I have recently had the privilege to lead a brand new Bible study for youth in a town not far from our home church. We have, within our church, a few families who live in that community but whose children are unable to attend our Wednesday night Youth Group. What originally began as a ministry to a few families has quickly morphed into a large group of up to 40 youth from the community. The last two weeks we have been looking at Old Testament stories that most church goers have heard so often they simply pass them by without a second thought. The story of Jonah and the fish, the story of Samson, both typical Sunday School fare. But real stories about real people in these particular instances are anything but typical.
A man is tossed into the raging sea, gasping for air, his lungs burning. He feels the weeds on the ocean floor entangling his legs and cries out. He awakes to utter blackness. A indescribable stench fill his nostrils causing his stomach to spill out the recently ingested seawater upon....what? As he feels about frantically in the darkness, his skin burns and what he feels all around him leaves him terrified. Soft, oozing surfaces touch him on all sides as he lies in a cramped heap. Indecipherable sounds assault him from all sides. He cries out to his God continuously for hours... days? He has no way of measuring time. All of his senses cry out for relief when he begins to feel a strange movement. The walls around him begin to squeeze, his skin is on fire, he can barely breathe when suddenly he is tossed, tumbling into water and caught in violent waves. His burned skin screams as he slides across the sand. The waves deposit him upon a beach.and he lies there gasping in great gulps of air. Squinting, he sees the shape of a great fish heading back to sea. He slowly stands, his clothing tattered, his skin bleached and his hair matted, some missing. He straightens his back, pauses for a moment, and then begins to walk.
A young man is chosen by God to provide relief to his people in an occupied land. The sign of his covenant with Yahweh is evident in his long hair which has never been cut. He is an imposing figure as he moves among his enemies, their eyes following him, this muscular Hebrew who walks straight and tall. For years he has planned this day. Today begins his mission against his peoples enemy, the Philistines. As many of his adventures have, it will begin with a girl. He recalls seeing her that day as he walked among them. Her beauty caught his eye as did the fact that she was surrounded by his enemies vying for her attention. He had courted her, laughing inside at the hatred he saw in the young Philistine men as they watched her with him. He chuckled, remembered his parents pleas to reconsider when he had told them he intended to marry her. He was recalling all of this as he walked through the vineyards. Deep in thought, he did not notice the lion which had been stalking him. Startled by the guttural roar behind him, he spun on his heels and saw the large cat in mid-air.
These are the stories I read to the youth at Bible Study. As I finished the first part of the Samson saga, all of the eyes were upon me. I asked if anyone had a question. Someone asked me what the spiritual point of the story was. I came up with some cliched youth pastor response but it felt somewhat empty. As we finished, a young man yelled out "lets finish the story next week!", and the rest shouted their consent. And it hit me. Gods word is amazing, it is attractive, and no cliche I can give will ever be greater than that.
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