Today’s reading: Judges 14:1-4
The account of Samson as a judge of Israel is one that always perplexes me a bit, because Samson’s example is not what comes to mind when I think of the phrase “godly man.” As we’ll see through Judges 14-16, Samson’s life was oddly inconsistent spiritually speaking–weak and sinful choices are paired with doing good and great things through God. The first thing we’re shown about Samson as an adult man is him seeking after a beautiful Philistine (not Israelite) woman, who he commands his parents get him for a wife. Yet we’re told that God prompted the request.
I decided to read some commentary on Samson (Matthew Henry’s from Bible Gateway), and one of the first points he made was that Samson wasn’t meant to be a model for us. That was helpful for me to read, and it served to shift my approach from focusing on Samson’s life example to focusing on God and how He was working through Samson to watch over and protect His chosen people, Israel.
What do these opening verses of Judges reveal about how God works and who He chooses to use? Tami
Source: Tami’s Blog
