That didn't go so well

There are two commands from God that are emphasized over and over again in the Old Testament:
"I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me."
"Care for widows, orphans, and foreigners. You were once foreigners in Egypt."

A good way to not be tempted to worship other gods is to avoid marrying people who believe in other gods. That's why I was surprised to read this, "Samson's parents said to him, 'Isn't there a woman among the girls in the neighborhood of our people? Do you have to go get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?' His father and mother had no idea that God was behind this, that he was arranging an opportunity against the Philistines."

The Spirit of the Lord comes on him powerfully and he kills a lion with his bare hands. This leads to the riddle from which he is to profit greatly.

Samson's real weakness, which will come up again, is a nagging woman.

In his anger over losing the bet due to the threats and cheating of his "friends" (because the people were wary of him, they arranged for thirty friends to mingle with him.), he goes balistic and kills thirty men from a nearby town so that he can pay the debt.

Again, curiosly, the Spirit of God had come powerfully on him.

So that Israel can be freed from Philistine oppression, is God really arranging all of this or is Samson misplaying his hand?

At any rate, he loses his wife to the best man and, along with her, his "in" with the enemy.

Here is a snipet of Scripture from this Sunday's Gospel: Jesus says, "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst."

If only Samson had known...