–Lou Bradshaw  (Palouse)

       “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

                         –Proverbs 14:12(NKJV)
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                    “Now what more shall I say?  For the time would fail me to tell of … Samson… who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises,        
           stopped the mouths of lions.”
                                 –Hebrews 11:32-33 (NKJV)

       We know nothing of Samson as he grew up except that he had a Nazirite Vow.  We can only speculate about him and that could be dangerous.  Did he exhibit his extra-ordinary strength while he was growing up?  I tend to think the first time he realized it was upon the occasion when he was attacked by the lion.  Oh, he may have been stronger than the other young men around, but there wasn’t an occasion that called for the Spirit of the Lord to come upon him.
       Judges 14:4, we see that God “was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines.” (NKJV)  He saw a woman whom he wanted for a wife and he along with his parents were on their way to the wedding feast.  We are not told why he was not with his parents when he was attacked by the lion, but he must have decided to go his own way, (he did that often) or while resting he wandered away from them.  Needless to say they knew nothing of the incident.  

               “So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah.  Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him.  And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand.  But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.”
                               –Judges 14:5-6 (NKJV)

       One thing we should ask, what was Samson doing in the vineyard?  It was a place where he should not be found for it went against his Vow.  Yet, God was with him.  But this occasion made known to him his tremendous strength and power.  This is a great lesson for us.  When we struggle we need to realized that we have a tremendous power within us–the power of the Holy Spirit.  It may not be to tear a lion apart, but it is to defeat that vicious enemy who comes at us like a roaring lion.  Matthew Henry writes, “God let Samson know what he could do in the strength of the Spirit of the Lord, that he might never be afraid to look the greatest difficulties in the face.”  We, too can face the difficulties of life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
       After meeting with his wife-to-be making arrangements for the wedding ceremony he passed by where he killed the lion.  Again he ventured into a place where he should not be and found honey in the carcass.  Now, he breaks the second part of his Vow, touching the dead animal, and after taking honey he found in the carcass, he goes on to the wedding feast.  He has no friends, he has not brought anyone with him to help him celebrate so he is given thirty “buddies” from among the Philistines.  We are not told who they are, we can only speculate, but he wagered with them through a riddle.  These were false companions and most likely there was plenty of drinking at the feast.  I doubt that Samson had sarsaparilla or lemonade at the wedding ceremony, especially if these men were of the rougher sort that we associate as Philistine.
       Because of a “false wife,” one he should not have consorted with in the first place he was enticed to tell her the secret of the riddle which she then passed on to the Philistines.  Samson realized that he had been duped.  The woman had first of all enticed him, then controlled him with her tears, then she finally betrayed him to her countrymen.  Samson did not object to paying the wager, but he understood how they came to know the answer.  Warren Wiersbe said this, “Samson could kill lions and break ropes, but he couldn’t over come the power of a woman’s tears.”
       Now we get to the occasion that God was looking for.  Samson went down to a neighboring city, Ashkelon, and killed thirty men taking their apparel to pay off his wager.  It is important to see that this was done as “the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily” (Judges 14:19, NKJV).  The Philistines were stirred up, Samson was on his way to fulfilling the role that God had for him.
       Let me tell a story about my youngest daughter’s wedding to end this portion in the study of Samson.  As we stood, ready to walk down the aisle, she began trembling.  I leaned toward her and whispered, “Now is the chance.  You can still run.”  At the time there was a popular movie, “Runaway Bride.”  She still had a chance to run from this marriage.  However, she took a deep breath, her trembling stopped and we walked down the aisle.  We could call Samson the “Runaway Groom.”  He didn’t marry the woman, but went back to his father’s house, maybe not exactly like the Prodigal Son of the New Testament, but he knew where he could and should go.  The story isn’t quite over.  The best man married his wife-to-be.  
       The moral of the story is:  watch out for the Philistines!  Matthew Henry summed it up, “Better be angry with Philistines, than in love with them, because, when we join ourselves to them, we are most in danger of being ensnared by them.”  The words of the Apostle Paul ring out to warn us, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.  For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?  And what communion has light with darkness?  And what accord has Christ with Belial?  Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15, NKJV)

                         –Zane Grey  (The Border Legion)

       “Now listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample the needy!  I will never forget the wicked things you have done!”

