Judges 14:15-15:8. \u00a0Yesterday we met the next Judge all grown up and doing things his way. \u00a0He wasn’t following God’s rules, for the Israelites in general and as a Nazirite either. We also saw that he was pretty average. \u00a0He wanted a wife and went looking for the cutest girl around. \u00a0Judges 14:1-3 tells us he saw her and decided he wanted her as a wife. \u00a0There is no indication of any kind of relationship. \u00a0In spite of the fact that it was against the rule (of God) his parents caved in and arranged the marriage. \u00a0Samson also broke the rule about a Nazirite not touching a dead body. \u00a0Yes, he was doing things his way. \u00a0But we also saw God was getting what He wanted done too. \u00a0God was causing troubel between the Israelites and the Philistines. \u00a0it was time for the Israelites to stop being so “cozy” with the neighbors. \u00a0It always had been that time actually.<\/p>\n
Today things get stirred up a lot more. \u00a0Samson challenges the Philistines to a battle of wits. \u00a0A riddle. \u00a0If they can solve it before the 7 day long wedding feast is over they get 30 new suits, one for each of the guys from Timnah that are at the wedding. \u00a0If they don’t solve the riddle each of them has to give Samson a suit. \u00a0Remember in those days they had to make the yarn, weave the cloth, and sew the garment. \u00a0No $15 outfit from Old Navy. \u00a0So they went to the bride and threaten her and her father’s family if she does not find out the answer from Samson and give it to her. \u00a0Even though an outfit would be costly it doesn’t seem like it would leave them broke (v. 15). \u00a0Their threat seems a bit over the top, burn the girl, her family, and all their possessions if they lose. \u00a0God was stirring and little bubbles were starting to form in the bottom of the pot (Judges 13:24, 14:4). \u00a0A couple of other things are interesting in this story. \u00a0They seemed to realize that Samson is affected by this girl. \u00a0They think she can manipulate him. \u00a0Why didn’t they just threaten Samson or blow him off? \u00a0Although Samson is clearly given power by God to accomplish the things he does (Judges 14:6, 19) it also would appear that he has some size. \u00a0Maybe they were a little bit afraid of him. \u00a0Another interesting thing is that verse 15 tells us that the guys went to the girl on the fourth day but verse 17 tells us that she had been crying about the riddle the who time the wedding feast had been going on. \u00a0It seems that the guys were not the only ones who thought she could manipulate Samson.<\/p>\n
We already could see that Samson was more influenced by his hormones than any sort of commitment to God. \u00a0Samson takes another step down that path when he gives in to the girls nagging. \u00a0She gets the answer, passes it on, and the guests win the competition. \u00a0Or do they? \u00a0Samson realizes where they got the answer to the riddle and blows off the girl. \u00a0She goes from cute to cow (that’s what a heifer is) \u00a0in less than a week as Samson dumps her at the altar. \u00a0Samson is then empowered by God and goes out to the coast to a Philistine city and kills 30 guys for their clothes which he then uses to pay off the guests at the party and goes home.<\/p>\n
Some time passed and I guess all the mooing back on the farm got to him. \u00a0Samson decides to go visit the girl. \u00a0She was so cute who cares if she was a nag. \u00a0It was fall. \u00a0The grain had been harvested and life would be slowing down on the farm. \u00a0Winter was coming it would be getting cold. \u00a0When Samson reaches the girl’s house he finds that he father has married her off to some friend of Samson. \u00a0Samson isn’t cold any longer, he’s hot, burning mad. \u00a0And so he comes up with a plot to get back at everyone. \u00a0He lights all of their fields, vineyards, and orchards on fire. \u00a0Along with the grain theat they had already harvested and stacked. \u00a0All of their food is gone. \u00a0The whole town of Timnah and anyone who depended on them. \u00a0the Philistines retaliate by burning the girl and her relatives and all their possessions. \u00a0Our reading today ends with Samson threatening and taking revenge.<\/p>\n
Samson has been playing with fire and I don’t mean the real kind. \u00a0He has been allowing his passions to control him. \u00a0It is interesting that God stirred Samson back in chapter 13. \u00a0God’s spirit gave Samson power to kill the lion and the thirty Philistine for their clothes. \u00a0But we also see Samson acting out on his own. \u00a0As I mentioned yesterday I don’t think God is actively responsible for the decisions Samson is making. \u00a0Back in Judges 13:24 the Hebrew word for “stir” is “paam”. \u00a0It means to push, trouble, beat over and over, and impel (an impeller is the blade on a boat that make it move). \u00a0We might say “bugged” or “bothered”. \u00a0Samson was bugged by something and he acted. \u00a0As we have already seen much of what Samson does is a reaction, his reaction. \u00a0The fact that god can use our actions or reactions to move the world toward Heaven is again evidence of His power and wisdom. \u00a0No matter what our<\/span> moves are God is working history for the best possible outcome with the most possible winners based on His rules (See Romans 8:16-28, 2 Peter 3:1-10). \u00a0Because of sin in the world there will be trouble. \u00a0God has a solution for sin. \u00a0He could have destroyed all humanity and been done with sin altogether and he almost did, in the flood (Genesis 6). \u00a0But God’s love and compassion moved Him to solve a way in which people would not perish, not all of them anyway. \u00a02 Peter 3:9 says, “God is not willing that any should perish”. \u00a0Revelation 20:11-15 makes it clear that some people will not spend eternity in Heaven, they will perish. \u00a0Why? \u00a0Because of God’s character, His rules. \u00a0Sin must be punished and the punishment from the beginning was death, separation from God. \u00a0But Jesus paid that penalty. \u00a0Jesus said that he is the way and that no one can come to God except through him. \u00a0And come we must. \u00a0John 1:12 says, “As many as recieve him [Jesus] to them he gave the right to be a part of God’s forever family. \u00a0to all those who believe who Jesus is and what he has done.” \u00a0Peter then ends that chapter and letter with sort of a question. \u00a0“Since this is the way God has set up life. \u00a0And since this is the way it is going. \u00a0How should you live? \u00a0You should be dedicated to God in you actions. \u00a0You should be imitating god in your character. \u00a0You should be looking forward to Heaven and encouraging others to be looking for Heaven too. \u00a0The real fire is coming but after that a whole new remade world. \u00a0One in which everything is right again. \u00a0So let Jesus live in your lives and give you peace and purity. \u00a0God is patient and because of that the world has a chance.” (2 Peter 3:11-15).<\/p>\n God thank you for being patient. \u00a0I know that we all mess up all the time. \u00a0Our actions really deserve to be punished. \u00a0Thank you for taking my punishment. \u00a0Thank you for paying it all for all (1 John 3:3). \u00a0Help me point other to you. \u00a0Help me see your love and show others your love. \u00a0Help us all understand about your purity, your holiness. \u00a0God I’m glad you are so powerful and that your poser is moved by love. \u00a0thank you for providing Jesus and thank you for telling us about Him. \u00a0Help me find ways to pass on the Good News. \u00a0Let my passion be for You and Your way not my own.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Judges 14:15-15:8. \u00a0Yesterday we met the next Judge all grown up and doing things his way. \u00a0He wasn’t following God’s rules, for the Israelites in general and as a Nazirite either. We also saw that he was pretty average. \u00a0He wanted a wife and went looking for the cutest girl around. \u00a0Judges 14:1-3 tells us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=297"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":307,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions\/307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}