Judges 19:1,2 - Israel had no king

19:1

We now come to the final episode in Judges, spanning the last three chapters. So far things have not been great, but they are just about to get an awful lot worse. The section opens with the oft repeated refrain of Judges, “In those days Israel had no king”. This is an indication that what we are about to read is an account of the terrible state of affairs that existed in Israel. The events in Judges are presented with the clear message, “this is not how things should be”, and “this is how things are in a nation that rejects the Lord and His commands”. The report begins with a Levite who lived “in a remote area of Ephraim”. He took a concubine. Generally a concubine was a “secondary wife”, and was treated more as a possession, rather than a partner. I.e. they did not have the same rights as a wife. However, there is no mention of this Levite having a wife, though that may be was taken as read. On the other hand, her father was called the Levite’s “father-in-law”. It is interesting that these last two episodes in Judges involve Levites. Maybe part of the message is that the priestly system was in utter disarray.

19:2

“But she was unfaithful to him”. It is not clear what this means. Some translations say “she played the whore” (KJV, NKJV etc), but there is no direct indication of this. Some manuscripts even indicate she was angry with her “husband”. Whatever the case, she ran off back to her parent’s home in Bethlehem. It seems unlikely that she would do this if she had been “playing the whore”. Anyway, she was there for four months.

He is Risen - Evidence for the resurrection

Evidence for the Resurrection

A Primer

This is just a very brief primer on the evidence for the resurrection. There are many sources on the internet, eg on Desiring God and books which go into things in much more detail, and it is important for us to know that while ultimately it is by faith that we know that Christ is risen, this belief is actually supported by the evidence. So here is a brief summary of the main points.

Positive Evidence

1. The gospels themselves and the New Testament letters. The New Testament letters were out within a relatively short timeframe of the events of Easter. The evidence for the reliability of the New Testament documents is overwhelming when compared with other events of similar antiquity.

2. The empty tomb. If Jesus had not risen, then the easiest thing for the religious or civic authorities to do would have been to simply point to the tomb where He was buried, but they could not do this because the only tomb they had was an empty one.

3. The church. How would the church have got started and grown without the resurrection?

4. Personal encounters with the risen Christ. If Christ was not risen, how is it millions of people, myself included, claim to know Christ?

Negative Evidence - Countering the arguments against the resurrection

None of the arguments against the resurrection stand up to scrutiny. Here are several examples.

1. The disciples made it up

If this was true then why didn't the authorities just point to the tomb where Jesus was buried? 

If they had made it up would they have been prepared to die for a lie?

2. The disciples moved the body

Surely the body would have been found at some point? And again, why would they do it, and why would they be prepared to die for their faith?

3. They had hallucinations

There were multiple appearances to different people in different circumstances. This makes hallucinations a totally implausible explanation. And again there is the question, why didn’t the authorities point to the tomb?

4. Jesus never actually died on the cross.

Muslims believe something like this. Sometimes it is referred to as the “swoon theory” saying that Jesus merely swooned and was revived by the cool of the tomb. This is perhaps the most ridiculous suggestion. Jesus was severely beaten before the cross itself, He could not even carry His own cross. 

The Romans were experts at two things, building roads and killing people. 

Even if Jesus had not died, which is most implausible, what state would He have been in even if the “cool of the tomb” had revived Him? And how did the stone get moved?

5. The disciples were gullible and would believe anything

The gospel records clearly show that the disciples were not gullible, and had no expectation of Jesus being raised from the dead, even though Jesus told them He would be. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus had been told by the women and Peter that the tomb was empty, yet they still did not believe that Jesus was alive until He appeared to them.

6. The women went to the wrong tomb

The very fact that women were the first witnesses to the resurrection is remarkable enough in itself. In the culture of the day if this had been a made-up story it is almost certain that they would have had men, presumably one or more of the apostles, as the first witnesses. But instead we find women as the first witnesses. In Mark 15:47 it states quite clearly that the women knew where the tomb was, and they knew that a stone had been rolled across it to seal the tomb (15:46; 16:3). So they knew exactly where they were going and what to expect.

The long and the short of it is that it is perfectly reasonable to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. It is a unique and an amazing event, but it is also one whose veracity is supported by the evidence.

