RAPTUROUS RUTH


Located between Judges and the stories of Saul and David lay the story of Ruth.  Several posts ago, I mentioned her book being peculiarly placed.  In the original Jewish texts, it was placed in the wisdom books.  Only in later texts and in the Christian organization is it placed where it is.  Exciting news for those who believe in End Times connections to this section of Scripture: the story is in exactly the right place centuries before it would have meaning. Just as the Judges age is winding down, but not in a specifically named Judge's era.



Ru 1:1 And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
 2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
 3 And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.
 4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelt there about ten years.
 5 And Mahlon and Chilion died both of them; and the woman was left of her two children and of her husband.
 6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that Jehovah had visited his people in giving them bread.

The end of the famine meant that the time of following the idols was likely in pause.  A righteous Judge was apparently somewhere in Israel.  

 7 And she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
 8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother's house: Jehovah deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
 9 Jehovah grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
 10 And they said unto her, Nay, but we will return with thee unto thy people.
 11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
 12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should even have a husband to-night, and should also bear sons;
 13 would ye therefore tarry till they were grown? would ye therefore stay from having husbands? nay, my daughters, for it grieveth me much for your sakes, for the hand of Jehovah is gone forth against me.
 14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law,

We see the way of the flesh. Orpah was sad, longing to do right, but all the circumstance indicated she should go.  Naomi looked only at the circumstances as well.  These women will not find new husbands, she thought, if they stay and watch over someone not their own mother.  Naomi has nothing to offer them that she can see. and finally, the widow, Orpah agreed to yield and return to her family.

Like the Laodicean church, Orpah has been in the presence of God but only as an observer, following whatever rituals they brought from Israel.  She seems to have loved her husband and Ruth, but that love seems not to be so deep as to keep her on the course with Ruth. The woe of the world turned her from going to Israel.

Naomi knows she can glean there and find some food for survival at least.  The pagan Moabites are not  unlikely to offer anything to an Israeli.


 but Ruth clave unto her.
 15 And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her god: 
return thou after thy sister-in-law.

Orpah not only lost her new family but lost the chance to continue with the God of Israel,  She must have converted to marry into the tribe of Judah.  (Concubines mentioned earlier as "wives", likely did  not convert.)  In doing what seemed right to the flesh, Orpah may have lost eternity.

(But she did get a talk show and her own TV network.  Sorry, you know how I sometimes can't resist.)


 16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God;
 17 where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.
 18 And when she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her.

Ruth represents the Gentile convert.  Naomi represents the loyal Jewish believer.  Naomi knows the Law, understands what it takes to lead a life for God.  Ruth follows on faith, having willingly entered that life in her love of her husband. And that may be the initial difference between Orpah and Ruth.  Love much deeper than the moment.

 19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and the women said, Is this Naomi?
 20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
 21 I went out full, and Jehovah hath brought me home again empty; why call ye me Naomi, seeing Jehovah hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

Naomi sees only what she has lost.  Can you be that way with your life?  I can with mine if I'm not careful.  And the older we get, the more things we can count as lost.  Money I should have saved. Time I should have used more wisely.  People I should have been kinder to while they were with me. But it's worse for Naomi because regret has become self-pity.   Imagine being Ruth and hearing this after you have given up your homeland and made a commitment to care for her for the rest of her life!

 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
 2:1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.



http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/kinsman-redeemer.html

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary

Kinsman-Redeemer  

"Male relative who, according to various laws found in the Pentateuch, had the privilege or responsibility to act for a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need of vindication.

"Although the term "kinsman-redeemer" is used only seven times in the NIV (all in the Book of Ruth) and "avenger of blood" is used twelve times, the Hebrew verb ga'al [l;a"G],from which both of these terms are translated, is used over 100 times and rendered by such additional terms as "redeemer" or "near relative." The Hebrew term designates a male relative who delivers or rescues ( Gen 48:16 ; Exod 6:6 ); redeems property ( Lev27:9-25 ) or person ( Lev 25:47-55 );avenges the murder of a relative as a guiltless executioner ( Num 35:9-34 ); and receives restitution for wrong done to a relative who has since died ( Num 5:8 ). The unique emphasis of the redemption/salvation/vindication associated with the kinsman-redeemer is the fact that this action is carried out by a kinsman on behalf of a near relative in need. This idea is most clearly illustrated in the Book of Ruth.

"Although the doctrine of redemption from sin is taught extensively in the New Testament, it is not connected closely with the Old Testament concept of kinsman-redeemer.Christ can, however, be regarded as an example of a kinsman-redeemer since he identified himself with us and redeemed us because of our need. Hebrews 2:11 states that "Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers." Jesus is not only our redeemer from sin, but as Hebrews 2:16-18 and 4:14-16 point out, he is a kinsman to us and understands our struggles. Thus he is able to help us in our times of need."

Ru 2:2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Now let me go into the field and take up the heads of grain after him in whose eyes I may have grace. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.
 3 And she went, and came and took up the heads of grain in the field after the cutters; and by chance she went into that part of the field which was the property of Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

And there's that parable from Christ about the vineyard:

Mt 21:33 Give ear to another story. A master of a house made a vine garden, and put a wall round it, and made a place for crushing out the wine, and made a tower, and let it out to field-workers, and went into another country.
 34 And when the time for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the workmen, to get the fruit.
 35 And the workmen made an attack on his servants, giving blows to one, putting another to death, and stoning another.
 36 Again, he sent other servants more in number than the first: and they did the same to them.
 37 But after that he sent his son to them, saying, They will have respect for my son.
 38 But when the workmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death and take his heritage.
 39 And they took him and, driving him out of the vine-garden, put him to death.
 40 When, then, the lord of the vine-garden comes, what will he do to those workmen?
 41 They say to him, He will put those cruel men to a cruel death, and will let out the vine-garden to other workmen, who will give him the fruit when it is ready.
 42 Jesus says to them, Did you never see in the Writings, The stone which the builders put on one side, the same has been made the chief stone of the building: this was the Lord's doing, and it is a wonder in our eyes?
 43 For this reason I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing the fruits of it.
 44 Any man falling on this stone will be broken, but he on whom it comes down will be crushed to dust.
 45 And when his stories came to the ears of the chief priests and the Pharisees, they saw that he was talking of them.
 46 And though they had a desire to take him, they were in fear of the people, because in their eyes he was a prophet.
 (BBE)

Perhaps Boaz would have crossed their minds if they thought of Scripture at all then.

 4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, Jehovah be with you. And they answered him, Jehovah bless thee.

Jesus' faithful people would recall this analogy.

Mt 9:36 But when he saw all the people he was moved with pity for them, because they were troubled and wandering like sheep without a keeper.
 37 Then he said to his disciples, There is much grain but not enough men to get it in.
 38 Make prayer, then, to the Lord of the grain-fields, that he may send out workers to get in his grain.
 10:1 And he got together his twelve disciples and gave them the power of driving out unclean spirits, and of making well all sorts of disease and pain.
 (BBE)

Again Ruth represents the gentile converts

 5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?
 6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:
 7 And she said, Let me glean, I pray you, and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, save that she tarried a little in the house.
 8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens.
 9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
 10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found favor in thy sight, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a foreigner?
 11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been showed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people that thou knewest not heretofore.
 12 Jehovah recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge.
 13 Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord, for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken kindly unto thy handmaid, though I be not as one of thy handmaidens.
 14 And at meal-time Boaz said unto her, Come hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers, and they reached her parched grain, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left thereof.
 15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not.
 16 And also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and rebuke her not.
 17 So she gleaned in the field until even; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
 18 And she took it up, and went into the city; and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth and gave to her that which she had left after she was sufficed.
 19 And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz.
 20 And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is nigh of kin unto us, one of our near kinsmen.
 21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, Yea, he said unto me, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.
 22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, and that they meet thee not in any other field.
 23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

 3:1 And Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
 2 And now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.
 3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the threshing-floor, but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
 4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.
 5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest I will do.
 6 And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her.
 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
 8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself; and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.
 9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thy handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.
 10 And he said, Blessed be thou of Jehovah, my daughter: thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
 11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou sayest; for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a worthy woman.
 12 And now it is true that I am a near kinsman; howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
 13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as Jehovah liveth: lie down until the morning.


