IN GOD'S TIME

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you? Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel."

But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah. Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men.

The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?"

The Lord replied, "Judah shall go first."

The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and they inquired of the Lord. They said, "Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?"

The Lord answered, "Go up against them."

Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.

Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. And the Israelites inquired of the Lord. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, "Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?"

The Lord responded, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands."

Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads—the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah.

While the Benjamites were saying, "We are defeating them as before," the Israelites were saying, "Let's retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads."

All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west of Gibeah. Then ten thousand of Israel's finest men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was. The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten.

Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah. The men who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. The men of Israel had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, and then the men of Israel would turn in the battle.

The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the men of Israel (about thirty), and they said, "We are defeating them as in the first battle." But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the smoke of the whole city going up into the sky. Then the men of Israel turned on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come upon them. So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the desert, but they could not escape the battle. And the men of Israel who came out of the towns cut them down there. They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. As they turned and fled toward the desert to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.

On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. But six hundred men turned and fled into the desert to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.

Judges 20:12-48

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Israel was joined together to exact justice on the Benjamites for the brutally sinful actions of some of their men. You’ll recall a group of men wanted to have sex with a Levite who was a host in the home of an older man in Gibeah. Unwilling to allow the men to have the Levite, the older man suggested that they take his virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine in his place. As the story played out, only the concubine was turned over to the men who raped her and left her for dead. Indeed, she died on the doorstep of the Levite who then took her body, cut it into 12 pieces and then sent one piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Their reaction to the concubine’s murder by some of their own brought Israel together for a common cause…the cause of ensuring the concubine’s death didn’t go unpunished.

And so we see in our scripture where Israel tries to handle this at the lowest level possible, simply asking the Benjamites to hand over those responsible for the rape and murder of the concubine woman. Unfortunately, the Benjamites didn’t accept the offer and instead “came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites”, mobilizing “twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah”. From those initial 26,700, there were “seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss”. So the Benjamites were loaded and ready to face Israel.

Israel had their numbers as well, mustering “four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men” before going to Bethel where they “inquired of God”, asking, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?" A question the Lord answered by saying, “Judah shall go first."

And so the Israelites “pitched camp near Gibeah” the next morning before heading out to “fight the Benjamites”, taking up “battle positions against them at Gibeah”. Things didn’t go well for Israel for we read where the “Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day”, results that were devastating. The “men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day”.

Well, obviously the Israelites were shaken by the day’s events. They “went up and wept before the Lord until evening” before asking Him, “Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?" And the Lord told them to go against the Benjamites again.

And so Israel, with no doubt a renewed confidence, “drew near to Benjamin the second day”. The results weren’t much better than the first day for the Benjamites “cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords”. 40,000 Israelite troops dead in two days. Israel returned to the Lord for some answers.

We read that all the people of Israel “went up to Bethel and there they sat weeping before the Lord”, fasting until evening and presenting “burnt offerings and fellowship offerings” before asking the Lord, “Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?" And this time, the Lord replied, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands."

And so it was.

The men of Israel used similar tactics to the ones Joshua used against Ai, the city taken after Jericho, as Israel first established themselves in Canaan. They divided their fighting force with some men drawing the Benjamite fighting force out away from their city and the rest of the men waiting to ambush the city once the Benjamite army left it defenseless. The strategy worked beautifully just as it had done prior. Israel gained victory that day as “twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell” as well as all of the Benjamite towns. Israel’s bloody civil war, at least this one, had ended.

This matter of the Israelites against the Benjamites carries with it an important point to remember.

Things happen in God’s time, not our own.

Israel knew that something had to be done in response to the attack on the Levite’s concubine and it did right in going to battle with the Benjamites. Note that God never told them to not go to battle. Note as well that He never assured them victory until just before the third day because that was when He deemed that it was time for victory. It would happen where He wanted it and when He wanted it.

And so the battle went through the three days with heavy losses before final triumph. The men of Israel knew the possibility was always there that they might die on the battlefield. God never assured them that they would live through any of the days of battle. In fact, God never assured them they would live through any of the days before the battle either. Life and death, you see, happen in God's time…just like the Israelites victory in battle.

Where we get into trouble in life is that we are too often impatient. We expect God to operate on our time and in accordance with our expectations and wants. Friends, it just doesn’t work that way. We never dictate to God. God dictates to us…and we are to respond according to His will, not our own. And it’s in the time that we are forced to wait on the Lord, that He is instilling and refining patience (one of the fruits of the Spirit…Galatians 5:22-23) within us.

One last important point to remember about life and God’s time…we will all die when God decides it’s time. We all belong to Him. He places us into His creation and will take us from it…in His time. This would be a harrowing prospect, unsure if any one moment in life will be our last, if it weren’t for the eternal promise we have in Jesus Christ…who came at God’s appointed time, in God’s appointed place, to God’s appointed parents, living for God’s appointed period and dying in God’s appointed time and place in support of God’s purpose. Because of Jesus and His promise of life eternal for those who believe and trust in Him, we need never fear death for we know it’s not the end but just the awesome beginning of life with the Father and the Son…forever. It’s this truth that liberates Christian believers to live and love and learn…all in peace and joy brought by hope.

Question: Do you know Jesus in your life?

If so, then you are set free to go forth and do what Jesus commanded…to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all He commanded. God has an appointed time for you to be with Him and you won’t miss your appointment.

If you don’t know Jesus, don’t delay in professing your faith and trust in Him right this very moment. For your next breath could very well be your last one if it is God’s appointed time for you to die. Those not in Christ can and do miss their appointments each and every day, losing their opportunity for life eternal. Please…please…don’t be in this category. Come to Jesus today. He’s waiting with open arms.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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THE END OF EVIL

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In those days Israel had no king.

Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her father's house in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her father's house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. His father-in-law, the girl's father, prevailed upon him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there.

On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Refresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go." So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the girl's father said, "Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself." And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the girl's father said, "Refresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!" So the two of them ate together.

Then when the man, with his concubine and his servant, got up to leave, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said, "Now look, it's almost evening. Spend the night here; the day is nearly over. Stay and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and be on your way home." But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.

When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, "Come, let's stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night."

His master replied, "No. We won't go into an alien city, whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah." He added, "Come, let's try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places." So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his home for the night.

That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the men of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields. When he looked and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, "Where are you going? Where did you come from?"

He answered, "We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the Lord. No one has taken me into his house. We have both straw and fodder for our donkeys and bread and wine for ourselves your servants—me, your maidservant, and the young man with us. We don't need anything."

"You are welcome at my house," the old man said. "Let me supply whatever you need. Only don't spend the night in the square." So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.