My belief that Jesus rose from the dead has no problems with the evidence, whereas, those who deny the resurrection have enormous problems with the evidence.

We can confidently rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Acts 19:35-41 - He dismissed the assembly

19:35,36

Eventually the city clerk calmed the crowd down. He spoke in emollient tones, assuring the crowd that everyone knew how devoted to Artemis the city of Ephesus was. The image of Artemis that supposedly fell down from heaven, may have been a meteorite. Anyway, the clerk urges the crowd not to do anything rash.

19:37-39

The clerk then speaks in favour of Paul and his companions, pointing out that they had neither robbed temples nor blasphemed Artemis. It would seem that Paul had simply presented the gospel without making any outright attacks on Artemis, or any of the other gods in Ephesus. He then suggests that if Demetrius and the others have any complaint they should take it to the courts for resolution. So the matter should be dealt with through the proper channels.

19:40,41

The clerk then points out that their present behaviour risks bringing down the wrath of Rome upon them. The thing that Rome did not want in any of its regions was rioting and uproar. The assembly was then dismissed.

Judges 18:27-31 - They continued to use the idol

18:27,28

So the Danites took their pilfered religious artefacts and the acquired priest and went on to attack “a people at peace and secure”. Again we have this phrase “at peace and secure”, and I wonder if this is meant to imply that the Danites’ actions were merely opportunistic and not following any divine plan. They attacked and burned down the city. The people of Laish are presented as weak and defenceless. The Danites had no concern for the people there, and rebuilt the city.

18:29-31

They renamed the city “Dan”. They then set up their own idol. The Ten Commandments explicitly forbid the making of idols, and the Law (and the rest of the Bible afterwards) repeatedly warn against worshipping idols. There is reference to “until the time of captivity”, and that they continued to worship idols.  It is clear that the book of Judges does not approve of the actions of the Danites.

Acts 19:30-34 - The assembly was in confusion

19:30,31

Two of Paul’s travelling companions were seized, and they all rushed into the theatre. Paul wanted to appeal to the crowds to explain, but the disciples realised the effect that this was likely to have. Maybe this is an example of not throwing pearls to pigs. The crowd were in no state to listen to rational argument. The “officials” were called “Asiarchs”, and they begged Paul not to appear. It is believed that the theatre had a capacity of about twenty thousand.

19:32-34

There was general mayhem in the assembly, with all sorts of things being shouted. “Most people did not even know why they were there”. We need to appreciate that crowds are not always very sensible. It is unclear who Alexander was, but it seems that he was a Jewish leader of sorts, and they wanted him to make clear that the Jews and Christians were not the same. He sought to address the crowd, but as soon as he spoke they realised he was a Jew (and the Jews did not worship Artemis, or any other idol), so they started shouting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians”. This went on for two hours.

Judges 18:18-26 - Be quiet!

18:18-21

The priest asked them what they were doing. They told him to shut up, and invited him to be their priest, saying it was better to be the priest for a tribe, than for just one man. The priest gladly accepted the offer. So we see that he was a priest for hire. We also see that religion was effectively treated as a matter of “good luck charms”, there was no genuine trust in the Lord. We need to be careful that we too do not end up treating religious practices as good luck charms. The key to avoiding this is to have a genuine love and faith in the Lord.

18:22-26

Micah wasn’t too happy about the turn of events, and went after the Danites with the men who lived near him. The Danites asked him what the problem was, and Micah replied that it should be obvious what the problem was! The Danites threaten him and he decides to just go back home, as he was easily outnumbered.

Acts 19:23-29 - There arose a great disturbance

19:23-27

We have seen that the gospel had a great effect, with the burning of many scrolls. However, this would eventually produce a backlash, for people were losing money! We need to recognise that there are many people who make money out of evil. So a “disturbance” arises. Demetrius made silver shrines for Artemis, and so made money out of this. However, now that people were turning away from the false gods, he was losing trade. And it wasn’t just one man who was losing money, So he called together the craftsmen and other workers in related trades and got them to organise against Paul. The real cause of their grievance was that they were losing money, but he also sought to add a veneer of virtue to their cause by saying the “great temple of Artemis” would be discredited. She (for this was a female god, Diana was the Roman equivalent) would “be robbed of her majesty”. This “great” god was utterly dependent on man for her existence. Luke is mocking the false god here.

