Judges 14: 18-20

Samson then proceeds to kill the 30 men and give the clothes that were promised to fulfill the bet with those that were his attendants for the wedding. The father-in-law didn't want to have his daughter bear any additional shame so he gave his daughter to be married to the friend that helped out at the wedding. The guy was put in a tough situation and given his lack of faith and guidance chose poorly. These events while recorded at the tail end of the chapter comes back to haunt them in the next chapter.

Already the friction between the Philistines and the Israelites are starting to mount. These are the same people that David would carry his attacks against in Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.

Prayers for Irene and David who were struck down hard these past few days with stomach issues. I will see them later. Tomorrow is the appointment with the surgeon and so I will be interested as to what the future holds for me. Nevertheless, I am at peace.

Praise for today: Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Psalms 90: 14

Judges 14:10-18

The story progresses as Samson's father went down to visit this girl and her family. Samson gave a great feast to honor the event. The Philistines also commemorated the event by assigning 30 men to Samson to act as his groomsmen. Samson's vanity and his pride made him "boast" to these men in the form of a riddle and a reward. These 30 men were not loyal to Samson and given the means by which they were included were more loyal to themselves and their people rather than this outsider who was brash and powerful. The 30 were posed a question that referred to the slaying of the lion and eating of the lion which would only be known to Samson alone. They weren't able to answer this due to the personal nature of the question so they asked his wife-to-be. It was implied, according to the commentary, that she and her family would be threaten if she couldn't provide the answer. She had no clue as well since he never shared this incident with her. This was not just a wager for them to win but they also stood to lose the same as well so it was incumbent for them to get their answer quickly. She in turn begged and nagged Samson until he gave in and told her. She, in turn, told the 30 who relayed the answer to Samson. When Samson heard the answer, he knew that his wife betrayed his confidence.

This is a classic story of pride goeth before the fall. Samson had everything going but one thing - trust and a deep relationship with the Lord. He violated almost every rule - except one (the hair, to this point) and as a result allows his perceived strength and leadership skills to dictate his behavior. But aren't we all like that in our own ways? We do what we like, when we like and whenever we like. I know for myself that I am guilty often of this - not a good trait....

Decent day at work. Glad GG made it back ok. Still at peace with Thursday.

Praise for today: The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.

Judges 14: 1-9

The story fast forwards to the age where Samson is now wanting to marry and decides on wanting to marry a Philistines rather than his own kind. Scripture points out in v 4 that this was the Lord's intent. Obviously, his parents reject the idea since the Philistines are "dirty" or uncircumsized. The other issue is that there is no mention that the woman has to be a virgin either. With the Philistines customs, the wife stays with her family and the husband is a gift-bearing visitor. The lion incident is also interesting since it was to show the Lord's power with him. He did observe the dietary laws of a Nazarite which was interesting but neglected the other parts which included not touching dead carcasses when he gathered the honey off the dead body to eat. He did however bring his parents to decided upon who he was going to marry.

Decent weekend since I was able to spend some quality time with GG and the rest of the family over the weekend. Saturday was costly but worth it with a dinner at the Palm before the show. Yesterday at church had some great preaching and SS lesson. Got home at a reasonable time as well as being down here. The Oscars were ok but the hosting and the other stuff was too edgy and not relevant to the events.

Praise for today: Help me, O Lord my God, save me in accordance with your love. Let them know it is your hand , that you, O Lord, have done it. Psalm 109: 26-27

Judges 13: 15-25

Heavenly encounters are rare in the Bible and they usually are a foreshadow of something great. Samson's parents encountered an angel of the Lord who remained incognito for the most part until the very end. The angel, when offered a meal, deflected it to be a sacrifice to the Lord after his task was done. He had no interest of being of importance since he was the messenger. His name while not spoken meant "wonderful".  The sacrifice as well as the angel himself was consumed by the fire and that was a sign that they were met by God. Manoah felt that this was a bad omen and that they would die but his wife reassured him that if God intended them to die they would have but by grace, they were part of a greater plan. Samson did come from them and as v. 24 and 25 said, he grew in stature before the Lord. He was blessed and had the Lord's hand and Spirit upon him.

How we should be the angels of the Lord - delivering blessing and not veering from the end game of delivering God's message without fanfare and without giving any importance to ourselves. We often look for man's approval but in reality, it is God's favor that we should be seeking. One day when we shed our bodies and are in heaven, we will truly know what the angels do and why rather than seek our own ways.

Looking forward to going home and seeing the family. God is truly good no matter what happens to me. I am truly at peace and at rest. Yesterday while in the gym, I really appreciated listening to Sounds of Heaven CD by KT - extremely encouraging and uplifting.

