Devotion - Monday, August 30

My lectionary has me reading through the Book of Judges. Some of the stories from this book are familiar; others are a bit more obscure.

Most of us know the name Samson, whose mighty strength allowed him to topple the halls of the Philistines. Gideon we know - if only because of the annual distribution of Bibles. It has been interesting reading.

Reading these somewhat unfamiliar chapters reminds me of comments made by my professor of Old Testament. He would tell us, “The Bible is more honest about the lives of God’s chosen ones than we.” The Bible stories allow us to see the good that is done, even by individuals whose less well known actions are questionable.

Samson marries a Philistine woman, Delilah. She is the one who coaxes from Samson the answer to his riddle and the secret of his strength. We would expect a Biblical character to be stronger in his devotion to God, and not so easily deceived. But no.

One of these deceptions results in Samson losing a bet. In order to pay the bet, Samson goes into a neighboring village and kills 10 men, taking their possessions in order to honor his bet.

The Bible is more honest than we would tend to be.

We should strive to be more honest. Honesty would allow us to learn that doing the right thing is possible, even if the rest of our lives seem to be out of step. Honesty would allow us to expect the correct response, even if previous responses were not. Finally, honesty would prevent us from disavowing the contribution of one whom we had previously labeled as unredeemable.

There are unfamiliar names and many twists in the plot, but I encourage you to turn to the pages of The Book of Judges and discover the willingness of the Biblical writers to tell the whole story, not merely the parts one would choose to teach in Sunday Church School.