Hello.
It's almost Christmas. Today is the first day of an 11 day weekend for me and my family. I have trying to get some things done around here today, and to continue the story of Samson is the last item on today's agenda.
When we last looked at Samson he had made a series of mistakes that had risen out of his refusal to listen to his parents, a lack of seriousness about his vows to God and a lack of real spiritual relationships. Today thoughts about Delilah and how he literally turns his strength into weakness because he forgets where his real power comes from.
The story of Samson and Delilah begins in Judges 16:4. Samson marries Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines offer Delilah a great deal of money to find out the secret of Samson's strength. Delilah asks him the secret first in 16:6. Samson doesn't really seem to take any of this stuff seriously and makes something up, telling her that if someone ties him with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, that he would become as weak as any other man. So after he falls asleep, with the Philistines hiding in the room, she binds him with bowstrings. Then she yells, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you." Samson jumps up and snaps the bowstrings like they were thread. Delilah gets angry and continues to pester Samson. So he makes something else up, which she, of course, tries and again fails. The third story that Samson makes up in verse 13 and 14. If you try to visualize this, it pretty hilarious. It's almost like Samson is trying to what he can get he to believe. Any way. He tells that if she weaves the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on a loom and tighten it with a pin, he would become weak. So she does, and again yells, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you." He jumps up, strong as ever. In my mind's eye, I see Samson ready to fight the Philistines dragging a loom along in his hair.
Any way, Delilah pesters him until he tells her the truth. Verse 16 says, she nagged him until he was sick to death of it. He tells her that if she cuts his hair he will become as weak as any other man. Now this is the point where I started thinking, "Samson, how stupid are you?" He has to know that she is going to do shave his head. She already done far more ridiculous things. So Samson gives up the one of his vows that he seemed to take seriously.
Now here is what I want you to think about. Samson had told her that if she cut his hair, he would lose his strength. He understood to be true intellectually and he told her any way, knowing that she was going to do it. never-the-less, after she cut his hair and shouted, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you," he jumped up thinking he would shake the Philistines off, just like he always had before. I think that Samson had lost sight of where the power was really coming from (God) and really been trusting the wrong source of power (himself).
It is important for us to realize that the power in our own lives comes from God. When we start trusting in our power we are in for trouble. Samson lost sight of this and had a colossal fall. Unfortunately for Samson, in this part of the story he only serves as an example of what not to do.
Tom
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Turning Strength into Weakness Part 3
Hello Everyone.
I'm going to continue the story of Samson tonight. Now last we looked, Samson had refused tolisten to his parents, even thought they were righteous people. He had broken at least one vow by touching a dead body and perhaps more. In the very least we could see that Samson did not take his vows very seriously.
So as the story continues in Judges 14:5, Samson goes down to Timnah again with his parents, this time to get married. At the wedding the Philistines provide Samson with thirty companions. At the party he takes vow-breaking actions and turns them into a riddle. You are probably familiar with the story. The riddle has a wager on it of thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. These thirty companions ultimately threaten Samson's wife, that if she doesn't get the answer for them, they will burn her house down upon her and her family. Through her tears, she eventually gets the answer and gives it to the Philistine "companions." So Samson has lost the bet, he goes to a different Philistine town, kills thirty men and takes their clothes, gives the clothes to his "companions" and goes home.
Later, he returns to Timnah to get his wife only to find out that she had been given to another man. Samson gets angry and gets his revenge. The Philistines get their revenge by burning his former wife's house down with her and her family in it. Samson gets even more revenge, including killing a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey. Samson makes mistake after mistake, all along the way and hundreds die, including the woman he loved.
