The next morning

Today we were reading from Judges 19 and it is a sad, strange, appalling story! A Levite priest could marry and this man took a concubine. The concubine got mad and left to return to her father. Four months later her husband set out to go and get her. Now this priest ministry was greatly tainted, because he had married a harlot. He disregarded her sin and her separation from God along with the fact she was considered unclean.

When they began their return trip home they stopped in Gibeah, which was from the tribe of Benjamin. They were going to stay with an older man and he welcomed them into his home. Later in the evening a crowd of troublemakers gathered around the home and told him to send out the man to have sex with them. Odd to begin with, terrible in fact and the older man stepped outside and said, no, don't do such an evil thing to my guest. I will send out my virgin daughter and his concubine. What? Did I just read that right? He thought so little of his own daughter that he would send her out to face this angry crowd of awful people? He took care of a stranger in his home that was male, but was willing to send out his daughter! Now this really got me and then it get's even worse...

The Levite man took a hold on his concubine wife and sent her out to face this crowd of men. A man of God sent out his wife that he just went and was bringing back home. A man that was wrong in the beginning to marry her, but just furthers his wrongs with throwing her to the wolves... He must have even gone to bed when he went back inside. Imagine it. No guilty thoughts or anything, because we are told that the men abused her all night she returned to lay at the door of the house until it was light. Her husband opened the door to leave and found her laying at the door. He was getting ready to leave. He was really concerned. He rested. He packed his bags and was going home.

He opens the door she is laying at his feet. He tells her with exclamation marks to get up! Let's go! No answer. So he picked her up and put her body on the donkey and returned home.

When the man returned home. He divided her body into 12 parts and sent a part to each tribe of Israel to send a message about the horrors of where they were. Did he think about himself at the same time? Was he only pointing the finger at others?

Last year I wrote across the top of this weird, awful story and it still hits me the same way...A leader that was leading people, a man of God that was acting in such a manner and in then in Judges 21 it closed with In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. Well, in those days and in our days we sin filled humans are able to justify in our own minds things, but in our hearts we know the truths...We know the wrongs we commit, we know!

Sweet blessings,
Debbie

With money in hand

Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, whose named means feeble in Hebrew. A Philistine woman who loved money more than a person who loved her. In the Matthew Henry commentary, it states that Samson was short in wisdom. He went to an unclean woman, so God allowed this woman to tempt Samson. Again, Matthew Henry stated imagine to see one of the strongest men , if not the strongest sold and bought like a sheep for slaughter. How often are we deceived?

We are told Delilah lured him to sleep. She pretended kindness and caring, but was anything but! Does flattery get someone or something evil close to you? Samson was secure in this setting. A setting filled with darkness of untruth, lies and all for money. Are we secure with the evil surrounding us? Do we even recognize the evil?

It is so sad that someone like Samson fell into the pit of evil and the LORD departed him. When God leaves us we are unable to do the things we could with Him and yet Samson didn't realize this at first. In verse 20, we are told that Samson thought, I will do as before and shake myself free. Helpless and alone. I hate those moments when I realize that my sin separated me from my Savior and I am fighting something I have no way of winning without God. The realization and depth of my sin will immediately hit me between the eyes. Pardon the use of the word eyes at this point, but it is the one that fell at that moment without my help...The Philistines felt that this strong man would never be able to be as strong without his eyes to guide his hands to fight. After all,didn't Samson's eyes lead him to Delilah?

A strong man that was weakened by evil and ruined by his lust for the unclean. Do you wonder how Delilah felt? Did she have any shame? Did she enjoy spending her money knowing what had happened to Samson? I think she was probably made feeble in the remorse of what she had done...after all, in our hearts we know when we have sinned! She had to have felt very alone a little like Judas; oh Samson was definitely not Jesus, but she betrayed someone she had been very close to and she had to feel this to her depths of her soul!

Two people alone and separated from the One True God! The One True God that fights our battles for us and declares us winners!

Sweet blessings,
Debbie

Our names are special

Parents look for just the right name when they are expecting their little bundle of joy! Months, perhaps years have gone into the choice. Many men long to give their last name to a son that it will carry on the family line into future generations. Women want their little girls to have a name that perhaps they desired or the perfect name of a cherished friend. A lot of thought goes into our names.

Today, in Judges 13 the Bible talks about Samson's upcoming birth and the things that his parents are to do. We are told that a "a man of God" appeared to the woman and she didn't ask his name or where he was from, but she knew it was an angel. Manoah prayed that the man would come back, so that he could hear the special instructions. God answered the prayer and the angel appeared again. The rules were given and Manoah ask the angel ...What is your name? and the angel replied -- Why do you ask for my name: "It is to wonderful for you to understand." Wow! I love this! A name is too wonderful for understanding...ponder that a moment. Even the name is special of this angel...

Manoah then offered a sacrifice to the Lord and as the couple watched, the Lord did an amazing thing! Always! The flames were shooting up toward the sky from the sacrifice and the angel of the LORD ascended in the fire! Divine acceptance! What a moment! Picture it! Take in the whole scene for this young couple...Wow!

Yes, indeed our names matter...whether spoken or unspoken perhaps it might be too wonderful to understand like perhaps our photo of NO NAME...maybe it is special in its own right too!!!

Sweet blessings,
Debbie

Go and cry to the other gods you chose!

I saw this picture and knew it was the one today!

The dogs eyes said it all...truly sorry and they were half hidden.

Reading today the words from Judges 10:12-15 hit me hard...The Lord is speaking and he reminds the people you abandoned me, they oppress you, you cry for help, I rescue. But you abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not rescue you anymore. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress! But they pleaded and acknowledged all they had done. Sin, Sin, Sin punish us as you see fit LORD!

Divine Judgment when we acknowledge it is God's right to punish as He sees is best and He may use it for His Glory! When we are genuinely sorry God may use it for His good.

How often do we abandon Him for something that we place before Him? Whether it is another false god, something such as food, an object we desire, another thing for our collection anything that we place before Him and yet He does forgive when we are truly sorry! What hit me is how often are we truly sorry? How often does our heart break that we broke God's heart?

Yet we cry for rescue and He might not have heard from us in a really long time. We might have been in pursuit of what we placed before God and once again in the land filled with sin and we have forsaken our first love - God! We remember Him when we get in trouble and we need rescuing, but do we remember Him always?

Sweet blessings,
Debbie