Praise for today: I live you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18: 1-2

Judges 13: 1-14

The political climate was such that the Israelites were totally entrenched with the Philistines so much so that they were the inferior race and the Philistines were ruling them. They totally forsook the Lord and His precepts and intermarried as well. They couldn't see the difference between a fallen world and the God that they used to follow and serve. A lot of similarities between the story of Samson and Samuel since they were both born to parents who couldn't have children and were set apart for God's service. In the case of Samson, his mother was visited by an angel who gave her instructions as to how the child was to be raised. He was to be raised as a Nazerite, according to Numbers 6:1-21. From birth, Samson was to enter the service of the Lord so that he could deliver his people from the Philistines. The woman went to her husband and told him what had transpired. Manoah, his father to be, then came across the same angel after asking the Lord to reveal the same to him and prayed for guidance and instruction. The angel (nameless) came again an authenticated what she heard.

Many Bible stories when one goes through SS include the stories that surround Samson, the last judge. What my commentary also makes a point is that the classic strongman also appears in other cultures - Hercules. Make no mistake about it, Samson was not a great leader who exhibited strong leadership traits but he was faithful at the end and that is what rewarded him into the Hebrews chapter of faith.

Not the news I wanted to hear about my results yesterday. Need to see a urologist next Thursday for further actions. I am still at peace with this and more upset with the possible interference with my vacation plans more than anything else. I truly trust in the Lord and His providence.

Praise for today: Help me, O Lord my God; save me in accordance with your love. Let them know it is your hand, that you, O Lord, have done it. Psalm 109: 26

Judges 12: 8-15

It seems according to the rest of the chapter that the judges that were recorded were from Zebulun's tribe. Ibzan, who was the first one listed, had great wealth as measured by his sons and daughters (60 children) but his sons all intermarried either with other tribes or with other people. His rule was for 7 years. The next one was Elon who led for 10 years and after him was Abdon who led for 8 years. He too was measured by the extent of his maleness.

All in all there were 12 judges and with the close of c 12, I have gone through the first 11. The next one will be Samson and will have the longest stretch in this book.

It was a tiring weekend which started with a marriage conference after a long day at work. I left work around 4ish and got home to NJ and headed to Staten Island after scarfing down dinner. The conference started at 7:30 and ended around 10: 30 PM. Quick turnaround that evening to start the next day there from 8:30 AM to 1 PM. Came home to do dinner for CNY at my sister-in-law's place with Irene's side which was nice. Sunday was with my side and that had some hitches as well but all was good. Nice to come back and stay the night in NJ with the holiday. Yesterday was early doctor's appointment and then an MRI on my kidney before I headed down here. The drive down was ok and got down here at a pretty early time. It was nice to see some back to back TV movies on Lifetime network that had a Christian theme.

Looking forward to seeing GG this week and hopefully I will get home on Thursday to see him. Already looking forward to the weekend and seeing Mary Poppins again before it closes with the family. Prayers for HOD as she recovers from her surgery and for Renee as she recovers from her bout with gout. Also for GG as he seeks to relocate closer to home.

Praise for today: Surely my God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. Psalm 54:4

Judges 12: 1-7

The men from Ephraim's tribe complained that they were not part of the mix and they wanted to take part in the fight but more importantly - the glory of the victory. They were the most important tribe in the area and felt slighted at this. Similar circumstances to what took place in Chapter 8 but Gideon was more diplomatic towards them. Unfortunately, Jephthah was not so... He stood by his ground that he felt it wasn't necessary to involve them and besides, it was the Lord who gave them the victory and it wasn't dependent upon which army it was. There was a conflict that arose between he and the belligerent tribe and as a result, 42,000 men were killed at the Jordan river and thus reducing the tribe and their prominence in the area. Jephthah reigned for a total of six years and was was buried near his town of Gilead.

All in all, a good judge who with all his faults depended upon the Lord for his strength and his victories.

Looking forward to going home and attending a marriage seminar later in SI and finishing it up early tomorrow. Hopefully, the weather won't be too funky. Actually glad for Monday's holiday so I can enjoy Sunday evening at home.

