Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Samson and Delilah meet in Judges 16.  She will be his demise.  She just wants to use him as he wants to use her.  The constant tricks that he plays on her make the Philistines hate both.  Time and again they believe they can kill him and each time he escapes.

As we stupid men sometimes do, he finally confesses the true source of his strength.  Delilah allows someone to remove his braids while he is asleep.  When he tries to shake them off, he cannot, and they gouge out his eyes and take him captive.

Samson becomes a laughingstock to the Philistines, and they neglect to notice that his hair and strength are returning.  The finale is one you do not want to miss.  He gets revenge in a creative way.  Samson may be the most famous of the judges even though he is one of the vilest and immoral.

Judges 17 tells the story of Micah’s idol.  It is repeated that everyone did what they thought was right during the period of the judges.  Today that is a similar philosophy.  Micah stole silver from his mother, and she gave some of it to him to create an idol after he returned it.

This makes no sense.  Give someone the money they stole from you.  The law of Jehovah states not to make any images to be worshipped.  Despite this, Micah creates a shrine and appoints his own priest.  That is the type of behavior that causes Yahweh to bring bondage on Israel.

A Levite takes the job and Micah believes he is blessed by God for doing the correct things.  Tomorrow we will see just how wrong he was.

The story of the Danites taking their land in Canaan is told in Judges chapter 18.  Five spies are looking for a likely place to conquer.  They have been wandering for many years and have decided to find their own land.  They come across Micah’s priest and he sends them on their journey with a blessing.

Laish is the name of the city that they discover that is unprotected and they return to the main camp to bring the clan.  Six hundred fighting men approach Micah’s home and steal his silver and priest.  In the end, Micah escapes with his life, but not his treasure.

The people of Laish are also destroyed and after the Danites are done with them the city is rebuilt and renamed.  The question is often asked, “Why did God allow the Israelites to be so cruel to innocent people.  In this case, I do not believe you can blame God.  This is not the area that was given to Dan.  You will notice that at no point does the priest enquire of Jehovah and the god he serves is an idol or statue.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger