Fear, Even When God's Power is Present

It's funny that people seem to follow the same patterns. In this case, it is with Samson and the Israelites.  It is one of those things where fear has caused them to give up or turn over the thing that they thought would cause them pain. In reality, that very thing is what can save and keep them.

In the previous verses, Samson had burned the Philistines grains in anger of his wife being given to his friend by his father-in-law. Albeit, Samson did give her to the friend and left for a while, but when he came back there was an expectation that he'd be able to "go into her" (or have sex with her).  Once the father-in-law informed him that the friend had already done so, he offered Samson his younger daughter instead. This upset Samson, so he set tails of alive foxes on fire, then sent them running through a field of grains, vineyards and olive groves.

Once the Philistine's found out what happened, they in-turn went up to the wife and father-in-law and killed them by setting them on fire. Yes, you heard that right.  They killed them both by setting them on fire. In return, Samson killed quite a few Philistines because they took the lives of his wife and father-in-law. Afterwards, he went to dwell in the "cleft of the rock of Etam".  It had become an escalated case of tit for tat.

This brings us to where today's verses start. Bare in mind that during this time period, the children of Israel were living under the rule of the Philistines. They had turned their backs on Yahweh (again) and their punishment was servitude to them. So, by this time the Philistines are angry and they go up to the land of Judah to encamp in it which caused the men of Judah to fear being attacked.  When they questioned the reason for their prescence, the Philistines told them they came to arrest Samson.

At this point, the men of Judah are thinking, why should they fight this? So, they go find Samson and explain to him why they have come to arrest him. Now, at this point there are a few things that stand out:

1. They knew exactly where Samson was located,
2. They sent 3,000 men down to Etam to retrieve Samson, and
3. They never seem to bat an eye at the fact that Samson allowed them to bind him only with the promise that he wouldn't be killed.

One could say that the men were trying to preserve their lives and Judah, however I choose to look at what they ignored. Given points 1 & 2 above, this tells me that Samson was a known individual.  They knew exactly where to find him and there wasn't a huge search. In addition, they sent 3,000 men down to get Samson. If they did not know who he was or recognize his strength, they would have only sent a hand full of men to bring him back. They didn't do that. They went as though they were prepared to use as many men as possible to subdue him.

It never dawned on the men that Samson never resisted their demands. He only required that they not kill him. If they knew Samson's history, then they knew his strength. If they knew his strength, why did they not question the lack of resistance? It was as though the only thing they were focused on was how they could preserve their lives by any means. Later, they would take Samson back to the Philistines only to see him break out of the ropes and kill a thousand men with the skull of a donkey.

It is amazing how we miss the presence and power of God when it is around.  Despite the miracles of strength Samson put on display, the men of Judah were frustrated and willing to arrest him because of fearing their captors.  Instead of turning to Samson in support and belief, they seemed to need a little bit more evidence of who he was and from where his power came. 

Can you recognize when the power and presence of Yahweh is around you?

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By Their Fruit

The wise counsel of the Pharisee Gamaliel should be considered by many.  The counsel was trying their best to cause harm to Peter and John for preaching in the temple but they did not stop it.  Their work was from Yahweh and not from man.  The same is applicable today.  You can test the fruit of someone's works and if it is not of Yahweh, it will be evident in due time.

"...And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God."

http://bible.com/114/act.5.38-39.nkjv

Be Blessed.

Antoine E. Hall

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The Art of Self-Deception

About 8 years ago, I read a book called, "Why I Am A Christian" by Norman L. Gesler & Paul K. Hoffman.  It was some pretty tough reading as it is a methodical book, but it had some very good information in it.

In it, was a chapter called, Why I am Not an Atheist.  It was about a man who was raised in a Christian home as a child, later became an atheist and was then lead back to Christ.  He explained this topic from his own personal experience. As such, he started talking about how an atheist would deceive themselves into believing what they want even though they have knowledge otherwise. Below is a excerpt from this chapter:

"Self-deception means playing dumb. It means pretending to ourselves that we don't know what we really do; it means playing at being ignorant though we are really in the know. I suggest that we human beings play dumb with God. We lie to ourselves, and one of the things we lie about is our knowledge of his reality. Psalm 14 opens with a remark that is often misunderstood: 'The fool says in his heart There is no God.' The psalmist is not calling the man a fool for thinking there is no God but for telling himself there is no God, though deep in his mind he knows better. Unbelievers do not disbelieve, they reject".

What? OK, so let's get this straight. Humans can play dumb with Yahweh?! Well, in short - yes! Think about it.  Let's go beyond the atheist and look at it in a different perspective.   Every time you know that God says turn right and you "pretend" not to hear Him and you turn left, you are playing dumb. If you know the Holy Spirit told you to stop eating deep fried food when you know you have digestive problems, why do you continue to do it?