From Rick Warren:

http://pastorrick.com/devotional/english/jesus-paid-the-price-you-couldn-t-pa

“He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.” (1 Timothy 2:6a NLT)

All of us are slaves of something. Maybe it’s our peers. Maybe it’s our lusts. Maybe it’s money. The Bible says in 2 Peter 2:19, “You are a slave to whatever controls you” (NLT). Based on this definition alone, all of us are slaves to something.

We don’t have to let anything enslave us, though. The Bible says Jesus bought our freedom: “He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone” (1 Timothy 2:6a NLT). The Greek word for redemption actually refers to slaves who were purchased in a marketplace. In a spiritual sense, all of us were slaves to sin until Jesus purchased us out of the slave market and set us free from sin’s bondage.

Let me give you a picture of what Jesus’ death on the cross did to purchase our freedom. Imagine you’re in a busy marketplace with a lot of commerce going on. In the center of the marketplace, you’re in the middle of an auction, where you are being bid on. As each successive bid is shouted out, you look in the eyes of those who are bidding on you and try to size them up. Are they kind or cruel? Just as the auction is winding down, a stranger from the crowd stands up and offers a bid a thousand times higher than anyone else’s bid. There is no way anyone could ever match or beat that bid. As the auctioneer hastily accepts it, you look into that stranger’s eyes and realize he isn’t bidding on you to use you, like a slave. He’s buying you in order to set you free.

"That’s just what Jesus did for you. He paid the price to set you free. The price for your freedom was so high you could never pay it. But he paid it for you.

"Even if you’re a follower of Jesus, you may not be living in that freedom. You may be subtly allowing yourself to be controlled by your desires, your relationships, your schedule, or your fears. Galatians 5:1 says, “Freedom is what we have — Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again” (GNT).

"So many people spend their lives seeking significance and freedom on manmade dead-end passes. Yet, here’s the amazing truth: “We can never redeem ourselves; we cannot pay God the price for our lives, because the payment for a human life is too great” (Psalm 49:7-8a)."

And I am fairly certain Paul had the Ruth story in mind for part of the letter below:

1Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one peacemaker between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
 6 Who gave himself as an offering for all; witness of which was to be given at the right time;
 7 And of this I became a preacher and an Apostle (what I say is true, not false,) and a teacher of the Gentiles in the true faith.

The price for your freedom has already been paid. You’ve been bought.  He saw you from afar and fell in love with the possible you.  When you were saved, you began to labor for him, have been laboring in the fields.  You evangelize.  By your life.  By you acts.  With your words.


 14 And she lay at his feet until the morning. And she rose up before one could discern another. For he said, Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor.
 15 And he said, Bring the mantle that is upon thee, and hold it; and she held it; and he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and he went into the city.
 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.
 17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law.
 18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall; for the man will not rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

Ruth was told to wait in  faith.  And His people think of the ten virgins:

Mt 25:1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins, the friends of the bride, who took their lights, and went out with the purpose of meeting the husband.
 2 And five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
 3 For the foolish, when they took their lights, took no oil with them.
 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lights.
 5 Now the husband was a long time in coming, and they all went to sleep.
 6 But in the middle of the night there is a cry, The husband comes! Go out to him.
 7 Then all those virgins got up, and made ready their lights.
 8 And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lights are going out.
 9 But the wise made answer, saying, There may not be enough for us and you; it would be better for you to go to the traders and get oil for yourselves.
 10 And while they went to get oil, the master came; and those who were ready went in with him to the feast: and the door was shut.
 11 After that the other virgins came, saying, Lord, Lord, let us in.
 12 But he made answer and said, Truly I say to you, I have no knowledge of you.
 13 Keep watch, then, because you are not certain of the day or of the hour.
 (BBE)

We can see Orpah as the ones who ran out of oil.  She did not labor faithfully in the fields but turned back even before she got to the land.

 4:1 Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.
 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
 3 And he said unto the near kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's:
 4 And I thought to disclose it unto thee, saying, Buy it before them that sit here, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it besides thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.
 5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
 6 And the near kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I cannot redeem it.
 7 Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel.
 8 So the near kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thyself. And he drew off his shoe.
 9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.
 10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
 11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. Jehovah make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
 12 and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give thee of this young woman.


https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/revelation/marriage-supper-of-the-lamb/

"The book of Revelation contains an intriguing vision in which the apostle John heard a great multitude say, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:6-7).

"Continuing, the passage explains how the Bride will be dressed: “And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (verse 8). This short passage concludes with an instruction to John to “write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” (verse 9).

"The key to identifying the Bride is found in her clothing—“fine linen,” which represents “the righteous acts of the saints.”


(Unlike what this particular writer suggests about works, our purity comes from being washed in His blood.  Our works come from the gratitude for that sacrifice.  We respond by going to the fields to work in love for the King by the power of the Spirit.  I con't judge the works you do or why you do them except to ask if they are the response to the leading of the Holy Spirit and to tell you to test the spirit you are listening to by the Biblical standard.)


"In our modern world, most men and women choose who they will marry. In years gone by, parents often selected who their children would marry. In the Old Testament many marriages were arranged by the parents. A prominent example is that of Abraham sending his servant to pick a wife for his son Isaac (Genesis 24:1-4).

"In the marriage of the Lamb, it is the Father who chooses the Bride for His Son. Christ made this point when He said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Repeating this point, Jesus said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father” (verse 65)."


But when does the  marriage of the lamb occur?

https://www.gotquestions.org/marriage-supper-Lamb.html


"In his vision in Revelation 19:7–10, John saw and heard the heavenly multitudes praising God because the wedding feast of the Lamb—literally, the “marriage supper”—was about to begin. The concept of the marriage supper is better understood in light of the wedding customs in the time of Christ.

"These wedding customs had three major parts. First, a marriage contract was signed by the parents of the bride and the bridegroom, and the parents of the bridegroom or the bridegroom himself would pay a dowry to the bride or her parents. This began what was called the betrothal period—what we would today call the engagement. This period was the one Joseph and Mary were in when she was found to be with child (Matthew 1:18; Luke 2:5).

"The second step in the process usually occurred a year later, when the bridegroom, accompanied by his male friends, went to the house of the bride at midnight, creating a torchlight parade through the streets. The bride would know in advance this was going to take place, and so she would be ready with her maidens, and they would all join the parade and end up at the bridegroom’s home. This custom is the basis of the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1–13. The third phase was the marriage supper itself, which might go on for days, as illustrated by the wedding at Cana in John 2:1–2.

"What John’s vision in Revelation pictures is the wedding feast of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) and His bride (the Church) in its third phase. The implication is that the first two phases have already taken place. The first phase was completed on earth when each individual believer placed his or her faith in Christ as Savior. The dowry paid to the bridegroom’s parent (God the Father) would be the blood of Christ shed on the Bride’s behalf. The Church on earth today, then, is “betrothed” to Christ, and, like the wise virgins in the parable, all believers should be watching and waiting for the appearance of the Bridegroom (the rapture). The second phase symbolizes the rapture of the Church, when Christ comes to claim His bride and take her to the Father’s house. The marriage supper then follows as the third and final step. It is our view that the marriage supper of the Lamb takes place in heaven between the rapture and the second coming (during the tribulation on earth).

