Ah, Samson... so much to say, so little time tonight... thankfully God can use us despite our flaws... but, I hope that none of my daughters marry a man like Samson. I will catch up on my blogs soon, and will post (hopefully) a much more meaningful and biblically insightful commentary here, then.
Much Love,
sandJ
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Don't know how much more meaningful or insightful this will be, but here goes...
ReplyDeleteChapter 14:
verse 1-3... he's kind of rude and a brat
verse 4... ok, well good... God can turn anything into use for His good purpose
verse 5-7... ok, do lions normally come rushing our of vineyards?... I'm amazed someone could 'tear' a goat with his bare hands, let alone a lion... why not tell his parents? did he do something wrong, because I'd be telling people what had just happened... the randomness and matter-of-factness of verse 7 after verse 5-6 amazes me, like 'yeah, I tore a lion to bits and then I went and talked to a woman, and she was ok'... wow
verse 8-9... gross... what would possess him to scoop out decaying lion honey? yuck!... and again, why not tell his parents?... why even share the honey at all then?... makes me think about how we share only parts of our lives with those we love and how we sometimes withhold the most important and special parts of who we are... by doing this, we are hindering our relationships... anyway, don't know if this applies at all, but this is where my mind went.
verse 8-10... Study Notes point out that Samson breaks two of the Nazarite vows here... first, by touching a dead body, and second by 'throwing a drinking party'
verse 11... why?
verse 12-14... Samson is kind of a jerk and extortionist, I think
verse 15... not very pleasant 'companions', either... sheesh!
verse 16-17... oh, what crazy games we play!... poor Samson, he doesn't even have a clue what is going on
verse 18... ok, I can't help but laugh at the line 'if you had not plowed with my heifer'... now that is a 'pet name'!... not saying she doesn't deserve it, but still :)
verse 19... that's quite a way to fulfill your end of the deal... although, the Spirit of God was with him in this endeavor... not recommending this as an good option unless God is with you, though
verse 20... ok?
Chapter 15: verse 1-2... I guess her dad was trying to look out for his daughter, and smooth stuff over for the whole family, but still crazy stuff
ReplyDeleteverse 3... anger management?
vers 4-5... I'm seeing Samson grumbling as he' doing all this, but I can't really picture the hows of it all... first of all, I can't picture how he could catch 300 foxes... second, not picturing how he could tie them tail to tail without getting bit all up... third, how would the foxes be able to run all tied up since they were probably trying to run away from each other... and fourth, how did the torches stay up and keep from buring the foxes... unless, he basically lit the foxes on fire, which would be really horrible... now, thinking about that, I'm really angry with him... revenge is an awful thing!
vers 6... what an awful time, and awful people... the whole lot of them, Samson and the others
verse 7-11... why did he care if they killed his wife at this point?... did he just want another reason to be vengeful?... when will the cycle of violence end?... I pray that we will all step up and take the stand to be peacemakers despite the enemies attacks, so that we may win some people to Christ (Hebrews 12:14-15)
verse 14-17... I do have to admit that this is like some plot to an action movie that would come out nowadays... I can see VinDesil playing the part of Samson or something.
verse 16... the poetic (and kind of corney) humor is killing me
verse 18-19... if there was any doubt as to God's infinite patience and mercy this erases it all... I think that only God could be patient with this man... I think I would have zapped him with a lightening bolt and permanently shut his mouth by now... Samson is really a 'raw' kind of guy
veres 20... yet, it is just another reminder that God can use anybody to fulfill His purposes... it is all about God, and, thankfully, not about us
Chapter 16: I did have this all written, but when I went to save it, it got deleted... so, apparently what I had written was not the right thing to post... so, here's hoping this is. :)
ReplyDeleteverse 3... this makes me think about Hercules and other stories like that... however, two things stick out that are different than Hercules's story... first, Samson was given his gift of strength BY God, not because he WAS a god... sometimes we forget that it is God who makes us who we are and gives us the talents that we have... we have our blessings and gifts because of God, not because of ourselves... this should hopefully, make us praise God, as well as make us more wary about how we use our gifts, so that we give Him thanks through our actions...second, Hercules was supposedly a child of a god, but Samson was a child of God... this is significant because it makes a difference in our lives, too, as we are also children of God... the importance is that, as children of God, we have purpose, and significance... we are not just random people wandering aimlessly around until we die... we are people made in God's image (Genesis 1:27), made with a specific purpose to fulfill (Psalm 139:13-16), and part of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9-10).... that is pretty special, if you ask me. :)
verse 4-15... this part makes me think about how we can become so blinded by the things of the world, that we forget to hold fast to the things of God... we can let our desire for worldly things overpower us and inhibit our relationship with God... also, it makes me think about how, many times we want to try to bandaid over problems, instead of dealing with the real heart/foundational issues/sins... for example, Samson had the sins of pride, arrogance, lust, anger (just to name a few)... he tried to bandaid over them by blaming his actions on others, by finding a new woman, by lying, etc... yet, the same problems kept reoccuring in his life... why? because he never addressed, repented from, and turned away from his sin... he never asked God to help him become humble (think of the contrast between Samson and Moses, who was the most humble man in the world-Numbers 12:3), or sought reconciliation and forgiveness, he never put others first or sought God's advice instead of acting impulsively... how many times do we do the same thing in our lives? it doesn't matter how many times we get a new spouse, or how often we change our bank, or get a bigger house, or whatever... if we do not correct the heart issue behind our problems... if we do not identify and repent from our foundational sins... then no amount of peripherial change is going to set things right. Identifying and correcting sinful areas of my life is not always easy... we have to ask for God's help, because we can't do it alone... and we have to be willing to let Him work in our lives, no matter how He feels is best... When I just don't know what to do, or how to begin, one of my favorite verses to go to is Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you,and lead me along the path of everlasting life."
verse 15-20... we must remember, that no matter how tired we get, we need to never give in to the temptation to give up or give in... interesting and actually kind of startling to read how Samson 'did not know that the Lord had left him'... it is so easy to just take that one step away from God, and since we can see Him, we don't think much of it... but one step turns into two, and then three, and so on, until one day, we turn around and He is no longer with us... it was not God who turned away from us, it is us who turn away from God... Yet, as we learn in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), God is waiting and yearning for us to return to Him... and we must remember, that our return will be one step at a time, just as turning away from Him was one step at a time... the road home is not always easy, but when we do return, He rushes out to us and scoops us up into His arms and celebrates that we, who once were dead, have now come back to life!
ReplyDeleteverse 22... our failures never have to be the end... no matter how 'bald' we have become, we can always 'regrow' in Christ
verse 23-30... yes, we can offer praise to other 'gods', even ourselves, and we can become cocky about our limited successes...but in the end, the only God with true, lasting, eternal power is the One True God, and Lord.
verse 31... I wonder what was going through the thoughts of Samson's family?
sandJ