Judges 14:10-15 Now his father went down to see the woman. And Samson made a feast there, as was customary for bridegrooms. When he appeared, he was given thirty companions."Let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to them. "If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. If you can't tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.""Tell us your riddle," they said. "Let's hear it."He replied,"Out of the eater, something to eat;out of the strong, something sweet." For three days they could not give the answer.On the fourth day, they said to Samson's wife, "Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father's household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?"Did you ever see the Disney movie "The Little Mermaid"? I just love that movie. Th
e music is so good and I have so many good memories of watching it. Do you remember the part where she is in her cove looking at all her treasures and rehashing what her father said about never being allowed to go to the surface because it was not a good place. Ariel's reflection is this, "I just don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things, could be bad."
I think that this is how we like to look at our country. How can a nation like America, that does such wonderful things, be bad? We send men who give their lives to help downtrodden countries - we form organizations that collect food and send it to those who have none - we sponsor research endeavors to solve disease problems like HIV and AIDS - we offer miracles to young children who are dying of Leukemia. We sponsor telethons to collect for fighting MS - we walk millions of miles to spread awareness of breast cancer - we spend millions of dollars of our hard earned money to save the rain forest and the whales. Yet, in this same country, 90,427 women were raped last year, 16,929 people were murdered, and 1,210,000 million unborn babies were killed at the choice of their parent.
These are big numbers to look at, but it really comes down to one thing - the individual. Overall, we are wonderful - but it only takes one wrong choice to make us seem bad. Samson is making bad choices. He has broken his vow by eating from a carcass, and now he is mocking that fact by making a riddle out of it. Samson is a good guy - we know he is, because God chose him. But he's not sharing God with his actions - making it look like he's not a good guy.
Can people look at us and see the good? Or do they see the sin - the bad stuff - that is weighing us down because we won't turn it over to Jesus.
Esther 2:1-4: Later when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. Then the king's personal attendants proposed, "Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. Then let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.
It has been four years since the big party - within this time, the king has
UNsuccessfully battled against Greece and returns home to an empty palace (meaning no wife). I can hear him uttering the words now, "Oh no, what have I done?" He wanted his woman - and was forced to recall her behavior and the path he had to take, according to the law, because of it.
His "need" for his woman must have been obvious, because those who were around him noticed it and started offering advice (verse 2). Not that it was bad advi
ce - in fact, I'm thinking of implementing this same process when my son gets old enough to marry. Gather all the pretty girls who have remained pure, give them makeovers, and then - in the words of Kuzco - "Trot out the ladies".
I would like to think of the storyline that begins in verse 3 as sort of a Cinderella idea. The main male character of nobility announces his royal decree to all the land that he wants a wife. All the women begin to plan and prepare for the day of their meeting. Where dreams of 'happily ever after' begin to form. Unfortunately, this story has a much darker tone.
It's rather ironic to watch as the kings' servants will do whatever possible, and to whatever extent to please and keep their king happy. If the king would've set his purpose on pleasing God instead of himself - he wouldn't have the need to find his happiness in the bedroom with several women. But as we will see, God will use the most unlikely of events, the most unlikely of people, for His plan.
e music is so good and I have so many good memories of watching it. Do you remember the part where she is in her cove looking at all her treasures and rehashing what her father said about never being allowed to go to the surface because it was not a good place. Ariel's reflection is this, "I just don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things, could be bad."
