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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Judges)A time to studyFROM SHADOW TO REALITY (Hebrews) THE SEARCH FOR MEANING (Ecclesiastes) THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (Judges) 'Water, water everywhere; Nor any drop to drink', Samuel Coleridge famously wrote. That sentiment is often true when it comes to finding decent material for group Bible study. At first glance, the shelves of Christian book shops seem full of possibilities. In reality much of it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to engaging seriously with the meaning of Scripture. In recent years one series that has tried to put that right is the 'Interactive Bible Studies' from Matthias Media (The Good Book Company in the UK). All three editions follow the usual format in this series of 'Investigate' and 'Think it Through' questions, interspersed with (often lengthy) chunks of text. This style can be a bit hit and miss. In Joshua Ng's Hebrews study, the text sections are superb in explaining the flow of the epistle. The questions, however, are not uniformly good. Some are excellent; others presuppose a level of analytical ability possibly above many earnest home group members (a frequent criticism of this series). His treatment of the difficult Hebrews 6.4-6 is, it should be said, very well put together. Hebrews is not the easiest book in the Bible to study, and neither, for different reasons, is the Book of Ecclesiastes. Tim McMahon's study serves us very well. Not only are the text sections extremely helpful, but the questions really get to grips with the Preacher's quest. The opening overview and the final study are outstanding. Mark Baddeley's booklet on Judges highlights the difficulties in producing studies on the historical books of the Old Testament. The material takes us through Judges well enough, but it is often light on application. The studies on Gideon and Samson are probably the pick of the ten. Andrew Wilson,
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