03/11/08: Judges 13-15
(13:21) is very much supportive of your belief that the angel of the Lord is indeed God Himself.
Ted: Yes, and it can't be much clearer than this: "When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. 'We are doomed to die!' he said to his wife. 'We have seen God!'" (Judges 13:21,22). There are many other places in Scripture where the angel of the Lord appears, and I believe that, each time, this person not only is God but, specifically, the pre-incarnate Jesus. This and other examples are in my section, the Angel of the Lord.
Chapter 14:
What's up with the bees & honey?
Ted: I don't think that the bees and honey in the lion's carcass, in and of themselves, are of any real significance. I think it was just a hive of bees that took up habitation in the carcass, and then they made honey. I think the only reason it is mentioned is because, later, Samson used it in his riddle, "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet" (Judges 14:14). Of course, it means "Out of the eater [lion], something to eat [honey]; out of the strong [lion], something sweet [honey]."
What continues to utterly baffle me is Samson's allowing Delilah to wring the source of his strength out of him (Judges 16:1-17). He should have dumped that tramp the first time she whined that he was making a fool out of her. Of course, God certainly works in mysterious ways. It was His plan, all along, to use Samson to deliver the Israelites from Philistines (13:5), and he killed a great many of them in his death (16:28-30).
Ted: Yes, and it can't be much clearer than this: "When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. 'We are doomed to die!' he said to his wife. 'We have seen God!'" (Judges 13:21,22). There are many other places in Scripture where the angel of the Lord appears, and I believe that, each time, this person not only is God but, specifically, the pre-incarnate Jesus. This and other examples are in my section, the Angel of the Lord.
Chapter 14:
What's up with the bees & honey?
Ted: I don't think that the bees and honey in the lion's carcass, in and of themselves, are of any real significance. I think it was just a hive of bees that took up habitation in the carcass, and then they made honey. I think the only reason it is mentioned is because, later, Samson used it in his riddle, "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet" (Judges 14:14). Of course, it means "Out of the eater [lion], something to eat [honey]; out of the strong [lion], something sweet [honey]."
What continues to utterly baffle me is Samson's allowing Delilah to wring the source of his strength out of him (Judges 16:1-17). He should have dumped that tramp the first time she whined that he was making a fool out of her. Of course, God certainly works in mysterious ways. It was His plan, all along, to use Samson to deliver the Israelites from Philistines (13:5), and he killed a great many of them in his death (16:28-30).
03/10/08: Judges 5-8
6:39 Why do you think God chose not to bless Gideon with faith?
Ted: I do not think that Gideon lacked faith. If he had had no faith, he would not have dared tear down the altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole and used it as wood for a burnt offering (Judges 6:25-27). He viewed himself as being of very low distinction and prominence (6:15), and up to that point it had been unfathomable to him that God would select him to do anything, much less meet with him face-to-face to tell him to do it.
Being human, his mind probably couldn't fully comprehend this seemingly extreme amount of interest that God suddenly had in him. What if he were just imagining all of it? He may have felt that he had to be 100% certain that God really wanted him to go on the mission, so he asked for a sign, which God gave him. But what if some fluke in nature had happened? What if the dew only on the fleece had been just a natural occurrence?
I actually think that Gideon demonstrated great faith in God by asking for an even rarer sign from God (basically, the opposite of the previous sign), knowing that if it happened, God MUST be behind all of it. Notice that God wasn't angry, so He must not have viewed Gideon's requests as lacking faith. We know, from the past, that God gets really peeved when anyone demonstrates a lack of faith.
Ted: I do not think that Gideon lacked faith. If he had had no faith, he would not have dared tear down the altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole and used it as wood for a burnt offering (Judges 6:25-27). He viewed himself as being of very low distinction and prominence (6:15), and up to that point it had been unfathomable to him that God would select him to do anything, much less meet with him face-to-face to tell him to do it.
Being human, his mind probably couldn't fully comprehend this seemingly extreme amount of interest that God suddenly had in him. What if he were just imagining all of it? He may have felt that he had to be 100% certain that God really wanted him to go on the mission, so he asked for a sign, which God gave him. But what if some fluke in nature had happened? What if the dew only on the fleece had been just a natural occurrence?
I actually think that Gideon demonstrated great faith in God by asking for an even rarer sign from God (basically, the opposite of the previous sign), knowing that if it happened, God MUST be behind all of it. Notice that God wasn't angry, so He must not have viewed Gideon's requests as lacking faith. We know, from the past, that God gets really peeved when anyone demonstrates a lack of faith.
03/09/08: Judges 1-4
When the Israelites take over a region, sometimes it says they didn't drive out the previous inhabitants--usually forcing them to do manual labor. Is it the previous inhabitants' choice to stay? What I mean is, do they fight and hold their ground, refusing to leave, and then allow themselves to be forced into labor? Or do the Israelites keep them? (I see in chapter 2 that God was angry with them for allowing the Canaanites to stay--I assume He specifically named them previously as a people that HAD to be driven out--but my question applies to any group that was permitted to stay, like we saw in some previous reading)
Ted: I am not certain of the answer for this, and I cannot see a clear answer in the text. My speculation is that the people in certain areas either resisted the Israelites (by fighting them), or pleaded with the Israelites to spare them, or negotiated with the Israelites to allow them to remain, under Israelite rule and control.
The Canaanites were an example of those who were firmly resolved to live in the land, even though eventually they had to submit to forced labor (Judges 1:27,28). The Amorites were another people who were determined to remain in their land, even though they also had to surrender to forced labor (1:35).
In general, I believe that the Israelites attempted to drive out everybody, as God had commanded. However, since the Israelites were not fully obedient to God--mainly in failing to break down the other people's altars to their gods (Judges 2:2)--God allowed those people to remain so that they would be an annoyance to the Israelites (2:3) and so that they could test the Israelites' allegiance to God (2:22).
Ted: I am not certain of the answer for this, and I cannot see a clear answer in the text. My speculation is that the people in certain areas either resisted the Israelites (by fighting them), or pleaded with the Israelites to spare them, or negotiated with the Israelites to allow them to remain, under Israelite rule and control.
The Canaanites were an example of those who were firmly resolved to live in the land, even though eventually they had to submit to forced labor (Judges 1:27,28). The Amorites were another people who were determined to remain in their land, even though they also had to surrender to forced labor (1:35).
In general, I believe that the Israelites attempted to drive out everybody, as God had commanded. However, since the Israelites were not fully obedient to God--mainly in failing to break down the other people's altars to their gods (Judges 2:2)--God allowed those people to remain so that they would be an annoyance to the Israelites (2:3) and so that they could test the Israelites' allegiance to God (2:22).
