Finished Judges today. It ended so sadly. First was the story of Samson, a Nazarite. As far as I can tell, that essentially means one who is set apart for God by oath for life punishable by death. God rose up Samson in a time of turmoil for Israel. He was to lead the people, and he had superhuman strength. He ripped a lion in two, for goodness sake! To make his oath visible, God told him never to cut his hair or shave his beard. So, by the time we meet Samson, he has long dread locks and a huge manly beard to rival Grizzly Adams, ZZ Top, and the dreadlocks of Bob Marley.
But as with all the later judges of Israel, Samson soon fell into temptation of the immediacy of the idols of the nations around him. God in the Old Testament was so nebulous. He was terrifying and powerful when He chose to reveal Himself in true form, but for the most part, He speaks through people and interpretation. So, I can see why the Israelites would be attracted to having something they could grasp, see, set limits to, etc. An idol had form and shape and definition. God was/is not that. He fell in love with Delilah, who was asked by "the Rulers of the Philistines" (who were Israel's long standing enemy) to figure out the secret to his strength. She would tie his wrists and three times he lied to her about what would make him lose his strength; each time he would escape the binds. So, he fell into temptation by revealing the secret to his strength, that he was to not cut his hair or shave his beard, after she continued asking him questions. She cut some dreadlocks off his head and he lost all strength. He was taken to a stadium where he was to "entertain" the Philistines. What that meant, I can only imagine. It probably involved ridicule, torture, and humiliation.
Finally Samson asked God to grant him strength one last time so he could kill the Philistines mocking him and God. So, God gave him his strength back. Samson pushed against the pillars of the stadium and everything came crashing down killing everyone, including Samson. It was his final mission. Tragic.
I started Ruth today, which is a breath of fresh air. Ruth is the story of a widow and her widow mother-in-law. Ruth was a Moabite (a pagan nation) scheduled to marry her husband, when he died. Her mother-in-law (Naomi) also lost her husband. Instead of going back home to find another husband, Ruth commits herself to staying by Naomi's side. It's a beautiful story of love, self-sacrifice, and commitment. Ruth ends up working as a farmhand for a man named Boaz. She is a pagan, and so is relegated to the task of gleaning from the field whatever she can to eat. Boaz shows her great grace, though. He tells his workers to skip certain sections of the barley field and to allow Ruth space so that she can have plenty to eat and be valued as a person. Naomi tells Ruth to meet Boaz on the threshing room floor. At one point, he was in the threshing room floor after work, sleeping. Ruth came in to lie at his feet. Boaz sees this as a beautiful gesture and blesses her with an ephah of barley (about 35 litres!). I can just tell that the structure of this book is building up romantic sparks and deep love between Ruth and Boaz. I cannot wait to read the rest! God is so good.
The Lord provides. Jehovah Jireh (as the Jewish would say).
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