While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him."

The owner of the house went outside and said to them, "No, my friends, don't be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don't do this disgraceful thing. Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don't do such a disgraceful thing."

But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. At daybreak, the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.

When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, "Get up; let's go." But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.

When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. Everyone who saw it said, "Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!"

Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out as one man and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah. The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords. (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, "Tell us how this awful thing happened."

So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel's inheritance, because they committed this lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. Now, all you Israelites, speak up and give your verdict."

All the people rose as one man, saying, "None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. But now this is what we'll do to Gibeah: We'll go up against it as the lot directs. We'll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for all this vileness done in Israel." So all the men of Israel got together and united as one man against the city.

Judges 19, 20:1-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There’s a lot of good in the world today. I know it seems that it isn’t that way by what we see in the news every day but do you think the news gives us an accurate assessment on the way things really are? Or does the news just show us what they want to show us?

I think the answers are no and yes…and one answer leads to the other.

For truly, any news show is subjective. They can’t possibly show everything. Instead, they have to show what they consider to be newsworthy. And this is where there will be an endless number of opinions given. For what is newsworthy to one person won’t necessarily be newsworthy to another.

So what often ends up being newsworthy? In a twisted way, it ends up being the negative, the tragic or the misfortunate things that happen. We rarely hear about good news but that don’t think for a minute that it’s because there isn’t any good news. There is but too often we never hear about it. Wouldn’t you like it if that could change? Me too and believe it or not…it could if we wanted it to. We only need to denounce evil and all stand for nothing less than good.

It’s this point that I think is central to the scripture in this devotional.

As Chapter 19 opens up, we see an immoral situation, one that would probably be interesting in a world that seems to thrive on sinful news. For we read of a Levite from Ephraim who took a concubine (mistress) from Judah who then was unfaithful to him before leaving and moving back in with her father.

So a priest had a mistress who had an affair and then left him. That’s how this story starts. It gets worse.

For the Levite goes to the concubine’s father and wants to get her back. Her father encourages him to stay there first three days which turns into a fourth day which turns into a fifth day and a proposed sixth day before the Levite decides to take the concubine, a male servant and donkeys and head toward Jebus (which scripture tells us is Jerusalem).

As they neared Jebus, the Levite was asked by his male servant about staying there. Not wanting to stay with alien people who weren’t Israelite, the Levite committed to traveling further to Gibeah or Ramah where they would settle down. They finally arrived in Gibeah, located in Benjamin, and surprisingly were not shown hospitality by any fellow Israelites, instead spending the night in the city square.

The next day, they were approached by an older man who was from Ephraim but who resided in Gibeah. The man had just come in from the fields when he saw the Levite, his concubine and the donkeys and asked, “"Where are you going? Where did you come from?" After the Levite answered the question, he details all he has finishing up by saying, “We don't need anything." In other words, we don’t need anything else except a place to stay. To this, the man said, “You are welcome at my house…Let me supply whatever you need.” So the old man took the Levite, his concubine, his servant and his donkeys in…feeding the donkeys, providing water so the guests could wash their feet and then giving them food and drink. All seemed well but that was soon to end.

For scripture tells us that “while they were enjoying themselves”, some “wicked men of the city surrounded the house”, “pounding on the door and shouting to the old man who owned the house”. They asked for the Levite to come out so the men could have sex with him. So Gibeah was no more that another Sodom.

We read where the older man…the owner of the house…tried to reason with the men saying, “No, my friends, don't be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don't do this disgraceful thing”. Instead, the older man offered up his virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine in exchange for the Levite saying, “I will bring them (the women) out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don't do such a disgraceful thing."

So the story thickens. A group of homosexual men want to have sex with a male guest and so the host offers his daughter and a concubine to them in his place, telling them they can do whatever they want to them.

The homosexual Gibeahites refused to listen to the older man and so the Levite did something terrible. He sent his concubine outside to the men who “raped her and abused her throughout the night” until dawn. As she tried to get back into the house, she fell and died at the doorway.

Another story headline…Mistress from Judah dies after being raped and abused by a group of homosexual men in Gibeah.

The Levite, who basically was an accessory to the concubine’s murder, inexcusably didn’t check on her until he woke up in the morning. After finding her dead, he “put her on his donkey and set out for home”. Once there, he did something horrific. For scripture tells us he “took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel”. Imagine what that must have been like…a tribe receiving something and discovering it was a body part. It’s little wonder that “everyone who saw it said, ‘Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!’

News flash! Levite man cuts his dead mistress into twelve pieces and mails a part of her to each tribe.

Well, the people of Israel were up in arms and they all “came out as one man and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah”. There, the “leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords” and asked, “Tell us how this awful thing happened."

Israel gathers at Mizpah! Demands explanation from priest!

So the Levite tells the gathered Israelites the story of what happened and why he felt impelled to send them a piece of the concubine to bring their attention to the “lewd and disgraceful act” and asking Israel to “…speak up and give your verdict." Israel stated their allegiance in standing against the evil committed and “united as one man against the city” (Gibeah) for the “vileness done”.

Breaking news! Israel promises to stand united against the evil in Gibeah!

Indeed…breaking news. A people bonding together against evil. Imagine that.

But how about doing more than just imagining it. How about actually doing it?

What if all people came together and decided they had had enough of evil? What kind of different world would we live in? For in essence, if all people stood together with one voice against evil, they would all speaking out against Satan…and in speaking out against him, there would be no place for him to work. For everyone would be committed to good and just and right…everyone would be committed to the things of the Lord.

Maybe I’m a dreamer but I refuse to lose hope in a day when evil might end. In fact, none of us should because Jesus promised us it would come…on the day He returns. And He will return one day to make everything right in the world…to hit the reset button on creation and set things back to where they were before sin and evil entered in.

Friends, this is good news for us…news that will always keep things bright, no matter what else we might hear or read. Evil will NEVER have the full victory and WILL NOT stand the test of time. Good WILL reign supreme one day. These are the divine headlines we should always hold to and tell others about. And when they ask where we got the news from, we need only tell them that they came from one author…the Author of our lives and Savior of our souls…Jesus Christ. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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WHO DO YOU BELONG TO?

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In those days, Israel had no king. And in those days, the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. So the Danites sent five warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all their clans. They told them, “Go, explore the land.”

The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. When they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite so they turned in there and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

He told them what Micah had done for him and said, “He has hired me and I am his priest.”

Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.”

The priest answered them, “Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s approval.”

So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, unsuspecting and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.

When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “How did you find things?”

They answered, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen that the land is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t hesitate to go there and take it over. When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever.

