ephod and additional idols, and appoints one of his sons as priest. He later hires a traveling Levite and assumes that possessing a legitimate religious official will guarantee God’s blessing and prosperity.
The passage demonstrates the danger of syncretism—mixing the worship of the true God with idols and worldly practices. Micah appears sincere and highly religious, but sincerity does not make false worship acceptable. He uses God’s name while repeatedly ignoring God’s commands.
Judges 18 then introduces men from the tribe of Dan who are searching for new territory because they failed to possess the inheritance God had already given them. Instead of seeking God before beginning their journey, they proceed according to their own plans and later ask Micah’s hired priest to confirm that they will succeed.
The priest gives them the answer they want.
This session warns against replacing obedience with religious activity, treating spiritual leaders as good-luck charms, and expecting God to approve decisions simply because His name has been attached to them.
Scripture: Judges 17:1–18:13
Series: The Book of Judges — An RTTB Study
Questions discussed in this session:
Is all religious worship valid? 
Is it possible to worship the true God and idols at the same time?
Are all sincere religious people correct in their religion? 
Can I do religious activities to make myself righteous? 
What should religious leaders do if they are tempted to compromise? 
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May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve

Judges 15–16 completes the tragic story of Samson, a man given extraordinary strength but repeatedly controlled by selfish desires, sexual temptation, anger, and pride.
The session begins with Samson being handed over to the Philistines by his own countrymen. The Spirit of the Lord empowers him to break his bonds, and he kills one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. Yet even after this remarkable victory, Samson’s first recorded prayer is motivated primarily by his own thirst rather than a desire for God’s guidance or glory.
Judges 16 then records Samson entering Gaza to visit a prostitute. The Philistines attempt to trap him behind the city gates, but Samson tears the gates, posts, and bars from the wall and carries them away. The act demonstrates his supernatural strength, but it also reveals how consistently he wastes his gift on personal situations rather than leading Israel against its oppressors.
The story then turns to Delilah. The Philistine rulers offer her a large payment to discover the source of Samson’s strength. Although she repeatedly betrays his supposed answers, Samson remains with her and gradually moves closer to revealing the truth.
Samson becomes spiritually blind before the Philistines physically blind him. He ignores the obvious warnings, compromises his Nazirite calling, and finally reveals that his uncut hair represents his dedication to God. When his hair is removed, Scripture records one of the most tragic statements in his story: Samson did not know that the Lord had departed from him.
The Philistines imprison, blind, and publicly humiliate Samson. Yet his hair begins to grow again, and in his final moments he cries out to God for strength. His prayer remains mixed with personal vengeance, but God still answers and uses him to strike a devastating blow against the Philistines.
Samson’s story is both a warning and a message of hope. Great ability cannot replace obedience, but even after serious failure, it is not too late to turn to God and ask Him to use what remains.
Scripture: Judges 15:13–16:31
Series: The Book of Judges — An RTTB Study
Questions discussed in this session:
When God gives us a gift, what does He expect us to do with it?
What happens when people try to trap God?
How could Samson be so blind as to not recognize Delilah for what she was? 
Can God use us even if we’ve been a failure up to now?  
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May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve

Judges 14 begins Samson’s downward spiritual spiral. Although he had been set apart for God from birth, Samson sees a Philistine woman in Timnah and demands that his parents arrange the marriage because she looks good to him.
In this session, Glenn and Steve examine how Samson’s choices reflect the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life described in 1 John 2:16. His attraction is driven by appearance rather than shared faith, character, or obedience to God. Samson’s parents offer wise counsel, but as an adult, he insists on making his own decision.
The passage then records Samson killing a lion through the power of the Spirit of the Lord. Later, however, he returns to the carcass, takes honey from it, eats it, and gives some to his parents without telling them where it came from. In doing so, Samson violates both the Mosaic Law and the requirements of his Nazirite calling.
At his wedding feast, Samson begins gambling and trading riddles with the Philistines. What begins as entertainment quickly turns dangerous when the Philistine men threaten to burn his wife and her family. His wife betrays the answer, Samson reacts in anger, and the conflict escalates into violence and revenge.
Judges 15 continues the pattern. Samson returns only when he wants physical intimacy, becomes angry when he learns that his wife has been given to another man, destroys Philistine crops, and then retaliates again after the Philistines kill the woman and her father.
The session closes with Israel handing Samson over to the Philistines because the people are more afraid of their oppressors than willing to stand for what is right. The warning is clear: believers must decide their moral boundaries before pressure arrives. Waiting until temptation or fear has already closed in makes compromise much more likely.
Scripture: Judges 14:1–15:13
Series: The Book of Judges — An RTTB Study
Questions discussed in this session:
Should parents overrule their children when they make bad choices? 
What does the Bible teach us about marrying people outside the faith?
Does our sin only affect us or does it always affect others?
Can we play with evil? 
Do we sometimes have a gift of God that we do not take seriously?  
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May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve

Judges 13 begins the story of Samson, one of the most recognizable yet deeply flawed judges in Scripture. Israel again does evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Philistines oppress the nation for forty years. Unlike previous cycles in Judges, however, the passage gives no indication that Israel cries out for deliverance.
God acts first.
In His grace, He appears to the wife of Manoah, a woman who had been unable to have children, and announces that she will give birth to a son. The child will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the womb and will begin delivering Israel from the Philistines.
In this session, Glenn and Steve examine the historical background of the Philistines, their movement into Israel’s coastal territory, and how biblical history aligns with known historical and archaeological information.
The study also introduces the Nazirite vow described in Numbers 6. Samson was not to consume anything from the grapevine, cut his hair, or come into contact with a dead body. Unlike most Nazirite vows, which were temporary, Samson’s dedication was intended to last for his entire life.
The passage also provides significant evidence about the Angel of the Lord. He appears physically as a man, speaks directly with Manoah and his wife, accepts an offering, performs wonders, and is identified by Manoah as God. These details support the traditional Christian understanding that the Angel of the Lord was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ.
Judges 13 introduces a man with remarkable opportunity and supernatural gifting. Samson was chosen before birth, blessed by God, and stirred by the Spirit—but the chapters ahead will show how poorly he often used what he had been given.
Scripture: Judges 13
Series: The Book of Judges — An RTTB Study
 Questions discussed in this session:
Does God notice the needs of His people even when they do not cry out? 
What is the purpose of taking a vow?
Who is the Angel of the Lord? 
Can we ever see both God’s sovereignty and the free will of man? 
What is a Nazarite vow?  
Support the show
Thank you for listening!!  Please give us a five-star rating to help your podcast provider's algorithm spread RTTB among their listeners. 
You can find free study and leader resources at the following link - Resource Page - Reasoning Through the Bible
Please prayerfully consider supporting RTTB to help us to continue providing content and free resources. You can do that at this link - Support RTTB - Reasoning Through the Bible 
May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve