Samson sounds like a guy I would love to hate. I mean, he does the most boneheaded and says the cockiest things. Nonetheless, God just keeps giving him victory after victory. He was literally born to win. I noticed in Judges 14, verse 19, that “ … the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him” before he went and killed 30 men and stripped them naked. In today’s chapter, Samson seems to just fly off the handle at every whim. It really didn’t matter what the Philistines did, Samson was determined to retaliate. In Chapter 14, he didn’t want his wife. In Chapter 15, he wants to sleep with his wife, but now he can’t. Her little sister wouldn’t do, either. Revenge just had to be had. “I cannot be blamed for everything,” Samson says in verse 3. This grand logic caused the horrible death of both Samson’s wife and her father. And even though he was mad at both of them, he then swore revenge for their deaths! (This whole darned war is over a woman … who just caught Samson’s eye! That’s a whole other topic if you want to delve into it!) In the end, the Philistines thought they had Samson, but again “the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon” him (v. 14). And once again, Samson was victorious. And once again, he moaned and whined afterword. What a baby. “You’ve let me achieve this victory, and now you’re just going to let me thirst to death???” Wha wha wha. What nerve! I love that God answers though. Doesn’t even bat an eye. We don’t know why God uses arrogant brutes like Samson, but He does. I suspect that even though Samson looks to us like a big, dumb bully, he knows in his heart that God is with Him. That may be one reason for his cocky behavior, but on the other hand, God knows that Samson is deeply committed to him. He can see in Samson qualities that we cannot. And the two of them get along just fine that way.
Writing prompt: dude or dame
Take your pick today:
Do you know someone who is arrogant and a little horrible but seems to always come up with a winning ticket? Write about that person and try to understand why you feel the way you do about that person in your writing.
This entire episode was started because Samson thought a girl was pretty. He looked at her and decided he would marry her. God warned the Israelites about making such unions. Write about how one small glance could lead to war.
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