                         –Amos 8:4,7 (NLT)
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There is a difference between leadership and power.  There are few leaders, though there are many in leadership positions.  And I will ask why–then give you the answer–power.  I don’t care how big the organization is, there is a quest for power in most of them.  To look around and you see very few leaders, but you see many hungry and grasping for power.  Reaction to adversity will show character, but give a man power and true character will be seen.  Look at the way Ecclesiastes puts it:

          “If you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and justice being miscarried throughout the land, don’t be surprised!  For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice only get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.  Even the king milks the land for his own profit!”
                    –Ecclesiastes 5:8-9 (NLT)

       Oh, the powerful, the elite, in our country the politicians who claim they are working for the common and poor people are only in reality attempting to stay in power.  Machiavelli said it right–“the end justifies the means.”  Woe unto the person who practices that humanistic ideology.  The rich, the powerful, all they truly want is more power.  Don’t get in their way or they will attempt to crush you, slander you, destroy you one way or another.  Lies will spew from their mouths if someone is a threat to their power.
       Some want the power to gain wealth.  “More, I want more,” they cry.  Look at the astronomical salaries of pro sports and entertainers.  How can anyone come close to spending all that money, and yet they still cry for more?  The truth of the matter is that so many of them die having lived a wasted life with nothing left to show for their living.  I read something just last week about teammates laughing at Larry Bird for saving his money.  He would try to help them, warn them they needed to look beyond the glory days of youth.  He said in later years many of them would come begging to him for money.  It is beyond me how a person could spend millions of dollars and have nothing to show for it, but that is what Solomon says,

          “Those who love money will never have enough.  How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness!  The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it.  So what is the advantage of wealth–except perhaps to watch it run through your fingers!”
                    –Ecclesiastes 5:10-11(NLT)

       The love of money will bring no satisfaction.  It is like power, the more you have the more you want and you go to sleep at night worrying if you’ll hang on to it and devising ways to get more.  If you love money or power you will never say “that is enough.”  Paul writes to Timothy, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10, NKJV)
       Frustration and fear abounds in the wealthy and powerful.  Look at them in the media, look at their countenance, see the fear and evil in their faces.   Someone has said, “More money, more people; more people, more worries; more worries, less sleep.”  These people live a harsh life, a worrisome life.  They walk around with an entourage of pleasers–boot-licking lackies we used to call them.  In reality they are parasites waiting, but I ask waiting for what?   Surely not for the person to lose their power for what would happen to them?  They would be cast aside.
       The best thing is to work hard.  Work is good for the soul, while the rich and powerful are close to losing theirs.  Work for the Lord, as Paul admonishes in Colossians.  Solomon concludes this little portion of Scripture with these words, “People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much…” (Ecclesiastes 5:12, NLT)

                      –Louis L’Amour  (Under the Sweetwater Rim)

       “I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word.”

                      –Psalm 119:101 (NKJV)
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One thing we know about David is that he was sincere.  When we read the rest of Psalm 86, I think of those who mouth the words, but their heart is just not in them.  The words are fine, but the commitment is lacking.  We see the person who sincerely wants grace bestowed and is willing to accept the responsibility that goes along with it.

          11 — Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.
          12 — I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore.
          13 — For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
          14 — O God, the proud have risen against me, and a mob of violent men have sought my life, and have not set You before them.
          15 — But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
          16 — Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!  Give Your strength to Your servant, and save the son of Your maidservant.
          17 — Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.  (NKJV)

       Here we see David calling upon God because He knows somewhat of God’s great character.  Three times he mentions God’s mercy.  When we get in trouble and run to the Lord we cry for His mercy upon us.  When we come with an expectant and true heart God will show compassion.  He is patient with our lives and how we handle circumstances, and then is abundant in mercy.  I have always thought that David was an Old Testament character with a New Testament understanding.  When David looks at the Lord’s mercy it brings him out from the abyss in which he had been wallowing.
       Part of our problem lies in our attitudes.  David was still in the same situation as before, what has changed?  Attitude.  Before he was in the pit of despair, now he has confidence in the Lord.  Same problem–different attitude.  He has come to an understanding that God is there with him.  He realizes that He needs God’s strength to get through the situation.  In this, he wants people to know that it was the Lord who helped him and delivered him.  It was not through his might, nor that of his mighty men.  It was not through personal mental prowess or physical strength, but it was the strength of the Lord and His mercy.
       Back to the first thoughts, David was truly wanting the Lord to teach him.  In my many years as an educator most students learn or attempt at it for the sake of a grade or to avoid the wrath of their parents.  However, there are those few that brighten the heart of a teacher–those who want to learn for the sake of learning.  Verse 11 is powerful.  “Teach me Your way”… “I will walk in Your truth…”  David does not say, teach me, but let me do things my way, but he is committed to learn from the Lord and then act upon what he has been taught.

               “Teach me thy way, O Lord, teach me thy way!
               Thy guiding grace afford–teach me thy way!
               Help me to walk aright, more by faith, less by sight;
               Lead me with heavenly light, teach me thy way!”
                         –B. Mansell Ramsey