Then six hundred men from the clan of the Danites, armed for battle, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. On their way, they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan to this day. From there, they went on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.

Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod, other household gods, a carved image and a cast idol? Now you know what to do.” So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah’s place and greeted him. The six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance to the gate. The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the carved image, the ephod, the other household gods and the cast idol while the priest and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance to the gate.

When these men went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the other household gods and the cast idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

They answered him, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?” Then the priest was glad. He took the ephod, the other household gods and the carved image and went along with the people. Putting their little children =, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.

When they had gone some distance from Micah’s house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites. As they shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?”

He replied, “You took the gods I made and my priest and went away. What else do I have? How can you ask, ‘What’s the matter with you?’ “

The Danites answered, “Don’t argue with us or some hot tempered men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.” So the Danites went their way and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned around and went back home.

Then they took what Micah had made and his priest and went on to Laish, against a peaceful and unsuspecting people. They attacked them with the sword and burned down their city. There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob.

The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there. They named it Dan after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel – though the city used to be called Laish. There the Danites set up for themselves the idols and Jonathan, son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land. They continued to use the idols Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh.

Judges 18

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the last chapter, we were introduced to Micah. You’ll recall that he had stolen silver shekels from his mother, confessing to her and returning the stolen money after his mother called out a curse on whoever took it. You’ll recall that Micah’s mother then gave a portion of the silver back to Micah who used it to make an idol and a carved image…items that he would place in a shrine in his home for worship.

Micah also met a young Levite who he enlisted to work for him and be his priest. The Levite agreed to the offer and stayed with Micah and his family.

So all seemed well in Micah’s household…at least to Micah. He never stopped for a moment to think that what he was doing was against God’s word and commands. Ditto for his young hired priest who never for a moment alerted Micah that his worship was false and abhorred by God.

Enter the Danites who would disrupt Micah’s peaceful solitude and break up his arrangements.

The Danites were in search of a place to live. They had been allotted land when Canaan was divided among the tribes but were unable to live in their portion because of the Amorites and Philistines. So they sent out “five warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it”.

After setting out, we read where the men “entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night”. While at Micah’s house, they “recognized the voice of the young Levite” and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

So the Levite, Micah’s self appointed priest, “told them what Micah had done for him”. And after learning that the young Levite was a priest, the five warriors asked him to “Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.” The Levite, who we will learn in this chapter is Jonathan…”son of Gershom, the son of Moses”…tells the men, “Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s approval.” With this, the “five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety” and prosperity because the “land lacked nothing”. They also noticed that the people were “unsuspecting and secure”, living “a long way from the Sidonians and having no relationship with anyone else” The men returned and made report to their tribe.

After returning to Zorah and Eshtaol, they were asked by their brothers “How did you find things?” to which they answered, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen that the land is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t hesitate to go there and take it over. When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever.” To a people who were wandering and needing a place to cal home, this had to be welcome news. Unfortunately, the news was not so good for the unsuspecting people of Laish.

So the Danites set out to conquer Laish for themselves. Scripture tells us that there were six hundred men who were armed and ready for battle. As they proceeded toward Laish, they came to Micah’s home and, while the six hundred men waited, the five warriors who had visited prior, went into Micah’s home and stole the ephod, cast idol, carved image and other household gods.

We read where Jonathan, Micah’s priest, objects to the men stealing the objects from Micah only to be silenced and threatened. They tell him, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?” And Jonathan, presented with the option of leaving Micah and joining the tribe of Dan, gladly decides to go with the tribe and leave Micah behind. So much for loyalty.

So the tribe of Dan set back out for Laish, taking Jonathan and “the ephod, the other household gods and the carved image” with them.

Well, Micah didn’t take kindly to being robbed and he called the men who lived near him together and they “overtook the Danites”. Scripture tells us that as they “shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, ‘What’s the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?’ to which Micah explains that they stole his gods and his priest thus why they were pursuing them. And then Micah adds, “What else do I have?”

Sadly, we see an all too common problem among the people of God, past and present. For people so often hold onto the wrong things in life. We have a tendency to latch onto things and want to possess them…sometimes to the point where we are left lost when the thing we cherish leaves us or is lost. If we’re not careful, our possessions will possess us.

Micah was so attached to his false idols, household gods and self-appointed priest that he was left feeling like he would have nothing left if they were taken away from him. In him, we see what happens when we choose to live a life apart from God...the only One who will never leave us nor forsake us.

So who do you belong to? Are you holding onto the Lord more than anything else in your life? And I mean anything, including any human being you might be close to. No earthly father, mother, husband, wife, child, brother, sister…no one…should be closer to your heart, mind and soul than the Lord Almighty. And definitely, nothing material should be cherished and worshipped above the One through which all things have come to be.

I’ll close this with a personal testimony…one that underscores this devotional and shows us all who we should belong to.

In 2002, I was serving onboard the USS BATAAN in Norfolk VA and we were scheduled to go to sea for a 24 hour period. My wife, Grace, had not felt well through the weekend and spent the entire day Sunday in bed, something very uncharacteristic for such an active lady. As I left to go to the ship Monday, I told her to please go to the doctor of she wasn’t feeling any better and she agreed to do so. And with that, I left, went to the ship and we pulled away from the pier and went to sea.

Later that afternoon, I tried to call Grace to see how she was doing and there was no answer at home. Feeling like something might be wrong, I called the closest hospital emergency room and Grace was there. Not wanting to give away too much information over the phone, the hospital would only tell me there was something wrong and that she had a “blood disorder”. They added that they were going to admit her to the hospital and told me I could reach her by calling the third floor later in the evening. Grace never made it to the third floor.

When I called back, she was in intensive care and then transported to the critical care unit at another hospital in downtown Norfolk. My ship’s doctor was able to call the doctors attending to Grace and get information for me about what was wrong. Grace’s platelet count was over 4 million. Normal is 100,000 to 400,000. Her body was turning into a big blood clot.

I remember praying harder than I had ever prayed before as I awaited the ship to come back into port so I could get to the hospital. Hours seemed like days but finally I was in and off to see her.

As I arrived, I went into the room and she was hooked to more monitors than I care to remember. She was extremely weak and sedated. They suspected she had a blood clot in her aorta and I was told things were very iffy as to whether she was going to make it. I went outside her room, sat on the waiting bench and prayed again. This time, God spoke to my heart when I needed Him most and gave me what He gives best…truth.

For the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “Mark…Grace belongs to me…not to you. I have blessed you with the opportunity to have a relationship with her but she is mine. If this is the time I have chosen for her to return to me, you have no place in saying no. You are only to rejoice and give thanks that I blessed you to have even one day with Grace.” And He finished it by adding, “And the same goes for your children”.