After all that happens during and after his wedding, I wondered this: "Doesn't he have any friends?" Samson goes to his wedding day, and the enemies of God have to provide people to stand up with him. Wendy and I have been married for over twenty years, but I still remember my wedding very well. I had a lot of friends there. Most people do. And I believe that if I had been at my wedding reception making a fool of myself, that one of my friends would have pulled me aside and said, "Tom, you're making a fool of yourself." Samson apparently did not have any relationships like that. Things might have turned out differently if he had someone there at his wedding to say, "hey bro, maybe this riddle isn't such a good idea. Making light of your vows to God and turning them into a foolish riddle may not be the way to go."
So, we have ask ourselves, then, who are the friends in our lives that are helping us move in the right direction? Are we listening to them? Samson's story could have turned out very differently had he listened to righteous people.
Tom
I'm going to continue the story of Samson tonight. Now last we looked, Samson had refused tolisten to his parents, even thought they were righteous people. He had broken at least one vow by touching a dead body and perhaps more. In the very least we could see that Samson did not take his vows very seriously.
So as the story continues in Judges 14:5, Samson goes down to Timnah again with his parents, this time to get married. At the wedding the Philistines provide Samson with thirty companions. At the party he takes vow-breaking actions and turns them into a riddle. You are probably familiar with the story. The riddle has a wager on it of thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. These thirty companions ultimately threaten Samson's wife, that if she doesn't get the answer for them, they will burn her house down upon her and her family. Through her tears, she eventually gets the answer and gives it to the Philistine "companions." So Samson has lost the bet, he goes to a different Philistine town, kills thirty men and takes their clothes, gives the clothes to his "companions" and goes home.
Later, he returns to Timnah to get his wife only to find out that she had been given to another man. Samson gets angry and gets his revenge. The Philistines get their revenge by burning his former wife's house down with her and her family in it. Samson gets even more revenge, including killing a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey. Samson makes mistake after mistake, all along the way and hundreds die, including the woman he loved.
After all that happens during and after his wedding, I wondered this: "Doesn't he have any friends?" Samson goes to his wedding day, and the enemies of God have to provide people to stand up with him. Wendy and I have been married for over twenty years, but I still remember my wedding very well. I had a lot of friends there. Most people do. And I believe that if I had been at my wedding reception making a fool of myself, that one of my friends would have pulled me aside and said, "Tom, you're making a fool of yourself." Samson apparently did not have any relationships like that. Things might have turned out differently if he had someone there at his wedding to say, "hey bro, maybe this riddle isn't such a good idea. Making light of your vows to God and turning them into a foolish riddle may not be the way to go."
So, we have ask ourselves, then, who are the friends in our lives that are helping us move in the right direction? Are we listening to them? Samson's story could have turned out very differently had he listened to righteous people.
Tom
Monday, December 10, 2012
Turning Strength into Weakness Part 2
Hey everyone.
I am at home today, with Aaron, who is slowly recovering form a bout of pneumonia. Any way, I thought that I would continue the story of Samson. Last post, I talked about how Samson did not listen to his parents, who were ultimately more righteous than he was. As we continue through the story we will see how much trouble he could have avoided if he had listened to his parents.
The next part of the story we can see that Samson does not take his vows to God very seriously. Going back to Judges 13 and the appearance of the angel, we see in v. 7 that Samson was to be a Nazirite. Now, Numbers 6 tells us the vows that a Nazirite must take. First, they don't cut their hair. Second, they do drink wine, or eat grapes or raisins. Third, they cannot touch a dead body. These are Nazirite vows that someone would take over a period of time as a sign of dedication to God. But, Samson was to do this for life.
OK, as the story continues, Samson is walking with his parents to Timnah where his Philistine bride awaits. He goes off by himself into a vineyard and kills a lion with his bare hands. On his second trip to Timnah, he revisits the vineyard and finds honey in the carcass of the lion. He takes the honey and then gives some to his parents. Here is where we realize that Samson does take his vows to God very seriously. He breaks one of his vows by touching the dead lion's body. One also has to wonder what a guy who has vowed to God that he would not drink wine or eat grapes is doing wandering around a vineyard. It seems that the only vow he took seriously was the hair vow. We can be the same way, though. We can justify almost any behavior. We get as close to the line (of sin) as possible and as long as we don't cross it, we think that it is OK. It's foolish though, if we flirt with sin, eventually it will win. God told Cain, in Genesis 4:7, "sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you." Do we realize that sin desires to have us. It is wise then to stay away from it. In other words, if you don't eat grapes, stay out of the vineyard.