19:28,29

The people were whipped up into a frenzy, offended that their “great” god Artemis was being insulted. We see a similar phenomena when some Muslims are whipped up into a frenzy when Mohammed is supposedly insulted. We need to be aware of the deep hold that idols and false gods can have on people. So the crowds shouted “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians”. So the whole city was in uproar. 

Judges 18:7-17 - The five men spied out the land

18:7

The five spies left and came to Laish. They found the people living securely, and were prosperous. They were also distant from the Sidonians, so they could not receive assistance quickly. The way it is put the people of Laish are portrayed as innocent victims, and the Danites as taking advantage of them. They were not following the instructions of the Lord.

18:8-10

The spies returned Zorah and Eshtaol and gave their report. So the Danites saw a chance and wanted to seize it quickly while the chance was there. The report of these spies is rather different from that of the ten spies who reported to Israel. They also say that God has given the land into their hands. Whether this has any spiritual value is debatable. They could be putting a spiritual gloss on their own plans, rather than obediently following God’s plans.

18:11-17

So six hundred armed men set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. They camped in Judah and then went on to the hill country of Ephraim, arriving at Micah’s house. The five spies told the others about the little temple that Micah and his personal priest had set up. They then took the various “religious” objects and were going to make off with them. The six hundred men stood at the entrance. It must have been quite a sight to have a six hundred storing army at the gate to your house!

Acts 19:19-22 - The word of the Lord spread widely

19:19,20

Some had practised sorcery, and so had various scrolls relating to their sorcery. So they decided to get rid of the scrolls, burning them publicly. They were open about their new faith. These scrolls had great value, the total coming to fifty thousand drachmas, that is fifty thousand days wages. We can despair when we look at the state of our society, but here we see a large-scale refutation of their society’s ways. If we are faithful to the Lord, and present the gospel clearly and boldly, we should not be surprised if similar things happen in our day. We then read that the “word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power”. May a similar thing happen in our day!

19:21,22

Paul now decided to go to Jerusalem. After that he intended to go to Rome. He would eventually reach Rome, but the route there was far from simple, and definitely not free of incident. On the way to Jerusalem he would pass through Macedonia and Achaia. However, he would stay in Ephesus for a while longer, and Timothy and Erastus were sent ahead to Macedonia.

Judges 18:1-6 - Israel had no king

18:1,2

The story of Micah now morphs into a wider tale involving the tribe of Dan. This tribe had been the slowest at gaining their allotted territory. They had originally failed to take the land allocated to them (Josh 19:40-47; Judges 1:34-36). The chapter begins with yet another reminder that “in those days Israel had no king”.  The Danites were “seeking a place of their own”. They sent spies into the land they intended to take, somewhat reminiscent of Moses sending out spies.

18:3-6

The spies went out and ended up near Micah’s house. Somehow they knew the young Levite who Micah had hired, recognising him by his voice. They asked him what he was doing here. The Levite explains that he had been hired by Micah as a priest. So the Danite spies asked him to “inquire of God whether our journey will be successful”. The Levite replies “Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s favour” (NIV). This puts a rather favourable gloss on his words, the ESV has “The journey on which you go is under the eye of God”. This puts a more ambiguous slant on things.

Acts 19:16-18 - They openly confessed

19:16

The demon demonstrated its disdain for the so-called exorcists in a very real manner, by causing the man to jump on them, beating them up, and sending them out of the house running naked. There are several things to learn from this. One is that demons are real. Not every illness, physical or mental, are demon related, but some are. The second is that it is faith and obedience that count, and the third is that casting demons out is a normal part of Christian ministry.

19:17,18

The Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus learnt of what had happened and were seized with fear. So they honoured the name of Jesus, but for some this honouring was purely superficial, but for others it went deeper. This latter group came and confessed their sins. Repentance and confession of sins is a real sign of faith, indeed an essential sign. The gospel is Christ centred. It is Christ centred in terms of meaning all the benefits of the gospel come through Christ, but is also Christ centred in that it turns us towards Christ, we submit to Him. If all we are interested in are the benefits, then we have not grasped the gospel. Moreover, being devoted to Christ as our Lord is itself an enormous benefit.