"Attending the wedding feast will be not only the Church as the Bride of Christ, but others as well. The “others” include the Old Testament saints—they will not have been resurrected yet, but their souls/spirits will be in heaven with us. As the angel told John to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). The marriage supper of the Lamb is a glorious celebration of all who are in Christ!"


 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her, and Jehovah gave her conception, and she bare a son.
 14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be Jehovah, who hath not left thee this day without a near kinsman; and let his name be famous in Israel.
 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him.
 16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
 17 And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez begat Hezron,
 19 and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,
 20 and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,
 21 and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
 22 and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

 (ASV)

Most premillennial believers place the Wedding Supper of the Lamb after the Rapture and before the Second Coming.  They see it going on  in  heaven as the seven year Tribulation unfolds on Earth,
Boaz  lifted Ruth and Naomi out of the tribulation around them.  He did it before Saul took rule.

And the placement of the letter, between Judges and before Samuel points to it as a foreshadowing of the Rapture event when Christ will take the believing Church out of the world


 2 Thes 2:1 Now as to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and our meeting with him, it is our desire, my brothers,
 2 That you may not be moved in mind or troubled by a spirit, or by a word, or by a letter as from us, with the suggestion that the day of the Lord is even now come;
 3 Give no belief to false words: because there will first be a falling away from the faith, and the revelation of the man of sin, the son of destruction,
 4 Who puts himself against all authority, lifting himself up over all which is named God or is given worship; so that he takes his seat in the Temple of God, putting himself forward as God.
 5 Have you no memory of what I said when I was with you, giving you word of these things?
 6 And now it is clear to you what is keeping back his revelation till the time comes for him to be seen.
 7 For the secret of evil is even now at work: but there is one who is keeping back the evil till he is taken out of the way.
 8 And then will come the revelation of that evil one, whom the Lord Jesus will put to death with the breath of his mouth, and give to destruction by the revelation of his coming;
 9 Even the one whose coming is marked by the working of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,
 10 And with every deceit of wrongdoing among those whose fate is destruction; because they were quite without that love of the true faith by which they might have salvation.
 11 And for this cause, God will give them up to the power of deceit and they will put their faith in what is false:
 12 So that they all may be judged, who had no faith in what is true, but took pleasure in evil.
 13 But it is right for us to give praise to God at all times for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because it was the purpose of God from the first that you might have salvation, being made holy by the Spirit and by faith in what is true:

See clearly that our holiness comes from God and our faith in Him.

 14 And in this purpose he gave you a part through the good news of which we were the preachers, even that you might have part in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 15 So then, brothers, be strong in purpose, and keep the teaching which has been given to you by word or by letter from us.
 16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who had love for us and has given us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
 17 Give you comfort and strength in every good work and word.
 (BBE)

The rapture of the saints will occur right before the Antichrist is revealed.  He will be the ruler of the Western world who has a number of things identifying him, not the least of which is his apostate state.  He will be the antithesis of Christ.  He, all evil, is being held at bay by the Holy Spirit right now.  Many of us believe the Rapture will occur before the Seven Year Tribulation.  Some believe it will be at the midpoint, the beginning if the Great Tribulation.

But, if there is foreshadowing of the Church here, then an Antichrist should follow to rule and then the Lord himself should appear to rule as the true king.

And that would certainly seem to be the case.

                                       THE SHAPING OF THINGS TO COME

Judges isn't over.  The rest of the book contains the fall of faith in Israel.  A transition of sorts.  Micha's mother seems to be the turning point:


Jg 17:1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
 2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.
 3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.
 4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.
 5 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. {consecrated: Heb. filled the hand}
 6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

From a human standpoint, a king, it seems, would have set down the law and made people obey.  Yet God said he wanted to be their only king, had set down the Law and they refused to obey.  "There was no king in Israel, but.."  that connection would read "so" instead of "but" if the lack of human king were the reason for disobedience,  We already know from the very beginning of the Bible that human disobedience is our nature, not a quirk.  A king, an Earthly manager, serves merely to keep down or repress our evil urges, usually by force of arms.  God gave His orders and had again and again repressed the people with invaders and then  Judges instead of kings.  The last judge we studied, Samson, was like the people in that he also gave sway to his urges, his lusts.  God still used him, but thereafter, the people seem to have taken his lead in thinking it was okay to act without restraint and God would still bless them.  This despite his example of being blinded and led into bondage by his lust.  

 7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
 8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. {as he...: Heb. in making his way}
 9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
 10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. {a suit...: or, a double suit, etc: Heb. an order of garments}
 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
 12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
 13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

We have the blend of both churches now, the worship of idols with the worship of God thanks to the false priest who sells the false blend for money.

God gave Israel a spoiled judge who lived a fallen life even as God loved him and then, in the end, he took his own life with the lives of the invaders' leaders.  An act which must have offended God as much as it served Him.

Now the worship of idols blends completely with the worship of God. Forgotten are the ark's stone tablets with these words carved in them:

Ex 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. {bondage: Heb. servants}
 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
 (KJV)

Does it ever seem possible to those who take the track of mixing God and any other form of worship that they are following Satan not because he wants their worship but because God has plainly written that they are inviting sin into their lives and the lives of their children and grandchildren?   A generational curse that can only be broken by the acceptance of Christ.  Does it dawn on those who carry icons into the church that they are idols?  It did to the Anabaptists.

Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia (copyright 1993, 1994):

During the 16th-century Reformation in Europe, the Protestant Anabaptist, or Christian Brethren, movement flourished in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and other countries. The basic belief of the Anabaptists was in adult baptism, but they also supported the separation of church and state and voluntary church membership. While there was no direct development from the Anabaptists to the growth of the Baptist churches in England, it is very likely that the latter were influenced in their beliefs and attitudes by the continental Brethren.

Many of the denominations that emerged after the Reformation were attempts to revive the church by returning to 1st-century conditions described in the New Testament. Such was the aim of Anabaptists, Baptists, Quakers, Methodists, Moravians, and others.

http://www.anabaptists.org/history/what-is-an-anabaptist.html

 "In her study, Anabaptists: Separate by Choice, Marginal by Force, Elizabeth Scott notes:

"The Anabaptists of central Europe evolved in a time of social and religious chaos, developed unique ideas concerning the church and state, and retained a wildly radical view of society.

"The teachings and way of life of the Anabaptists, according to the Anabaptists themselves, were merely ways of trying to reinstate the true church, a church of true believers. It did not seem this way to the Magisterial Reformers or to the Roman Church, however. It was those very teachings and acts that made the Anabaptists into the object of numerous persecutions at the hands of both church and state.

"The historiography of the Anabaptists...is largely hostile to them and their teachings. It remains one of the largest problems in modern scholarship to separate the hostility of their biographers from the circumstances of Anabaptist existence.

"The impulse to join and remain within a society of martyrs is certainly hard to pinpoint.
In their earliest years, many of the Anabaptists were followers of Zwingli in Zurich.
Their unique model of what Church and society could become, if politics and fear were placed as subservient to love and community, stand as witness to the possibilities of a voluntary church, and the possibilities of a free society."