Praise for today: I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord". Psalm 122:1

Judges 11: 34-40

The events that follow are just heartbreaking. Jephthah and his wife only had a daughter and had no sons. We never learn of her name or her age but nevertheless the situation doesn't change. Coming home to Mizpah, her daughter comes out to meet her beloved father dancing to the sounds of the tambourine not realizing that he made a foolish and unnecessary vow to the Lord. The vow to sacrifice should have pertained just to animals rather than people which was against the Levitical law. The meeting between the two was poignant and resulted in a two month pause before the deed is done to allow her to weep with her friends before she would die - unmarried and a virgin. This also started an Israelite custom that each year the young women of Israel would go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.  Per the commentary:

The story is about reactions to God’s message. Jephthah had failed to hear God’s message. God had said that people should not sacrifice other people. Jephthah’s promise did not mean that he should not obey that rule. ‘You may obey one law. But that does not give you an excuse not to obey another law.’ That is what Jesus was telling the Pharisees in Mark 7:9-13. One could not refuse to help one’s parents because one gave money to God. But Jephthah did hear God’s message about promises and he obeyed it. God had said that we must do what we have promised to do. And Jephthah did do what he had promised. But he did not know everything. From the Bible we learn this. What he did was a wrong thing. The reason why he did it was right.

 

All in all, another decent day at work. I started to do some minor straightening out in the apartment before my cousin spends a night next Sunday. Should be interesting...

 

Got a chance to catch up with GG and that was good. It will be good to see him next week.

 

Happy Valentine's day to all!

 

Praise for today: I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. Psalm 7:17

Judges 11:23-33

Jephthah then explained how religious beliefs were a huge part of the whole deal. His God, Yahweh, gave the Israelites the land way back then. Chemosh, the god of the Ammonites should direct the Ammonites to their land. However due the mixed cultures at the time, Chemosh was also the god of the Moabites as well. Per the commentary: Finally, as another reason, he explained a similar event that had happened earlier. Balak had made peace with Israel’s people and he had not demanded to have the country. Israelites had been there for 300 years. The people in Ammon had not decided to say anything during all that time. Then Jephthah said that the Lord was the real judge. He would settle this case. v. 28 said that the king of the Ammonites wouldn't listed which would then cause the ultimate conflict - war.

The Spirit of God came upon him as he got an army to fight. Jephthah also made a foolish vow that upon victory, he would sacrifice the whatever would meet him upon his return. He had a very distorted view of what God wanted and desired from his people. He displayed as a leader the traits what the people lack - an understanding of God and the Law. The Lord did give victory to him as he soundly defeated the  Ammonites and came home the victor.

Decent day yesterday... Got some stuff done in the apartment as well after the late night and heading up to Best Buy to return and get credit on my purchase. Really enjoying the additional monitor attached to the laptop and can't wait for the baseball season to start and get into full swing. Not looking forward to the wintry mix late tonight so I guess I'll skip the gym tomorrow.

Praise for today: I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121: 1-2

Judges 11: 12-22

This was one of the rare times that someone actually posed a question to the leader of the attacking tribes, in this case the Ammonites, "why are you attacking us?" Wars and battles are fought for action and reactionary reasons but rarely if ever with any reason to dialogue and work it out verbally. The Ammonites felt it was their land to protect and that the Israelites were trespassers in their land. Jephthah, on the other hand, explained to him via a historical context that the land wasn't theirs from the outset but rather belonged originally to the Amorites during the days of the Exodus.He also said to the king, that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all of the people and the land to Israel. He explained that the Amorites actually took that land from the Moabites.

I think Jephthah was not afraid to fight but he wanted to do so under the right reasons and was seeking to find other ways to avoid unnecessary conflicts. I was impressed with his knowledge of the history and the landscape of the area which he lived and sought to defend.

All in all, a relatively decent day which culminated in my supermarket run last night. Still easing into the gym cycle and still have a little bit of a cough but I need to get back into the swing of things...

Praise for today: Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. Psalm 145: 3

Judges 11: 1-11

We are now introduced to Jephthah, Gilead's son. Gilead led a promiscuous life as did Jephthah's mother who probably wasn't even an Israelite. Nor, according to the commentary, was a marriage between his parents even mentioned. Nevertheless, he is the next judge that is mentioned in the book and what makes him even more interesting was the fact that he is in the Hebrews 11 passage of faith. He was cast off from his family since he was a bastard child with no chance of inheritance by his brothers. With the attack of the Ammonites upon them, the people reached out to Jephthah to lead them into battle. Apparently, they knew and trusted his skills as a warrior even though they had little uses for him elsewhere.  He was quick to point out that he was cast aside by them and there was no reason for him to return to defend "what wasn't his". Additionally, unlike Gideon, he was not visited from "on high" nor did he feel that he was given God's spirit at the time he was approached. He had no reason nor did he feel sorry for them and thus was under no obligation to help them out. Perhaps, at that time, he was  a local leader and that is why they sought him out. Still, he solicited from them the response that was necessary for him to act - to be their leader if he defeats the Ammonites. Jephthah, acknowledged in front of the people and the Lord that it would be the Lord that would give him victory and thus solidified his position with God and the people.