Judges 17:6-13 - Now I know that the Lord will be good

17:6

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit”, or “everyone did what was right in their own eyes”. We see in Judges the sad state of the nation that is not following God. Very soon we will see the state of the nation under various kings. There are some good points, but the state of the nation is no better, and ends up with Israel (Judah) being turfed out of Jerusalem and sent into exile. Even the good kings end in failure. So what are we to learn? The nation needs leadership, but it must be godly leadership. They need God as their king. In the churches we see all sorts of models of organisation, from fairly freewheeling models, to very formal ones. The precise nature of the organisation and leadership is not the key issue. What matters is is Jesus head of the church, or is it doing what “seems right in its own eyes”?

17:7-13

A young Levite comes sling looking for somewhere to stay . Micah invites him in, and because of his being a Levits, he invites him to be his priest. So we see the sad state of affairs. A veneer of godliness has been added, some token obedience to the Law, having a Levite as priest. The Law said the Levites were the priestly tribe, so surely God  would bless them now? In today’s church something using the same words as we find in the Bible may be added, with the intention of making people think it is now godly. But is is heart obedience, true faith, that counts.

Acts 19:13-15 - But who are you?

19:13

The concept of evil spirits being driven out was not alien to the Jews, and there were some Jews who tried to drive out evil spirits. It seems that they were not overly successful, so when they saw how effective Paul was being, they thought that they could increase their success rate by invoking the name of the Lord Jesus. That they did not know Jesus is shown by the “formula” that they used “in the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out”.

19:14,15

Seven sons of a Jewish High Priest were trying to carry out exorcisms. They relied on the “right” ceremonies and words. One day they were doing this with their new found formula, an evil spirit did not take too kindly to this, and had no respect for them. The evil spirit spoke to them saying “Jesus I know about, but who are you?” We need to be careful, for we can think that it is important to have the right words, or to think that if only we use the right words we will be successful. This is not true, it is faith and obedience that count, and knowing God. 

Judges 17:1-5 - He used them to make an idol

17:1,2

The accounts of the “judges”, i.e. the individuals who played a role in rescuing Israel from her foes, has now ended, and the book finished with accounts of everyday life in Israel. This is not a very edifying spectacle. The first account is of Micah. He had stolen eleven hundred shekels of silver from his mother, this was about thirteen kilograms of silver. His mother had uttered a curse. Nowhere under the Law were Israelites encouraged to utter curses, curses came from the Lord alone. His mother having uttered the curse is perhaps an indication of the extent to which the practices of the surrounding peoples had infected Israel. Having heard the curse, Micah decides to return the money to his mother. His mother’s response was to say “The Lord bless you, my son!”.

17:3-5

On receiving back the silver, the mother dedicated it to the Lord. So far so good, but then she says she will make an image. This was in direct contravention to the commandment not to make any image of the Lord. 200 shekels of the 1100 shekels of silver was used to make an image, we are not told what happened to the other 900 shekels. The image was put in Micah’s house. Micah had a shrine and a whole collection of idols!  He then installed one of his sons as his priest. So we see him having a form of “spirituality” as might say today, but a “spirituality” that bore no resemblance to what God actually wanted nor had commanded.

Acts 19:9-12 - God did extraordinary miracles

19:9,10

Over time, resistance to Paul built up. Some will accept the gospel gladly, others will continue their rebellion against God, and become even harder hearted. These people “publicly maligned the Way” and so Paul left. He went instead to the “lecture hall of Tyrannus”. He stayed there for two years, and was able to reach “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia”. I suspect we should not take “all” absolutely literally, but rather as meaning that everyone had the chance to hear.

19:11,12

“God did extraordinary miracles through Paul”. As mentioned earlier, the earlier parts of Acts give quite a lot of time to miracles, but this drops off as we progress through Acts. However, this verse, amongst others, shows that this does not mean that the number of miracles occurring dropped off, just that Luke’s emphasis has changed. We then read that “even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and evil spirits left them”. We should be aware that “strange” things can happen. However, we should have our focus on the right thing, namely the Lord and the work of the Holy Spirit. If we think that someone will get healed because we take a handkerchief to a “man of God”, we are mistaken. God may use that method, but faith in the Lord is the key ingredient. But if we think miracles and healings are no longer for today we are being very unbiblical.

