{"id":4249,"date":"2022-12-21T18:21:13","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T23:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/?p=4249"},"modified":"2022-12-28T17:17:46","modified_gmt":"2022-12-28T22:17:46","slug":"sunday-brunch-podcast-judges-chapter-15-samson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/sunday-brunch-podcast-judges-chapter-15-samson\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Brunch Podcast – Judges Chapter 15 – Samson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This blog post was sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like stories about faith and Christianity then you must read Loving Luke<\/a> by Cecelia Dowdy. Loving Luke is about a reunion between Luke and Kim, two childhood sweethearts. It\u2019s a Christmas novel full of love, regrets, and second chances. There\u2019s also a bakery and plenty of delicious desserts wrapped within this amazing story. Can Luke and Kim find the courage to overcome their hang-ups and learn to love again? Loving Luke has been an Amazon bestselling novel with several 5-star reviews! Purchase today and tell your friends by sharing this blog post! The purchase link for Loving Luke<\/a> is at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subscribe to this blog by leaving a reply and selecting \u201cNotify me of new posts by email.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judges Chapter 15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you remember learning about Samson in Sunday School? What do you remember about him?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s read and discuss Samson\u2019s life as told in the Old Testament. We continue with Chapter 15 \u2013 moving forward with other chapters in later podcasts. When I share Chapter 15, I will read each verse, sharing my thoughts in between the verses. If you are reading this, my thoughts are bolded in brackets.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samson\u2019s Vengeance on the Philistines<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 15<\/strong> Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, \u201cI\u2019m going to my wife\u2019s room.\u201d But her father would not let him go in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 \u201cI was so sure you hated her,\u201d he said, \u201cthat I gave her to your companion. Isn\u2019t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.\u201d [I find it strange that his wife\u2019s father can just take Samson\u2019s wife and give her to someone else. What gives him the liberty to do that? Let\u2019s veer off of the subject for a little bit. Verse 2 reminds me of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel; Genesis Chapter 19. Rachel was beautiful and Jacob slaved for 7 years for Rachel\u2019s dad, Laban, just so that he could marry her. But he was tricked by Laban and unknowingly married Leah! As mentioned, Rachel was beautiful. But Leah was unattractive. I also wondered about Jacob. Did he have sexual relations with someone while he was slaving for Rachel? This is the Old Testament, so, they were not necessarily bound by the same rules as the New Testament.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 Samson said to them, \u201cThis time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.\u201d 4 So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, 5 lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves. [This is horrible! Even though Samson had been chosen by God, he had a lot of faults. He was brutal! I\u2019ve never heard of tying foxtails together, until I read this verse. Is this even possible or plausible? Wouldn\u2019t the foxes have tried to escape? Wouldn\u2019t they have tried to bite Samson? I know this is the Bible but, it just seems strange to me. If you have any insight about this verse, then please share!]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 When the Philistines asked, \u201cWho did this?\u201d they were told, \u201cSamson, the Timnite\u2019s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion.\u201d [See, this proves that the actions of Samson’s father-in-law were unjustified. He should not have given Samson\u2019s wife away to his companion.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. 7 Samson said to them, \u201cSince you\u2019ve acted like this, I swear that I won\u2019t stop until I get my revenge on you.\u201d 8 He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam. [So brutal! Just reading this makes me feel sorrowful. Old Testament scriptures can be so depressing. Can you imagine what it would have been like to live back then? Back before Christ came?]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. 10 The people of Judah asked, \u201cWhy have you come to fight us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have come to take Samson prisoner,\u201d they answered, \u201cto do to him as he did to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, \u201cDon\u2019t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He answered, \u201cI merely did to them what they did to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12 They said to him, \u201cWe\u2019ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samson said, \u201cSwear to me that you won\u2019t kill me yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13 \u201cAgreed,\u201d they answered. \u201cWe will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.\u201d So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. [Although this is brutal, Samson is doing this with the Lord\u2019s blessing. As mentioned in another podcast, I wonder if Samson was a huge, muscular man, or, if he looked just like any ordinary man. His strength came from the Lord, not from his muscles. At least, that\u2019s the way it appears to me. Using a jawbone as a weapon seems highly strange. But, since the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, this gave him the strength he needed to use the jawbone to his advantage. <\/strong> Samson reminds me of the superheroes that you read about it comic books. He has extraordinary, almost non-believable strength.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

16 Then Samson said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith a donkey\u2019s jawbone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I have made donkeys of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a donkey\u2019s jawbone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I have killed a thousand men.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Samson seems to be implying that these men were fools. I suppose this is one of the riddles for which he is known.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, \u201cYou have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?\u201d 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. [This reminds me of the verse where Moses strikes his walking stick against a rock and water comes out of it. Numbers 20:9-11]<\/strong> When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20 Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines. [I wonder about this 20-year leadership. This verse seems so final. Yet, in Chapter 16, he meets Delilah. I assume he met Delilah, as well as the prostitute in Gaza, after this 20-year time-frame? I ask because, the Bible isn\u2019t necessarily in chronological order. Any insight you may have about this is greatly appreciated!]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, do you remember learning about Samson in Sunday School? What do you remember about him?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog post was sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like stories about faith and Christianity then you must read Loving Luke by Cecelia Dowdy. Loving Luke is about a reunion between Luke and Kim, two childhood sweethearts. It\u2019s a Christmas novel full of love, regrets, and second chances. There\u2019s also a bakery and plenty of delicious desserts wrapped within this amazing story. Can Luke and Kim find the courage to overcome their hang-ups and learn to love again? Loving Luke has been an Amazon bestselling novel with several 5-star reviews! Purchase today and tell your friends by sharing this blog post! The purchase link for Loving Luke is at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subscribe to this blog by leaving a reply and selecting \u201cNotify me of new posts by email.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOVING LUKE PURCHASE LINK<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to this episode of Sunday Brunch. The Sunday Brunch blog posts are warm and inviting, encouraging discussion about the Bible.   This blog post was sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you like stories about faith and Christianity then you must read Loving Luke by Cecelia Dowdy. Loving Luke is about a reunion between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,89,8],"tags":[103],"class_list":["post-4249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biblical-musings","category-old-testament","category-sunday-brunch","tag-samson"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paovYP-16x","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4249"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4254,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4249\/revisions\/4254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}