It was infant baptism which anabaptists found deeply wrong because they believe in the personal acceptance of Christ as savior and the choice to be baptized in His name.   They saw their baptism as the only baptism, infant baptism not really applying.


http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-28/1525-anabaptist-movement-begins.html

Anabaptist Distinctives

"These believers didn’t want to merely reform the church; they wanted to wholly restore it to its initial purity and simplicity. Such a church, they held, consists only of people who present themselves to be baptized.

"Congregationalism was another key belief. The Anabaptists could find no justification for elaborate church bureaucracies. Decisions should be made not by a hierarchical leader but by the entire local assembly. In fact, the Anabaptists were the first to try to practice democracy in the congregation.

"Another central teaching was the separation of church and state. The church, they said, is to be composed of free, “uncompelled” people. The state is not to use coercion on people’s consciences.

"Jesus taught the way of nonviolence, the Anabaptists believed, and so pacifism became another important feature of their lives. Even the hated Turks must not be fought with a sword. By obeying Jesus’ clear commands, his followers should be distinct from society, even a society claiming to be Christian.

"Didn’t Luther and the other great Reformers see the wisdom of the Anabaptists? They didn’t—partly because they thought the Anabaptists’ theology was amiss, partly because the Anabaptists seemed disorderly. In one extreme case in Münster in 1534–5, Anabaptists came to power and took up arms (temporarily throwing aside their taboo on violence), practiced polygamy (citing Old Testament precedents), and claimed bizarre revelations from God. To both Catholics and Protestants these extremes justified persecuting the Anabaptists, executing them by fire or sword or drowning."


Anabaptists wanted an apostolic church. They wanted the idols out of the church.  Apparently they were paying attention when they read the history of Israel.  And the words of Paul:

2 Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
 (KJV)

The way of the flesh.

Understand this which bears repeating, the Bible tells us the great truth of human history: our flesh is fallen and doomed to repeat it's sins over and over even as Satan repeats his temptations over and over though they may be dressed in other clothes.   Israel's history  is the same sad course as every nation though it was chosen by God to be a nation. The people follow God for a time then backslide
into sin, wallow in it like hogs in slop, then are so low they face destruction only to repent and then be saved by God only to start that cycle all over again.  Nations that don't know God, that don't accept Him or his Son, fall by the wayside never to return.  Empires crumble under the false doctrine of the rich seeing the world of limited resources and deciding they must horde the resources to themselves, explaining that they are rich because their faith is stronger or their god is greater than others.  ignoring the fact nature reveals God as Paul said in Romans 1.

A cycle exists.  Israel repeats it, first worshiping gods, even the false one created by Micah. then later when Christ arrives, worshiping the Law instead of the One who gave it.

Any and every thing can be an idol and men will inevitably find a way to idolize any and every thing.

Always.  Throughout history.

And those churches have existed side by side since the founding of Christ's church,

We see Ephesus churches that once loved Jesus go cold and turn into places where there is song but no worship, attendance but no fire.

We see Smyrna churches with members slaughtered by Romans, Catholics, other Protestants, pagans, Communists, Muslims.  And clinging to their love of Christ.

We see Pergamos churches with compromises.  They edged toward Balaam behavior.  False doctrine infected the Catholicism with infant baptism, icons, Mary deification; spread to the early Protestant movement that needed Anabaptist corrections: found its way into false teachings on the gifts and on the notions of health and wealth even today as New Age beliefs come packaged in Emergent Church clothing.

And Thyatira churches who not only have false doctrines invading but are tolerant of them.  Rob Bells' stint in Grand Rapids seems to inculcate all that even as the Catholic church of the Borgias we mentioned recently.

Sardis was spiritually dead.  Unlike Ephesus that lost it's love and Pergamos and Thyatira struggling to follow proper doctrine, all those things apparently conspired in Sardis to quench the Spirit, though some still had that life in them.  A few.  These churches can still have hundreds running up and down the aisles.  Sometimes the ones dead to the Spirit get filled by other spirits that thrill but have no real life in them. They have healing that save bodies but do not elevate the soul.  A Skip Heitzig says in You Can Understand the Book of Revelation: "They did empty labor with no life in it.  They spent their time on endless, dead activity.  While some saw them as great-they had the reputation-God saw then as an empty lifeless shell."   Still there were some there, then and now,  worthy of  the warning message who would repent.

We see Philadelphia churches, founded on God's word and surviving not on their grandeur or money but on faith alone, there in the hard times and the good, still there over the years even as Philadelphia itself has survived.  If they retain their love, if they live in that first love for the Savior, they are never poor or hurting or lost even in torture and death for those are temporary even as the condition of people lost to sin is made permanent by physical death, and the Second Death involving spiritual death unto physical death.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_107.cfm


Don Stewart :: What Is the Second Death, or Eternal Death?

"There is a third type of death in Scripture that is different from spiritual death and physical death. This is known as eternal death, or the second death. In the Book of Revelation we read.

"The one who has an ear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death (Revelation 2:11).

"Unless spiritual death is reversed in this life, the result will be eternal death. This is unending separation between God and all who reject Him.

Believers Not Affected

"Believers are not affected by the second death.

"Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years (Revelation 20:6).

Lake Of Fire

"The final judgment, or the lake of fire, is the time when the second death occurs.

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death (Revelation 20:14).

"The second death is reserved for unbelievers. Those who experience this death are all those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life.

"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death (Revelation 21:8).

Eternal Death

"Eternal death, or the second death, is the ultimate form of separation. If a person dies in a state of spiritual death, they enter eternity separated from God. This is the second death. Once a person has experienced the "second death" there is no hope for them, it is irreversible.

Summary

"Physical death is the separation of the body from the spirit. Spiritual death, the way all of us are born, is the spiritual separation of each of us from God. Eternal death, or the second death, is the eternal separation of a person from God. There is no escape from the second death."


Laodicea was lukewarm.  They had bad water in their location but an excellent trade route so a city grew there.  They had to pipe in water from nearby Colosse, which got its' water from the snowmelt of mountains and from Hierapolos  which had hot springs and spas. But by the time water from either source reached Laodicea the temperatures had moderated to luke warm and the water was seen an unrefreshing  to drink in that condition.  Jesus used that analogy to sum up the empty church which blended God with other gods and arrived at a namesake religion, fooling their flock into thinking they could worship Dianna and God and have their spiritual life the way they wished.  They forgot the jealous God part.  Our creator demands that we love him as such, as our CREATOR, our ONLY Creator. Or be lost forever.

The lost.  The Danites of the time of Judges were lost.  They had no inheritance in the land so they sought to find a place of their own. The tribe sent out five spies to see if there was anywhere in the land they might make a home for themselves. The spies arrived at Ephraim and found there the false religion of Micah and the priest who served it.  They had no training in the Word; it seems never to be read during this time which speaks to all of us about the importance of that simple act.  (Numerous sources have pointed out that we in the USA are blessed with the.Word, the Bible being our all time best seller.  Yet it is one of the most unread books.  George Bush the elder once said that his son, George W., was the "only person I know who has read through the whole Bible twice." I suspect, since he knows Billy Graham, the former President meant "only lay person" but it still speaks volumes about our level of Christian commitment.)   They asked the priest for a prediction of them finding a home and without seeking after God (the text reveals no pause kin him giving them their blessing.) the priest says they will find a place.  The spies discover a tribe totally at peace, away from the rest of the warring tribes, isolated by mountains. They return, gather six hundred armed men and go off to war against the unsuspecting peaceful people.

But first the spies get them to stop at Micah's home and steal all the accoutrements of the false religion.  And the priest.  This is important.  You can set up a false religion and worship how you like but it is vital to have a religious leader.  E B White for the Jehovah's Witnesses, Smith for the Mormons, Hubbard for the Scientologists.  And the Levite had dollar signs in his eyes.  He went from being the private guru to the new pope of the Danites.  His former "owner" came after him with his neighbor to back him up and the Danites chased Micah away.

