Week 13 Judges
I finished reading Judges but went back and re-read Samson.
The story is hard to figure.
Samson seems like such a dim-witted, self-destructive guy but the bible says the Lord intervened directly with Samson seven times:
the Lord blessed Samson when he was a boy
in his early life the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him
Samson’s choice of a non-Hebrew wife was of the Lord
the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily (the lion)
the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily (thirty Philistines)
the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily (a thousand Philistines)
Samson was dying of thirst and the Lord miraculously provided water.
There are seven other times when the bible doesn’t specifically say that the Lord helped Samson, but divine help seems likely. Samson:
caught 300 foxes
broke the ropes at Lehi
carried Gaza’s city gates
broke Delilah’s seven fresh ropes
broke Delilah’s new ropes
broke Delilah’s loom in
pulled down the arena.
I guess no parent in the history of the world ever advised his son: be like Samson.
And yet this enormously defective, terrible-role-model of a guy was frequently utilized by the Lord. Which is hard to figure.
Notes: First seven references: 13:24, 13:25, 14:4, 14:6, 14:19, 15:14, 15:19. Second seven references: 15:4, 15:13, 16:3, 16:9, 16:12, 16:14, 16:30.