I can’t tell you how liberating and comforting those words were to me. The Lord was right. I had no right possessing Grace like she belonged to me. Ditto for my kids or my parents or anyone else who was dear to me. They all belonged to Him and Him alone. My relationships were all placed in a new holy perspective…and they still are to this very day.

Well, Grace would pull through. It wasn’t her time…yet. And although we would find out she had an incurable bone marrow disease, the Lord blessed us with an awesome hematologist and medication that would keep her platelet producing mechanism in check with no side effects. God was, is and always will be so good.

So once again…I ask you…who do you belong to? Do you know? And if so, do you know that everyone else belongs to Him as well. Thanks be to God for His goodness, grace, mercy and, most of all, love. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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LOOKING FOR GOD IN THE WRONG PLACES

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse — I have that silver with me; I took it."

Then his mother said, "The Lord bless you, my son!"

When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, "I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make a carved image and a cast idol. I will give it back to you."

So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into the image and the idol. And they were put in Micah's house.

Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some idols and installed one of his sons as his priest. In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.

A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way, he came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim.

Micah asked him, "Where are you from?"

"I'm a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah," he said, "and I'm looking for a place to stay."

Then Micah said to him, "Live with me and be my father and priest, and I'll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food." So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man was to him like one of his sons. Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. And Micah said, "Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest."

Judges 17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In life, people sometimes go a long time trying to find God. Often times, it takes so long because they look in all the wrong places.

Point and case is a man named Micah in Judges, Chapter 17. Micah isn’t unlike any other person in the world that at some time or another is overcome by a sinful action. In his case, it was the matter of money, “eleven hundred shekels of silver” to be exact, that he had stolen from his mother. We get a sense that Micah has been convicted by God for his actions, especially after he heard his mother call down a curse on whoever took the silver, for he goes to his mother and confesses that he had taken it. Surprisingly, his mother didn’t chastise him. No…instead she commends him saying, "The Lord bless you, my son!", no doubt proud of him for telling the truth.

Well, we read where Micah “returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother” after which she gives him some unusual direction saying, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make a carved image and a cast idol. I will give it back to you."

Wait a minute! Did I read that right? Micah’s mother will consecrate the silver to the Lord…in other words, she will make the silver holy in God’s eyes…by having Micah turn it into a carved image and idol? Huh? We get a sense here that Micah’s mother…a mother he looks up to…doesn’t have a good clue about the Lord and how He was to be followed. She certainly didn’t show any sense of understanding about God’s command to not make or worship any idols (Exodus 20:4). No gods were to be before Him.

And yet, Micah’s mother set a series of events in motion that would lead her son to look for God in all the wrong places. He certainly wasn’t going to find Him in the idol he had made by taking the “two hundred shekels of silver” she gave him to the “silversmith who made them into the image and the idol”...articles then placed in the shrine fashioned in Micah's house. He also “made an ephod and some idols” before installing “one of his sons as his priest”.

So Micah was all messed up. For he took Canaanite worship principles which used idol worshipping as its main foundation and mixed them with Israelite worship principles which involved a priest who would oversee and conduct religious worship ceremonies. Despite God saying that all priests had to come from the Levite family tree, Micah disregarded this requirement and appointed his own son as priest.

What in the world is going on here? Has Israel gone crazy? Well, sort of. Scripture tells us that during this time in Israel, everyone did as he saw fit. In other words, everyone was on their own program, satisfying their own wants and needs apart from God. This explains why Micah and his mother had no problem fashioning an image and idol from silver…why they saw no issue with having their own private shrine to worship their idols…and why they didn’t see any problem with ordaining one of their own family members as priest. In other words, they did everything as they saw fit.

I often wonder if our world isn’t getting the same way today. It seems more and more that everyone is doing everything as they see fit…void of God’s guidance and direction. Things are becoming more about ‘I and me’ than ‘we and us’…and I have to think this not only angers God but saddens Him as well.

Indeed, Micah, his mother, his priest-appointed son thought they could find God in an idol or a shrine. They were looking for God in all the wrong places.

Well, the remainder of the scripture passage centers on a man who Micah encountered…”a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been living within the clan of Judah” and decided to leave “that town in search of some other place to stay”. After inquiring where the man had come from, Micah learned that he was a Levite and automatically gave the man a proposal saying, “Live with me and be my father and priest, and I'll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food", conditions the Levite agreed to. Scripture then tells us that “Micah installed the Levite and the young man became his priest and lived in his house” and proclaimed “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest." In other words, Micah now would find his favor with God through his newly appointed Levite priest. Unfortunately, Micah still didn’t get it. He was looking for God in the wrong place.

Friends, if we want to find God and have a personal relationship with Him, we don’t need human being or any object. There isn’t some secret passage to God through anything this world has to offer.

No…we serve a God who desires and requires a personal commitment and relationship with every man and woman He creates. One-on-one. God communing and fellowshipping with His people individually and pointing us toward His Son Jesus, the only One through which we can be saved (John 3:16)…the only One through which we can come to God the Father. (John 14:6)

Where do you stand in your relationship with Him? Are you like Micah…looking for God in anyone or anything he can find? Or are you looking in the right places?

Know and trust this…that God is near you…as close as your next breath…and always just a prayer away. And that’s good news. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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STAYING POWERED UP

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver."

So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued."

Samson answered her, "If anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man."

Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh thongs that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. With men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the thongs as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.

Then Delilah said to Samson, "You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied."

He said, "If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I'll become as weak as any other man."

So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.

Delilah then said to Samson, "Until now, you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied."

He replied, "If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as any other man." So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric and tightened it with the pin.

Again she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.

Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength." With such nagging, she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.

So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man."

When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he has told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.

Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!"

He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, "Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands."

When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying,

"Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain."

While they were in high spirits, they shouted, "Bring out Samson to entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.

When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, "Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them." Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the Lord, "O Sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes." Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

Then his brothers and his father's whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel twenty years.

Judges 16:4-31

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Samson. Chosen judge of Israel. Appointed by God from birth. Born from two faithful, God-loving parents. Was strong and intelligence. Lived a life of self centeredness, vengeance, disobedience and sexual immorality.

Chapter 16 is the last we will read about Samson in the scriptures. He will not be revered through the ages like other Old Testament men before him. In fact, we should study Samson so to know what not to do as a follower of the Lord more than anything else. At the beginning of Chapter 16, we saw where he chose to sleep with a Philistine prostitute before escaping the clutches of the Philistines who wanted him killed. Prior to his death, he will have one last relationship…one that will lead to his doom.

