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Three Hundred Foxes and a Jawbone - The Book of Judges · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And he found a new jawbone of
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  Speaker 1: an ass and put forth his hand and took it
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  Speaker 1: and slew a thousand men therewith. Judges 15.15 Dear Heavenly Father,
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  Speaker 1: when others wrong me and I feel betrayed, I will
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  Speaker 1: not take matters into my own hands and act in revenge.
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  Speaker 1: Your word reminds me that vengeance and vindication come from
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. Therefore, I will not act rashly and carelessly
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  Speaker 1: like Samson, but will instead wait for you to bring
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  Speaker 1: me deliverance and healing for my pain. Keeping a pure
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  Speaker 1: heart and living with forgiveness gives me access to your
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  Speaker 1: presence and grace. Whatever the enemy or others have stolen
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  Speaker 1: from me, I will receive full payment in Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 1: I decree and declare, that there will be no lack
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  Speaker 1: in the area that was attacked by wicked schemes. Today
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  Speaker 1: is my day of retribution and vindication. Today is the
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  Speaker 1: day that unforgiveness will not have a hold on me
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  Speaker 1: or my future. I speak a new chapter in my
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  Speaker 1: life from this day forward. I am free from past
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  Speaker 1: hurts and betrayal. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks for making
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  Speaker 1: prayer a priority in your life. To hear the Bible
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  Speaker 1: come to life, stay tuned for the Bible in a Year.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com 300 foxes and a jawbone.
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  Speaker 2: In our last story, we learned about Samson's battle with
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  Speaker 2: a lion, breaking of his vow, and a marriage to
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  Speaker 2: a Philistine woman. His foolishness cost him greatly, and his
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  Speaker 2: wife married another man. In this story, we will learn
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  Speaker 2: about Samson's attempt to win his wife back, and his
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  Speaker 2: revenge against the Philistines for her refusing him. Samson's strength
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  Speaker 2: and craftiness would be used by God to create havoc
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  Speaker 2: and chaos among the Philistines. inspired by the book of Judges.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we
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  Speaker 3: heard the story of how Samson met and fell in
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  Speaker 3: love with a Philistine woman. It was a relationship that
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  Speaker 3: God never wanted for Samson, but one he would use
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  Speaker 3: nonetheless to accomplish his eternal plans. We saw how Samson's
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  Speaker 3: foolishness and the compromising of his values led to personal
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  Speaker 3: tragedy and he lost his wife to another. Today we'll
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  Speaker 3: hear how Samson fights to win back his wife and
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  Speaker 3: how he reacts to being turned away. We'll also see
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  Speaker 3: how God uses Samson's flaws and failures and all to
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  Speaker 3: defeat the Philistines and soak chaos into their camp. We'll
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  Speaker 3: continue to see that Samson is not only physically strong
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  Speaker 3: but clever and crafty and how his extraordinary gifts are
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  Speaker 3: a tool in the powerful hands of God. but we'll
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  Speaker 3: also see the disastrous consequences of human vengeance and how
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  Speaker 3: one small act can have a domino effect of death
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  Speaker 3: and destruction. So, let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: Samson stewed in regret. He missed his wife. More so,
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  Speaker 2: he wanted to sleep with her again. So after some
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  Speaker 2: time during the wheat harvest, Samson traveled back to the
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  Speaker 2: Philistine city with a goat, attempting to buy back his
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  Speaker 2: wife's favors. He went to her father and said, Allow
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  Speaker 2: me to sleep with my wife again in her chamber.
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  Speaker 2: Samson's request bothered her father, but he knew Samson was
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  Speaker 2: a rich and strong man. He said to Samson, I
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  Speaker 2: thought you hated my daughter for betraying you, so I
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  Speaker 2: gave her as a wife to your best man. But here,
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  Speaker 2: you may marry my youngest daughter instead. Samson simmered in anger.
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  Speaker 2: He stormed off, amazed that his wife would be given
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  Speaker 2: away to another man so quickly. His mind thrashed like
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  Speaker 2: waves in a storm. His eyes glossed over in total rage,
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  Speaker 2: and he immediately went into the wilderness. This time I
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  Speaker 2: will be justified in my revenge against the Philistines, Samson
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  Speaker 2: said to himself. Samson caught three hundred foxes in the
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  Speaker 2: nearby forest, a task that took a great deal of
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  Speaker 2: time and effort. But Samson did not mind. Revenge and
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  Speaker 2: spite fueled his actions. He paired up the foxes and
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  Speaker 2: tied their tails together with a torch between each of them.
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  Speaker 2: He sent them into the wheat fields of the Philistines.
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  Speaker 2: Samson stood at a distance, watching the food source of
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  Speaker 2: the Philistines burn. There was nothing they could do to
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  Speaker 2: stop the fire from raging. The Philistines discovered Samson was
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  Speaker 2: responsible for the fire. and killed his wife in retaliation. Samson,
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  Speaker 2: now truly alone, went up against them. Dozens of Philistines
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  Speaker 2: charged Samson. He growled at them like a lion and
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  Speaker 2: did not run. He stood his ground like a one-man army.
