Tag: Judges

Flirting with Sin

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And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death.

Judges 16:16 (ESV)

The story of Samson has always been a bit of an intrigue for me. It comes across as just a good story of an interesting character. A character who had his flaws and who also loved the Lord. This mix of passion for God and passion for the world always strikes me in a concerning way because I see a lot of Samson in my life. Which is why when I typically read his story, I tend to focus on the action of the fantastic elements of his story and character. As I read this morning and reflected on his interaction with Delilah, I saw more than just the pride of a man with all the strength of the Lord flowing out of him. I saw a man who flirted with sin until he finally fell.

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Blind Truth

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Journal Entry // July 4, 2022

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (ESV)

Judges 21:25

Judges is a tough read. It speaks about events and customs that so utterly foreign to these modern ears and New Testament understandings. The stories seem so brutal and lacking in compassion. I was a fair bit behind on my reading plan, so I spent my time this morning just catching up and finishing the book of Judges. It was interesting to read these stories in succession and see the way the people of God had devolved and seemingly cared for their own selves and those things they deemed important. Truly this last verse in the book of Judges is the perfect summary of that time. I read through this and I feel my heart aching for those being abused and I have my soul vexed by the disregard of all things holy. As I sit and ponder what I just read, I come to understand that this is my heart. This is the bent of my crooked heart. That I too could easily find myself like the people in this book when I take my eyes off Jesus and begin to do what is right in my own eyes.

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Boasting Over God

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Journal Entry // June 25, 2022

The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ (ESV)

Judges 7:2

I have found this passage to be true in various different applications and situations in my life. There have been so many times during the course of my journey in this life of faith where I have taken the credit or even boasted over the success or accomplishments that were brought to me by the grace and mercy of God. I have experienced times of boasting over the Lord and proclaimed that “my own hand has saved me.” I wish this statement was merely talking about the distant past. Those times early on in my journey where I did not fully understand the things of God or had the experience of his rich kindness and patience in my life. But my boasting in myself and my accomplishments are more recent than I wish to remember.

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