April 4, 2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Judges 13 - This chapter covers the encounter Samson's mother would have with the Angel of the Lord as she was told she would finally give birth to a son.  She was told specific requirements for her during her pregnancy and that she was never to cut Samson's hair.  Her husband, Manoah, was told the same things.  Obviously God had a plan to use Samson to judge Israel but also to deal with their constant enemy, the Philistines.  Samson would be a Nazirite to God, that is, a man dedicated to God, in Samson's case, for a lifetime.

Judges 14 - Samson showed very early in his life his weakness for immoral women.  The first woman he wanted for a wife was a Philistine.  His parents objected but the Lord actually was using this encounter to provide a way for Samson to punish the Philistines.  On one of his trips he would show the amazing strength God gave him by killing an attacking lion with his own hands.  He would also find that deception and infidelity was part of the consequences of connecting with ungodly companions. 

Judges 15 - When Samson's new wife is given to another he seeks revenge by burning the Philistine's fields and then when they seek to capture him he retaliates, with God's strength, by killing a thousand men with the jawbone of a dead donkey.  He would judge Israel for 20 years while always being a target of the Philistine people.  It's hard to tell what kind of a judge Samson actually was, but God shows that He will use whoever He chooses to use.  God can work through anyone.