Later, at his wedding party, Samson who has definitely broken one vow, and messed around with breaking another, turns his vow-breaking into a riddle to entertain his wedding party. The riddle leads from one disaster to the next. Again Samson turns strength into weakness because he does take his vows before God very seriously.
Tom
I am at home today, with Aaron, who is slowly recovering form a bout of pneumonia. Any way, I thought that I would continue the story of Samson. Last post, I talked about how Samson did not listen to his parents, who were ultimately more righteous than he was. As we continue through the story we will see how much trouble he could have avoided if he had listened to his parents.
The next part of the story we can see that Samson does not take his vows to God very seriously. Going back to Judges 13 and the appearance of the angel, we see in v. 7 that Samson was to be a Nazirite. Now, Numbers 6 tells us the vows that a Nazirite must take. First, they don't cut their hair. Second, they do drink wine, or eat grapes or raisins. Third, they cannot touch a dead body. These are Nazirite vows that someone would take over a period of time as a sign of dedication to God. But, Samson was to do this for life.
OK, as the story continues, Samson is walking with his parents to Timnah where his Philistine bride awaits. He goes off by himself into a vineyard and kills a lion with his bare hands. On his second trip to Timnah, he revisits the vineyard and finds honey in the carcass of the lion. He takes the honey and then gives some to his parents. Here is where we realize that Samson does take his vows to God very seriously. He breaks one of his vows by touching the dead lion's body. One also has to wonder what a guy who has vowed to God that he would not drink wine or eat grapes is doing wandering around a vineyard. It seems that the only vow he took seriously was the hair vow. We can be the same way, though. We can justify almost any behavior. We get as close to the line (of sin) as possible and as long as we don't cross it, we think that it is OK. It's foolish though, if we flirt with sin, eventually it will win. God told Cain, in Genesis 4:7, "sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you." Do we realize that sin desires to have us. It is wise then to stay away from it. In other words, if you don't eat grapes, stay out of the vineyard.
Later, at his wedding party, Samson who has definitely broken one vow, and messed around with breaking another, turns his vow-breaking into a riddle to entertain his wedding party. The riddle leads from one disaster to the next. Again Samson turns strength into weakness because he does take his vows before God very seriously.
Tom
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Turning Strength into Weakness
Hello readers. It took me a couple of months to tell the story of Gideon. I am going to tell the story of Samson. My hope is to tell this story in somewhat less time. We will see. I keep waiting for life to be less hectic, and I keep getting disappointed.
Now, some of you who read the title, probably said to yourself that I had the title backwards, that in Christ, we turn weakness into strength. And if I were writing about Paul, you would correct. However, I am writing about Samson, a guy who was given immense talent, particularly physical strength and managed to turn it into weakness. To be fair to Samson, he is listed in Hebrews 11 among the faithful, but far too often, Samson serves an an example of what not to do. So over my next few posts I will share some of these in hopes that we can learn from them.
First lesson: Listen to righteous people. If you read Judges 13, you see Samson's parents, Manoah and his wife, whom the angel of Lord appears to. Judges 13:1 tells us that they were living in a time when Israel was doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and had been delivered into the hands of the Philistines, but we can see that within this time of evil, Manoah and his wife are righteous. We can tell by the way that they interact with God's messenger and their response to God's message. They are to raise Samson as a Nazarite. Which they do.
