Judges 12-13: And So Begins Samson's Tale

I've reached the most famous section of the Book of Judges -- the story of Samson.  Judges 13 relates the origins of Samson's tale, from his parents' being unable to conceive, to their miraculous encounter with an angel, and the prophecy that they'd bear a son to be named Samson.  It's been years since I've read the account of Samson, and I'm very much looking forward to re-reading it in much closer detail.  Samson marks the end of the line of judges, so I've also reached a turning point at this point in the Scriptures.  After Samson, much will change in the Promised Land, as a monarchy will emerge, and a new era will be ushered in. 

Some interesting points to mention from Judges 13: the fact that Samson was set aside as a Nazarite even while he was still in his mother's womb!  The mention of Nazarites in Judges 13 took me back to Numbers 6, when they were first introduced.  It's obvious that the judge Samson is going to stand out among all the judges as exceedingly significant.  Even before his birth he is being proclaimed by God as a holy individual.  The circumstances of his birth are miraculous, and we are given glimpses of his strength, both physical and spiritual.  The period prior to Samson's birth was a dark time for the Israelites.  They had fallen back into their sinful ways and God had punished them by allowing the neighboring Philistines to enter their land and overtake them.  They suffered under their rule for forty years.  So given the dire state of affairs, it seems appropriate that the next judge or savior would be a truly exceptional one.  The events surrounding Samson's birth are pretty remarkable.  The visits by the angelic figure to Samson's parents foretell the similarly mystical events leading up to Jesus's birth.  The angel who visits Samson's parents is not named, but some traditions identify him as Saint Michael himself!  At any rate, the extraordinary events of Samson's life are about to begin, and I can't wait to see God's power being exhibited on earth through the person of Samson!

Judges 10-11: The Case of Jephte

Judges 11 is a head-scratcher.  We've come to the judge Jephte (or Jephthah), who in almost every respect seems a good judge, and fits the savior model that all the good judges have fit so far.  The Israelites are in a bind; they've fallen back into sinful idolatry; they seek repentance and ask desperately for a savior to bail them out; God answers their pleas and sends a good and noble judge who usually vanquishes an enemy and brings the Israelites into a period of peace and prosperity.  Jephte, just like Gideon, Deborah, and Ehud, does just that.  He defeats the Ammonites and sets Israel free, physically and spiritually.  But the problem with Jephte, and what he has become most infamous for, is his rash vow.  To summarize, Jephte makes a vow with God that if He allows him to defeat the enemy, he'll offer as a sacrifice the first thing that comes out of his house when he returns from battle.  Lo and behold, the first "thing" that comes out of his house is his beloved and only daughter.  Jephte is of course distraught and in agony over this turn of events.  But a promise is a promise.  So Jephte goes through with it, and as he promised to offer his daughter as a sacrifice to God, he has her killed just like a burnt holocaust.  Or so one interpretation goes.  This very well could be what happened, and many Church Fathers interpreted it this way.  Jephte is even praised in the New Testament (Hebrews 11:32).  So it would almost seem as if Jephte's actions were supposed to be seen as good.  He made a vow and stuck to it -- that shows Faith and Loyalty to God.  But of course God doesn't want us sacrificing each other in this way.  One perspective of the Jephte story is that he was wrong to make such a rash vow to God.  That he "learned his lesson."  But another interpretation still, and a very intriguing one, is that Jephte did not actually have his daughter killed, since doing so would violate the Mosaic Law.  And the text itself is just ambiguous enough to allow this possibility.  Instead of having his daughter killed, Jephte may have had her consecrated to God (and as such she would have been spiritually sacrificed) by making her a perpetual virgin.  There is mention of her bewailing her virginity and from then on knowing no man.  It's a question that can't be conclusively answered, and it's another example of the Scripture putting us in a humble place.  For sometimes we can't know, or sometimes we might know but still can't comprehend.  If Jephte really did sacrifice his daughter by having her killed, we must stop and accept the utter mysteriousness of this permission by God.  We can't understand everything with our little finite minds.  And sometimes Scripture reminds us of this, and it's probably meant to be humbling.  It's all a very curious episode in Judges (in all of the Bible, really).  As I began with, Jephte doesn't exactly break the mold as a judge.  He saves his people, and he is more or less praised for it.  But we see a very tragic episode in his life and a man who was once on top of the world brought low.