Judges 16:28-31 - Sovereign Lord, remember me

16:28

Samson now prays to the Lord. This is the first time he has turned to God. He knows that the strength he had came from the Lord. Note that his hair had already begun to grow again (16:22), so it is not the hair that was the source of his strength, but the Lord himself. Even so, Samson’s motive is to get revenge for his two eyes having been gouged out by the Philistines.

16:29-31

NIV has “Samson reached toward the two central pillars”, ESV has “Samson grasped the two middle pillars”, ESV is probably a more accurate translation here, though it doesn’t make a great deal of difference. Whatever the case, Samson pulled down to the two pillars so that the temple collapsed, killing everyone in it, including Samson himself. So that “he killed many more when he died than while he lived”. His body was recovered by his family and he was buried in the tomb of his father. We are once again told that he led/judged Israel for twenty years. And the sorry tale comes to an end, but things are going to get worse in Judges.

Acts 19:5-8 - They spoke in tongues and prophesied

19:5-7

The Ephesian dozen accepted Paul’s instruction and “they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus”. Paul then placed his hands upon them and they received the Holy Spirit. This was evidenced by them speaking in tongues and prophesying. We then learn that there were about a dozen of them. Once again we see real evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

19:8

We now move on to Paul’s more general ministry in Ephesus. As was his custom, Paul entered the synagogue, and was able to speak there for three months. This is a longer period than he had in Thessalonica’s synagogue (Acts 17:2). Paul “argued persuasively about the kingdom of God”. Usually we read of Paul preaching the gospel, here the term has changed to “the kingdom of God”. I wonder if there is any significance in this. Ultimately there is little difference, if we understand the gospel aright. The gospel is God’s means of bringing people into the kingdom, and it is about living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, rather than the tyranny of the world.

Judges 16:20-27 - The Philistines are upon you

16:20-22

Yet again Delilah calls out “Samson, the Philistines are upon you”. Samson expects everything to work as before, but this time he finds that he has no more strength than any other human being. He was seized by the Philistines and his eyes were gouged out. The explanation is given that “the Lord had left him”. He was put in prison, and his hair began to grow again. Why didn’t the Philistines just kill him there and then? It was because they wanted to make a spectacle of him.

16:23,24

The Philistines put their success down to their god Dagon, though Dagon had nothing to do with it. However, they want to celebrate defeating Samson. It is interesting that it is a human trait to want to pay homage to something beyond ourselves in order to properly celebrate, whether that something be the Lord, some false god, or some ideology.

16:25-27

One can imagine that there was a significant amount of alcohol involved in the celebration, and while in high spirits that call for Samson to be brought out, so they can celebrate all the more, and humiliate their captured foe. Samson was led out and they stood him between the pillars of the building. Samson asked to be out placed so that he could feel the pillars and lean against them. Remember that he is now blind. The temple was crowded with many people, including all the rulers of the Philistines. Three thousand men and women in all. They were there to be entertained by Samson, they expected to be mocking Samson, but were in for a surprise.

Acts 19:3,4 - A baptism of repentance

19:3

Paul then asked “what baptism did you receive?”. Note the implication that he expected any believer to be baptised. Baptism was not an optional extra, but a key part of becoming a disciple. “John’s baptism”, was their reply. So in some ways they were like Apollos. There are some interesting points to note. One is that awareness of John the Baptist had spread far and wide, and remember that he had been dead for a few years by this point. The second is that his teaching had also spread, and had attracted some to serious devotion to it. The teaching that had spread clearly had deficiencies, but must have retained some mention of Jesus.

19:4

Paul then goes on to explain where John’s teaching was leading. Of course, we have only the briefest summary here, but this does contain the key points. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. This was a key first step, and repentance is part of the gospel. We need to admit our sinfulness if the gospel and Jesus are going to make any sense to us at all. But John the Baptist pointed the way to Jesus, He was the one they should believe in. The early chapters of John’s gospel make this abundantly clear.

Judges 16:13-19 - And his strength left him

16:13,14

One would think that by this time both would have become wise to the other. Samson realising that Delilah was far from trustworthy, and Delilah that Samson was likely to tell her a bag of lies. However, this was not the case. We might think that the tale is highly unlikely, but we are capable of doing the most stupid things, and falling for the same lies time after time. So Delilah asks Samson again to tell her his secret. And Samson spins yet another yarn, this time about braiding his hair. We are not given the details of the Philistines hiding in the room this time, but we can assume that other details were the same as before.