  Jg 18:27 And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire.
 28 And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And they built the city, and dwelt therein.
 29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.
 30 And the children of Dan set up for themselves the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.
 31 So they set them up Micah's graven image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
 (ASV)


Philips/Lowth/Whitby/Lowman commentary:


Judges 18:30 

  Set up the graven image:  Together with the molten, no doubt, and made use of the ephod and teraphim here, as Micah had done in his house; fancying, I suppose, it was by a Divine direction from this oracle, that the five men had such good success when they went to spy out his land (ver. 5, 6).

Jonathan,  This was the name of the Levite who came along with them.

Son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh,  So not only the Hebrew, but the Chaldee, and the LXX(Septuagint) (both in Roman edition, and in that of Basil, and in the Palatine MS as Hottinger observes), which will not let us doubt it is the true reading: though the Vulgar hath put Moses instead of Manasseh, according to an idle conceit of some of the rabbins who say, the letter nun, in the middle of the word is not written even with the rest, but suspended above the rest of the letters, to show, that though he was indeed the son of Moses, yet he should rather be called the son of Manasseh, because he did the works of Manasseh, and not of Moses; that is, was an idolater. So Kimchi (as the same Hottinger observes), who therein follows the Talmudists, in Bava Bathra. (See his Thesaurus Philologicus, lib. 1, cap. 2. quaest, 4; and Bartoloccius, in his Kirjath-sepher, tom. 1. p. 114). And thus they made this Jonathan to be the grandchild of Moses, for Gershom was his son: but it is not likely he would have been left in so poor a condition, if he had been so nearly related to their great lawgiver; nor would he have had so ill an education. And, being now but a youth, it is not probable that he was the son of Gershom, but of some other, who had the name of this famous ancestor given him, though his father's name was Manasseh: but it is wholly uncertain from what family of the Levites this man was derived; and these names, no doubt, were common to more than those who first bare them.

Were priests of the tribe of Dan.  Of that part of the tribe who settled her at Laish.


Until the day of the captivity of the land.  Some cavillers have endeavored to frame an argument from hence, that this book was written in later times, after the ten tribes were carried away by Salmanassar; or, as some of the Jews in Seder Olam interpret the "captivity of the land," to signify that by Nebuchadnezzar; but Kimchi and Ralbag very well object against this, that it is altogether unlikely these images should have been suffered to continue in the days of David; who was a man after God's own heart, and set himself to advance the true religion to the utmost of his power, all the country over, from Dan to Beersheba: therefore Kimchi, with great reason, concludes, that by the "captivity of the land" is meant the taking of the ark by the Philistines, and carrying it captive into the temple of Dagon: which is confirmed, as our famous Selden observes (Syntag. 1. De Diis Syris, cap. 2), by the next verse, which saith, that till Shiloh was destroyed these images remained. And this taking of the ark, the Psalmist expressly calls a captivity, when he saith Ps 68:35, "He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, &c, and delivered his strength into captivity, his glory into the enemy's hand." As for the interpretation of Ralbag, who takes this captivity to have been in the days of Jabin, king of Canaan, it is not worth confuting.

The false religion continues until it is purged during a time of crisis.  It will always continue in a land of plenty and comfort, people certsin that god loves them despite their sins and will not correct them.

But the false religion continues outside the tribes as it did outside the churches as it does outside the churches.  The false gods worshiped for themselves and the false gods worshiped side by side with God.

Judges ends with the horror story of a concubine who was seen as a wife to an Jew who was raped and savaged by Benjamites.  THis is hiow far the men of Israel had fallen away from God:

Jg 19:20 And the old man said, Peace be unto thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.
 21 So he brought him into his house, and gave the asses fodder; and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.
 22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thy house, that we may know him.
 23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this folly.
 24 Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not any such folly.
 25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.
 26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.
 27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands upon the threshold.
 28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he took her up upon the ass; and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.
 29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.
 30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.
 (ASV)

The Benjamites behaved like the men of Sodom.  This scene could have been lifted from the story of Lot who we discussed earlier.  Spiritual degradation led to moral degradation.  The husband of gthe concubine did noi better.  We assume it was her dead body he vivisected thoiugh it isn't made entirely clear.  It does seem she struggled to get away and died n the doorstep after being raped and beaten repeatedly, but we are not told that openly.  Assuming it so, even that doesn't account for the decision to send her body parts to the tribes around.

The shocking act wakes up the rest of Israel.  They were lost in their revers, Dan lost in false religion, Philistines ruling and impeding the spiritual growth of the people this act incites the numb to wake up and see the mess they have made of their country.

But they never sought God before they chose to battle.  Nor sought a judge or prophet for guidance.

 
Jg 20:1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah at Mizpah.
 2 And the chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
 3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpah.) And the children of Israel said, Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass?
 4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was murdered, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
 5 And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about me by night; me they thought to have slain, and my concubine they forced, and she is dead.
 6 And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.
 7 Behold, ye children of Israel, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.
 8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn unto his house.
 9 But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot;
 10 and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victuals for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
 12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is come to pass among you?
 13 Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, that are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.
 14 And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
 15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
 16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss.
17 And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.

Now consider all this.  They rise in anger, gather an army of all the other tribes, even Dan which is under that New Age religion, rise up to demand retribution only to learn they face a massive war against left handed opponents, something we talked about earlier as well in Judges.  A southpaw fights differently from a righty and unless they have trained against one a soldier may fond himself having to defend odd angles of attack whereas lefties have often had scads of time fighting right handed opponents in training.  Such a realization gives a boxer or a right-handed baseball pitcher pause.  

So NOW they go to the Lord.  Ever find yourself in that situation?  Plunge into a fight or a business or a marriage and THEN ask God for guidance.  He isn't going to magically remove you from the problem you have gotten yourself in.  The opponent won't vanish.  The wife will not magically turn sweet.  Her mother will not turn into a sane person suddenly. Understand that God will do what He will do with the situation you have gotten yourself into.  He will not necessarily bail you out.  He will likely let you flounder your way through it.  In this case, He lets those who have not sought Him out beforehand suffer the consequences of their actions.  


 18 And the children of Israel arose, and went up to Beth-el, and asked counsel of God; and they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up first.
 19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.
 20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.
 21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty and two thousand men.
 22 And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day.
 23 And the children of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah until even; and they asked of Jehovah, saying, Shall I again draw nigh to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And Jehovah said, Go up against him.
 24 And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.
 25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
 26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.

Now they come with fasting and prayer and genuine humiliation, having been beaten up in battle not realizing the Lord was sending them a message.  

 27 And the children of Israel asked of Jehovah (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
 28 and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And Jehovah said, Go up; for to-morrow I will deliver him into thy hand.

Now when they are at their lowest, God gives to the humbled the victory.