By chapter 14, Samson is an adult and he is going about in Philistine territory when he sees a Philistine woman and fell for her. He returns to his father and tells his father to get this woman for his wife. His father objects. He recognizes the Philistines as the enemy of God's people, and says to his son, "Isn't there an acceptable woman among our people?" Manoah wasn't being racist here, he was being wise. The philistines worshiped a different god, called Dagon, and Manoah who had spend years preparing Samson to serve the true God, did not want to see his son married to someone who worshiped Dagon. If you know the rest of the story, you know that Samson should have listened to his father. Beginning with the trip down to the Philistine city of Timnah to get married, Samson makes one mistake after another that costs numerous lives including the life of the woman he loved so much. It could have been avoided, had he listened to his more righteous father.
As the story continues in my next post, think about all of the tragedy that could have been avoided, had Samson been willing to listen to righteous people and had not been simply led around by his desires.
Happy Thanksgiving
Tom
Now, some of you who read the title, probably said to yourself that I had the title backwards, that in Christ, we turn weakness into strength. And if I were writing about Paul, you would correct. However, I am writing about Samson, a guy who was given immense talent, particularly physical strength and managed to turn it into weakness. To be fair to Samson, he is listed in Hebrews 11 among the faithful, but far too often, Samson serves an an example of what not to do. So over my next few posts I will share some of these in hopes that we can learn from them.
First lesson: Listen to righteous people. If you read Judges 13, you see Samson's parents, Manoah and his wife, whom the angel of Lord appears to. Judges 13:1 tells us that they were living in a time when Israel was doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and had been delivered into the hands of the Philistines, but we can see that within this time of evil, Manoah and his wife are righteous. We can tell by the way that they interact with God's messenger and their response to God's message. They are to raise Samson as a Nazarite. Which they do.
By chapter 14, Samson is an adult and he is going about in Philistine territory when he sees a Philistine woman and fell for her. He returns to his father and tells his father to get this woman for his wife. His father objects. He recognizes the Philistines as the enemy of God's people, and says to his son, "Isn't there an acceptable woman among our people?" Manoah wasn't being racist here, he was being wise. The philistines worshiped a different god, called Dagon, and Manoah who had spend years preparing Samson to serve the true God, did not want to see his son married to someone who worshiped Dagon. If you know the rest of the story, you know that Samson should have listened to his father. Beginning with the trip down to the Philistine city of Timnah to get married, Samson makes one mistake after another that costs numerous lives including the life of the woman he loved so much. It could have been avoided, had he listened to his more righteous father.
As the story continues in my next post, think about all of the tragedy that could have been avoided, had Samson been willing to listen to righteous people and had not been simply led around by his desires.
Happy Thanksgiving
Tom
Monday, November 5, 2012
The questioner part 5
After all this time, I'm finally going to finish the story of Gideon. Initially, Gideon had shown himself to be quite fearful, questioning God and asking for signs. But God says from the beginning that Gideon is a mighty warrior, and is incredibly patient with him as Gideon's faith grows and we see in Gideon the mighty warrior that God saw all along.
We left off with Gideon leading 300 men against a vast Midianite army and defeating them. In Judges 8:4-13, we see Gideon and his 300 men chasing the 15,000 Midianites that they didn't kill in battle. Gideon stops in the town of Sukkoth and asks for supplies. They ask if he had the hands of the Midianite kings, and refuse to help. He goes on to Peniel, another Israelite city, and gets the same response. Why do these towns refuse to help Gideon? They are still afraid of the Midianites and they think Gideon will lose. Then they would have deal with the Midianites. If they had helped Gideon, that would go badly. Without their help, Gideon defeats the rest of the Midianites.
Here is what I get from this story. Gideon was changed man. He was no longer afraid, but more importantly he was not going to allow the fear and faithlessness of others change his faith.
Tom
Saturday, September 29, 2012
The Questioner, Part 4
Hey everyone.
