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