 29 And Israel set liers-in-wait against Gibeah round about.
 30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.
 31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to Beth-el, and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
 32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them away from the city unto the highways.
 33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar: and the liers-in-wait of Israel brake forth out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba.
 34 And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore; but they knew not that evil was close upon them.
 35 And Jehovah smote Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all these drew the sword.
 36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten; for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted unto the liers-in-wait whom they had set against Gibeah.
 37 And the liers-in-wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers-in-wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
 38 Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers-in-wait was, that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.
 39 And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons; for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.
 40 But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and, behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to heaven.
 41 And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that evil was come upon them.
 42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and they that came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst thereof.
 43 They inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trod them down at their resting-place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
 44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor.
 45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them unto Gidom, and smote of them two thousand men.
 46 So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor.
 47 But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months.
 48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the cattle, and all that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.
 (ASV)
 
So naturally they face a problem they created by going into battle in the first place and they want to solve it with human hands, even as Laodicea wanted to solve the problem of God with human solutions of man made gods:

Jg 21:1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
 2 And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
 3 And they said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel?
 4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings.
 5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up in the assembly unto Jehovah? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up unto Jehovah to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
 6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
 7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by Jehovah that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
 8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up unto Jehovah to Mizpah? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.
 9 For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.
 10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.
 11 And this is the thing that ye shall do: ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
 12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
 13 And the whole congregation sent and spake to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace unto them.
 14 And Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
 15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that Jehovah had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
 16 Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
 17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel.
 18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
 19 And they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
 20 And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
 21 and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
 22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to complain unto us, that we will say unto them, Grant them graciously unto us, because we took not for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did ye give them unto them, else would ye now be guilty.
 23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they carried off: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.
 24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
 25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
 (ASV)

I hope you noticed as few important things:

First, the tribes of israel made a pledge without consulting God.  Some members of Benjamin behaved badly, so they struck out agains the whole tribe.  They swore never to let their women marry into that clan then wiped out many of the women in the can i the heat if battle, then regreted tey had done such to their cousins, but found themselves bound by their oath to God.  tnhey keep speaking and pledging before they act.

Second, they never consulted Jehovah about making the pledge nor about getting relief from that pledge.  They had a clan of left-handed men who were looked down upon and now they wanted to provide them with wives and hou wonder of they resisted giving their daughters as much because these men were looked upon as cursed as they felt bound by their pledge.  They perhaps didn't seek after jehovah since He had already given them orders that cost the lives of some of their comrades oin the way to victory.  Suppose now he said the curse was lifted and THEY ad to provide their own daughters?

Third, recall Shiloh was mentioned before.

Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.
 31 So they set them up Micah's graven image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
 (ASV)

And where did the young women come from that Benjamin was allowed to pillage at the festival?

20 And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
 21 and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
 22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to complain unto us, that we will say unto them, Grant them graciously unto us, because we took not for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did ye give them unto them, else would ye now be guilty.

A theater fan could hear someone from Seven Brides For Seven Brothers singing about Sobbin'
Women:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZyMc29QQK8


Okay, so humor gets the worst of me sometimes.  And we won't even begin to consider the offensive sexism of the whole thing.  We will point out it wasn't God's idea.

Shiloh succumb to false religion mix and the other tribes threw  women from Shiloh to the Benjamins likely thinking God wouldn't have anything to say about it.

Laodicea succumb to a false mix and only a few were saved, will be saved.

This segment of Judges represents the end of the church age, the winding down and the preparation for a new kind of ruler.  And a witness to testify to the new king and the true king.

1Sa 2:35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.
 (ASV)

             JUDGES, THE CHURCH AND FORESHADOWING:Part Seven


Samson! Who else in the Bible has luggage named after him?

http://shop.samsonite.com/luggage/?src=google&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand%20-%20Luggage%20-%20Exact&gclid=Cj0KEQjw0v_IBRCEzKHK0KiCrKMBEiQA3--1NtEvirJU_dHTnWfdbjedP7Rnel_G_yI5lPDFSEPe8VUaAv3V8P8HAQ

So much for humor.

It's raining outside.  It has been for over an hour.  Has been off and on for a couple days here. When I hear the rain, pop songs from my past creep in. "Rainy Days and Mondays."  "I Wish It Would Rain." "Rhythm of the Rain."  "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head."

But today it made me think of the rain cycle I learned about in elementary school.

"Water plays a major role in weather, despite making up such a small fraction of the atmosphere. In some areas, the local atmosphere may contain as much as 4 percent water, while other regions have no atmospheric water at all. As water can exist as a solid, liquid or gas under normal atmospheric conditions, it participates in the hydrologic cycle. In this cycle, water evaporates from the ocean in the form of water vapor and eventually returns to land and sea in the form of precipitation.

"You can't see water vapor, but it quickly becomes visible when it cools and condenses against something. If you've ever noticed moisture beads on the windows of a warm car on a cold day, you've seen condensation in action. Warm air vapor touches the cold window and the vapor turns back to a liquid. Clouds form along similar lines. The atmosphere is full of tiny dust particles called condensation nuclei, which come from volcanic eruptions, dust storms, fires and pollution. When water vapor condenses, it clings to these microscopic specks. If there's enough cooling water vapor in the air, these accumulate by the trillions to form clouds. If temperatures are cold enough, the water turns to ice around the condensation nuclei."




This cycle operated for thousands or millions of years, depending on what system of belief you wish to follow.  It worked efficiently and perfectly and then of course...

We got civilized.  Recall how we talked about staying in one place despite God's orders that we needed to be nomadic  led to the Sahara, has led to a total disruption of the rain forest systems of the Earth.  Well, industrialization has also led to a nasty little side effect called acid rain.

https://www3.epa.gov/acidrain/education/site_students/whatcauses.html

"Acid rain is caused by a chemical reaction that begins when compounds like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. These substances can rise very high into the atmosphere, where they mixand react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form more acidic pollutants, known as acid rain.

"Human activities are the main cause of acid rain. Over the past few decades, humans have released so many different chemicals into the air that they have changed the mix of gases in the atmosphere. Power plants release the majority of sulfur dioxide and much of the nitrogen oxides when they burn fossil fuels, such as coal, to produce electricity. In addition, the exhaust from cars, trucks, and buses releases nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide into the air. These pollutants cause acid rain.

"Acid Rain is Caused by Reactions in the Environment


"Nature depends on balance, and although some rain is naturally acidic, with a pH level of around 5.0, human activities have made it worse. Normal precipitation—such as rain, sleet, or snow—reacts with alkaline chemicals, or non-acidic materials, that can be found in air, soils, bedrock, lakes, and streams. These reactions usually neutralize natural acids. However, if precipitation becomes too acidic, these materials may not be able to neutralize all of the acids. Over time, these neutralizing materials can be washed away by acid rain. Damage to crops, trees, lakes, rivers, and animals can result."

Hence the laws limiting the use of high sulfur coal.  Which someone wants to gut for jobs.  Because of the worship of money and public adoration. 

I point this out merely to emphasize that everything we humans touch turns to the opposite of gold.   Unless of course, it is gold.  In which case we fashion it into a boat and try to sail it on the lake enjoying the ride even as it sinks under us because we didn't do displacement figures.  

Sometimes I think the rain is God's tears.  I can almost here His voice: "Look at what you've done to yourselves.  Look at what you've done to this world I gave you."  

And the church at Laodicea seems to be the boat of gold way out in the middle of Lake Michigan, no salt water to help buoy the bodies as they leap overboard because of the mangled engineering.

Re 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; {of the Laodiceans: or, in Laodicea}
 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

 (KJV)


be zealous therefore, and repent.

Maybe good advice to Sampson?

Both Laodicea and Philadelphia seem to be concurrent as Jeph and Sam seem to be concurrent.  My favorite No King in Israel

"It seems that the Philistine domination was the other half of the Ammonite control that Jephthah countered. During the same time that Jephthah was battling the Ammonites, Samson began to harass the Philistines. Israel was between these two enemies, but God raised deliverers who fought against them to bring a measure of liberty to His people. According to the suggested timeline of Judges, the Philistines began to dominate Israel about the middle of Eli’s priesthood. If that point was when his sons were carrying on their evil behavior (1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22), one can see another reason why they experienced such opposition from this quarter.

