"...and he did not know the Lord had left him."

Samson's great strength wasn't "magic": It didn't originate from his long hair and it wasn't automatically weakened by violating his Nazirite vows. Indeed, Samson had no control over his incredible strength: the great miracles Samson performed came from God...and God alone.

Samson was an incredibly flawed man who God repeatedly chose to bless with great strength so that God's plans would be fulfilled (and Israel's enemies defeated). But Samson's most egregious sin occurred when he abandoned God and took credit for his own successes. He thought HE was in control of his miraculous strength, that all of his powers came from his OWN body and that the source of those powers laid in his "magic hair". Indeed, Samson became so disconnected from God that God finally removed his Spirit (and thus Samson's mighty strength) resulting in Samson's capture and mutilation.

The final chapters of Judges focus on Israel's apostacy, the establishment of house-hold idols and breaking of the Levitical laws set-down by Moses. The seeds of this apostacy came to full fruition (possible in the author's lifetime) when the united monarchy splits just a few years later after Solomon's reign.

Samson struggled throughout his life to control his emotions. He made poor choices that often led to disastrous consequences. When challenged, Samson usually responded with impulsively violent outbursts that greatly harmed the people around him, often ending in death and destruction. Samson was a man living on the edge.

*****

As the period of the Judges ended, a cataclysmic apocalypse engulfed the entire Mediterranean and Near-East regions. Highly-advanced civilizations disappeared almost over-night: cities were suddenly depopulated and burned to the ground, economies collapsed, and writing disappeared. This "Late Bronze Age Collapse" was sudden, violent, and unprecedented...and partially the result of wars fought by the mysterious "Sea Peoples" who settled in Canaan and later became known as one of Israel's greatest enemies: The Philistines.

The collapse of the great Mediterranean empires created a power vacuum that enabled the Israelites to slowly coalesce into their own powerful nation and rule themselves under the united monarchy of Saul, David and Solomon.

The birth of Israel's most famous judge has many parallels with the birth of Christ: An angel announces his coming to a woman who has never born any other children; the angel makes an additional announcement to the woman's husband, the boy is destined to be a chosen leader of his people, and the Spirit of God was destined to work powerfully in his life.

But unlike Jesus, Samson was a flawed human who repeatedly struggled to act righteously and follow God. But even though Samson was an imperfectly flawed sinner, GOD was able to make Samson righteous and work through him to fulfill his holy plans in the world. We can learn an important lesson from Samson by realizing that God can do amazing things through anyone...no matter how flawed or broken we are.

Remarkably, a huge stash of ancient clay writings have been found that date to the period of the judges and confirm that a group of people called the "Apiru" (possibly "Hebrews") were active in Canaan during this period and were fighting against the allies of Egypt. These "Amarna Letters" provide evidence corroborating the Biblical account of Canaanite tribes attempting to consolidate their power and drive their enemies from the land.

God can raise up *anyone* to bless and serve Him, regardless of background or personal history. Jephthah was the son of a prostitute who was ostracized from his mixed family because of his heritage. He ran away from home and fell-in with "worthless fellows", and he struggled to faithfully follow God. But Jephthah was a great leader and a cunning warrior who gained the admiration of the Israelites and the blessings of God, who raised him up to deliver Israel from her enemies.

Many of us think God could never love us because of our past. Perhaps we think we've sinned too much and acted so abhorrently that God could never love or accept us. Maybe we think that we have to be "perfect" to serve Him, or maybe we look at how others live their lives and think "I could never be perfect like those people, so I can't even try". But God is a merciful creator who knows that NO ONE is perfect. ALL of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. But God has provided a solution: Jesus Christ! Anyone who truly believes in Jesus is forgiven of ALL of their sins and made righteous in His sight.

Jephthah had the support and blessings of God but he made a tragic mistake: he bargained with God by making a terrible promise that he didn't need to make: "God, if you'll only give me [something] I will do [this]." This unnecessary vow ultimately cost him his daughter's life. If we are faithfully serving God by praying daily, being active disciples and reading the Holy Scriptures, God will bless us and there is NO need to make rash vows...simply ask God to intervene in your life and He will!

Gideon achieved complete victory over the Midianites because he was faithful to God and followed God's commands. But with victory in-hand, not only did Gideon fail to worship God for the miracles He had provided, Gideon continued to pursue his enemies to exact complete vengeance and kill anyone who got in his way. And once his enemies were dead -- with peace and security around him -- Gideon fell away from God into a cycle of sin and idolatry.

