May I Gently Suggest - iTunes Feed Jon Behrens

The Ammonites revive a 300 year old land dispute with Israel and invade to enforce their claims. Israel persuades Jephthah to take command and drive them out. In that process, Jephthah makes an unwise vow, the result of which is that he had no descendants.

Paul emphasizes unity in the community. Christ gave gifts to men that those having the gifts might use them to build a strong community around the knowledge of Christ and His Kingdom. To be healthy, the members of that community must care for one another.

As God has been driven from the public square, people have lost an awareness of both His goodness and His justice. That void is filled with covetousness, bitterness, anger and resentment. We can see this played out in all of our institutions, but especially in the courts. To quote Jeremiah, "No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity."

After the death of Gideon, Abimelech, one of his sons by a concubine, conspired to murder the rest of his brothers in order to become king. His sole surviving brother gave an eloquent parable about a bramble bush becoming ruler over the trees. It is timeless and very much applicable to today.

In several of his letters Paul refers to mysteries. In all cases they allude to the same thing; that gentiles are full members of the Kingdom of God and are fellow heirs. It is the case that if the spiritual rulers and authorities had realized that would happen, they never would have allowed the Crucifixion.

In The Torah, God tells Israel that both the land and the Israelite people belong to Him. He specifies that there are to be several economic resets over a 50 year period. Slaves must be freed and debts cancelled every seven years and land must revert to its original owner at 50 years. In this way God assures the maximum possible economic freedom while assuring that those who fall behind will periodically get a new start. Inspired by an article by Rabbi Sacks https://aish.com/481254991/