My Hero

Okay, in my anxiety over missing on the devotional on Thursday, I mistakenly used Friday's scripture! So this may feel like a step back:

So Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took some torches; and he turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. When he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. Then the Philistines asked, "Who has done this?"And they said, "Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken Samson's wife and given her to his companion." So the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father. Samson said to them, "If this is what you do, I swear I will not stop until I have taken revenge on you." He struck them down hip and thigh with great slaughter; and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam. Judges 15:4-8 NRSV

Samson keeps digging himself into a hole with his actions.

First, he sets an impossible goal for the kinsmen of his fiance.

Next, he reveals to his new wife the clue of his impossible goal - and puts himself into debt because of his missed placed trust in her.

Then he goes and murders 30 Philistines to get the clothes he was hoping to gain for himself.

Then his wife is given to his companion and when Samson finds out, he sets fire to the Philistine fields - using foxes???- at the time of harvest (a true economic blow).

Because of this, his wife and in-laws are killed. So Samson slaughters those who have murdered them.

Then he has to go and hide - and we already know what is going to happen next!

I really don't think this is any way to save God's people from the Philistines.

I want Samson to be the hero, not the revenge-led narcissist that he appears to be in these scriptures.

Or maybe I just want to be the hero with the purest of intentions and God's agenda as my goal.

What about you?

God, you are the true hero. Only your motives are pure and righteous. Help us to listen and follow you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Question of the day: Who is your hero?

Copyright 2009 Amelia G. Sims