One thing about this concept is that the enemy knows if he can get you to question Yahweh's existence and/or will, he has a foothold in the door. If he can kindly assist you into ignoring what you know to be true, then he got you. All you have to do, is turn on a television, listen to the news, are read the internet.  People are bashing Yahweh's existence and believe that man has all the answers.  You are told that man is the superior being of reason, right?  In fact, some will read this and say that I and all those who believe in fairy tales are foolish.  We are not being reasonable for believing such things.  Some will say that we are not living in the real world and need to live in the modern world.  Well, I think Romans 1:19-21 says it best:

"(19) because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. (20) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, (21) because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (NKJV)

No one can deny Yahweh's existence.  In the end, if no one else knows, you know in the back of your mind what's right and true.  When you deceive yourself, you reject God and to reject Him is foolish.

Antoine E. Hall

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Riches Are Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 5:8-18 (NIV)
BibleGateWay.com

"(8) If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.

(9) The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.

(10) Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.

(11) As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?

(12) The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.

(13) I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,

(14) or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit.

(15) Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands.

(16) This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind?

(17) All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger.

(18) This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot.

(19) Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.

(20) They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart."

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Love Is The Basis (Replay)

Good morning and I hope all is well with you.  Today, I am sharing a writing that I did back in May of 2008.  Yes, I know it was nearly six years ago, but it is just as relevant now as it was back then.  With Valentines day fast approaching, I figured it would be just as good of time as any to share.  Without further adieu, here we go.

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May 13, 2008

I hope that all is well with everyone this fine Tuesday morning! You know yesterday, my wife and I celebrated our 7th Wedding Anniversary and needless to say I am still alive and my wife has not taken me out yet :-). No but seriously, it is truly a blessing to be married and the both of you share the same affection, open lines of communication and at the core, pure love for each other.

We didn't do anything different than a normal day at all. Money is tight so we cooked at home like normal. At first it was quite disappointing and frustrating because in your brain, you wanted to go all out on your anniversary. You want to roll the kids out to a relatives house, and go have a good time with your husband or wife. That's what is always assumed you do, but sometimes life doesn't always lend itself to what you want to do when you want to do it. So while for a bit I was frustrated yesterday, I had to remember the reason why we got married in the first placed. It was love for each other. It wasn't to pawn off kids and have a good time. It was to form a union in the presence of God according to His season.

Let's go to the 1st Book of the Bible and Old Testament. In Genesis 2:24-25, it says 

(24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (25) And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. 

In the beginning, it was God who set the rules. A man shall marry a woman and they shall be as one. Now verse 25 is the "nugget". It said, "..they were both naked....and were not ashamed". So here Adam and Eve are and all they have is their nakedness and each other. It didn't say, they were ashamed of what they didn't have. It didn't say they wished they be without the kids one night (I know there were no kids at this point, but work with me here) or wished to head out to the best and fanciest restaurant. It didn't say, they wished to sail down the Nile River on a yacht. It said, they had each other and was not ashamed. 

In the words of my daughter, Zion, "what does that mean?" Glad you asked. Let's flip to the 1st Book of the New Testament, Matthew. In chapter 22, verses 37-40, it says:

(37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

We are to first place God at the head of our marriage and household. We are to love Him with every inch of our very existence. Second we are to love thy neighbour as thyself. Before your spouse was your spouse, they were your neighbour. If you couldn't love them from that standpoint then you were getting off on the wrong track any way.

You can have all the money in the world. You can have the largest house, nicest & fastest car, and all the richest friends in the world, but take them all away and what do you have left? You have God and each other. If the very existence and core of your marriage was not right from day one, then your marriage was predicated on the wrong things. At the end of the day, it's about the love you share for one another and how no one or nothing but God takes precedence over that.

Be blessed gang and have a good Tuesday!

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Antoine E. Hall

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What is the Tetragrammaton?

Modern Hebrew for YHWH

The word Tetragrammaton is a pretty big word.  If one would look at it, it looks like it would represent some geometric shape.  It also, seems as though it could be a place within the cartoon, Transformers, but it is neither of these.  Tetragrammaton is "...the Hebrew name for God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 3), consisting of the four consonants Y H V H (or Y H W H) and regarded by Jews as too sacred to be pronounced" (from TheFreeDictionaryOnline.com). The excerpt below goes into more detail on the issue.

"Keep in mind that the Hebrew alphabet did not contain vowels. Ancient Hebrew was a consonantal alphabet. This has led to some debate about the proper pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton, with opinions including Jehovah, Yahweh, Yahveh, Yahuweh, and many other variants...the name Yahweh was recorded more than 160 times in the Scriptures preceding Exodus 3:14-15. The name Yahweh should be one of the most frequently occurring words in our English Bibles today. Yet, without exception, all of the most popular Bible versions have removed the memorial name of God from the Scriptures and have replaced it with a titular substitute. In most cases, Yahweh has been replaced with “God,” “Lord,” or “Lord God.” The words Lord and God are NOT names. They are nouns denoting one who is a ruler, and a deity. They are like the word “father.” I am a father, and at times my children may call me “father,” or “dad.” However, neither of these words are my name. They describe my position in the family, but my name is Joseph." (from Joseph Herrin's Parablesblog, "Yahweh's Book - Errors in the Bible").

I've learned this recently and I wanted to share with you too!  Proverbs 27:17 says, "Just as iron sharpens iron, a person sharpens the character of his friend." (CJB)

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