How many times have we reaped the miraculous benefits of prayer only to forget God, assign His intervention to chance (or our own power), or worst of all go back to our sinful ways because we no longer need God?

Gideon perfectly represented Israel's judges: He was a humble farmer who was plucked from obscurity by God to become a mighty warrior and lead the Israelites into battle to deliver them from the crushing oppression of the Midianites. At first, Gideon questioned God's messenger to understand why his people were suffering if God truly loved them. "Didn't the Lord being us out of Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian!" When the Lord answered "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand", Gideon responded by asking for "signs" for God to prove Himself.

The "heroes" of the Old Testament weren't perfect people who never made mistakes. They weren't super-humans who never questioned God or lost faith, and they weren't mythical beings who were invented by ancient writers to fool people into following false gods. The leaders of the Old Testament were real flesh-and-blood humans with all of the flaws, doubts, and weaknesses that we share today. But God raised them up anyway...*flaws included*...to fulfill His divine will, deliver the Israelites from hardships, and prepare the way for the coming Messiah.

Gideon eventually believed in God because he approached God with a humble and open heart seeking answers to life's toughest questions. Gideon respectfully asked God to convince him that He was real, and God patiently worked in Gideon's life until Gideon developed a strong and enduring faith.

It's not a sin to ask God for help believing in Him! In fact, God already knows we'll all struggle with faith at some point in our lives and He *tells* us to humbly ask Him for more faith! And God is supremely patient with us, sometimes watching us take two steps forward and one step back. If you've been struggling with faith, it's time to take the next step and ask God directly for help believing...He WILL help you!

3400 years ago, in an age of overwhelming male dominance and control, one of the most remarkable women in world history was the undisputed leader of God's Chosen People. Deborah was smart, strong, brave and righteous. She was a prophet and a judge who held court under the "Palm of Deborah" and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. When she ordered her male army commander to attack their violent enemy and free their people from the yoke of oppression, he flatly refused to go into battle without her! In response, she famously said “Certainly I will go with you...But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman!”

The fantastic Song of Deborah commemorates this amazing leader of Israel who saved God's people from years of brutal oppression. "In the days [when] the highways were abandoned, travelers took to winding paths. Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, a mother of Israel!"

Following the remarkable success of Joshua's initial conquest of Canaan (the "Promised Land"), the Israelites descend into repeating cycles of moral and spiritual decline. The troubles of God's "Chosen People" are the result of disobeying God, disobeying leaders, idolatry, religious apathy, and intermarriage with wicked Canaanites who didn't share the Israelite's religious beliefs. In response to Israel's spiritual apathy and religious apostasy, God gave the Israelites over to be oppressed by their regional neighbors.

The cycle of decline includes: 1) God's people depart from God, 2) God allows Israel's neighbors to oppress them, 3) The Israelites return to God and plead for Him to save them, and 4) God raises-up Judges (often military leaders) to deliver the Israelites from their enemies. This cycle is repeated numerous times, and God's Judges are often portrayed as flawed leaders who vacillate between acts of faithful righteousness and terrible acts of sin...much like the rest of Israel.

In contrast to the flawed Israelite community, God is portrayed as an incredibly merciful creator who time-and-again forgives His Chosen People for their sinful ways and saves them from their oppressors. To be sure, the events in Judges over 3500 years ago bare a striking resemblance to today's corrupt and religiously apathetic society which desperately needs to repent and return to God.

In the last days of the Bronze Age, in a tiny strip of land that was the crossroads of western civilization, nestled among the crumbling remains of the world's mightiest empires, a group of people who worshipped a single all-powerful God who referred to His children as the "chosen ones" began to take control of a region they called the "promised land" and organized themselves into one of the most influential civilizations in human history. They were called Israelites...the Sons of Abraham.

This is the story of twelve loose-knit tribes who continually struggled to faithfully follow God, and repeatedly called-out for deliverance from their hostile neighbors.

The authors of Judges created a narrative that emphasized the pitfalls of Israel's leadership vacuum and the moral decay that results from spiritual aimlessness. For the authors of Judges, only one solution would solve their social and religious problems: establishing a religious monarchy and crowning an Israelite king.

In his closing chapters, Paul highlights his apostleship to the Gentiles and expresses his wish to visit Rome.