Contemplative Bible Reading

Judges 13:1 (New Living Translation)

Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years.

Bad times; very bad times. God handed His people over to the Philistines. The Philistines oppressed God’s people politically for forty years. That political persecution was obvious.

Then there was the harder-to-see but worse oppression: God’s people—who had been given a way of life, a culture from God—now had to live under the Philistine culture for two generations. Justice was gone as were forgiveness, love, guide to healthy diet, guidelines for families, etc. Instead, gosh, it was awful.

Now comes the ugly part: let’s consider how I do today. There is still a culture of love, forgiveness, and grace available to me. Do I choose that culture? Do I choose the culture of hatred, stealing, violence, etc.? Hey, I haven’t killed anyone this week. Have I hated anyone this week? Uh, no! I have shown righteous indignation to the acts of some, and that is okay, right? Really? Well…

The culture of the modern-day Philistines is all around me. It is easy to dip my toe into it or plunge into it full body and soul. I have a choice. I don’t have to go into that culture. Please God, help me to live among the Philistines while maintaining righteousness. Please God, please don’t hand me over to the Philistines.