For as our scripture opens, we read where Samson falls in “love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah”. Seeing an opportunity to finally get rid of Samson, the “rulers of the Philistines went to her” saying, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver." Delilah took the deal and set to trying to coax the information from Samson.

Scripture tells us that Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued." Samson, who we have seen once already deceived by a woman, is wise to the fact that Delilah might do just as his first wife had done. For he tells her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man." So Delilah goes to the “rulers of the Philistines” who give her “seven fresh thongs that had not been dried”. She uses them to tie up Samson and, “with men hidden in the room”, she calls out, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But no sooner did she utter these words that Samson broke free from his bonds, snapping the “thongs as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame”. Delilah, realizing that she had been lied to, told Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied." Samson would lie to Delilah twice more as she persisted in trying to find out how to take away Samson’s strength to betray him. And even after the third time, she was undaunted in her quest to find out the answer she sought.

For after the third lie, she says frustratingly, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength." And scripture tells us that she nagged and “prodded him day after day until he was tired to death”. Eventually, Delilah got her way for Samson “told her everything”.

How could Delilah disempower the mighty Samson? He tells her saying, "No razor has ever been used on my head because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man." And so Delilah, confident that she finally had the right solution, “sent word to the rulers of the Philistines” saying, "Come back once more; he has told me everything." And the rulers “returned with the silver in their hands”. The stage was set for Samson to finally fall.

With the silver shekels not far away from bringing her some wealth, Delilah skillfully puts Samson asleep on her lap and then had a “man to shave off the seven braids of his hair” which “began to subdue him” and caused Samson’s strength to leave him. The door was open for the Philistines to get in a long awaited attack as they “seized (Samson), gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. They bound him “with bronze shackles” and “set him to grinding in the prison” while the “hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved”.

Perhaps the saddest part of this betrayal story is that Samson didn’t even realize he was in trouble. He had always been able to overpower his adversaries in the past and was confident it would happen again. But the Lord had left him and sadly, he didn’t know it.

So why didn’t Samson know the Lord had left him? My guess is that Samson didn’t have a consistent relationship with Him. We see it all through his life story. True, there has been at least one juncture when he turns to God but note it was when he needed something (thirsty after fighting…Judges 15:18). Friends, we’re not just supposed to turn to God when we think it’s convenient. No…we’re supposed to turn to Him always…24/7…365 days a year. If we do this, then we will always be connected to the Lord and He to us. If only Samson had done this. His story might have ended so much better.

So how did his story end? Well, God does use Samson to destroy the rulers and many of the Philistines. Our passage tells the Philistines gathered to “offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god”, celebrating and saying, "Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands…“Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain”, and "Bring out Samson to entertain us." So “they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them”. After his performance, Samson asks his servant to “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them" and the servant does as he asks. Samson then “prayed to the Lord” saying, "O Sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes." Notice that Samson once again turned back toward God as the true source of his power and God delivered as “Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood”, braced himself against them, and shouted, “Let me die with the Philistines!" before he “pushed with all his might” and brought the temple down “on the rulers and all the people in it” as well as himself. He was “buried…between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father” after leading Israel for twenty years.

So the life of Samson ends here but perhaps in the end, Samson learned his greatest lesson…and by doing so taught us an eternal truth. For Samson came to discover that his true strength wasn’t really in his hair or his mind or in his muscles but rather in God and God alone. He is the only true source of power for any man, woman or child and the good news is that there will ever be a lack of power and strength in our life as long as we stayed plugged into THE Power Source…God.

Question: Are you plugged into God? Are you drawing from His strength in your life instead of trying to rely on your own?

If so, then stay connected and receive the reward of His energizing Spirit in your life. I

If not, plug into Him now and stayed plugged in forever. For He stands ready to power you up and do awesome things in your life and in the lives of others through you. Rest assured of this. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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SPIRITUAL STRENGTH = TRUE STRENGTH

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. The people of Gaza were told, "Samson is here!" So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, "At dawn we'll kill him."

But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.

Judges 16:1-3

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Chapters 13 through 15, we have studied the life of Samson and as we have we have seen two physical traits stand out.

First, Samson is very shrewd and intelligent. We have seen where he has been able to outwit those who have tried to come against him. We have also seen how he has diabolically come up with creative ways to wreak revenge on his enemies. We will continue to see these traits used by Samson as we continue our study of him. In fact, we see them in play in our short scripture passage as the people of Gaza learn Samson is in town and they plot to kill him at dawn. Samson, however, escapes them by leaving town in the middle of the night, foiling the plan against him.

And it wasn’t just that Samson slipped out of Gaza quietly and stealthily. No…he “took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all” before lifting them on his shoulders and carrying them “to the top of the hill that faces Hebron”. This revealed Samson’s second physical trait…his strength. You’ll recall before that tore an attacking lion in pieces and broke free from bondage to strike down a thousand Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone. Such was Samson’s physical prowess.

How about you? Think for a moment about things the Lord has blessed you with. For He has given us all special abilities and talents that we are to use for His glory. And this is really the key…that we use His gifts for His glory. In fact, there should never be a time in our lives when we cease to glorify God with our actions, our words or our thoughts.

This is where Samson got into trouble in his life. There is no doubt the Lord blessed him with special gifts and talents, especially when it came to physical strength. Unfortunately, you can have all the physical strength in the world but if you don’t have spiritual strength…strength to be obedient to God…strength to fend off temptation…and strength to stay firm in faith…then you are really not strong at all but weak.

In this passage, as we have seen prior, Samson shows he is physically strong but spiritually and morally weak. For as he went to Gaza, he saw a Philistine prostitute and never hesitated to spend the night with her. Samson knew God had spoken strongly about illicit sexual behavior…and yet he chose to do it anyways. Samson also knew that God had forbidden Israel to enter into relationships with the Canaanites…and yet he chose to do it anyways. Remember that we have seen it before and we see it yet again here. Samson did what Samson wanted to do. It was all about him and his desires.

How about you? Are you as spiritually strong as you are strong in the gifts that the Lord has blessed you with? Or are you like Samson…showing that you do have strengths that you have been blessed with while also showing you are spiritually and morally bankrupt.

Friends, God expects us to be both strong in the things He has bestowed on us and equally strong in Him…strong in His word…Strong in His Spirit…strong in His truth. For it’s then and only then that we can properly honor Him and glorify Him in every aspect of our lives. God expects nothing less. God deserves nothing less. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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FRUITLESS VENGEANCE

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, "I'm going to my wife's room." But her father would not let him go in.

"I was so sure you thoroughly hated her," he said, "that I gave her to your friend. Isn't her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead."

Samson said to them, "This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them." So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.