It has been three weeks since I last wrote anything. The beginning of the new school year has been very busy for me. I am the supervisor of me department and I am teaching a course in AP European History. Those two things have kept me pretty busy. So it has taken me a very long time to tell you the story of Gideon, something I finished studying all the way back in in August. So today I will give you part 4 and hopefully very soon after I will give you part 5 and then finally be ready to move on.
So here it is. If you remember, God has come to Gideon calling him a "mighty warrior." To this point Gideon has not seemed like much like a mighty warrior, constantly questioning God and asking for signs that God is able to do what he says. Gideon has however been an obedient, if somewhat reluctant, warrior. Doing what God has said, in spite of his fear.
In Judges 7 God whittles Gideon's army down to 300 men. We know from Judges 8:10 that the Midianite army numbers around 135,000. Gideon starts with 32,000 men. This is a ratio of around 4 to 1, but God says Gideon has too many men, even though he is the one that is severely outnumbered. So they tell everyone who is afraid to go home. 22,000 men leave. Gideon is now down to 10,000 men and is outnumbered 13.5 to 1. God says it is still too many men. So when God takes the number down to 300, he has given Gideon an army that is outnumbered about 450 to one. God is setting Gideon up to finally understand that He is God and that therefore there is no reason for Gideon to fear.
So what happens next. The night before the battle God gives Gideon one more sign that He is with him. Gideon didn't ask for this one, but God gave it to him any way. God tells Gideon that if he is still afraid that he should go down to the edge of the Midianite camp and the He would give Gideon a sign then he would no longer be afraid. God was likely hoping that Gideon would not need the sign; that he had overcome fear. Gideon had not yet overcome. He had to be terrified to go to the edge of his enemy's camp, but to his credit, he went.
When he arrives at the edge of the Midianite camp, he overhears a conversation. One Midianite soldier says he has a dream in which a big loaf of barley bread comes rolling into the camp and knocks down his tent. (Try to visualize the dream.) The soldier's friend tells him, "this can only be the sword of Gideon. God has given the whole camp into his hands." So Gideon overhears the saying that God was delivering them into his hands. Gideon bows down right there at the edge of the Midianite camp, with their 135,000 soldiers, and worships God. He is no longer afraid. He has now grown to trust God no matter what. He goes back rallies his 300 men and defeats the Midianite army with torches, jars and trumpets. It took some time, but now we can see the warrior in Gideon that God saw all along.
Tom
It has been three weeks since I last wrote anything. The beginning of the new school year has been very busy for me. I am the supervisor of me department and I am teaching a course in AP European History. Those two things have kept me pretty busy. So it has taken me a very long time to tell you the story of Gideon, something I finished studying all the way back in in August. So today I will give you part 4 and hopefully very soon after I will give you part 5 and then finally be ready to move on.
So here it is. If you remember, God has come to Gideon calling him a "mighty warrior." To this point Gideon has not seemed like much like a mighty warrior, constantly questioning God and asking for signs that God is able to do what he says. Gideon has however been an obedient, if somewhat reluctant, warrior. Doing what God has said, in spite of his fear.
In Judges 7 God whittles Gideon's army down to 300 men. We know from Judges 8:10 that the Midianite army numbers around 135,000. Gideon starts with 32,000 men. This is a ratio of around 4 to 1, but God says Gideon has too many men, even though he is the one that is severely outnumbered. So they tell everyone who is afraid to go home. 22,000 men leave. Gideon is now down to 10,000 men and is outnumbered 13.5 to 1. God says it is still too many men. So when God takes the number down to 300, he has given Gideon an army that is outnumbered about 450 to one. God is setting Gideon up to finally understand that He is God and that therefore there is no reason for Gideon to fear.
So what happens next. The night before the battle God gives Gideon one more sign that He is with him. Gideon didn't ask for this one, but God gave it to him any way. God tells Gideon that if he is still afraid that he should go down to the edge of the Midianite camp and the He would give Gideon a sign then he would no longer be afraid. God was likely hoping that Gideon would not need the sign; that he had overcome fear. Gideon had not yet overcome. He had to be terrified to go to the edge of his enemy's camp, but to his credit, he went.
