Title: Three Useless Things
Judges (39) Three things that are useless (Judges 15:1-8)
1. Blood
Samson could not bear the moment of anger about his wife, who had uncovered the answer to the riddle and told his people to lose the bet, so he abandoned his wife and went home. And after a while, his spirits subsided, and Timnah's wife wanted to see her, so she took a young goat as a gift of reconciliation and offered to go into her room to see her. It is possible that Samson's wife was initially attracted to Samson's strong physical strength and masculinity, but later became tired of Samson's repeated blood and avoided the meeting. No one is welcome with such a bloody man.
There are times when you get bloody while driving. So, if you give blood, you will feel uncomfortable first. Occasionally, you meet someone who has a bloody spirit. He suddenly opens the window, shouts, swears, and walks away. How should we respond then? Practice responding with a smile. If you give off blood, you feel uncomfortable, and it is you who in the end gets hurt. When someone gives you blood like that, do not react with blood, but then develop your inner strength to overcome it.
People sometimes say “The more I think about it, the more angry I get.” However, believers should not be swept away by negative emotions and find peace the more they think. If you show blood frequently, no one welcomes you, and that kind of personality never benefits your relationship. Mr. Ham Seok-heon fought fiercely against the dictatorship, but he always said this. "Everyone! Do not fight with anger, fight with laughter.” If you can't control yourself with blood, you can't even change the world and the environment.
2. Betrayal
Missing his wife gave Samson a sense of betrayal toward his wife and father-in-law, and this betrayal rekindled his hatred for the entire Philistines. Sure enough, even if Samson's blood was activated again and harmed the Philistines, he said that he would be without fault (verse 3). Then he went out into the field and caught three hundred foxes, tied their tails and tails, and put a flag between the two tails and set a fire. (Verses 4-5).
The retaliatory act of burning sheaves and fields, common in ancient agricultural societies, had fatal consequences, destroying the local economy. What made Samson retaliate so deadly? Betrayal. Betrayal does not benefit the betrayer, nor does it benefit the betrayer. If you live like that and encounter betrayal, take care of yourself so that you don't feel betrayed.
Especially when you are betrayed by someone you love, it is very shocking. From then on, the hard days begin. I want to run away from reality, I can't sleep at night, and there are doubts in my life. Then come before God and express your feelings. And resolve not to look back and move toward the top of your dreams and visions. At the very least, do not look back until you reach the top, and take time to look back on the path you have taken after reaching the summit. A hopeful future will surely unfold if you persevere until the life of a flower bud becomes a life of brilliant flowers and shout out “My soul is at peace!”
3. Retaliation
When the Philistines, who suffered fatal losses, asked who did this, they said that Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnahite, was retaliating for taking Samson's wife and giving it to his friend by his father-in-law. Then the Philistines knew that it was not easy to catch Samson and punish him, so they burned her and her father to death instead (v. 6). Betrayal breeds betrayal, and retaliation breeds revenge. In the end, you reap what you sow.
Samson, who had feelings of longing and compassion for Timnah's wife, the Philistines' actions further stimulated his revenge. So they struck the Philistines with great blows in the shins and thighs, and went down and stayed in the crevices of the rock of Etham (verse 8). At that time, he did not return to his hometown of Sora, but stayed in the crevices of the rocks of Etham because he was afraid that it would cause harm to his family and friends. And even though he was living in the crevices of the rocks of Etham, he must not have been at ease with his worries and anxiety about the safety of his family.
Human retaliation likewise robs you of peace of mind. What should I do? We must leave the matter to God's rewarding hand. A person can know what he is by looking at his friends, but also by how he treats his enemies. Blessings depended on the enemy in a way. Why do saints have enemies? That enemy is the enemy who is given as a scale of trial and blessing. In other words, you can test your faith, love, and character through the enemy. If you solve problems with your enemies one by one, the amount of blessing will increase by one level.