When the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" they were told, "Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because his wife was given to his friend."

So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. Samson said to them, "Since you've acted like this, I won't stop until I get my revenge on you." He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.

The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. The men of Judah asked, "Why have you come to fight us?"

"We have come to take Samson prisoner," they answered, "to do to him as he did to us."

Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?"
He answered, "I merely did to them what they did to me."

They said to him, "We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines."

Samson said, "Swear to me that you won't kill me yourselves."

"Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

Then Samson said,

"With a donkey's jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey's jawbone I have killed a thousand men."

When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.

Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.

Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

Judges 15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Chapter 15 opens, Samson is on his way to make amends with his wife who he angrily left at the end of the last chapter after discovering that she had tricked him into giving her the answer to his riddle which she passed onto the 30 Philistine companions. Her actions cost Samson his bet with the 30 men and he ended up striking down 30 Philistines in Askelon and stealing their clothes to pay off his obligation. Through his actions, we saw a Samson who was vindictive and treacherous. He continued those ways in Chapter 15.

For when he gets to his wife’s home and tells her father he was going to her room, the father stopped Samson and told him that he had given Samson’s wife to his friend, afraid that Samson was never coming back for her. The father, realizing that Samson had legally made proper payment for his bride putting him in the wrong, tried to make amends by offering Samson his wife’s sister instead. The father attempted to entice Samson to accept by promoting his other daughter’s attractiveness but Samson would have none of it. Instead, he vowed to take his revenge out on the Philistines.

And so scripture tells us that Samson took our his revenge in a pretty unique way, catching “three hundred foxes” and tying “them tail to tail in pairs” before fastening “a torch to every pair of tails, lighting the torches and letting the foxes “loose in the standing grain of the Philistines”. As the foxes ran, the flames on their tails “burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves”. Angry and seeking vengeance…just as Samson had done…the Philistines discovered after investigation that Samson had done it “because his wife was given to his friend." And so the Philistines got even and Samson’ wife and father were burned to death.

This series of actions only shows us the fruitless nature of revenge. For typically, it only needs to tragedy and never really accomplishes anything good. Frankly, a vengeful spirit in man is not of God but only of Satan and sin. This was underscored in God’s word from Leviticus when He stated, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18) You’ll remember that Jesus would go on to use these very words when defining God’s second greatest commandment after loving the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Paul would go on to add these words in his letter to the Romans, echoing God’s word from Deuteronomy (Chapter 32, verse 35)::

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. Romans 12:19

So God and God alone was the only One who could consider vengeance…the only true Judge of all mankind. None of us have the authority but Him. Unfortunately, Samson disregarded God’s authority.

For we read that after learning of the death of his wife and father-in-law, Samson once again vows to get even. In fact, he tells the Philistines that he wouldn’t stop until he gained revenge over them and then goes on to attack them viciously, slaughtering many of them before taking up refuge in a “cave in the rock of Etam”.

So what exactly did Samson gain from all this? We don’t read that he garnered God’s favor for his actions. In fact, we never see an instance when Samson even asks God for His counsel. If he had, you can bet God would not have told him to go on a murderous rampage unless He planned on using Samson as an instrument of His own vengeance. There’s no indication that this was happening here.

While Samson holed up in his cave, the Philistines didn’t stop seeking him, wanting to close the case on him and stop his vengefulness once and for all. They camped near Judah which made the Judeans very nervous. We get the indication that they were happy and at peace just living under the rule of the Philistines, something that would not have been heard of earlier in the Book of Judges as Israel never hesitated to go into battle with the Canaanites, following God’s order to conquer all cities and drive out the Canaanite people.

When the Judean men find out that it was Samson who had brought the Philistines into their land and disrupted their lifestyle, they took “three thousand men” and “went down to the cave in the rock of Etam where Samson was. They confronted Samson saying, “Don't you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?" In other words, your actions have placed us in danger. Why did you do this to us? Note that the Judeans had no concern for Samson himself or anything that might have happened to him. No…ironically, the Judeans displayed the same selfish attitude that Samson had shown for the better part of his life up to now. It was all about them…and not about Samson.

This was on full display as the Judeans took Samson and tied him up to hand over to the Philistines after taking a vow that they wouldn’t kill Samson themselves. They were so self-centered that they would rather hand over a fellow brother Israelite to be killed than risk any harm coming to them. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few or the one.

So the Judeans bound Samson and too him to the Philistines who began shouting as they advanced toward him. Things were not looking good for Samson as he was bound and unable to defend himself. He was destined to die.

That is…he was destined to die if that was God’s will for him. It obviously wasn’t for we read where the “Spirit of the Lord” came upon Samson “in power”, resulting in the ropes on his arms becoming like charred flax. The bindings dropped from his hands and after grabbing a “fresh jawbone of a donkey”, he “struck down a thousand men”. Samson didn’t perish although it looked certain that he would. He had experienced God’s grace and mercy first hand.

Friends, this same thing happens to us a lot. We turn from God and adopt a sinful attitude in any given circumstance. Then often when we have managed to get ourselves in a difficult situation…a situation where we faced hardship or difficulty as a result of our actions…God intervenes and rescues us from our potentially difficult circumstances…and does so because it was His will for us. Maybe you can relate to a time when God rescued you…even though you maybe didn’t deserve it.

Well, in Samson’s case, we see him finally turn to the Lord…later than he should of but he turns to Him nonetheless. We can all relate to doing the same I think.

Scripture tells us that Samson was very thirsty which led him to cry out to the Lord saying, “You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" Note that for the first time, Samson acknowledged God as the One who had delivered him to victory. It wasn’t his doing as much as the Lord’s. And we sense that God rewards Samson for his faithful words, opening up “the hollow place in Lehi” and making water come out of it”…water that restored Samson’s strength. He would go onto rule for another 20 years.

Friends, my prayer is that we see the destructive nature of revenge in today’s scripture and never seek to carry it out ourselves. May we ever turn to the Lord in all instances and all occasions, seeking His guidance because He will NEVER lead us wrong. Trust in that. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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MAKING IT ABOUT GOD

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife."

His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?"

But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me." (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.) Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.

Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion's carcass. In it was a swarm of bees and some honey, which he scooped out with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion's carcass.

Now his father went down to see the woman. And Samson made a feast there, as was customary for bridegrooms. When he appeared, he was given thirty companions.

"Let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to them. "If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. If you can't tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes."

"Tell us your riddle," they said. "Let's hear it."

He replied,

"Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet."

For three days they could not give the answer.

On the fourth day, they said to Samson's wife, "Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father's household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?"

Then Samson's wife threw herself on him, sobbing, "You hate me! You don't really love me. You've given my people a riddle, but you haven't told me the answer."