Philistines Represent

"We have noted that the Philistines were a people who had come out of Egypt, as Israel had. Their name means “wanderers,” and these represent people who have possessed the land belonging to God’s people, but without Divine direction. They had not come by the same route or by means of the same delivering power. They had never been in bondage in Egypt, neither had they cried for deliverance. They were never guarded by the bloodstained door, nor had they passed through the Red Sea. All the experiences of Israel at Mt. Sinai, with what God had revealed to them of Himself, were missing in their experience. They had their gods that seemed to mix the truth of Jehovah with false deities to some extent.

"Therefore, we see them as a people who represent religious profession, occupying a place that has never been provided for them by the work of Christ, taking ground that is not truly theirs to enjoy in the realm of spiritual profession. They compose the vast mass of “Christendom” composed of church members, workers, religious do-gooders who pretend a place as Christians, but without the spiritual evidence of the new birth, nor the revelation of God to their souls. We are surrounded by these people and they are the greatest opposers of the gospel and the truth of God. For some of them, their appearance is so close to genuine Christianity that they seem real, so that there is an attraction and a similarity that causes difficulty to discriminate and recognize who they truly are.

"These Philistines are notable in Judges 13 in that they are the only foreign nation that dominated Israel without causing any concern on Israel’s part. We are amazed that they had control over Israel (at least the southwest part) for the longest period of time (40 years) and Israel was seemingly content to remain under their oppressing force. They were so reluctant to disturb the “status quo” that they intended to deliver their savior, Samson, into the hands of the Philistines (15:11-13). The implication is that there is something unique about Philistine bondage.

"When God’s people are cold at heart toward God and warm at heart toward self and the world, they would rather accept religious profession and accommodate themselves to it rather than oppose it. It goes under the pattern of religious compromise, of acceptance of all who claim the name of Christ. We see it in the attitude that would rather accept wrong conditions than to cause any problem or difficulty. It is an attitude of toleration, of “getting along,” rather than standing for the truth of God’s Word.

"It is an indication of extreme spiritual departure and weakness when this condition exists. Many, who profess to be God’s people today, a day of Laodicean conditions, are drifting back into the religious world, accommodating themselves to religious practices that profess to represent true Christianity, but which are in reality far astray from the truth. It takes spiritual courage and determination, true repentance and exercise, to resist these conditions and to continue in faithfulness for the honor of the Lord Jesus and the truth of His Word. 

"Paul warned Timothy in his closing letter about these conditions. He spoke of men loving pleasure rather than loving God, then he says that they have a “form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” (2 Timothy 3:4-5). The only thing that will enable a man of God to effectively oppose this condition is the infinite power of God’s Word, inspired and applied so as to save and deliver the people of God (2 Timothy 3:16-18). We recognize those conditions in our day, and we must refuse to become complacent and never be satisfied to allow this enemy to oppose and bind the people of God. 

"We will notice that God was not satisfied for them to remain in that condition either; He raised up a deliverer, a most remarkable and strange man, a man named Samson."


Meanwhile, his beginning is very like that of  John the Baptist:

Jg 13:2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
 3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
 4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
 5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

This time it is Jesus as the Angel of the Lord who appears to announce the future birth a a deliverer.  God possesses a delightful sense of irony.

A Nazarite is an Israelite consecrated to the service of God, under vows to abstain from wine and anything made with grapes, let his hair grow, and avoid defilement by contact with corpses (Numbers. 6).

 The Angel of the Lord appeared to both the father and mother.  The parents knew Samson was a special child, blessed by God, chosen, and his behavior when we first meet him indicates they had told him that he was special and he was, as a result of this mutual feeling, spoiled.

Jg 13:24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
 25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. {the camp...: Heb. Mahanehdan}
 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
 2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
 3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. {pleaseth...: Heb. is right in mine eyes}
 4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
 5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. {against...: Heb. in meeting him}
 6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
 7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
 8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
 9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
 10 So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
 11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
 12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: {sheets: or, shirts}
 13 But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. {sheets: or, shirts}
 14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.
 15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so? {take...: Heb. possess us, or, impoverish us?}
 16 And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?
 17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people. {the seven...: or, the rest of the seven days}
 18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
 19 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house. {spoil: or, apparel}
 20 But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
 (KJV)

Samson seems to follow his senses and THEN the Spirit comes on him.  It is  not living in him.  He is no prophet now but there is worse news:

Jg 15:1 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.
 2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her. {take...: Heb. let her be thine}
 3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. {more...: or, blameless from the Philistines though, etc}
 4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. {firebrands: or, torches}
 5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
 6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
 7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
 8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
 9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
 10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.
 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. {went: Heb. went down}
 12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
 13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
 14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. {loosed: Heb. were melted}
 15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. {new: Heb. moist}
 16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. {heaps upon...: Heb. an heap, two heaps}
 17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi. {Ramathlehi: that is, the lifting up of the jawbone, or, casting away of the jawbone}
 18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
 19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. {Enhakkore: that is, the well of him that called or, cried} {the jaw: or, Lehi, as called in this chapter}
 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

 (KJV)

My feeling about having this spoiled child as a judge come from the old sitcom M*A*S*H. Hawkeye writes a letter home to his father describing many of his coworkers in  the Army medical operating unit and when he comes to describing Col,  Henry Blake: “As a commanding officer…well, it’s a bit like being on a sinking liner, running on the bridge and finding out the captain is Daffy Duck.”
And Samson seems like the craziest of judges.

He wed outside the faith.  He took food from the corpse of a dead animal. He followed his lusts as Esau would have in ages passed.  The Lord still dwells with him as he violates parts of his Nazarite vows.

We need to realize this  portrays the idea of lukewarmness. The Lukewarm go after what is pleasing to them and assume it is pleasing to God for them to have it because he allows them to have it.  His mercy keeps Him from immediately destroying them and they go to church on Sunday and back to the world the rest of the week. The Laodiceans were also spoiled.  See how they claim to have everything?

17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:


See those last four things: wretched, miserable, blind and naked. Keep them in mind because they seem to describe Samson's whole life.  He didn't have any joy to him.  He kept wanting things, taking them and then finding only a moment's pleasure in them.  He blindly sought women who were pleasing to his eye for sex,  not real marriage, certainly not for any kind of partnership.  He blindly pursued the slaughter of the Philistines but went unarmed into battle.  The Lord gave him the victory and did he immediately kill an offering, build an alter, acted thankfully?  No, he demanded something to drink because the killing was thirsty work.  God gave him a miracle in his hands, and he threw it away once he got his drink.  No prayer of thanks anywhere. The earlier Judges who were "mates" of battle sang a song of victory when God blessed them.   Samson took the spoils from his earlier fight with other Philistines and gave no offering to the Lord. Worst of all. his country was occupied, held in the hands of foreigners and Samson used his power for his own purposes.  Then he judged  for twenty years, not after he drove off the invaders, but during the occupation. 


Of Laodicea:

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/church-of-laodicea-in-the-bible-and-archaeology/

"Mark R. Fairchild of Huntington University explores the Laodicean church’s lukewarm reputation, while examining the recent archaeological excavations at Laodicea, Turkey, in his article “Laodicea’s ‘Lukewarm’ Legacy: Conflicts of Prosperity in an Ancient Christian City,” published in the March/April 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

"We are not told who founded the church of Laodicea in the Bible, yet from textual evidence in the New Testament, we can infer that Epaphras, one the apostle Paul’s disciples, likely planted it. We know that Epaphras founded the church at Colossae (Colossians 1:6–7), one of Laodicea’s close neighbors. Therefore, it seems plausible that he would also be responsible for planting the church at Laodicea.

