Pierre Raymond, Jael Killing Sisera, painted enamel on copper, 16th century.
It was not the easiest class. Our goal: a full, engaged reading of the book of Judges. I'd committed to leading it a couple of months back, being the teaching elder at my little congregation and all, and I don't regret it.
It's a fascinating book, truly and genuinely ancient, chock full of tales that rise out of the late Bronze Age. Here, songs and stories that are over three millennia old, narratives that rise up from deep in the primal memory of the people of Israel.
That alone makes them worthy of study and worthy of deeper exploration.