"I haven't even explained it to my father or mother," he replied, "so why should I explain it to you?" She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.

Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him,

"What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?"

Samson said to them,

"If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have solved my riddle."

Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of their belongings and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle.

Burning with anger, he went up to his father's house. And Samson's wife was given to the friend who had attended him at his wedding.

Judges 14

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Despite a parent’s best efforts to raise their children properly and set the right example, there are times when the child chooses to reject everything they were taught to go their own way. In doing so, often times they turn away from God and His expectations as well. Such is the case with Samson.

For in Chapter 13, we studied how his parents, Manoah and his wife, were people who trusted and believed in God…obedient and faithful to His word and will. And in return, God blessed them with a son who would deliver Israel from the oppressing Philistines.

Well, as Chapter 14 opens, we see that Samson isn’t quite as compliant as his parents…not even close.

For right away, we read where Samson becomes interested in a Philistine woman and commands his parents to “get her for me as my wife." His words were very disrespectful and dishonorable to his parents since custom had them selecting the woman their son would marry, making arrangements with the girl’s parents in advance of the wedding. Obviously concerned because Samson’s request was in violation of God’s command to not intermarry with any Canaanite, Samson’s parents ask him, “Isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?" They were trying to subtly get Samson to realize his error in judgment but he simply persisted in wanting them to get the Philistine girl for him, refusing to submit to their wisdom. He was set on having it his way.

And so, Samson and his parents “went down to Timnah together” and, along the way, Samson was attacked by a young lion. Scripture tells us that the “Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power” so that he could tear “the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat”. All this happened away from his parents who never knew what took place because Samson didn’t tell them. They all arrived in Timnah and Samson “talked with the woman and…liked her.

After this first meeting, Samson and his parents returned home for awhile only to eventually return to Timnah. As they traveled back, Samson passed by the carcass of the lion he had killed earlier. He noticed that there were a “swarm of bees and some honey” in the carcass which Samson “scooped out with his hands and ate as he went along”. He would also give his parents some as well after he rejoined them, never telling them where he had gotten it.

In eating the honey from the dead carcass, Samson had once again shown his unwillingness to be obedient to God’s requirements since a Nazarite was to have no contact with anything dead. But Samson wanted the honey and so he got it, regardless of whether it was against the will of God or not. Once again, he was set on having his own way.

Manoah, Samson’s father, “went down to see the woman” his son wanted to marry and meanwhile “Samson made a feast” where “he was given thirty companions”, all Philistines. The fest was actually more like a party where drinking was prevalent. It’s thought that Samson participation in the feast implied that he also drank in the festivities, another violation of the Nazarite vow. But again, Samson was set on having his own way.

Well…in the midst of the feast, Samson tells his companions a riddle but there are strings attached. If the Philistine companions could answer the riddle “within the seven days of the feast” then Samson would give them “thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes” (garments and clothes were highly valued in this day). However, if the Philistine companions could not answer the riddle, then they would have to give Samson “thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes."
The companions agree to the riddle and Samson tells them.

We see the riddle is centered on Samson’s victory over the attacking lion and the honey he would later find in the carcass. Samson had contrived a puzzle that was impossible for anyone but him to know…for he was alone in both instances…when the lion was killed and when the honey was eaten…and told no one about it. So in essence, there was no way Samson could lose the wager without telling someone the answer. He had set everything up to have his own way.

Well, the Philistine companions pondered the riddle for “three days” and “could not give the answer”. On the fourth day, they began to worry that they would lose the bet and have to pay Samson so they went to his wife and pressured her to get Samson to tell her the answer. To make sure she complied, they threatened her and her family saying”…we will burn you and your father's household to death”. They also accused her of inviting them there on purpose to rob them, thinking she might have been in on the riddle with Samson.

So Samson's wife went to him and cried saying, “You hate me! You don't really love me. You've given my people a riddle, but you haven't told me the answer." Notice she didn’t tell Samson the real motive for her wanting to know. Samson resisted her prying telling her that he hadn’t “even explained it to (his) father or mother” and so wondered why she would think he would tell her. So he refused to tell her and so his wife “cried the whole seven days of the feast”. Finally, Samson could take it no more and “finally told her” on the seventh day. And immediately, his wife told the answer to the Philistine companions that had threatened her.

Armed with the answer, the Philistine companions went to Samson “before sunset on the seventh day” and told him the answer to the riddle. Sensing he had been betrayed for how else would they have known the answer except by his wife…the only one he had told…Samson chastises them before going to the Philistine town of Ashkelon where he “struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of their belongings and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle”. And after paying the bet off, Samson was “burning with anger” and “went up to his father's house”, abandoning his wife who he saw as having deceived him. Actually, Samson was mad because he hadn’t gotten his own way for once…and was throwing a fit about it.

The chapter ends with Samson’s wife being “given to (a) friend who had attended him at his wedding since he had left her with no indication that he would ever return. This will lead to problems as we move into Chapter 15.

In Samson, we see a flaw that so many of us have or have had at one time or another. For we too often want to have everything our way. We are far less likely to submit and compromise than we are to selfishly seek our own gain. And our world has ever more become reflective of this attitude…as we see a prevalence of the “I and Me” mindset over the “we and us”.

So how can we combat the urge to make it “all about me” in our lives?

By making our lives all about the Lord instead.

For if we center our lives on the Lord and His desires, we will always be led to the right and just ways…the ways that will always be centered on the needs of others over our own. And through that shift in attitudes, we find our way to a life of peace, joy and contentment that we never could find when we were centered on ourselves.

We can only wonder how very different Samson’s story would have been had he not been so set on having his own way in everything. Let us seek to learn from his mistakes and apply better principles to our own lives as we seek to uplift and glorify the Lord through everything we do, say and think. If we make our life all about him and not about us, we can do just that. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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PARENTING 101

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

Then the woman went to her husband and told him, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. But he said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of his death.' "

Then Manoah prayed to the Lord : "O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born."

God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!"

Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?"

"I am," he said.

So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?"

The angel of the Lord answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her."

Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you."

The angel of the Lord replied, "Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord." (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord.)

Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"

He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.

"We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"

But his wife answered, "If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."

The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Judges 13

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Judges, Chapter 13, opens, Israel has once again gotten into trouble with God, this time falling into oppression under the Philistines for forty years. Note that the duration of Israel’s oppression increased the longer they continued to return to their sinfulness. Once again, they found themselves in need of a deliverer.

