Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray: 

My God, I adore and thank your loving and wise Providence, manifested on every page of Sacred Scripture. You have always been close to sinful and erring humanity, and have indicated the way and given hope. Amid the shadows of error and corruption, you kindled the light of your truth; amid universal corruption, you are the Just One; amid so much idolatry, humanity in every corner of the earth has cultivated a sincere worship of you.
Let my reading today increase my trust in your goodness, your mercy, and your unfailing faithfulness.

Today's chapters are Judges 6-8

Chapter 6 introduces us to Gideon (known to hotel guests everywhere, at least up to a certain point in time!). Despite his personal weakness of character (evident at just about every turn), Gideon is considered a major prophet due to the length of the narrative about him. St Paul tells us, "God chooses the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1 Cor 1:27): that is what he does with Gideon and his army. 

The older translations of Psalm 72 (Psalm 71 in the Vulgate and Douai versions) speak of the "king" coming "down like rain upon the fleece" (verse 6). This was interpreted in the Middle Ages as a reference to the "fleece of Gideon," mysteriously bedewed as a sign that the LORD was the one calling him. This made Gideon's fleece a "type" or prophetic foreshadowing of the virginal conception of Christ  (the King) in the womb of Mary. (Click here to learn more about the "fleece of Gideon.")

The selection criteria for Gideon's small "army" could not be more pointed: These are not the best and brightest. (Dogs were not "unclean" animals, but they were despised; Paul will use the term "dog" as a gross insult in Philippians 3:2.) 

Gideon had already pleaded with God that he was not the right choice as a leader. With this tiny, "hand--picked" squad, God makes it abundantly extra clear that it is not human force or strategy that can save the people: God is the real leader and savior of Israel. 

Start reading here.

If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts, and how each book of the Bible has been understood by the Church Fathers and used in Liturgy.