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  Speaker 2: It was a cruel and unsparing slaughter. Samson tore the
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  Speaker 2: Philistines to shreds as he once did the lion in
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  Speaker 2: the vineyard. He stood over their bodies, fists dripping with blood.
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  Speaker 2: His long hair and beard was caked with dust and flesh.
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  Speaker 2: He breathed a deep sigh and screamed into the air.
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  Speaker 2: He was now a fugitive. So Samson escaped to a
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  Speaker 2: cave in the cleft of Edom and hid there. The
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  Speaker 2: Philistines were outraged and came up and camped in Judah.
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  Speaker 2: They raided and pillaged the land, slaughtering innocent people out
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  Speaker 2: of revenge. They scoured the entire city of Judah in
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  Speaker 2: search of Samson. Three thousand men of Judah arose to
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  Speaker 2: go find Samson hiding in the cave of Edom. When
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  Speaker 2: they found him, they said to him, Don't you know
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  Speaker 2: that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done
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  Speaker 2: this to us? Your foolish exploits have cost our lives.
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  Speaker 2: Samson felt no regret. His pettiness and rage was still
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  Speaker 2: looming over him like a dark cloud. They got what
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  Speaker 2: they deserved, Samson hissed. I have only done to them
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  Speaker 2: what they did to me. The leaders of Judah pressed
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  Speaker 2: their hands against their temples. Samson was a difficult man
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  Speaker 2: to speak with. He was filled with pride. Samson, we
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  Speaker 2: have come here to bind you up and bring you
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  Speaker 2: back to the Philistines. Samson closed his eyes. Three thousand
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  Speaker 2: of his kin stood before him ready to take him
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  Speaker 2: by force. No, they would not take him by force. Instead,
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  Speaker 2: Samson had a plan. Promise me you will not attack
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  Speaker 2: me yourselves, Samson said. Of course not. We will bind
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  Speaker 2: you and give you to the Philistines, they replied. Excellent,
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  Speaker 2: Samson nodded. So he gave himself over to be bound.
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  Speaker 2: They tied him up tightly with two brand new ropes,
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  Speaker 2: for they knew Samson was a strong man and capable
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  Speaker 2: of breaking through weak knots and old rope. Samson walked
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  Speaker 2: down the mountain with them. In the distance he could
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  Speaker 2: hear the massive Philistine army shouting. They were coming up
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  Speaker 2: to meet him. When they had finally met, Samson looked
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  Speaker 2: to the sky. Like lightning falling from the clouds, a
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  Speaker 2: rush of God's spirit came upon Samson. He tore the
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  Speaker 2: ropes off his arms as if they were melted wax.
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  Speaker 2: He stomped towards the Philistine horde. Besides, Samson was a
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  Speaker 2: dead donkey, and he ripped out the donkey's jawbone from
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  Speaker 2: its skull. The Philistines charged, and Samson jumped into the
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  Speaker 2: crowd with loud screams. He flung their bodies like ragdolls.
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  Speaker 2: One by one they fell as Samson drove the jawbone
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  Speaker 2: into their skulls. Cracking bones and piercing screams echoed through
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  Speaker 2: the canyon. Samson slew 1,000 Philistines that day. In that moment,
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  Speaker 2: he was the acting fist of God, liberating the oppressed
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  Speaker 2: people of Israel with each blow. The men's broken and
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  Speaker 2: contorted bodies laced the mountain ground. Samson stood among the bodies.
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  Speaker 2: Heaving and smiling, he shouted up to the skies and said,
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  Speaker 2: With the jawbone of a donkey, I create heaps upon heaps.
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  Speaker 2: With the jawbone of a donkey, I strike down a
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  Speaker 2: thousand men. Samson's body quivered out of exhaustion and dehydration.
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  Speaker 2: He threw away the jawbone into the bushes. He called
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  Speaker 2: upon the Lord and said, You have given me salvation.
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  Speaker 2: Now is it my fate to die in the wilderness
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  Speaker 2: from thirst? So God caused water to spill forth from
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  Speaker 2: the crags of the mountainside. Samson drank beside the bodies
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  Speaker 2: of fallen Philistines. He revived his strength and washed away
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  Speaker 2: the blood of his enemies. There was no doubt afterwards
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  Speaker 2: that Samson was a chosen hero of God. So he
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  Speaker 2: judged and protected Israel for 20 years. And he warred
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  Speaker 2: against the Philistines in the name of the Lord.
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  Speaker 3: Today's story begins with Samson determined to win back his wife.
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  Speaker 3: He wanted to see her again, so he goes to
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  Speaker 3: his father-in-law intending to sleep with his wife. But his
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  Speaker 3: wife's father tells Samson he's already given her to another man,
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  Speaker 3: thinking Samson had rejected her after what happened at the feast.
