Sun.’s Devo - Jephthah and Samson

Read: Judges 11:29-chapter 15
The period of the judges is the most dysfunctional time for Israel. Most of the time they were “doing what was right in their own eyes” instead of doing what God said was right. Sometimes the judges brought a spiritual revival but sometimes just a military deliverance. Samson was the latter.
But, first I want to talk about Jephthah. How silly of him to vow to sacrifice the first thing that came out of his door. He said “whatsoever” came out first. I don’t think he thought it would be a “whosoever”. Apparently there were many animals that roamed in and out of his door and he was thinking a lamb or a bird would be the first thing out of his door. Whether she was sacrificed or just not allowed to marry, commentaries differ. Any way you look at it, Jephthah made a rash and silly vow.
Now, on to Samson. Samson was given to a barren woman just like Sarah, Rachael, and Hannah. These women were all older than the normal age of having babies. How opposite from Mary who was barely old enough and not even married. All these women were to have extraordinary children and the timing was the Lord’s timing. Ever feel pregnant with your next step? I feel like I have been pregnant forever with a dream but it’s actually only been eight and a half months.
God did some strange things to stir Samson to fight the Philistines. It took a girl to push him out to use his gift for God’s purpose. Samson’s destiny was to defeat the Philistines for Israel. He was selfish and did it for his own purposes but the end was the same. The woman he wanted to marry betrayed Samson’s trust to save her and her father. In the end, her own people killed her and her family.
Another thing I have said before: the enemy is always after the harvest. Samson burned up their harvest when he tied the foxes tail together and set them on fire. He burnt up their vineyards and olive groves. That harvest is during the time of Roshashana and Feast of Tabernacles. It is a symbol of the last ingathering of people. How important it was for Samson to destroy that harvest. We are embarking on that harvest in God’s timetable. It will be a great ingathering of souls. We need Samson’s to rise up and defeat the enemies’ harvest so the harvest of souls into the kingdom can grow.
Lord, thank you for your Word that never looses its power.