The rest of the chapter shifts to a man Manoah and his wife who were members of the Danite clan. Similar to prior Old Testament women we have studied, Sarah and Rachel, Manoah’s wife was childless and sterile, something considered a sign of disfavor from God since Israel saw childbearing as one of God’s greatest blessings. And like we saw with Sarah and Rachel, God came to work a miracle in her life.

For we read where an “angel of the Lord appeared to her” and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Note that Manoah’s wife was to follow strict directions during her pregnancy, restrictions that modeled the required restrictions of a Nazarite.

What an encounter this must have been for Manoah’s wife! For it’s not every day that God sends a representative to give someone such a personal message and pending gift. So Manoah’s wife went to her husband and told him:

"A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. But he said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of his death.' "

Manoah’s response is fantastic. For he doesn’t question his wife or even start to doubt what she told him. No…he automatically turns to the Lord and prays, asking for the Lord to send His representative back to teach him and his wife in “how to bring up the boy who is to be born."

Manoah and his wife’s actions from this point on offer a real parental primer for us and I believe we are very blessed with this account. Here are the first three points we should keep in mind as we seek to be better parents:

1. Trust in God.

Manoah’s wife didn’t question the angel of the Lord when he brought her holy guidance from God. Neither did her husband question God when she told him about the visit by the angel and what was to come. No…both trusted God so much that they never doubted that what He said would come true. We should strive to do the same from the moment we discover that God has blessed us with a chance to have a child through all the years that we’re blessed to raise them.

2. Communicate.

It’s important to keep in mind that communication requires not only a communicator but a listener. Both Manoah and his wife showed these skills as she first listened intently to God’s word from the angel and then communicated that word to her husband. In turn, her husband listened to everything she said and then turned his communications toward God in prayer. Successful parenting requires these same communication skills, with a husband and wife talking and listening to one another on all matters relating to a child but only after first communicating with God as to what His will is for the husband and wife in raising the child He has entrusted to their care. And this leads to the third point…

3. Always seek God’s guidance.

Notice that once Manoah learns that God was going to grant him and his wife a son, he immediately turns to God in prayer and asks how they should raise their son. We should do likewise because God will always guide us to do the right thing each and every time…no matter the circumstances. And we certainly cannot guarantee that level of success if we try to rely on our own understanding and wisdom.

So again…the first three important steps to follow as parents…(1) Trust in God, (2) Communicate and (3) Always seek God’s guidance.

Well after Manoah prayed to God asking for parental guidance, we read where God heard him and sent the angel of God back to his wife “while she was out in the field”. This prompted Manoah’s wife to run and tell him, “He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!" With that “Manoah got up and followed his wife” and “when he came to the man” he asked him if he was the one who had come to his wife to which the angel replied he was. Manoah then inquires about what the rule should be for his son’s “life and work”.

Instead of telling Manoah about what the son should do, the angel instead tells him what his wife is to do as she bears their son saying, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her." Manoah now knew what was expected of his wife, important since he would be responsible for helping her adhere to God’s guidance.

Out of hospitality, Manoah, who didn’t really realize that he was speaking to an angel of the Lord, offers to feed the angel. The angel turns down the offer for food but does propose that Manoah “prepare a burnt offering” and “offer it to the Lord." To this, Manoah asked the angel for his name so they could pay tribute when his word came true. Note once again that there was no doubt shown by Manoah. He fully expected everything that was said to happen just as it had been stated. Interestingly enough, the angel responds to Manoah’s question about his name by saying, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." And indeed, Manoah still had no idea who he was speaking to.

So “Manoah took a young goat” and “together with the grain offering…sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord”. At that moment, scripture tells us that “the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched” the sacrifice burn. For “as the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame”. Imagine how this must have impacted Manoah and his wife for they had just been witness to an awesome display of the Lord’s power and wonder. They responded immediately by falling with their faces toward the ground and then Manoah finally realized that he had been talking to an angel of the Lord. That realization struck fear into his heart as he proclaimed to his wife, "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!" This led his wife to answer, "If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this." In other words, they were going to be fine. They had shown themselves to be obedient servants and God still had much for them to do.

So go on they did. Manoah’s wife “gave birth to a boy and named him Samson” who grew and was not only blessed by the Lord but stirred by His Spirit “while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol”.

As this chapter ends, we see three final points in Manoah and his wife to add to the three prior regarding parenting:

4. Always honor and pay tribute to God.

Manoah and his wife didn’t hesitate to want to show their gratitude to the angel for what he had done, even though at first they didn’t realize it was really an angel they were dealing with. After the angel turned down their offer of food and instead asked for a burnt sacrifice, Manoah and his wife honored him as he had requested…such was their sense of thanksgiving for what God was going to do for them.

As we parent, we should never cease to honor and respect God in everything we do as well. For He and only He is the One who can assure we parent properly and have a family that glorifies Him in all things and at all times. And He and only He is the One who blesses our families with every good and perfect thing from above in accordance with His will.

So given this, He and only He is worthy of all praise, now and forever. Parents need to exercise this principle and then teach it to their children.

5. Expect God to do amazing things in the life of your family.

Just as Manoah and his wife offered the goat to God in the form of a burnt offering, the Lord did an amazing thing before them as the angel ascended back to heaven through the flame. The action revealed to the couple that God was indeed in their presence and had found their offerings and sacrifice acceptable.

Truly, we do serve an awesome God who never ceases to do amazing things each and every day. In fact, His blessings are more abundant than can be humanly measured. As parents turn authority of their families over to God and allow Him to lead and guide them in the way they should raise their children, they will see over and over again the manifestations of God’s amazing works revealed in their lives and the lives of their children.

6. Always remember that God keeps His promises. When it was all said and done with Manoah and his wife, God delivered on His promise. For Samson was born to them just as God said He would be...born to be Israel’s deliverer. Indeed, God keeps all His promises and as parents we need to always remember the promises He has given us. We need to ever be in the scriptures, knowing and understanding all of God’s assurances so we can see them come to fruition in our lives and the lives of our children. And we need to teach our children those promises as well so they can see them coming true first hand in their lives and the lives of other children they are associated with. Through all this, we will all come to see our God, the one and only true God as who He is…always amazing and true to His word.

One last observation on this passage and one that I think makes it all the more incredible.

Because I see the passage as a sign of what’s to come for Israel. For soon a virgin named Mary will be visited by an angel of the Lord and be told that she will be with child and bear a son who will be called Jesus…a Son who will come to deliver all mankind from the oppression of sin and offer them an opportunity for life everlasting. And Mary, in an awesome display of faith and trust, will tell the angel to do to her as he said he would do…and so it was. Mary will bear our Savior, Jesus…the predicted Messiah…and He would live, die and ascend, saving us all through it all…just as God had promised. Thanks be to God.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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