You’d think that with a name like Judges, this book would be about really smart people that helped settle disagreements. Sorta like the Jewish People’s Court. For sure it wouldn’t be as bloody as Joshua, right? Wrong. Ancient Israel had a slightly different (and much more violent) definition of the word “Judge.”

Joshua is a brutal book. It’s filled with death and destruction. On multiple occasions, the Israelites go into cities and kill every living thing. Men, women, children, animals… “not sparing anyone that breathed.” All at God’s order. As someone who is trying to follow God, what are you supposed to do with that? To be honest, it would be easier for me if Joshua wasn’t in the Bible.

One cool thing about the Word series is that while researching a book, I come across some little scripture nuggets that I’ve never heard before. A lot of times it’s something super weird, only a verse or two long and is buried in chapter upon chapter of laws, rules and guidelines (which helps explain why I’ve never heard it before). A couple of my favorite scripture nuggets from Deuteronomy…

After the boredom of Leviticus, I was excited to move on to a new book with (hopefully) more action and less laws. Numbers starts out with a lot of counting and I was starting to think I’d need a few strong doses of coffee to get through this book when all of a sudden they finished counting and the cool stuff started to happen.

Since I started my Word project, I’ve been on the lookout for other cool bible designs and illustrations. For my taste, most Biblical designs are either too cheesy or too serious. However, there are a few gems. I recently stumbled upon the illustrations of Edie Harper, who just recently passed away. Edie was married to Charley Harper, who was a well-known illustrator himself who passed away in 2007.

My Grandpa was a farmer in Hallock, MN. He supported his wife and children from the work of his hands.

OK, so if Genesis and Exodus were both the biblical version of a sweet action movie crossed with a crazy David Lynch film, Leviticus is like that slow moving foreign film where you don’t really care about the characters or plot and spend most of your time trying to figure out what illness you’re gonna fake so you can leave early.

Much like Genesis, Exodus is full of rich characters and great stories. Moses, the Ten Plagues of Egypt, the Parting of the Red Sea, the Ten Commandments, etc. It’s tough to know which one to pick. Although I ended up going with God chatting with Moses via burning bush, that wasn’t my first choice. I originally wanted to do the Ten Plagues, and actually worked on the design for a while.

As I looked through Genesis, I realized the most difficult part would be choosing what story not to use for the design. Genesis is a rich book with so many amazing stories and people. Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. In the end, the one that called out to me was the story of The Fall, specifically the passage after Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit where they realize they are naked and clothe themselves.

Taken during a mission trip to Puebla, Mexico.