"Laodicea was a wealthy city during the Roman period. Not only was Laodicea located on major trade routes that connected it to important cities like Ephesus, Smyrna and Sardis, but also it was a center of textile production and banking. Perhaps not surprisingly, the church of Laodicea is noted as being wealthy in the Bible (see Revelation 3:17).

"The Book of Revelation was penned during the Roman emperor Domitian’s reign (r. 81–96 C.E.). Domitian was notorious for being the first Roman emperor who declared himself a god while still alive. This affronted Christians, Jews and the Roman Senate alike. Other emperors were deified only after their death.

"Domitian persecuted those who would not participate in the imperial cult (the worship of emperors and dynastic families). Although Jews were exempt from participating, Christians were not. Fairchild explains, “As part of the Pax Romana, the staunchly monotheistic Jews in the cities of the Mediterranean world were exempt from the requirements of emperor worship. As long as Christianity was considered a sect within Judaism, the Christians in these cities were likewise exempt from emperor worship.” At first, the Christian Church was composed almost entirely of Jews. However, as more Gentiles (non-Jew) converted to Christianity, the percentage of Jewish people in the Christian Church decreased, and, therefore, Christians’ special status as Jewish monotheists, which permitted them to refrain from emperor worship, was removed.

"The Christians at Laodicea were affected by Domitian’s decrees. Their response to this persecution—which even involved their ability to buy and sell—is what causes the author of Revelation to call them “lukewarm.” Fairchild elaborates:

"The difficulties that this placed upon the Christians of Asia were expressed in detail throughout the Book of Revelation. Those who refused to worship the image of the beast (the emperor) were killed. Christians could no longer buy or sell unless they had taken the mark of the beast (Revelation 13). The pressure upon rich Christians to maintain their wealth was intense. Since a great deal of Laodicea’s wealth depended upon trade, the Christian merchants were in a quandary. Would they cooperate with the imperial cult and maintain their trade associations, or would they forswear Domitian and reaffirm their faith in Christ? Many of the Laodicean Christians compromised their faith in such ways that the writer of the apocalypse could say, “I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16).

"Other churches throughout the Roman Empire responded differently. For example, the Christians at Smyrna are applauded in the Book of Revelation for maintaining their faith in the midst of extreme difficulty by refusing to participate in the imperial cult—even though this meant affliction and poverty for them (see Revelation 2:9)."

(Keep the limits on buying and selling in mind as we approach End Times study.  Evil as well as good gets foreshadowed in the Bible.)

Meanwhile Sam moved on.

Jg 16:1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. {harlot: Heb. a woman an harlot}
 2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. {quiet: Heb. silence}
 3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron. {bar...: Heb. with the bar}
 4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. {in...: or, by the brook}
 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. {afflict: or, humble}
 6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
 7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. {green...: or, new cords: Heb. moist} {another: Heb. one}
 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. {green...: or, new cords: Heb. moist}
 9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. {toucheth: Heb. smelleth}
 10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
 11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. {that never...: Heb. wherewith work hath not been done}
 12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
 13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
 14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
 15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
 16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; {vexed: Heb. shortened}
 17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
 18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
 19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
 20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
 21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. {put out: Heb. bored out}

This time he blindly followed his lust and it got him into deep trouble.  It begins with an unnamed harlot.  The fixation, the lust of the flesh, the fallen flesh, talking bold. Then he fell in love with a woman who may have been that same harlot, who surely acted like one. Her attraction seeming to be that she too was not of Israel.  He wanted to stay away from his people when he ventured onto "the wrong side of the tracks,'  He kept going back to Delilah, kept telling her lies because he didn't trust her and she kept sending the Philistines and PROVING to him that she was treacherous.  But he kept going back, kept up the cycle.  This is like every bad fleshly relationship.  One or the other has some kind of power or possession the other wants and they call it love when the two share that power or possession but then one or the other starts to use the power against the other in some way.

I have seen these kind of relationships over and over in my life. Love becomes the idol, the god, and the person being abused or used just keeps coming back to the abuser, just lets them keep doing it.  Usually these relationships involve some level of codependency. drugs, alcohol, sexual deviations.  The sexual element seems to have Sam.  The game itself seems to have him.  Since she warned him every time, he may have felt she wouldn't really betray him but then again, he may have just fallen so low that she finally had him truly blind to who she was.

Then he was made blind for real.

The church if the Laodicean era was and is blind.  In Revelation: Four Views, Steve Gregg write about the modern era that came from the publication of Darwin's "Origin of the Species".  Gregg suggests this as the "tipping point" when scholarly assault "put tremendous pressure upon the church to conform to modern thought or lose academic respectability.  Many theologians succumbed to the pressure and began subjecting the Bible to "scientific methods" of analysis. Such methods, though far from objective or conclusive, became fashionable in many seminaries and denominations, resulting in loss of respect for the Bible as a genuine revelation from God.  In many cases, secular psychology, sociology, anthropology,  philosophy, and whatever social trend became popular in secular thinking (e.g., the breakdown of biblical models of marriage and sexuality), have displaced the Bible in it's authority to dictate norms in  the church. Modern churches who go this route are sad to represent this Laodicean church."

My own sense is that the refusal of the church to recognize some of the impact of legitimate scientific inquiry into the life around us has made the church lose credibility and opened the door for false religions to fill the gap between science that can actually expand on the Bible's meaning as when it says we were created to be the Earth's caretakers  and science explaining how we have failed in that way and how we can succeed and the false religions who offer pseudo gods.  Global warming does exists and it could do damage to civilization but I also understand the Lord blinding many of us to that impact has as much to do with the arriving of the End Times as it does to human greed by some energy companies in denying the phenomena.  American Christianity has always been the victim of the belief in Manifest Destiny. Our belief that God has destined the political advance of the political church nation into the whole world has also been accompanied by the idea of ruling by Divine Right.  "God put us in charge, so we must have all the right ideas so we need to rule and lay down the law and assure we continue to rule."  All of which profoundly rejects the lessons of the Bible, of Samson in particular.  Just because God gives someone their way for a time doesn't mean it is forever.

I look at the brugeoning megachurch industry which speaks more to the idea of the Laodiceans.

 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

The seeking after money, power, position, gifts seems to typify at least some of those megachurches many of whom would deny science but then twist the Bible to suit their lusts.  And entice people to follow them rather than Scripture.   And their followers are blind as surely as Samson; blinded by the world even as he was, sitting in the midst of the world's leaders not realizing they are serving the world as much by twisting Scripture as those who deny it for the sake of their science.  But there is hope for the blind in that they can still hear the truth.


 22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. {after...: or, as when he was shaven}
 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. {which...: Heb. and who multiplied our slain}

How many atheists rejoiced as the fall of a Jim Bakker or a Jimmy Swaggart or every local smaller church leader who fails his commission?  How many dance to Druid tunes at their parties?  How many Emergent Church leaders won people to their liberalized reading of the Gospel?

But God has his message of hope to the person, the church and the age.

Repent.

19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

And to the man:

 25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. {them: Heb. before them}
 26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
 27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
 28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. {on which...: or, he leaned on them}
 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. {me: Heb. my soul}
 31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
 (KJV)

He repents one last time and wants to do the Lord's will with his last breath.

Jesus' call to those who have walked away is the same:  "Repent."  Turn away from false gods and to  the true God.

If Judges serves as a church era reflection.  then what follows it may serve  as a reflection of the End Time.  As we shall see, it does just that,