READ-A-BOOK-A-MONTH bible challenge continues during the summer, though without the launch events. Joshua in July will be followed by the Book of Judges during August, and Ruth in September, with pamphlets for each.

‘The Book of Judges is often a bloodbath,’ says Mary Callan, ‘as the Jewish tribes fight to gain control of the Promised Land, frequently going off-message in the process. Some issues are very contemporary: Is Samuel the first suicide-bomber, pulling the temple of Dagon down on himself and the worshippers?’

From Gideon’s story:

*GIDEON (1) Judges 6-8*

I fell against that ephod last night.
It was dark;
I wasn’t quite sure where I was;
I got a right bump on the head.

While I was feeling groggy
With darkness going backwards and forwards through my brain,
I thought: ‘Why did I make this thing!
It’s a sacred emblem,
17,000 shekels of gold,
Made to commemorate God’s great care for us,
And I take less and less notice of it’!

I remember the boy I was,
Hard-working, inventive,
Cowering in the winepress,
To thresh grain without being seen.
Then I really heard the Lord,
And reverenced him,
And did what he said.
Nowadays, it takes a bump on the head
To remind me of the real God!

I’m ashamed;
He trusted me;
He called me ‘Mighty Warrior’.