Decent weekend despite the snow. 8 inches was manageable both in NJ and in NYC for Sunday. The drive home on Friday from Princeton was decent albeit slow. Saturday was an eating fest which was culminated at a Korean BBque where my cousin and his girlfriend joined us. The drive to church was ok and Irene bumper carred us into a free spot. The drive home to NJ and to Delly was decent as well. Watched very little of the Grammys since I really don't follow a lot of the music today but enjoyed the tribute to Levon Helm.

This week should be pretty non-eventful (hopefully) which will be good. Gym time today!

Praise for today: Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? Psalms 77: 13

Judges 10: 11- 18

Finally, the pressure and the pain got so severe that the people of Israel cried out in unison for the Lord to take away their oppressors and restore them. They knew that they have failed miserably as His people and were now looking for the Lord for relief.  God was quick to remind them of what they chose and told them to rely on their "gods" rather than Him. They knew that only He could save so they got rid of their idols and purge themselves of the evil that they had created. God was and always is a God that will forgive and doesn't want His people to suffer. However, they had to show true repentance. According to the commentary, even though they were willing to change a little - God was ready to forgive them.

Prayers continue for my mom also for GG who is in the process of returning to Denver after getting his stuff ready for his interview. Prayers for him as well that God will open the doors He wants open and will close the doors that will not be in His plan for him. Not looking forward to Friday's commute but ya gotta do what ya gotta do....

Praise for today: Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him because he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation. Psalm 91: 14-16

Judges 10: 1-9

The chapter starts with two minor judges, Tola from Issachar's tribe and Jair's from Manasseh's tribe. Even though Tola was a judge for 23 years he was probably relegated to legal matters. Jair had more wealth and used his sons to exact his judgment. Still nothing of note from the Word regarding his rule. v. 6-9 tells the state of the how Israel was spiritually - which was no where. They had little conviction toward the Lord and were easily influenced by the surrounding nations who had stronger beliefs than they did. They were attracted to man-made gods of Baals (males) and Asherahs (females). Also the commentary stated their affinity to be attracted to anything that would get them good crops and wealth. Even the Canaanites whose religion was stronger than their armies were mentioned. What was important to note was that there were some whose faith in God was not waning and thus was a remnant throughout this leaderless times. Because of their lack of faith and disobedience, the Lord allowed the Philistines and the Ammonites to oppress the Israelites.

A decent day at work and all in all just an affirmation to me that I am still a relevant person at work and I guess it's mine to keep as long as I want and am willing to produce. Made some ginger soy chicken last night for the first time (thanks Irene for the marinade) and that came out really good. Also glad to see Bruno Sammartino inducted into the WWE HOF. He held out due to integrity reasons for many, many years.

Praise for today: If you make the Most High your dwelling - even the Lord, who is my refuge - then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.  Psalm 91: 9-10

Judges 9: 50-57

Abimelech to his wrath to Thebez and chased the residents up a tower where they climbed a roof to escape death. Thebez was a city who fought against Abimlech and he was swift to exact his judgement. He tried to destroy the tower the same way he did at Shechem. However, God let a woman exact her form of judgement. She dropped a rock which struck the skull of Abimelech and hurt him badly. The rock according to the commentary was about 2 inches thick and 18 inches long. A young man carrying Abimelech's weapons were nearby and was instructed to finish him off so that the ignominy of a woman doing the deed would not finish the task. He would die in this manner but God would use his means to extract his judgment.

A decent but modestly productive weekend. Friday went to see the specialist and he was modestly pleased with the current bloodwork and doppler but still will be going for an MRI on 2/18 to see what the status is of the right kidney mass. Still recovering from this recent bout of congestion, coughing and also allowing my arm to heal. The missing glove came up and was actually at home the whole time. Had a great family worship despite some people missing it due to being under the weather. Also had a great meal on Saturday with my in-laws and had a Korean style bbque at home. Booked our 3rd annual trip to the Borgata in early April to celebrate the boys birthday and  hopefully GG can make it. Nice that the rooms are free so that will make the celebration go easier. Sunday was good since we had a good service and found out that my cousin's son is getting married in the fall. Huge luncheon as part of our CNY with my side of the family was so big that I skipped eating dinner last night despite it being SB Sunday. No biggie since I was down here last night. Saw the SB and it was entertaining and pretty exciting and the team I wanted won.

Will skip the gym for a few more days until my congestion gets better. Much prayers for my mom who is recovering from pneumonia and GG who will be looking to switch jobs.

Praise for today: I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on our lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.  Psalm 34: 1-2