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  Speaker 3: He offers Samson her younger sister instead, but that is
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  Speaker 3: not acceptable to Samson. Samson's anger boils and he vows revenge,
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  Speaker 3: stating that this time he will be innocent of the
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  Speaker 3: harm he'll do to the Philistines. So what does he do?
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  Speaker 3: He goes out and catches 300 foxes, sets torches between
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  Speaker 3: them and releases them into the Philistines' crops. The Philistines
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  Speaker 3: watch powerlessly as their three main food sources are destroyed.
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  Speaker 3: Samson's anger is far from righteous. Yet God is working
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  Speaker 3: through Samson to wreak havoc on those who have oppressed
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  Speaker 3: his children for so long. When the Philistines discover it
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  Speaker 3: was Samson, they burn his father-in-law's house down, killing all inside,
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  Speaker 3: including Samson's wife. It's Samson's turn now to seek revenge.
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  Speaker 3: Filled with rage, he vows to exact vengeance and then quit.
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  Speaker 3: He foolishly thought that he could have the last word
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  Speaker 3: and the Philistines would not seek to get even. Isn't
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  Speaker 3: that how things go when we become so intoxicated and
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  Speaker 3: motivated by anger and the desire to get even? In
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  Speaker 3: the end, we're left with a trail of destruction and
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  Speaker 3: nobody wins. Samson attacks the Philistines, tearing men limb from limb,
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  Speaker 3: just like he had done to the lion. But this
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  Speaker 3: wasn't a matter of self-defense. It was unbridled anger and rage.
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  Speaker 3: It was sinful anger. Samson fled to a mountain near
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  Speaker 3: Judah so the Philistines pursued him, sowing more death and destruction.
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  Speaker 3: The people of Judah came forward to help deliver Samson
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  Speaker 3: to the Philistines. They gathered an army, But it's not
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  Speaker 3: to fight the Philistines. Rather, it is to turn Samson
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  Speaker 3: over to them. Judges 15.11 puts it this way. The
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  Speaker 3: 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of
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  Speaker 3: the rock at Edom and said to Samson, Do you
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  Speaker 3: not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What
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  Speaker 3: then is this that you have done to us? God
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  Speaker 3: had appointed Samson as a deliverer of his people, but
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  Speaker 3: they saw him as trouble rather than a blessing. Israel
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  Speaker 3: would rather remain in subjugation than make waves. How often
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  Speaker 3: do we give in to the things that hold us
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  Speaker 3: captive rather than asking God's help and the power that
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  Speaker 3: he will give us to overcome? Samson, finally sensing his calling,
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  Speaker 3: tells the men of Judah they can bind him up
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  Speaker 3: and hand him over. They tied him up with new
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  Speaker 3: strong ropes that even Samson shouldn't be able to break
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  Speaker 3: and delivered him to the Philistines. So God sent his
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  Speaker 3: spirit upon Samson and filled him with an even greater power.
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  Speaker 3: The ropes were no match for God's strength. This strength
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  Speaker 3: was flowing through Samson now and he threw these ropes
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  Speaker 3: off like they were nothing. He then picked up the
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  Speaker 3: jawbone of a donkey and killed 1,000 Philistines. Now Samson
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  Speaker 3: wasn't acting in his own interest for revenge. He now
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  Speaker 3: is a tool in the hand of God to defeat
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  Speaker 3: an enemy and strike fear into their hearts. This time
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  Speaker 3: his heart is in the right place. He is obeying God.
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  Speaker 3: Samson then led Israel for 20 years. But one day
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  Speaker 3: his desires would creep back in and bring about his demise.
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  Speaker 3: And we'll hear about that the next time. Let's pray.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, we pray that in our own lives that
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  Speaker 3: we would overcome anger and rage and never give in
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  Speaker 3: to our personal and selfish pursuits of getting even. Lord,
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  Speaker 3: may we learn to forgive. But may we also learn
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  Speaker 3: to do your will at all times and to walk
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  Speaker 3: in obedience to you. May we live in the victories.
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  Speaker 3: that you have given us in Jesus Christ. And thank
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  Speaker 3: you for the power of your spirit who enables us
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  Speaker 3: to do great things for you. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
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  Speaker 3: app and make prayer a priority in your life. If
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  Speaker 3: you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you know,
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  Speaker 3: someone you love. Because by sharing this podcast, you can
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  Speaker 3: make a big difference in someone's life in Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 3: If you want to know more about the Lord, how
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  Speaker 3: to know Him, how to serve Him, and be His disciple,
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  Speaker 3: then let me encourage you to visit my website, which
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  Speaker 3: is jackgraham.org. We would love to assist you in any
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  Speaker 3: way possible as you grow in your journey of faith. Again,
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  Speaker 3: that's jackgraham.org. God bless you.