When he arrives at the edge of the Midianite camp, he overhears a conversation. One Midianite soldier says he has a dream in which a big loaf of barley bread comes rolling into the camp and knocks down his tent. (Try to visualize the dream.) The soldier's friend tells him, "this can only be the sword of Gideon. God has given the whole camp into his hands." So Gideon overhears the saying that God was delivering them into his hands. Gideon bows down right there at the edge of the Midianite camp, with their 135,000 soldiers, and worships God. He is no longer afraid. He has now grown to trust God no matter what. He goes back rallies his 300 men and defeats the Midianite army with torches, jars and trumpets. It took some time, but now we can see the warrior in Gideon that God saw all along.
Tom
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
The Questioner, Part 3
Hey everyone.
Well, I survived two camps and the start of the school year. Today is my birthday, I'm 49. Tonight I would like to jump back into the story of Gideon, and share more lessons that I have learned from him. It has been a while since I wrote my last post, so just to remind you, God calls Gideon a "mighty warrior," but in everything we have seen about Gideon so far, he does not really seem like one.
In Judges 6:33-40 Gideon continues to question God, and God continues to be very patient with Gideon. This time, Gideon says, "If you will save Israel by my as you have promised," then asks God to do the famous "fleece" test. And he doesn't ask once, he asks twice. What is he really asking God, here? He is asking, "God, are you really going to do what you say you are going to do?" or maybe, God, can you do do what you say you are going to do?" At the root of his question was , is God good for his word? He asks God to complete an impossible task, and God does it, twice.
Gideon was having a hard time trusting God's promise to him. Do you ever have a difficult time trusting God's promises. Heb 6:18 tells us that God can't lie, so if he makes a promise, he has to keep it. Gideon ultimately learns that God is good for his word and has the power to back it up. My own experiences as a disciple back that concept up as well.
So God proved to Gideon with his "fleece" test that he can do anything, but to be honest, Gideon still doesn't look like much of a warrior. But God is not done with Gideon yet.
Side Note: I have heard of people who have "put out the fleece." My advice is that it may not be the best way to make decisions. God agreed to Gideon's fleece test, that doesn't mean he has agreed to yours. I think a better idea would be to pray intently about something, and ask God to make his will so obvious that even you can't miss it.
Tom
Well, I survived two camps and the start of the school year. Today is my birthday, I'm 49. Tonight I would like to jump back into the story of Gideon, and share more lessons that I have learned from him. It has been a while since I wrote my last post, so just to remind you, God calls Gideon a "mighty warrior," but in everything we have seen about Gideon so far, he does not really seem like one.
In Judges 6:33-40 Gideon continues to question God, and God continues to be very patient with Gideon. This time, Gideon says, "If you will save Israel by my as you have promised," then asks God to do the famous "fleece" test. And he doesn't ask once, he asks twice. What is he really asking God, here? He is asking, "God, are you really going to do what you say you are going to do?" or maybe, God, can you do do what you say you are going to do?" At the root of his question was , is God good for his word? He asks God to complete an impossible task, and God does it, twice.
Gideon was having a hard time trusting God's promise to him. Do you ever have a difficult time trusting God's promises. Heb 6:18 tells us that God can't lie, so if he makes a promise, he has to keep it. Gideon ultimately learns that God is good for his word and has the power to back it up. My own experiences as a disciple back that concept up as well.
So God proved to Gideon with his "fleece" test that he can do anything, but to be honest, Gideon still doesn't look like much of a warrior. But God is not done with Gideon yet.
Side Note: I have heard of people who have "put out the fleece." My advice is that it may not be the best way to make decisions. God agreed to Gideon's fleece test, that doesn't mean he has agreed to yours. I think a better idea would be to pray intently about something, and ask God to make his will so obvious that even you can't miss it.
Tom
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