BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

What’s the difference between trusting your own heart and trusting God with all your heart? As you’ll see in the video, God created human beings to love creation, love one another, and love God wholeheartedly. However, today’s reading reveals the tragic consequences that unfold when human hearts stray.

Samson trusts his own way of thinking and feeling, which leads him into sexual harm and foolish pride. Reckless with lust for Delilah, he reveals his secret: His incomparable strength will evaporate should anyone cut his hair. (Remember that Samson is supposed to be a Nazarite; God prohibited the Nazarites from cutting their hair.)

Samson assumes all is well. With such might and power, what could there be to fear? After all, he’s broken his Nazarite vows plenty of times before with no real impact on his supernatural strength. But this time, Yahweh’s power leaves him. Samson dies in exile, remaining violent and vindictive to his final breath.

The final two stories in Judges reveal that it’s not just Israel’s leaders who have turned away, it’s the whole nation. An ominous yet familiar refrain echoes through the final chapters of the book: “In those days Israel had no king, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”

If everyone keeps following their own hearts instead of Yahweh, where is this nation headed?

Reflection Questions

• In the Hebrew Bible, the heart is the source of a person’s thoughts, feelings, and affections. What indications do you see in today’s reading that the Israelites’ hearts have become distorted at each of these levels?
• Look back to Deuteronomy 20. How were the Israelites supposed to treat distant cities? How does this shape your understanding of the Danites’ actions at Laish?