16:15-19

Delilah then goes into super-nag mode, nagging him until he was “sick to death of it”. Then he tells her the truth, or at least what he thought the reason was. He tells her about his hair never having been cut. She puts him to sleep (possibly by putting some potion in his drink?), and someone shaved off his hair. This time his strength did leave him.Now why is it only at this point that his strength left him? He had hardly been a paragon of virtue throughout his life, but now he has explicitly broken the Nazarite vow.

Acts 19:1,2 - We have not even heard of the Holy Spirit

19:1

Apollos was continuing the work in Corinth. 1 Cor 1:12 shows that some of the Corinthians were tempted to follow men rather than Jesus. Meanwhile Paul moved to Ephesus and was there for about 3 years. Paul had a very good relationship with the Ephesians, though Rev 2:1-7 shows that a church must never become complacent.

19:2

There are about four sections on Paul’s time at Ephesus, the first concerns the “Ephesian dozen”. While their “theology” was seriously inadequate, they are still referred to as “disciples”. Pauls asks them “did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” We are not given any indication of what prompted Paul to ask this question, probably something in what they said caused him to wonder. Their answer was “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit”. 

Judges 16:8-12 - You have made a fool of me

16:8,9

The Philistines give her seven fresh bowstrings and she ties him up. He must have been a deep sleeper. Some Philistines were hidden in the room and she calls to Samson “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”. Predictably, the bowstrings had no effect whatsoever.

16:10-12

Delilah is not an admirable person at all. “You made a fool of me.” How did she expect Samson to react when she was trying to have him captured. However, Samson is a complete idiot, why doesn’t he just get rid of her now he knows how treacherous she is? But no, he spins her another yarn. This time he claims that new ropes will deal with his strength. So Delilah ties him up. How did she do this without wakening him? Perhaps he was awake, but knew how futile the ropes would be. Again there were Philistines hidden in the room, and Delilah cries out  “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”. And the outcome is the same as before.

Acts 18:24-28 - Apollos vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents

18:24-26

We are now introduced to Apollos. He was Jew and a learned man. He understood the Scriptures and had a thorough knowledge of them. The description of him is quite strange, for it says “he had been instructed in the way of the Lord”, he also spoke with great fervour, “and taught about Jesus accurately”.  Then it says “he knew only the baptism of John”. This raises some questions. The first is who taught Apollos? Perhaps more importantly, how did he teach “accurately” when he only knew about John’s baptism? Like Paul,he spoke boldly in the synagogue. During his ministry he came into contact with Priscilla and Aquila, and they gave him a more complete understanding of the gospel.

18:27.28

Having received more adequate instruction, Apollos went from strength to strength. We may be doing well in a certain area of ministry, but all of us have more to learn, and we should always be willing to learn and receive from other godly men and women. Apollos went on to Achaia. This included Corinth, and Apollos is mentioned in 1 Cor 1:12. Apollos was highly respected by the believers, and “vigorously refuted his Hewish opponents in public debate”.

Judges 16:1-7 - Samson is here!

16:1-3

We now come to the most famous part of the tale of Samson. The chapter begins with a vignette that reminds of Samson’s stupidity, his great strength, and the Philistines' fear of him and desire to get rid of him. Samson sees a prostitute and spends the night with her. Except possible right at the end, Samson never demonstrates any moral virtue. The people of Gaza surround the place, but decide to wait till morning in order to kill him. They probably reckoned that if they went into the house at night they would be easily beaten by Samson, being aware of his great strength. However, Samson got up in the middle of the night and took off the doors of the city, and carried them up to the top of a hill facing Hebron. This seems to be purely a demonstration of his strength, and a mocking of the people of Gaza.

16:4-7

We now come to the main act. Samson falls in love with Delilah. There is no mention of whether she was Jewish or a Philistine. Given the way things pan out, and Samson’s past form, I think she was probably a Philistine. The Philistine rulers offer her a lot of money if she will discover the secret of his great strength. They know that they have to deal with the issue of his strength in order to defeat him. So Delilah asks Samson to tell her the secret. Samson then spins her the first of three yarns, saying that if he is tied up with “seven fresh bowstrings” he will lose his power.

Acts 18:18-23 - Paul stayed in Corinth for some time

18:18

Paul clearly got on well with Priscilla and Aquila, taking them with him as they set sail for Syria. Luke then mentions that Paul “had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken”. This was probably a Nazirite type vow. Why does Luke mention this? It may be to show that Paul was not anti-Jewish. The gospel, and indeed Jesus Himself, were at odds with the Jewish understanding of God’s ways. But Jesus and the gospel are the fulfilment of the Old Testament Law and the Prophets, the natural (or supernatural!) outworking of all that the Old Testament says.

18:20

Paul left Priscilla and Aquila at Ephesus. It is possibly significant that Priscilla is named first.  Paul went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. So Paul’s declaration in Acts 18:6 seems to be limited to the situation in Corinth. He also seems to have got a more reasonable reception here, for they asked him to spend more time with them. However, Paul had other plans, so declined to do so.

18:21-23

Paul did promise to return to Ephesus, then he sailed on from Ephesus to Caesarea. He then visited Jerusalem, before going back to Antioch. The visit to Jerusalem seems to have been remarkably uneventful. After Antioch Paul embarked on another missionary journey, his third of these. The impact that Paul had in these three missionary journeys is quite remarkable. This mission trip focused on the region of Galatia and Phrygia.

Judges 15:16-20 - With a donkey's jawbone

15:16,17

While in some ways Samson was a rather stupid person (think what a bit of self-control and devotion to the Lord would have enabled him to do), he did have a way with words. So we get one of his little poems, the full value of which we do not get in the English translation. After this he discarded the jawbone, and the place was named Ramath Lehi, or “jawbone hill” (sounds like the name of a place out of a western).

15:18-20

Samson was very thirsty. He knows that his strength came from the Lord, but now claims that he is about to die of thirst. The Lord opened up a place of water for him. Samson drank and was revived. God doing miracles in a person’s life is no indication of moral rectitude. 

We then read that Samson led Israel for twenty years. Perhaps “judged” is a better term here. For there is no record of him being an actual leader in terms of governing the nation. This was “the days of the Philistines”. What it means is that he, his life and actions, were the dominant feature in the nation over that period.

Acts 18:12-17 - I will not be a judge of such things

18:12,13

The Jews did continue to attack Paul, but their attacks came to nought. The Jews made an attack on Paul, bringing him before the proconsul. Note Luke’s interest in historical detail. These are accounts of real events. They accused Paul of seeking to persuade “people to worship God in ways contrary to the law”. The Roman empire allowed certain religions, and the Jews had some dispensations. 

18:14-17

Paul was about to speak, but the proconsul, Gallio, intervened, and effectively on Paul’s behalf. Gallio had no interest in what he saw as the niceties of Jewish religion, and was aware of what the Jews were doing. Moreover, with the expulsion of the Jews from Rome, he may well have viewed them as troublemakers. So he tells them to sort the matter out for themselves. The crowd, fickle as always, saw the way the wind was now blowing, and so turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue leader and beat him up. This was all done in front of Gallio, but he turned a blind eye. So God’s word to Paul was proved true. Note, however, that there were times when Paul did suffer as a result of attacks, but these are in God’s hands.1 Cor 1:1 mentions a Sosthenes, this may or may not have been the same person as mentioned here.

Judges 15:11-15 - Three thousand men from Judah

15:11,12

“Three thousand men from Judah”. It seems that the people of Judah did not have high regard for Samson, and who can blame them? They knew where he was hiding and went to confront him. First they remind him of the realpolitik situation, the Philistines ruled over them so they had to avoid antagonising them. Samson replied that they deserved what they got. The men of Judah tell him that they will tie him up and hand him over to the Philistines. Samson is quite happy with the situation, as long as the men of Judah do not kill him themselves. He seems to know that with his unnatural strength he can overcome the Philistines.

15:13-15

So they bound him up and handed him over. The Philistines were shouting, thinking that they had got their man. However, they did not reckon with the Spirit of the Lord, who came upon Samson and gave him great strength. So Samson easily broke the ropes.  The earlier mention of these being new ropes shows that the ropes were not old and weak, it is only by supernatural strength that a man could break them. Samson then found a donkey jawbone and struck down one thousand Philistines.